Arcole (pronounced ), historically also known as Arcola, is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' with 5,274 inhabitants in the

province of Verona The Province of Verona ( it, Provincia di Verona) is a province in the Veneto administrative region of Italy. On its northwestern border, Lake GardaItaly's largestis divided between Verona and the provinces of Brescia ( Lombardy region) and Trent ...

. It is known as the site of the

Battle of the Bridge of Arcole The Battle of Arcole or Battle of Arcola (15–17 November 1796) was fought between French and Austrian forces southeast of Verona during the War of the First Coalition, a part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle saw a bold maneuver b ...

History

Between 15–17 November 1796, the

Battle of Arcole The Battle of Arcole or Battle of Arcola (15–17 November 1796) was fought between French and Austrian forces southeast of Verona during the War of the First Coalition, a part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle saw a bold maneuver b ...

took place.

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, recently appointed commander of the French Army of Italy, led a rapid and conclusive attack through Italy as part of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

. In April and May of that year he had defeated

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

army and driven the Austrian army out of almost all of Northern Italy. In November, Napoleon joined battle with

József Alvinczi Freiherr Joseph Alvinczi von Borberek a.k.a. Baron József Alvinczi de Borberek (german: Joseph Alvinczy, Freiherr von Berberek; 1 February 1735 – 25 September 1810) was a soldier in the Habsburg Army and a field marshal of the Austrian Empi ...

near the junction of the Adige and Alpone rivers. Despite lacking basic equipment and food, the French army went on the offensive. On 14 November, they crossed the Adige. All that remained between the two armies now was the Alpone. On 15–16 November, the French made repeated attempts to cross the bridge at Arcole. These initial assaults were beaten back by Austrian firepower. By 17 November, French flanking moves convinced Alvinczi that he was threatened with encirclement and he ordered a tactical withdrawal. The following year Napoleon went on to crush the Austrians at Rivoli, forcing them to sign the

Peace of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treat ...

later that year.

Twin towns

Arcole is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Cadenet Cadenet () is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Cadenétiens'' in French. Geography Cadenet is a village located on the southern slopes of the Lu ...

, France

References

Cities and towns in Veneto Wine regions of Italy {{Veneto-geo-stub