The French victory at Campo Tenese shattered the Neapolitan left wing, accelerating the collapse of Bourbon rule in southern Italy during the 1806 Invasion of Naples.
Key Facts
- Date
- 9 March 1806
- French commander
- Jean Reynier
- Neapolitan commander
- Roger de Damas
- Location
- Campotenese, Calabria, Kingdom of Naples
- Conflict
- War of the Third Coalition, Napoleonic Wars
- Neapolitan survivors
- Only a few thousand evacuated to Sicily
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After Ferdinand IV of Naples allied with Austria, Russia, and Britain against France, Napoleon crushed the coalition at Austerlitz and declared Bourbon rule of southern Italy ended. In February 1806 French armies invaded Naples, forcing the Neapolitan army to split and retreat. General de Damas chose to make a stand at Campo Tenese with the left wing, hoping to delay until the right wing could join him.
On 9 March 1806, Jean Reynier's two French divisions launched a combined frontal assault and flanking manoeuvre against Damas's fortified position at the mountain village of Campotenese in northern Calabria. Despite the benefit of field fortifications, the Neapolitan left wing was rapidly overrun and routed with heavy losses, leaving the remnants of the army unable to mount further organised resistance.
Following the defeat, the Neapolitan army disintegrated through mass desertion, and only a few thousand survivors were evacuated to Sicily by the British Royal Navy. French control of the mainland was nonetheless contested by the siege of Gaeta, the British victory at the Battle of Maida, and a prolonged Calabrian insurrection, preventing a swift or complete French consolidation of southern Italy.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Jean Reynier.
Side B
1 belligerent
Roger de Damas.