Key Facts
- Dates
- 21–23 March 1797
- Austrian prisoners taken
- 3,500
- Distance from Vienna afterward
- 75 miles (121 km)
- Duration of battle
- 3 days
- French divisions engaged
- 3
Strategic Narrative Overview
French forces under Masséna, Guieu, and Sérurier converged on the Tarvis Pass while Archduke Charles dispatched three relief columns to hold it. Masséna's division reached the pass first, blocking the Austrian line of retreat. In three days of confused fighting, most Austrian troops broke through, but the final column was encircled by converging French divisions and compelled to surrender, yielding 3,500 prisoners under Adam Bajalics von Bajahaza.
01 / The Origins
Following Napoleon Bonaparte's capture of Mantua in early February 1797 and his neutralisation of the Papal States, France sought to drive Austria entirely from northeast Italy. Reinforced by troops from the Rhine front, Bonaparte launched a two-pronged offensive in March 1797: Joubert's left wing pushed through the Tyrol while Bonaparte's main army struck eastward, forcing Archduke Charles into retreat toward the Tarvis Pass.
03 / The Outcome
The French advance after Tarvis brought them within 75 miles of Vienna, compelling Austria to negotiate. In mid-April 1797 Bonaparte proposed, and Austria accepted, the Preliminaries of Leoben. Most terms were formalised in the Treaty of Campo Formio in October 1797, ending the War of the First Coalition and reshaping the political boundaries of Italy and central Europe.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Napoleon Bonaparte, André Masséna, Jean Joseph Guieu, Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier.
Side B
1 belligerent
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, Adam Bajalics von Bajahaza.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.