Key Facts
- Duration
- 4 June 1796 – 2 February 1797
- Garrison size at peak
- 30,000 Austrian troops
- Relief attempts
- 4 unsuccessful Austrian attempts
- French commander
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Austrian garrison commander
- Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Strategic Narrative Overview
Austria mounted four successive relief attempts under commanders Wurmser, then Alvinczi. Wurmser briefly lifted the siege in July 1796 but was defeated at Lonato and Castiglione, then chased into Mantua itself, swelling the garrison to 30,000. Alvinczi twice defeated Bonaparte before being outflanked at Arcole in November. A final Austrian advance was crushed at Rivoli in January 1797, and an accompanying relief column was destroyed south of Mantua, leaving the garrison without hope.
01 / The Origins
Following France's drive to expand revolutionary influence and counter the First Coalition of European monarchies, Napoleon Bonaparte led French forces into northern Italy in 1796. After expelling Austrian armies from northwest and north-central Italy, the French turned to besiege Mantua, a heavily fortified Austrian stronghold on the Mincio River in Lombardy. Control of the fortress would determine which power dominated northern Italy and shaped the broader Italian Campaign.
03 / The Outcome
With no prospect of further relief and the garrison ravaged by disease and starvation, Wurmser surrendered Mantua on 2 February 1797. The fall of the fortress freed Napoleon to invade Austria directly. Facing military collapse, Austria sued for peace, leading to the Treaty of Leoben and ultimately the Treaty of Campo Formio, ending the War of the First Coalition and ceding much of northern Italy to French influence.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Side B
1 belligerent
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, József Alvinczi, Paul Davidovich, Joseph Canto d'Irles.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.