French Revolutionary Wars Alois von Gavasini

1 french revolutionary wars

1.1 primolano
1.2 arcole
1.3 hohenlinden

french revolutionary wars
primolano

map showing action @ primolano (upper right) on 7 september 1796

born in 1762 @ bonn in electorate of cologne, gavasini joined army of habsburg austria. won knight s cross of military order of maria theresa on 19 december 1790. not specified whether award given fighting against ottoman turks or brabant revolution. september 1793, had risen rank of major. next promotion oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 1 april 1796.

in september 1796, dagobert sigmund von wurmser s army descended brenta valley marched trentino in italian tyrol bassano del grappa in po valley. peter quasdanovich, led division, dropped off gavasini rear guard @ primolano near cismon del grappa hold off pierre augereau s french pursuit. gavasini s command included 1 1,108-man battalion of michael wallis infantry regiment nr. 11, 561 soldiers in 4 companies of erbach infantry regiment nr. 42, 1 100-strong company of mahony jägers, half-company of pioneers, , 90 troopers of erdödy hussar regiment nr. 9. column of troops under oberst georg von stentsch arrived, bringing total number of troops available 2,800. gavasini drew troops behind entrenchment in narrow valley loop of brenta partly protecting front.

on 7 september, augereau s division appeared , began attacking austrian defenses. after clambering on ridges , wading river, french skirmishers put austrian position in peril. 5th light , 4th line infantry demi-brigades forced gavasini pull covelo fort, perched atop outcrop 200 feet (61 m) high. 5th light circled austrian left flank, while strong party of 4th line climbed site on austrian right rear poured fire fort. after holding out hour, wounded gavasini led men out of trap fall captive Édouard jean baptiste milhaud s 5th dragoon regiment.

against light french casualties, austrians lost 1,500 men , 5 guns captured in combat, including greater part of wallis , erbach battalions. austrian total strength in area 4,000, including 9th battalion of karlstadt grenz infantry regiment, 4th battalion of warasdiner grenz infantry regiment, , grenadiers of pellegrini infantry regiment nr. 49. augereau s 8,200-man division consisted of twelve battalions in 2 brigades under jean-baptiste dominique rusca , claude perrin victor. battle of bassano occurred following day.

arcole

fanciful painting horace vernet showing bonaparte leading troops across arcole bridge

after being freed in prisoner exchange, gavasini rejoined army third relief of siege of mantua. name not appear in austrian order of battle, lists 6 divisions of 4,000 men each. on morning of 15 november 1796, french army of napoleon bonaparte initiated battle of arcole crossing adige river behind jozsef alvinczi s left flank. there, augereau s division drove north toward arcole village while andré masséna s division moved northwest in direction of belfiore. in response orders alvinczi, gavasini moved brigade belfiore @ 11:00 am. leading splényi infantry regiment nr. 51 along causeway through marshes, gavasini ran masséna s advance @ bionde, midway between belfiore , french crossing site @ ronco adige. @ first splényi regiment drove french, capturing 2 cannons. however, second austrian column under adolf brabeck mistakenly fired gavasini s men adjacent causeway, throwing them panic. masséna followed retreating austrians , temporarily captured belfiore.

on second day of battle, alvinczi ordered 6 battalions under giovanni marchese di provera advance belfiore while anton ferdinand mittrowsky s 14 battalions attacked south arcole. @ 5:00 am, provera s attack underway, blunted masséna. french skirmishers riddled austrian infantry formations , habsburg cannoneers holding enemy singlehandedly. brabeck killed , entire force fled belfiore, french captured again, along 5 guns. mittrowsky s attack miscarried, managed hang onto arcole until nightfall after savage fighting. on third day, provera s attack on masséna failed again , time austrian position unraveled. french general diverted bulk of division augereau , 2 seized arcole 5:00 pm on 17 november, thereby winning battle.

hohenlinden

battle of hohenlinden

gavasini promoted oberst (colonel) on 4 december 1796 , general-major on 6 march 1800. on 3 december 1800 led brigade in michael von kienmayer s corps-sized right column @ battle of hohenlinden. brigade part of karl philipp, prince of schwarzenberg s division , comprised 1 battalion of ligne infantry regiment nr. 30; 2 battalions each of clerfayt infantry regiment nr. 9, beaulieu infantry regiment nr. 58, , murray infantry regiment nr. 55; , 3 battalions of gemmingen infantry regiment nr. 21. battle ended in austrian disaster, alone among fellow division , column commanders, schwarzenberg handled division skill.

while austrian leaders proved irresolute, schwarzenberg thrust boldly @ paul grenier s left wing divisions of louis bastoul , michel ney. gavasini s gemmingen regiment seized village of forstern , had driven out. schwarzenberg s fight centered on series of hamlets north of hohenlinden. murray regiment carried kronacker in impetuous assault, lost ney s counterattack, , captured again. later in day, french retook kronacker before losing again charge murray regiment. time, kienmayer found out french had smashed johann kollowrat s left center column , issued orders retreat. in spite of difficult tactical situation, schwarzenberg able withdraw division in order.