The Battle of Tarvis was fought during 21–23 March 1797 near present-day Tarvisio in far northeast Italy, about west-by-southwest of the three-border conjunction with Austria and Slovenia, and was the final battle before the end of the War of the First Coalition. In the battle, three divisions of a First French Republic army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte attacked several columns of the retreating Habsburg Austrian army led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. In three days of confused fighting, French divisions directed by André Masséna, Jean Joseph Guieu, and Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier succeeded in blocking the Tarvis Pass and capturing 3,500 Austrians led by Adam Bajalics von Bajahaza. The engagement occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars.
After Bonaparte's capture of the fortress of Mantua in early February 1797, he cleared his south flank by crushing the army of the Papal States. Reinforced with forces from the Rhine front, Bonaparte was determined to drive the Austrian army from northeast Italy. His offensive began in March and consisted of a secondary drive through the County of Tyrol by Barthélemy Catherine Joubert's left wing and an eastward thrust by Bonaparte's main army.
The main French army soon drove the archduke's forces into headlong retreat while Joubert battled with Wilhelm Lothar Maria von Kerpen in the Tyrol. Charles tried to hold the Tarvis Pass against the French by sending three columns of reinforcements, but they found the pass held by Masséna's French forces. While many Austrian troops fought their way out, the last column was trapped between three converging French divisions and compelled to surrender. A subsequent advance brought the French within of the Austrian capital of Vienna. In mid-April, Bonaparte proposed and the Austrians agreed to the Preliminaries of Leoben. Most of the terms were ratified by the Treaty of Campo Formio in October 1797, ending the long war.
Background
Fall of Mantua
On 2 February 1797, the Siege of Mantua ended when Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser surrendered the fortress of Mantua. In recognition of his doughty defense, Wurmser, his staff, and an escort of 700 soldiers were allowed free passage to Austrian lines. An additional 20,000 Austrians were paroled on the promise that they would not fight against France until exchanged. The siege cost the garrison 16,333 killed, wounded, or died of disease. The French captured 325 artillery pieces in Mantua and recovered 179 of their own guns that were lost earlier in the siege.
General of Division Napoleon Bonaparte was not present for the capitulation, having left a few days earlier to press the war against the Papal States. Following instructions from Bonaparte, General of Division Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier refused to amend the initial French surrender proposals. At length, Wurmser acquiesced and accepted Bonaparte's terms. Columns of disarmed Austrians marched out of Mantua on 4, 5, and 6 February.
French offensive
Meanwhile, important events were taking place elsewhere. On 3 February, a 9,000-man French column under General of Division Claude Perrin Victor crushed a 7,000-strong Papal States force led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi in the Battle of Faenza (Battle of Castel Bolognese). For the loss of only 100 men, the French inflicted 800 killed and wounded on their enemies and captured 1,200 soldiers, 14 guns, 8 colors, and 8 caissons. On 9 February, the 1,200-man Papal States garrison of Ancona surrendered to Victor. Bonaparte soon forced the Pope to agree to the Treaty of Tolentino, compelling the Papal States to disgorge 30 million francs.
During 1796, the campaign in Germany had received priority in terms of French troop reinforcements. But after a significant lack of success in the Rhine theater, the French government in Paris belatedly decided to send reinforcements to Italy. Generals of Division Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte and Antoine Guillaume Delmas were transferred to the Italian front with their troops.
Although the new Austrian commander in Italy, Feldmarschall Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen had 50,000 troops, they were distributed over a wide front. Bonaparte was determined to attack Charles before the Austrians were ready. Having 60,000 men available, Bonaparte planned to attack through Friuli with two-thirds of these troops. The French commander posted General of Division Barthélemy Joubert with about 20,000 troops to protect the Tyrol against a possible Austrian attack in that quarter. If no threat developed, Joubert was ordered to rendezvous with Bonaparte in the Drava River valley.