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Battle of Campo Tenese

Part of the War of the Third Coalition

Campotenese is located in the Morano Calabro

municipality. The photo of Morano Calabro shows nearby

mountainous t errain.

Date 9 March 1806

Location Northwest of Morano Calabro, Italy

Result Decisive French victory

Belligerents

France

Polish Legions

Switzerland

Kingdoms of Naple

and Sicily

Commanders and leaders

Jean Reynier Roger de Damas

Strength

10,000 14,000

Casualties and losses

unknown but light 3,000, all guns and

baggage

Battle of Campo TeneseFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Campo Tenese(10 March 1806) saw two

divisions of the Imperial French Army of Naples led by

Jean Reynier attack the left wing of the Royal

Neapolitan Army under Roger de Damas. Though the

defenders were protected by field fortifications, aFrench frontal attack combined with a turning

movement rapidly overran the position and routed the

Neapolitans with heavy losses. The action occurred at

Campotenese, a little mountain village in the

municipality of Morano Calabro in the north of

Calabria. The battle was fought during the War of the

Third Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

Following the decision by King Ferdinand IV of Naples

to ally himself with the Austrian Empire, RussianEmpire, and United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Ireland and Napoleon's decisive victory over the Allies

at the Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon declared Bourbon

rule of southern Italy at an end. In the second week of

February 1806 the Imperial French armies poured across

the border in the Invasion of Naples. The Neapolitan

army, divided into two wings, retreated before the

superior forces of their opponents. At Campo Tenese,

Damas attempted to make a stand with the left wing in

order to give the right wing time to join him.

After the defeat, the Neapolitan army melted away from

desertion and only a few thousand soldiers remained to

be evacuated to Sicily by the British Royal Navy.

However, the conflict was far from over. The Siege of

Gaeta, the British victory at Maida, and a bitter

insurrection in Calabria proved to be obstacles to French

success.

Contents

1 Background

2 Battle

3 Aftermath

4 Notes

5 References

Coordinates: 395230N 160400
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Background

In early 1805, French Emperor Napoleon prepared to defend his possessions in Italy against the Austrian

Empire. To this end, he deployed 68,000 troops under Marshal Andr Massna in the north, 18,000 soldier

led by General of Division Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr in central Italy, and 8,000 men from the satellite

Kingdom of Italy.[1]

For its part, the Austrian army in Italy under Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschennumbered 90,000 men.[2]King Ferdinand IV's Neapolitan army counted only 22,000 soldiers. Afraid that

Saint-Cyr's corps might overrun his lands, the king concluded a treaty with Napoleon to remain neutral

during the War of the Third Coalition.[3]

As soon as Saint-Cyr's army marched north, Ferdinand and Queen Maria Carolina violated the agreement

and invited the British and Russians to land expeditionary forces in their kingdom.[4]Napoleon had been

double-crossed. Lieutenant General James Henry Craig's 6,000 British and General Maurice Lacy of

Grodno's 7,350 Russians landed at Naples on 20 November 1805.[3]However, Napoleon's decisive victory

at the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December 1805 resulted in the demise of the Third Coalition.[5]As a result

both expeditionary forces were ordered by their governments to withdraw and they were gone by mid-

January. This left Ferdinand alone to face the fury of Napoleon, who had determined to conquer the

Kingdom of Naples and hand the crown to his brother Joseph Bonaparte.[6]

Saint-Cyr's corps was renamed theArmy of Naplesin January 1806 and placed under the command of

Massna, though Joseph was the nominal leader. Annoyed at being demoted, Saint-Cyr clashed with

Massna and was recalled early in the campaign. The army was divided into three wings. General of

Division Jean Reynier commanded 7,500 soldiers of the right wing assembled at Rome. Massna led the

17,500 troops of the center, also concentrated at Rome. The 5,000 men of the left wing under General of

Division Giuseppe Lechi massed at Ancona on the Adriatic Sea. General of Division Guillaume PhilibertDuhesme was marching from Austria with an additional 7,500-man division and 3,500 more troops from

northern Italy were destined for the campaign. In total, Massna's army numbered more than 41,000 men.[

While the Imperial French army's combat effectiveness was high, it suffered from maladministration. Its

troops were poorly paid, clothed, and fed, leading the soldiers to rob the local people as a matter of course

This habit would have evil consequences.[7]

French columns lunged across the border on 8 February 1806, finding no resistance and causing panic at th

Neapolitan royal court.[6]Queen Carolina abandoned Naples on 11 February and fled to Sicily. Ferdinand

had already left on 23 January.[8]Lechi's division occupied Foggia on the Adriatic after only one week. Th

Italian general later crossed the Apennine Mountains and reached Naples. Massna's column quicklyarrived before Gaeta, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Naples, where its commander Prince Louis of Hesse

Philippsthal refused a demand to surrender. The imposing fortress dominated the coast road, so the French

marshal left one division to blockade the place and advanced to Naples with a second infantry division. On

14 February, Massna occupied Naples[9]and Joseph made a triumphant entrance to the city the following

day.[10]Reinforced by General of Division Jean-Antoine Verdier's division from Massna's main body,

Reynier's column reached Naples at the end of February after marching on secondary roads.[9]Joseph now
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Jean Reynier

Roger de Damas

took control of the army, putting all troops near Naples under Massna, assigning a mobile force to

Reynier, and placing the forces on the Adriatic littoral under Saint-Cyr. Joseph ordered Reynier to conduct

a fast march to the Strait of Messina.[11]

Battle

The Neapolitan army was divided into two wings. The left wing under

Roger de Damas consisted of 15 battalions and five squadrons while

Marshal Rosenheim's right wing had 13 battalions and 11 squadrons.[6]

Receiving word that the Neapolitan army was located to the south,

Reynier left Naples and advanced[9]with about 10,000 troops. Meanwhile,

the Neapolitan wings retired before the French invasion. Rosenheim,

whose column was accompanied by Hereditary Prince Francis, withdrew

in front of Lechi's division on the east coast while Damas fell back south

of Naples. Damas' left wing had between 6,000 and 7,000 regulars plus

Calabrian militia. Rosenheim's right wing counted somewhat fewer

soldiers.[11]

The commanders of the two Neapolitan wings hoped to unite their forces near Cassanoall'Ionio. Damas determined to hold a blocking position in the mountains until his colleague could reach th

rendezvous. On 6 March at Lagonegro, Reynier's light infantry advance guard located Damas' militia rear

guard under an officer named Sciarpa. The French scattered their opponents with a loss of 300 casualties

and four artillery pieces.[12]Reynier's scouts detected Damas' position on 8 March and the French general

prepared to attack the following day.[9]

In March 1806, Reynier's force consisted of his own division plus a secon

division under Verdier. Reynier's all-French division included the 1st

Light and 42nd Line Infantry Regiments in the 1st Brigade and the 6th

Line and 23rd Light Infantry Regiments in the 2nd Brigade. All regimenthad three battalions. Verdier's division was made up of the three-battalion

1st Polish Legionand the 1st Battalion of the 4th Swiss Regiment in the

1st Brigade and the three-battalion French 10th Line Infantry Regiment in

the 2nd Brigade. The artillery arm had three 6-pound cannons, four 3-

pound cannons, and five howitzers.[13]The cavalry units were four

squadrons each of the French 6th and 9th Chasseurs Cheval

Regiments.[14]

Damas' infantry contingent counted three battalions each of thePrincess

RoyalandRoyal CalabrianRegiments, two battalions each of theRoyalFerdinand,Royal Carolina, andPrince RoyalRegiments, and one

battalion each of theRoyal Guard Grenadiers,Royal Abruzzi, andRoyal

PresidiRegiments. The left wing cavalry comprised two squadrons each of thePrince Nr. 2andPrincess

Regiments and one squadron of the Val di MazzanaRegiment.[15]

Damas' left wing counted about 14,000 soldiers, only half of whom were regulars. His corps took up a

strong position near Campotenese with his troops sheltered behind breastworks.[12]The Neapolitans were

deployed across a 1,500 yards (1,372 m) wide valley with both flanks against the mountains.[9]Narrow
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defiles marked the valley's entrance and exit points. The pass behind the Neapolitans was the weakest poin

in Damas' defensive layout, since it could make retreat difficult.[12]The Neapolitan general put nine

battalions in the first line defending three artillery redoubts. He bolstered the first line with cavalry suppor

and arranged the balance of his troops in a second line. He did not guard the mountains on either flank.[9]

Reynier's troops broke camp on the morning of 9 March. A wind at their backs blew snow in the eyes of

their adversaries.[12]The French general put one brigade in his front line, ordered his light infantry to turn

the Neapolitan right flank, and placed Verdier in charge of the reserve. By 3:00 PM everything wasready.[9]In single file, Reynier's light infantry picked their way along the cliffs on Damas' right flank and

ultimately emerged to the right and rear of their opponents. Deploying into a cloud of skirmishers, they

attacked, causing disorder in the Neapolitan lines. At the same time, General of Brigade Louis Fursy Henr

Compre led a frontal assault on the first line.[16]After exchanging a few volleys with their enemies,

Compre's men charged forward and captured one of the redoubts.[9]In the face of the double attack, the

Neapolitan line crumpled and the men fled for the exit to the valley. Soon the pass was crammed with

panicked soldiers and the French took 2,000 prisoners, including two generals.[16]Total Neapolitan

casualties added up to 3,000, and their artillery and baggage were also captured. French losses were

unknown but light. The battle marked the end of the Neapolitan army as an effective force.[17]

Aftermath

That evening, Reynier's troops camped at the village of Morano Calabro. A French eyewitness, Paul Louis

Courier recorded that exhausted and starving soldiers robbed, raped, and murdered the inhabitants. Courier

later described the war as "one of the most diabolical waged in many years". By 13 March, Reynier covere

the 60 miles (97 km) distance to Cosenza. The French reached Reggio Calabria on the Strait of Messina a

week later. Prince Francis escaped only a few hours earlier.[16]While Reynier chased Damas' crippled

wing, Duhesme and Lechi had pursued the wing led by Rosenheim and the prince.[18]

During the retreat thNeapolitan army dissolved only 2,000 or 3,000 regulars from both wings remained to be taken off by ship

to Messina in Sicily. The militia simply went to their homes while most of the regulars deserted the colors

Before leaving for Sicily, Francis encouraged the militia to form flying columns to fight the French. [16]

In 1806, much of Calabria was a rough place. The 1783 Calabrian earthquakes had killed 100,000 persons

Much of Reggio was still in ruins as late as 1813 and many churches were not been rebuilt by 1806. The

Calabrians were a hardy breed with an independent streak. They sometimes indulged in vendettas against

neighboring families and villages. Plundering Imperial troops and grasping French civil authorities quickly

set off a rebellion by the proud Calabrians. On the other hand, the residents of the major towns despised th

Neapolitan royal government and often favored the French.[19]The revolt flared up after certain incidents.At Scigliano the French left a detachment of 50 soldiers. A woman was raped and the villagers massacred

most of the Frenchmen. The French commanders had only one response to such events, to assault, sack, an

burn down the offending village. This led directly to an ugly cycle of atrocity and counter-atrocity.[20]The

newly anointed King Joseph tried to be fair. He ordered French soldiers to be shot for criminal offenses an

French officials to be put on trial for corruption. Nevertheless, the Calabrian insurrection soon ran out of

control.[21]The Siege of Gaeta would occupy the French from 26 February to 18 July.[22]Meanwhile, the

Battle of Maida on 4 July would seriously threaten French control of Calabria.[17]
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Notes

References

Johnston, Robert Matteson (1904). The Napoleonic Empire in Southern Italy and the Rise of the

Secret Societies (http://books.google.com/books?id=q_vQAAAAMAAJ). New York: The Macmilla

Company. Retrieved 29 March 2013.

Schneid, Frederick C. (2002).Napoleon's Italian Campaigns: 18051815. Westport, Conn.: Praeger

Publishers. ISBN 0-275-96875-8.

Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Campo_Tenese&oldid=578017241"

Categories: Conflicts in 1806 Battles of the Napoleonic Wars Battles involving the Kingdom of Naples

Battles involving France 1806 in Italy War of the Third Coalition

1. ^Schneid (2002), pp. 34

2. ^Schneid (2002), p. 18

3. ^ abSchneid (2002), p. 47

4. ^Johnston (1904), p. 68

5. ^Smith (1998), p. 2176. ^ abcdSchneid (2002), p. 48

7. ^Johnston (1904), p. 94

8. ^Johnston (1904), p. 84

9. ^ abcdefghSchneid (2002), p. 49

10. ^Johnston (1904), p. 86

11. ^ abJohnston (1904), p. 88

12. ^ abcdJohnston (1904), p. 89

13. ^Schneid (2002), p. 173

14. ^Schneid (2002), p. 174. A typographical error caused the 6th Regiment to be listed twice. Since the author

listed the 9th Regiment at Maida on p. 176, it is assumed that the 9th was intended.

15. ^Schneid (2002), p. 175

16. ^ abcdJohnston (1904), p. 90

17. ^ ab Smith (1998), p. 221

18. ^Schneid (2002), p. 50

19. ^ Johnston (1904), pp. 9294

20. ^Johnston (1904), p. 96

21. ^ Johnston (1904), pp. 10010122. ^Smith (1998), p. 222
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