The Italian campaign of 1813–1814 was a series of military operations fought during the War of the Sixth Coalition, primarily in Northern Italy, between the Franco-Italian forces and those of the anti-French Coalition, represented in this theatre chiefly by the Austrian and British armies. Following the Italian campaign of 1796–1797, it marked the end of the so-called French period in Italy and was the last occasion on which French and Austrian armies fought for control of the Italian Peninsula.
After the disastrous Russian campaign, the army of the Kingdom of Italy had been severely weakened. Although its surviving troops performed well during the German campaign of 1813, Austria's entry into the war in August left the Kingdom of Italy with no choice but to rebuild its army almost from scratch. The Franco-Italian army was commanded by the Viceroy of Italy, Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepson, while the Coalition forces in the Italian theatre were successively led by the Austrian field marshals Johann von Hiller and Heinrich von Bellegarde, together with the British general Lord William Bentinck. Austria and Britain were also supported by the Kingdom of Sicily under Ferdinand III and the Kingdom of Sardinia under Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia, although both states made only a limited military contribution to the campaign.
The Franco-Italians initially succeeded in slowing the Coalition advance through the Illyrian Provinces, but by early October they had been forced to withdraw to the Isonzo River, the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Italy. In mid-October, the Coalition invasion of the kingdom began. Their numerical inferiority was further compounded by the defection of the Kingdom of Bavaria under Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and, more significantly, the Kingdom of Naples under Joachim Murat.
Overall, the campaign was characterised by relatively few major engagements, most notably the Battle of Caldiero and the Battle of the Mincio, interspersed with long periods of relative inactivity marked by minor clashes and diplomatic negotiations between the opposing sides. The campaign ended with the Convention of Mantua, signed by Eugène on 23 April 1814, after which he went into exile in Bavaria, where he spent the remainder of his life. The surrender resulted not from the military situation in Italy, despite the Franco-Italian defeats at San Maurizio and along the Taro River, but from Napoleon's abdication and France's subsequent capitulation to the Coalition, whose armies had occupied Paris following the exhausting campaign in north-eastern France.
Historical context
Italy in the Napoleonic era
From the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars, Italy became the scene of numerous clashes between French, republican, and later imperial forces and the armies of the various coalitions. In particular, Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian campaign of 1796–1797 brought about major changes to the political map of the peninsula: the Republic of Venice ceased to exist, being incorporated into the Austrian sphere of control, while most of the Po Valley was divided among sister republics allied with and dependent on France. Soon afterwards, the continental territories of the Kingdom of Sardinia were also absorbed into France.
Napoleon's rise to power as Emperor of the French further heightened political tensions in Europe, leading to a second series of wars. In 1805, the emperor sent Marshal André Masséna to conduct a campaign in Italy against the Austrian forces of Archduke Charles. Four years later, the same task was entrusted to Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, in his first real experience as a commander, who faced the armies of Archduke John. The victories at Austerlitz and Wagram led to a further expansion of France and of the Kingdom of Italy, which had meanwhile replaced the Italian Republic, itself the successor of the Cisalpine Republic, at the expense of Austria. Under the Treaty of Pressburg, most of Veneto and Friuli were transferred to the Kingdom of Italy, while under the Treaty of Schönbrunn Dalmatia was annexed directly to the Napoleonic Empire.
Central and southern Italy also underwent profound changes. Tuscany and Lazio, like Piedmont, were incorporated into France while the southern part of the peninsula, following an invasion in 1806, was conquered by Marshal Masséna, who expelled the ruling Bourbon dynasty. The throne of the Kingdom of Naples was first granted to Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte, and later, after his departure for Spain, to Marshal Joachim Murat.
By this point, mainland Italy was entirely under Bonaparte's control. By contrast, the islands of Sardinia and Sicily were never affected by the transformations that had reshaped the rest of Europe, remaining under the rule of the House of Savoy and the Bourbons respectively.
Background
In 1812, following Russia's violations of the continental blockade, the Grande Armée advanced into the Russian Empire with the aim of defeating the Imperial Russian Army and forcibly reimposing the anti-British economic system that France had required its allied states to adopt. Despite initial limited successes, Napoleon was never able to bring the Russian forces to a decisive pitched battle. The repeated withdrawals of the forces under Kutuzov drew the French army ever deeper into the country, where, in early November, it was forced to face the severe cold of the Russian winter under unprepared conditions. Forced into a long retreat and harassed by Russian forces, Napoleon's troops barely managed to cross the Berezina River and reach relative safety in Polish territory. The losses suffered during the campaign were immense: of the approximately 600.000 soldiers who had set out, fewer than one in ten are estimated to have returned.
Sensing French weakness, the other European powers did not hesitate to attack Napoleon at a moment of extreme vulnerability. Only the Austrian Empire remained temporarily neutral. Austria's neutrality was largely a matter of expediency: both Chancellor Metternich and Emperor Francis harboured hostility towards Napoleon and sought an opportunity to weaken France, but, mindful of the experience of the previous wars, they chose to wait and observe the course of events in order to secure the most advantageous position. By remaining outside the conflict, Austria could act as mediator and ultimately align itself with the most favourable side at the appropriate moment.
Despite initial difficulties, particularly the shortage of veterans and the inexperience of new recruits, Napoleon managed to transform what had appeared to be an inevitable defeat into a strategic stalemate. Following the battles of Lützen and Bautzen, Austrian diplomats succeeded in securing a ceasefire between the opposing sides, which was then formalised as an armistice two days later, on 4 June 1813. Their hope — or more precisely, Metternich's — was that the French emperor would recognise his inability to achieve final victory and agree to a peace settlement, even from an unfavourable position, in order to preserve his empire. It soon became clear that Napoleon would not accept the conditions imposed by the Coalition powers, which he had repeatedly defeated over the years. Moreover, it was increasingly evident that Austria, should negotiations fail, was inclined to enter the war against its historic enemy and to avenge the humiliating defeats suffered in the previous two wars.
Forces involved
Kingdom of Italy Army
In anticipation of Austria's entry into the war, Napoleon—still holding the title of King of Italy—sent his stepson, Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais, to the kingdom to organize its defence and mobilise its remaining forces. Eugène had briefly assumed command of the Grande Armée in Napoleon's absence during late 1812, and had remained with the main French forces in Germany. He returned to Italy in May 1813, arriving in Milan on 18 May, where he immediately called the available troops to arms. The response was limited: most of the kingdom's trained forces had been deployed to Russia, where they had suffered catastrophic losses during the retreat of 1812. The collapse of that campaign had effectively destroyed much of the officer corps and veteran infantry upon which the army depended. Eugène therefore faced the task of rebuilding the army almost from scratch. Napoleon had initially called for a force of around 80,000 men, combining veterans, new conscripts, and units recalled from Spain. This target proved unrealistic, but Eugène managed to assemble approximately 45,000 men, along with cavalry and artillery, over the following months.
The army was then divided into three main corps, respectively under the command of Generals Paul Grenier, Jean-Antoine Verdier and Domenico Pino, and a small reserve, under the Italian General Antonio Bonfanti. The army's three main corps moved toward the Illyrian Provinces, with headquarters established in Udine in early August. Eugène's objective was to block the two main access routes to the northern Italian plains, the Camporosso Pass and the Isonzo valley. The reserve later moved to Trentino, aiming to protect the rear from a possible Austrian attack and prevent the entire Franco-Italian army from being encircled.
Austrian Army
Austria began preparing for war even before the formal end of the armistice. By mid-1813, Vienna had effectively committed to joining the Sixth Coalition, and coordinated planning with Prussian and Russian command structures was already underway. Two main Austrian field armies were formed: one under Karl Philipp Schwarzenberg for operations in Germany, and a second, the Army of Inner Austria, assigned to the Italian theatre under Johann von Hiller.
Hiller assembled a force of roughly 50,000 men in Styria, supported by a corps structure drawn from Austrian, Hungarian, Croatian, and Galician troops. These units were distributed across staging areas along the Habsburg frontier in preparation for the campaign into northern Italy. By mid-August 1813, Austrian forces assigned to the Italian front numbered slightly over 40,000 men, with additional reinforcements in reserve. The army was organised into several divisions positioned across Carinthia and Inner Austria, covering the main Alpine passes and access routes into the Venetian plain.
Anglo-Sicilian forces
After the French invasion of Naples in 1806, the Bourbon court retreated to Sicily under British protection. The island became a key strategic position for control of the central Mediterranean, with the Royal Navy maintaining a permanent presence to prevent French expansion. Over time, British influence over Sicilian defence and administration increased significantly, particularly under Lord William Bentinck, who arrived in 1811. Alongside political reforms, he also assumed responsibility for coordinating military forces on the island.
The Sicilian army itself remained weak and poorly trained, numbering only a few thousand effective troops. British forces provided the main defensive capability, typically ranging between 7,000 and 17,000 men depending on deployments to other theatres. By 1813, combined Anglo-Sicilian forces available for operations in Italy numbered approximately 14,000 men, including locally recruited Italian units organised under British supervision. British naval forces operating in the Adriatic further supported operations, maintaining pressure on French and Italian coastal communications and gradually reducing French naval presence in the region.
Neapolitan Army
The Kingdom of Naples retained a significant military force under Joachim Murat, who had served extensively in the Napoleonic wars but increasingly pursued an independent political agenda in Italy. Although Murat claimed to possess a large army, only part of his forces were immediately available for field operations, with many units assigned to garrison duties across southern Italy. The active field army consisted of several infantry divisions, supported by cavalry, artillery, and a royal guard.
In practice, Murat could mobilise roughly 30,000 men for rapid operations. However, political calculations and tensions with Eugène prevented effective coordination between the Neapolitan and Franco-Italian forces. The decision to join the Allied forces further weakened the Neapolitan army, as most of the most experienced and efficient officers were French and preferred to leave Italy rather than fight against their own country.
The campaign
Napoleonic offensives in the Illyrian Provinces and Tyrol
Hostilities resumed on 17 August 1813 with the expiration of the Armistice of Pleiswitz. Having received confirmation of the renewal of war before Eugène, Johann von Hiller resolved to secure Austria's southern flank before advancing into Italy. Uncertain of the Franco-Italian army's dispositions, he sought to prevent Eugène from crossing the Alpine passes and threatening the Coalition armies operating in Austria and Bohemia. At the same time, he hoped to encourage anti-French uprisings throughout the Illyrian Provinces, where French rule remained unpopular. To achieve these objectives, Hiller concentrated the divisions of Sommariva, Frimont, and Marziani around Klagenfurt, while Marchal and Radivojevich covered the approaches from Styria and Croatia. The arrival of Austrian troops immediately triggered local revolts, and many Croatian units deserted the Napoleonic army to join the Imperial forces, increasing Hiller's strength to roughly 60,000 men.
Eugène, informed of the Austrian offensive one day later, responded by dispatching Paul Grenier's corps towards Villach, while Palombini advanced on Ljubljana and other Franco-Italian forces concentrated around Tarvisio. Around 21 August, Austrian troops crossed the Drava River between Rosegg and Villach, occupying both localities. Grenier quickly counterattacked, forcing the Austrians to withdraw across the river by the end of the month. Attempting to regain the initiative, Eugène ordered Grenier to continue the advance. The opposing forces met at the Battle of Feistritz, where the Franco-Italian army won a tactical victory on 6 September, inflicting significantly heavier losses on the Austrians than it suffered itself. Two days later, however, General Gaspare Bellotti was surprised, defeated and captured at Kaplja Vas, partially offsetting the success at Feistritz.