Battle of Lodi
Battle of Lodi, (May 10, 1796), small but dramatic engagement in Napoleon Bonaparte’s first Italian campaign, in which he earned the confidence and loyalty of his men, who nicknamed him “The Little Corporal” in recognition of his personal courage.
(See “Napoleon’s Major Battles” Interactive Map)
The battle was fought at the Lodi Bridge, over the Adda River 19 miles (31 km) southeast of Milan, between 5,000 troops of Napoleon’s Army of Italy and K.P. Sebottendorf’s 10,000 troops, the rear guard of Jean-Pierre Beaulieu’s Austrian army. After knocking the kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) out of the war in April, Napoleon turned northeastward against Beaulieu. Beaulieu refused to stand and fight, afraid to lose his army in a major battle. The retreating Austrians’ rear guard continued to hold the Lodi Bridge and, surprisingly, chose not to destroy it in the face of the advancing French. Napoleon set up artillery to blast the Austrian guns and defenses across the Adda River and sent cavalry to ford the Adda below Lodi. He ordered a massed infantry column to charge across the bridge, but it stalled under blistering Austrian artillery and musket fire. Napoleon and Generals Louis-Alexandre Berthier and André Masséna reinvigorated the faltering advance, and the column swept forward to bayonet the Austrians away from their guns. An Austrian counterattack threatened to push back the French, but the timely arrival of French cavalry forced the Austrians to retire. French casualties in the engagement numbered perhaps 1,000, whereas the Austrians lost twice that many men, as well as their baggage train and more than a dozen guns. Napoleon’s reports portrayed the battle as a minor epic, though Beaulieu had made good his escape.
