Battle of Mileto

Part of the War of the Third Coalition

Date	28 May 1807
Location	Mileto (present-day Italy)
Result	French victory

Belligerents

France

Kingdom of Sicily

Commanders and leaders

Jean Reynier

Louis of Hesse-Philippsthal

Strength

5,000

c. 4,000

Casualties and losses

500

The Battle of Mileto was a battle of the War of the Third Coalition. It occurred on 28 May 1807 in Calabria during an attempt by the Bourbon Kingdom of Sicily to re-conquer its possessions in continental Italy, known as the Kingdom of Naples. The battle ended in a victory for French forces under general Jean Reynier.

Ferdinand IV of Naples sided with the Third Coalition against Napoleon and so in 1806 France invaded his kingdom, forcing its royal family to flee to Sicily and turning the area into a battleground between France and Britain, the two main powers attempting to control the Mediterranean at the time. The Bourbon royals allied themselves with Britain, whose Royal Navy protected Sicily, whilst Napoleon I made his brother Joseph Bonaparte king of Naples, which he remained until 1808, when he was succeeded by Joachim Murat.

From their Sicilian base, the Bourbons and the British then attempted to foment a brigand revolt against the new French-ruled Kingdom of Naples. These stirrings of revolt made life difficult for the French rulers and triggered a vicious crackdown, mainly led by captain Charles Antoine Manhès, formerly an aide de camp to Murat. Ferdinand and his wife Maria Carolina of Austria continued their claims to the Kingdom of Naples, particularly on Maria's part - she hated France for guillotining her sister Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution. It was Maria who chose Louis of Hesse-Philippsthal as commander of the Bourbon army.

In 1806 Louis defended Gaeta against the French and in May 1807 landed in Calabria, intending to defeat the French once and for all. He had around 3,500 men under his command, augmented by irregular troops from among the massisti, whilst his officers included colonel Vito Nunziante. For a year the French followed a policy of strategic withdrawal in the face of the Bourbon advance and concentrating their troops (around 5,000 men) at Monteleone (now known as Vibo Valentia).

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