Battle of Occhiobello

Part of the Neapolitan War

Date	8–9 April 1815
Location	Occhiobello, present-day Italy
Result	Austrian victory

Belligerents

Austrian Empire

Kingdom of Naples

Commanders and leaders

Johann Frimont
Johann Freiherr von Mohr

Joachim Murat

Strength

10,000

25,000

Casualties and losses

400 killed or wounded

2,000+ killed or wounded

The Battle of Occhiobello was fought on 8 April – 9 April 1815 and was the turning point of the Neapolitan War. Joachim Murat, King of Naples was repulsed by an Austrian force under the command of Johann Frimont whilst trying to cross the bridge over the Po River at Occhiobello. Following the battle, the Austrians would not lose an engagement for the remainder of the war.

By March 1815, it became increasingly likely that Joachim Murat would lose the crown of Naples, which had been given to him by his brother-in-law, Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1808. After hearing news that Napoleon had escaped from exile in Elba and landed in France, Murat decided to take matters into his own hands and declared war on Austria, the greatest threat to his position as King of Naples. Following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, areas such as Lombardy and Venetia became part of the Austrian Empire and were directly ruled from Vienna.

On 30 March, hoping to start a popular uprising against the Austrians, Murat gave the Rimini Proclamation calling all Italian nationalists to war. Although there were many Italians sympathetic to his cause, fearful of the increasing Austrian influence in Italy and longing for independence, most Italians saw Murat as someone trying to save his own crown rather than a figurehead for unification. The Austrians also quickly crushed any unrest and there would be no general insurrection so long as Austrian troops were stationed in Italy. Despite this, by early April, Murat has reached the Austrian border on the Po River. Across the border in Lombardy, there were reportedly around 40,000 Italian partisans, mostly veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, waiting to join Murat's army as soon he arrived in Milan.

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Wikipedia