Siege of Mantua (1799)

Battle of Mantua
Part of the War of the Second Coalition
Date April–July 1799 Location Mantua, present-day Italy Result Austrian victory
Belligerents
France	Austria
Commanders and leaders
François-Philippe de Foissac-Latour	Pal von Kray
Strength
10,000 657 artillery pieces	40,000 ~150 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
1700 dead 1400 or more wounded

The Siege of Mantua (1799) was a four-month effort by the Austrian army to regain a presence in northern Italy after being excluded from that region by Napoleon Bonaparte through the successful French Siege of Mantua in 1797. In April 1799, the Austrians placed a military blockade around Mantua as part of the War of the Second Coalition with the intent of withering the French by attrition. While the diminishing food supplies and losses weakened the French army, the Austrians received reinforcements and attacked on 4 July 1799. By the end of the month, the French agreed to surrender.

By 1799, the fortress of Mantua on the river Mincio in northern Italy was in poor shape. It was commanded by viscount lieutenant general François-Philippe de Foissac-Latour (1750-1804) and garrisoned by a diverse force of 10,000, including French, Polish (Polish Legionnaires under general Józef Wielhorski), Italian (Republic of Alba and Cisalpine Republic), Swiss and German units. From the beginning of his assignment, Foissac-Latour, an engineer, was convinced that the fortress would be indefensible in any serious siege.

In April, Austrian forces approached Mantua and started their siege. At first, the Austrians were content to simply blockade the fortress, but with the artillery duels and occasional skirmishes, attrition began taking its toll on the defenders. The defenders were also weakened by diminishing food supplies, and their morale was undermined by lack of payment.

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