Battle of Pozzolo [SEP] end time
Battle of Pozzolo
The Battle of Pozzolo (also known as the Battle of the Mincio River, and Monzambano) was fought on 25 December 1800 and resulted the difficult victory of French under General Brune against Austrians under General Bellegarde.
Following the armistice agreed after the Battle of Marengo the Austrians had held the line of the Mincio river. The French "Army of Reserve" was now commanded by Brune after Napoleon's departure for Paris. On Christmas Day 1800, he attacked the Austrian positions and broke their line. The
's masses, who lost over 700 men, prevented a breakthrough. Realizing the danger of being outflanked, Merville fell back a mile north of Pozzolo. Eugène's men attacked Merville's division in its new position, but at this time sufficient reinforcements from Bellegarde permitted Merville to stem the French tide and ground the battle to a virtual halt. Renewed French drives took them to the hamlet of Foroni, but nightfall prevented the capture of the crucial Borghetto bridge. Meanwhile, Verdier's men to the north had been barely hanging on