Battle of Sacile

The Battle of Sacile (also known as the Battle of Fontana Fredda) on 16 April 1809 and its companion Clash at Pordenone on 15 April saw an Austrian army commanded by Archduke John of Austria defeat a Franco-Italian army led by Eugène de Beauharnais and force it to retreat. Sacile proved to be the most notable victory of John's career. The action took place east of the Livenza River near Sacile in modern-day Italy during the War of the Fifth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

In April 1809, Archduke John quickly invaded Venetia in northeastern Italy. On 15 April at Pordenone, the Austrian advance guard routed the French rear guard, inflicting heavy losses. Undeterred by this setback and believing he enjoyed a numerical superiority over his opponents, Eugène attacked the Austrians east of Sacile the following day. Though the two sides were equal in numbers of foot soldiers, the Austrians possessed a two-to-one advantage in cavalry, and this turned out to be a key factor in their victory.

Eugène withdrew his army 130 kilometres (81 mi) to a defensible position at Verona on the Adige river, where he reorganized his army and received reinforcements. At Verona, the Franco-Italian army was secure from Archduke John's army advancing from the east and a second Austrian column threatening it from the Tyrol in the north. By the end of April, news of French victories in the Danube valley caused John to fall back to the east, with Eugène in pursuit.

In the early part of 1809, the Austrian Empire of Emperor Francis I determined to go to war against Emperor Napoleon I's First French Empire. Austria massed her main army in the Danube valley under Generalissimo Archduke Charles. Though Italy was considered a minor theater, Charles and the Hofkriegsrat (Austrian high command) assigned two corps to the Army of Inner Austria and placed General der Kavallerie Archduke John in command.

Regarded as "incompetent" by historian David G. Chandler, Archduke John had seen his first army utterly smashed by French General of Division Jean Moreau at the Battle of Hohenlinden on 3 December 1800. In Moreau's subsequent pursuit, John's army became so demoralized that it was scarcely able to defend itself and suffered huge losses in prisoners and weapons. During the War of the Third Coalition, he had done better. After Napoleon wiped out Feldmarschall-Leutnant Karl Mack von Leiberich's Austrian army in the 1805 Ulm Campaign, John's army beat a hasty retreat eastward from its position in the mountainous Vorarlberg. He successfully linked up with the Army of Italy, led by his brother, Archduke Charles. Unfortunately for Austria, Napoleon's crushing victory at the Battle of Austerlitz ended the war before Charles and John could intervene in the Danube valley.

At the beginning of the 1809 war, John controlled Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles's VIII Armeekorps of 24,500 infantry and 2,600 cavalry, and Feldmarschall-Leutnant Ignaz Gyulai's IX Armeekorps of 22,200 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. The VIII Armeekorps assembled at Villach in Carinthia, while the IX Armeekorps massed to the south at Ljubljana (Laibach) in Carniola (now Slovenia). General-major Andreas Stoichevich with 10,000 troops faced General of Division Auguste Marmont's XI Corps in Dalmatia, a French possession since 1806. A body of 26,000 Landwehr stood ready to man garrisons and defend the Austrian heartland. John planned to have the VIII Armeekorps move southwest from Villach and the IX Armeekorps advance northwest from Ljubljana. The two forces would unite near Cividale del Friuli.

Another source gave a somewhat different Austrian organization at the outbreak of war. Chasteler's VIII Armeekorps possessed 20,100 men and 62 guns in two divisions. Feldmarschall-Leutnant Albert Gyulay led the 1st Division while Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann Maria Philipp Frimont commanded the 2nd Division. Ignaz Gyulai 's IX Armeekorps counted 22,290 soldiers and 86 guns in three divisions. The 1st Division was led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Franz Gorup von Besanez, the 2nd Division was under Feldmarschall-Leutnant Christian Wolfskehl von Reichenberg, and the 3rd Division was directed by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Vinko Knežević. Feldmarschall-Leutnant Guido Lippa was responsible for 30,000 Landwehr and reserves. These numbers differ somewhat from Schneid's list and include Stoichevich's force as part of Knesevich's division.

Before the Austrians launched the war, the Tyrol flared in a spontaneous revolt. The German-speaking Tyrolese under leaders like Andreas Hofer began driving out the Bavarian garrisons. Desiring to aid the rebellion, Charles ordered John to send Chasteler and 10,000 Austrian troops to help the Tyrolese. Ignaz Gyulai's brother Albert replaced Chasteler as the commander of a reduced VIII Armeekorps. The organization of Chastler's force is shown in the Tyrol 1809 order of battle.