Battle of Sacile

Battle of Sacile
Part of the War of the Fifth Coalition
Porcia, the focus of major fighting
Date 15–16 April 1809 Location Sacile, modern-day Italy 45°58′N 12°30′E / 45.967°N 12.500°E / 45.967; 12.500 Result Austrian victory
Belligerents
First French Empire Kingdom of Italy	Austrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Eugène de Beauharnais	Archduke John
Strength
37,050, 54 guns[1]	39,000, 55-61 guns[1]
Casualties and losses
Pordenone: 2,500, 4 guns Sacile: 6,500, 19 guns[1]	Pordenone: 253 Sacile: 3,846[1]-4,100[2]

War of the Fifth Coalition

200km
125miles

22

21

20

19

Wagram

18

17

16

15

Aspern

14

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

  

  current battle

  Napoleon in command

  Napoleon not in command

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.