N & E
Napoléon & Empire

Battle of Arcole

Date and place

  • November 15th to 17th, 1796 at the Arcole bridge upon Alpone river, near Adige river, twenty-eight kilometers southwest of Verona, Italy.

Involved forces

  • French army (19,000 to 22,000 men) under General Napoleon Bonaparte. 
  • Austrian army (21,000 to 24,000 men) under Baron Josef Alvinczy von Borberek. 

Casualties and losses

  • French army: 4,000 to 6,000 men dead, injured, missing or prisoners. 
  • Austrian army: 5,000 to 8,000 men killed, wounded, missing or prisoners, 11 cannons. 

Aerial panoramic of the battlefield and the Arcole bridge


Map of the of battle of Arcole

Napoleonic Battles - Map of battle of Arcole

Picture - "Battle of Arcole bridge". Painted 1803 by Louis-Albert-Ghislain Bacler d'Albe.

Napoleonic Battles - Picture of battle of Arcole -

Panorama of Arcole battlefield

The battlefield, seen from the Austrian side: the village of Arcole; then pan to the path from the village to the bridge; the towpath of the Alpone river; the bridge that the French, coming from the opposite bank, crossed. In the background: the obelisk erected in 1810.

Photos Credits

  Photos by Lionel A. Bouchon.
  Photos by Marie-Albe Grau.
  Photos by Floriane Grau.
  Photos by Michèle Grau-Ghelardi.
  Photos by Didier Grau.
  Photos made by people outside the Napoleon & Empire association.