Primolano Born in 1762 at
Bonn in the
Electorate of Cologne, Gavasini joined the army of
Habsburg Austria. He won the Knight's Cross of the
Military Order of Maria Theresa on 19 December 1790. It is not specified whether the award was given for fighting against the
Ottoman Turks or the
Brabant Revolution. By September 1793, he had risen to the rank of
Major. His next promotion was to
Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 1 April 1796. In September 1796,
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser's army descended the
Brenta Valley as it marched from
Trentino in the
Italian Tyrol to
Bassano del Grappa in the
Po Valley.
Peter Quasdanovich, who led a division, dropped off Gavasini with a
rear guard at Primolano near
Cismon del Grappa to hold off
Pierre Augereau's French pursuit. Gavasini's command included one 1,108-man battalion of the
Michael Wallis Infantry Regiment Nr. 11, 561 soldiers in four companies of the
Erbach Infantry Regiment Nr. 42, one 100-strong company of the
Mahony Jägers, a half-company of pioneers, and 90 troopers of the
Erdödy Hussar Regiment Nr. 9. Another column of troops under
Oberst Georg von Stentsch arrived, bringing the total number of troops available to about 2,800. Gavasini drew up his troops behind an entrenchment in a narrow valley with a loop of the Brenta partly protecting his front. On 7 September, Augereau's division appeared and began attacking the Austrian defenses. After clambering over the ridges and wading the river, the French skirmishers soon put the Austrian position in peril. The 5th Light and the 4th Line Infantry Demi-Brigades soon forced Gavasini to pull back to the Covelo fort, which perched atop an outcrop high. The 5th Light circled the Austrian left flank, while a strong party of the 4th Line climbed to a site on the Austrian right rear where it poured fire into the fort. After holding out for an hour, the wounded Gavasini led his men out of the trap only to fall captive to
Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud's 5th Dragoon Regiment. Against "light" French casualties, the Austrians lost 1,500 men and five guns captured in the combat, including the greater part of the
Wallis and
Erbach battalions. Austrian total strength in the area was 4,000, including the 9th Battalion of the
Karlstadt Grenz Infantry Regiment, the 4th Battalion of the
Warasdiner Grenz Infantry Regiment, and the
grenadiers of the
Pellegrini Infantry Regiment Nr. 49. Augereau's 8,200-man division consisted of twelve battalions in two brigades under
Jean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca and
Claude Perrin Victor. The
Battle of Bassano occurred the following day.
Arcole '' by
Horace Vernet, 1826. Fanciful painting by Vernet showing Bonaparte leading his troops across the Arcole bridge After being freed in a prisoner exchange, Gavasini rejoined the army for the third relief of the
Siege of Mantua. His name does not appear in the Austrian order of battle, which lists six divisions of about 4,000 men each. On the morning of 15 November 1796, the French army of
Napoleon Bonaparte initiated the
Battle of Arcole by crossing the
Adige River behind
Jozsef Alvinczi's left flank. From there, Augereau's division drove north toward
Arcole village while
André Masséna's division moved northwest in the direction of
Belfiore. In response to orders from Alvinczi, Gavasini moved his brigade to Belfiore at 11:00 AM. Leading the
Splényi Infantry Regiment Nr. 51 along a causeway through the marshes, Gavasini ran into Masséna's advance at Bionde, midway between Belfiore and the French crossing site at
Ronco all'Adige. At first the
Splényi Regiment drove back the French, capturing two cannons. However, a second Austrian column under Adolf Brabeck mistakenly fired into Gavasini's men from an adjacent causeway, throwing them into panic. Masséna followed the retreating Austrians and temporarily captured Belfiore. On the second day of battle, Alvinczi ordered six battalions under
Giovanni Marchese di Provera to advance from Belfiore while
Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky's 14 battalions attacked south from Arcole. At 5:00 AM, Provera's attack was underway, but it was quickly blunted by Masséna. The French skirmishers riddled the Austrian infantry formations and soon only the Habsburg cannoneers were holding back the enemy almost singlehandedly. Then Brabeck was killed and the entire force fled back to Belfiore, which the French captured again, along with five guns. Mittrowsky's attack also miscarried, but he managed to hang onto Arcole until nightfall after savage fighting. On the third day, Provera's attack on Masséna failed again and this time the Austrian position unraveled. The French general diverted the bulk of his division to help Augereau and the two finally seized Arcole about 5:00 PM on 17 November, thereby winning the battle.
Hohenlinden Gavasini was promoted to
Oberst (colonel) on 4 December 1796 and to
General-major on 6 March 1800. The battle ended in an Austrian disaster, but alone among his fellow division and column commanders, Schwarzenberg handled his division with skill. While some Austrian leaders proved irresolute, Schwarzenberg thrust boldly at
Paul Grenier's left wing divisions of Louis Bastoul and
Michel Ney. Gavasini's
Gemmingen Regiment quickly seized the village of
Forstern and had to be driven out. Schwarzenberg's fight centered on a series of hamlets north of Hohenlinden. The
Murray Regiment carried Kronacker in an impetuous assault, lost it to Ney's counterattack, and captured it again. Later in the day, the French retook Kronacker before losing it again to a charge by the
Murray Regiment. By this time, Kienmayer found out that the French had smashed
Johann Kollowrat's Left Center Column and he issued orders to retreat. In spite of the difficult tactical situation, Schwarzenberg was able to withdraw his division in good order. ==Napoleonic Wars==