In April 1796, during the
Montenotte Campaign in Italy, Rosselmini commanded a brigade in
Feldzeugmeister Johann Peter Beaulieu's Austrian army. At the end of March 1796, his troops lay in their winter quarters at
Lodi, far from the front lines. His brigade included one battalion of the
Deutschmeister Infantry Regiment Nr. 4 and two battalions of the
Strassoldo Infantry Regiment Nr. 27. In the subsequent campaign, Bonaparte's French army quickly separated Beaulieu's Austrian army from its Sardinian allies and forced the
Kingdom of Sardinia to sue for peace. During the Austrian retreat at the beginning of May, Rosselmini's brigade covered the army's left flank by withdrawing through
Tortona and marching east to
Voghera on the south bank of the
Po River. His command passed through
Casteggio and
Casatisma, finally crossing to the north bank near
Pavia on 4 May. Rosselmini guarded the north bank of the Po between Pavia and the
Olona River with two battalions, with two more battalions and four cavalry squadrons in support. However, Bonaparte crossed the Po at
Piacenza, downstream from Rosselmini's troops, outflanking the Austrian army. '' by
Louis-François Lejeune At the
Battle of Lodi on 10 May 1796, Rosselmini led a screening force that was tasked to hold until Generalmajor
Josef Philipp Vukassovich's
rearguard reached Lodi. The force consisted of a 623-man battalion of the
Nádasdy Infantry Regiment Nr. 39 and 286 horsemen from the
Meszaros Uhlan Regiment. At about mid-day, the French advance guard attacked Rosselmini's troops and drove them back through the town. After withdrawing across the bridge over the
Adda River, the
Nádasdy battalion, three battalions of
Croats, and 8 cannons were deployed nearest to the bridge. The local Austrian commander, Feldmarschall-Leutnant
Karl Philipp Sebottendorf decided to hold his position until nightfall. Harassed by French artillery and skirmishers, and assaulted by a column of infantry, the
Nádasdy and Croat battalions fell back, abandoning the cannons. Eventually, Sebottendorf was compelled to order a retreat after losing 2,036 men and 12 artillery pieces. On 16 May, Beaulieu assigned the brigades of
Mathias Rukavina, Vukassovich, and Rosselmini to join the defenders of the
Mantua fortress. This brought its number of defenders to 12,799 men, who were soon put to work strengthening the fortifications and collecting provisions. Within two weeks the hard service of the past month caused 1,000 men to become sick. Mantua boasted a population of 25,000 and was situated on the south side of a lake. A causeway connected Mantua with its citadel on the north side of the lake. During the first part of the
Siege of Mantua, Rosselmini held the citadel with 3,666 soldiers. His command included two battalions of the
Nádasdy Regiment (1,332 men), two battalions of the
Thurn Infantry Regiment Nr. 43 (1,264 men), and one battalion of the
Waradiner Grenz Regiment (1,070). When the siege was briefly raised by the second relief of Mantua in early August, Vukassovich was sent to reinforce the field army with 2,000 men and Rukavina delivered a message to
Field Marshal Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser. Rosselmini must have also been reassigned outside Mantua because he commanded troops during the third relief of Mantua. During the third relief of Mantua, Rosselmini commanded one of four brigades in
Giovanni Marchese di Provera's Main Body. This was part of the 26,432-man Friuli Corps, which was personally accompanied by the new Austrian army commander, Feldzeugmeister
József Alvinczi. Provera's First Line included the two brigades of Rosselmini and Generalmajor
Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud. These two brigades comprised 8 infantry battalions and 2 cavalry squadrons, or a total of 9,380 men. The
Second Battle of Bassano (6 November), the
Battle of Caldiero (12 November), and
Battle of Arcole (15–17 November) followed. Roselmini died in
Vicenza on 19 November 1796, or two days after Arcole. The source did not state if he died from wounds suffered in the campaign or from natural causes. ==References==