This action compelled the Austrian army to retreat north up the Adige valley to Trento, leaving the fortress of Mantua to be besieged by the French.

In early May, Bonaparte's French army won the battles of Fombio and Lodi and overran the Austrian province of Lombardy.

Between Lake Garda and Mantua there were only four bridges, from north to south, at Peschiera, Borghetto, Goito, and at Rivalta near the bend in the river.

General of Division Hyacinthe François Joseph Despinoy with 5,278 blockaded the citadel of Milan and 5,500 more garrisoned different places in northwest Italy.

[8] To bring Mantua's large fortress up to a defensible level, Beaulieu assigned the brigades of General-Majors Gerhard Rosselmini, Mathias Rukavina von Boynograd, and Josef Philipp Vukassovich to defend the city.

Feldmarschall-Leutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi held the crossing at Goito with a 3,558-man division consisting of Rukavina's 2,583 infantry plus Austrian and Neapolitan cavalry.

In the center, Feldmarschall-Leutnants Michael von Melas and Karl Philipp Sebottendorf jointly commanded 8,169 infantry and 2,086 cavalry to defend the Mincio near Valeggio.

[11] He sent General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca to Salò on the west shore of Lake Garda, where the French began to collect boats.

Instead of concentrating his forces at the bridges, the Austrian commander attempted to set up a cordon defense on the river between Peschiera and Goito.

The French commander ordered Kilmaine to advance from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Borghetto via Solferino, with Masséna's division in support.

Meanwhile, General-major Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of Hohenzollern-Hechingen rallied the defeated Austrians and even mounted a counterattack on the town.

[15] This incident persuaded the French commander to form a cavalry bodyguard called the Guides and place Jean-Baptiste Bessières in charge.

At nearby Campagnola, Sebottendorf's gaze remained riveted on some French troops in his front and he failed to send reinforcements to Valeggio.

[21] One authority wrote, "Beaulieu had fallen into the error of trying to guard all possible crossings over the Mincio, and in consequence his over-extended army was without a reserve.