Joachim Murat, King of Naples was repulsed by an Austrian force under the command of Johann Frimont whilst trying to cross the bridge over the Po River at Occhiobello.

After hearing news that Napoleon had escaped from exile in Elba and landed in France, Murat decided to take matters into his own hands and declared war on Austria, the greatest threat to his position as King of Naples.

Originally intended for an invasion of southern France following Napoleon's return from exile, the Austrians troops now moved south to counter the threat Murat now posed.

Murat chose Occhiobello as a crossing point because the bridge was only lightly defended by a small force of Austrians under the command of Johann Friedrich von Mohr [de].

When on 8 April, Murat finally launched his first attempt to cross the bridge at Occhiobello, a dogged defensive action by Mohr's outnumbered infantry combined with a devastating artillery barrage, threw the Neapolitan attack back in disarray.

With the morale of Neapolitan army broken and the partisans in Lombardy unable to join his cause, Murat would eventually be forced to retire back to his original headquarters in Ancona by late April.