By the end of April 1815, Murat had lost all the early gains he made at the start of the war as two advancing Austrian corps under the command of Generals Bianchi and Neipperg forced the Neapolitans south-east to a base in Ancona.

The two Austrian corps had become separated on either side of the Apennine Mountains and Murat hoped to defeat Bianchi to the west before quickly turning on Neipperg, who had been pursuing his retreat from the north.

The Austrians established a defensive line based on the Tower of San Catervo, with further troops being positioned at Rancia Castle, the church of Maestà and at Saint Joseph.

In the opening engagements, Neapolitan troops managed to surround and capture General Bianchi near Sforzacosta but he was almost immediately freed by a regiment of Hungarian hussars.

By the end of the first day, although the Neapolitan army had the upper hand and had made slight gains, including Monte Milone, the Austrians were still in an excellent defensive position.

To make matters worse, he received false rumours that a British fleet had just unloaded a Sicilian army in the south of Italy, threatening his line of retreat.

[citation needed] Murat fell back to Naples but with the Austrians approaching by land and the British by sea, he had no choice but to flee to Corsica, disguised as a Danish sailor.