Arcole historicaslly also known as Arcola, is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

with 5,274 inhabitants in the province of Verona

Province of Verona

The Province of Verona is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Verona.-Overview:The province has an area of 3,109 km², and a total population of 912,981...

. It is known as the site of the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole

Battle of the Bridge of Arcole

The Battle of Arcole, or Battle of Arcola saw a bold manœuvre by Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of Italy to outflank the Austrian army under József Alvinczi and cut its line of retreat...

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History

Between 15-17 November 1796 the Battle of Arcole took place. Napoleon, recently appointed commander of the French Army of Italy, led a rapid and conclusive attack through Italy. In April and May of that year he had defeated Piedmont and driven the Austrian army out of almost all of northern Italy. In November Napoleon made battle with Josef Alvintzy near the junctions of the Adige and Alpone rivers. Despite lacking basic equipment and food the French Army went on the offensive. On the 14 November they crossed the Adige. All that remained between the two armies now was the Alpone. On the 15-16 the French made repeated attempts to croos the bridge at Arcole. These initial assaults were beaten back by Austrian firepower. By the 17th French flanking moves convinced Alvintzy that he was threatened with encirclement and he ordered a tactical withdrawral. The following year Napoleon went on to crush the Austrians at Rivoli, forcing them to sign the Peace of Campo Formio later that year.