Atlas of Battles

battle, major, nineteenth century

Battle of Novara

Battle of Novara was a battle fought on 23 March 1849 at Novara, in what is now Italy. It was part of First Italian War of Independence, which ran from 1848 to 1849. The recorded result: Austrian victory; Abdication of Charles Albert. Recorded strength: 45,000 to 59,000 against 41,000 to 70,000.

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Battle of Novara 1849
Battle of Novara 1849. Giuseppe Ferrari, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought23 March 1849
WhereNovara, Italy45.431N, 8.716E
OutcomeAustrian victory; Abdication of Charles Albert
BelligerentsSardiniaagainstAustria
Part ofFirst Italian War of Independence1848 to 1849

Where it sits in First Italian War of Independence

Battle of Sforzesca, 1848Battle of Monzambano, 1848Skirmish of Pastrengo, 1848Battle of Santa Lucia, 1848Battle of Cornuda, 1848Battle of Curtatone and Montanara, 1848Battle of Goito, 1848Battle of Monte Berico, 1848Battle of Custoza, 1848Battle of Mestre, 1848Battle of Mortara, 1849Battle of Novara, 1849Siege of Ancona, 1849Siege of Rome, 184918481849Battle of Novara, 1849
15 placed engagements of First Italian War of Independence in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date23 March 1849
PlaceNovara, Italy
45.431N, 8.716E
KindBattle, nineteenth century
Strength45,000 to 59,00041,000 to 70,000
Casualties and losses5,946: 1,378 killed; 2,181 wounded; 2,387 captured2,657: 466 killed; 1,670 wounded; 521 missing or captured
Commanders
  • Wojciech Chrzanowski
Battle of NovaraBattle of NovaraBattle of NovaraBattle of NovaraBattle of MagentaCombat of TurbigoBattle of ParabiagoBattle of NovaraBattle of ParabiagoTurinGenoaVeronaLausanneBergamoParmaLuganoComo100 km45.431N, 8.716E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Novara
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Novara today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-04-05. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 136 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 108 to 165 m, 56 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 78% cropland, 12% built-up, 5% tree cover.

cropland: 78%built-up: 12%tree cover: 5%grassland: 5%cropland 78%built-up 12%tree cover 5%grassland 5%
west to east, 10.0 km129 to 143 mnorth to south, 10.0 km124 to 159 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1513 and 1849.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1849

Battle of Novara is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q837787, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Novara (1849), revision 1382463444, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.