"Your Excellency Count Adonoy, I don't know when all the reinforcements from Tuscany and Ancona will arrive under the city of Mantua, my only fear is that the defenders in the city of Mantua will take advantage of our army's northward march to threaten our flank." Ezzo II, Duke of Lombardy, inquired about Adonoy, Count of Parma and Corsica.

Count Adonoy owed, and said, "Your Excellency Archduchess Matilda has sent Count Anselmo of Lucca to take charge of the army, which is scheduled to arrive under the city of Mantua in three days, and the legions of Ancona, Urbino and Ravenna will also arrive in these two days." ”

"It is very good that I intend to leave the regiments of Tuscany and Bologna in the city of Mantua, and to guard the regiments of Conrad III and Verona in the city.

And I will lead the 12,000 troops of Lombardy, and the more than 1,000 troops of the next month, to the north to meet the strong enemy from Swabia! Ezzo II opened his mouth to set the task.

"Lord Albert Ezo, allow me to guard the city of Mantua with the legions of the Count of Bologna and the Bishopric of Ravenna, which will soon arrive." Hugo, Count of Bologna, spoke loudly.

"The Count of Bologna is a man of great courage." Ezzo II nodded, turned his head to Count Parma, the commander of the Northern Route Army of Tuscany, and asked, "Lord Count Adonoy, what is your opinion?" ”

"Your Excellency the Duke of Lombardy, I would like to lead the Italian warriors of Tuscany with you to the north against the Germanic invaders! Please give your order! Count Adonoy pleaded impassionedly.

"That being said, I order Lord Hugo, Count of Bologna, to lead his troops to garrison the stronghold outside the city of Mantua, and to guard the city of Mantua and protect the flanks of our army.

Count Adonoy of Parma will accompany me on my march with warriors from Tuscany. Ezzo II nodded, and commanded in a passionate voice.

Then he drew his sword: "The whole army will attack, and if you don't win, you won't return!" ”

"If you don't win, you can't pay it back, if you don't win, you can't pay it back!"

Whether it was in the camp or outside the camp, everyone was moved by the atmosphere and followed the crowd shouting the slogan of 'no victory, no return' to show their determination to break the boat.

Ezo II then swore an oath and led more than 15,000 soldiers north to meet the enemy in the center, leaving only 1,000 soldiers to assist Hugo, Count of Bologna, in keeping an eye on the defenders of Mantua.

However, although Ezzo II knew that Otto III, Duke of Swabia, would lead his troops from the Tyrolean Counties across the Alps to the Episcopal State of Trento at the southern foot of the mountains, he had no idea from which direction the Swabian would attack.

As a result, Ezzo II had to build a long and fragile line of defense, which was deployed on a wide frontage from the right bank of Lake Garda to the lower reaches of the Adige River, mainly to prevent the HRE army from Swabian from attacking northern Italy again.

The specific deployment of the Italian army is: by Oberto. Morality. Esther led three thousand Lombard soldiers, deployed near Desenzano on the southern shore of Lake Garda, and his main task was to cover the left flank of the Italian army; Ezzo II personally led up to 8,000 Lombard soldiers and most of the Lombard knights in the narrow strip between Corona, Rivoli and Busolrengo, tasked with guarding the vital passage between the right bank of Lake Garda and the Adige River Gorge.

Finally, on the Tuscan side, Count of Parma, Adonoi. Advance. Parma led the entire Tuscan legion of more than 4,000 men, deployed in the area between Verona and Loñago, lower Adige River, to ensure the security of the right flank of the Italian coalition.

This disposition of the Italian coalition was obviously unsatisfactory, and the combined forces of the Lombards and Tuscany were scattered on a frontage tens of kilometers wide, but it was also a matter of last resort for Ezzo II, who had to wait for a possible enemy to emerge at any time.

Duke Otto III of Swabia was also a veteran of the battlefield, and his ability to escape from the fierce battle with the Normans shows his ability to lead troops.

In order to launch an attack as soon as possible and break through the resistance of the Italian coalition army, Otto III, Duke of Swabia, decided to launch an attack on the Rivoli Mountains and the Batua Plain at the same time, of which the Rivoli Mountains direction was the focus of the attack, and the attack in the direction of Verona on the Batua Plain was Otto III's strategy to lure the enemy, and its purpose was to distract the attention of the Italian coalition forces in the direction of Rivoli, so as to contain the main force of the Italian coalition army in the middle and lower reaches of the Adige River.

In order to confuse his opponent and cause an error in the judgment of the Italian army, Otto III, Duke of Swabia, decided to attack simultaneously from three directions.

At dawn on 28 October, Otto III, Duke of Swabia, drew a detachment of more than 3,000 men from the central camp and launched an attack in the direction of Verona.

In addition, Otto III drew a detachment of 2,000 men from the left flank and again attacked the lower reaches of the Adige River on the enemy's right flank, in an attempt to capture Loniago, an important crossing of the Adige River.

Both of these attacks were defended by the right flank of Count Adonoy of Tuscany, who immediately asked for reinforcements from Ezzo II near Rivoli in the face of a fierce enemy.

"Tell the Count of Parma to hold the position, these are only two partial divisions of the enemy, and the Duke of Swabia, the great enemy of our army, has not yet appeared, remember not to mess with your own position." Believing that this was a ploy by the enemy, Ezzo II not only refused Count Adonoy's request for help, but also ordered him to hold the line.

Sure enough, on this day, the attack of the HRE army in the direction of Verona, although it played a role in containing and confusing the Italians and the Lombards, compared to the whole battle situation, there was no substantial progress.

The other division, which attempted to capture Lonago, did not pose much of a threat to the Italians due to its limited strength, but these two attacks also greatly attracted the attention of the Italians.

However, the truly decisive battle took place near Rivoli, east of Lake Garda.

The Rivoli Plateau is a rare natural position, located on the south side of the Baldo Mountains, with a low-lying valley about 2,000 meters wide to the west and north and the impassable Lake Garda, and to the east of the Rivoli Plateau surrounded by the fast-flowing Adige River, which constitute an insurmountable natural obstacle between Rivoli and the mountains.

In the morning of the same day, Otto III, Duke of Verona, led an army of 15,000 men, supplemented by about 2,000 soldiers in Tyrol, and launched an attack in the direction of Rivoli.

In addition to the two detachments that had been divided, Otto III again divided his army, and his right flank had more than 3,000 men on the first line. Hupor Dinga was in charge of advancing along the slopes of the western side of Baldo, with the aim of cutting off the Lombards from the west by detouring the Rivoli heights from the west.

The second was the main force in the center, led by the Duke of Verona himself, with 10,000 men, who crossed the Brentino hill and captured Corona, and then launched an attack on the Rivoli Heights.

The last road was to act as a reserve, with about 2,000 men, and was responsible for coordinating the left flank of Verona and the detachment in the direction of the Adige River, and detoured to the Rivoli heights.