Philipp Pittoni Freiherr von Dannenfeld, fought in the army of Habsburg Austria during the French Revolutionary Wars. Promoted to general officer in 1795, he was a brigade commander in northwestern Italy at the time when Napoleon Bonaparte was appointed to lead the opposing French Army of Italy. Pittoni led one of the two main columns at Voltri in April 1796. At Borghetto in May, he unsuccessfully defended the bridge. He led a brigade at Castiglione in August and at Second Bassano and Arcole in November 1796. He retired from service the following year and died at Gorizia in 1824.

In the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August 1796, the French Army of Italy under the command of General Napoleon Bonaparte defeated an Austrian army led by Field Marshal Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser. Castiglione and the Battle of Lonato were the major actions in a campaign which marked the first attempted relief of the Siege of Mantua. While Wurmser advanced east of Lake Garda with three columns, Peter Quasdanovich moved his column into the area west of Lake Garda. The Austrians pushed back the French forces and forced Bonaparte to raise the siege. However, the French commander massed against Quasdanovich and forced him to retreat after a week of see-saw fighting. After disposing of Quasdanovich, Bonaparte turned on Wurmser and defeated the main army also. In the sequel, the French pushed the Mantua garrison back and blockaded the city.