Battle of Mondovì
Battle of Mondovì | |||||||
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Part of the War of the First Coalition | |||||||
View of the Battle of Mondovi, by Giuseppe Pietro Bagetti | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
French Republic | Sardinia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Michelangelo Colli-Marchi Jean-Gaspard Dichat de Toisinge † | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
17,500[2] | 13,000[2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
600 killed, wounded or captured[2] |
1,600 killed, wounded or captured 8 guns lost[2] |
The Battle of Mondovì was fought on 21 April 1796
Campaign
Operations
This was the last battle of the
Forces
See Montenotte 1796 campaign order of battle for a list of French, Austrian, and Sardinian organizations and units that fought in the campaign.
Geography
The Corsaglia runs in a northeasterly direction until it flows into the northwest-flowing
San Michele Mondovi
Colli appointed General
Augereau's men failed to get across the river due to high water and five well-placed cannon. The Piedmontese repulsed Serurier's morning attack on the San Michele bridge with loss. Later, some skirmishers of
The hungry, badly-paid, and poorly disciplined French troops immediately ran wild in the town, stealing food and pillaging the houses. A company of Swiss grenadiers in Sardinian pay, noting that the French were out of control, retook part of the town. Colli organized a major counterattack in the early afternoon which drove the Sérurier's division out of San Michele, though Guieu managed to hold on to his small bridgehead. One authority estimates that the French suffered about 600 casualties while the Piedmontese lost 300.[7]
On the 20th, Bonaparte brought Masséna's division forward while the other troops rested. To the northeast, Beaulieu still hesitated to mount a major effort to help his ally. On the night of 20 April, Colli withdrew his army from the Corsaglia position, intending to fall back behind the Ellero River at Mondovì. After destroying the bridges and leaving their campfires burning, Colli's soldiers slipped away during the evening. At midnight, Bonaparte discovered that his enemy had decamped and mounted a rapid pursuit, using a ford discovered by some scouts.[8]
Battle
The next morning, Sérurier's advance struck the Sardinian rearguard on the heights of Buon Gesù drove it back on the town of Vicoforte. Sérurier formed his conscripts into three heavy columns and covered them with his more experienced soldiers in skirmish order. Then, putting himself at the head of the central column, he led a charge against the Sardinians with Masséna's division following behind.[9]
The speed of the French attack did not allow Colli to deploy his troops properly, nor were there any prepared defenses. A few of the Sardinian units panicked and fled, leaving gaps in the line. Fiorella and Guieu's brigades, supported by BG Elzéar Dommartin's brigade of Masséna, converged on Vicoforte and captured it. The Sardinians at La Bicocca held firm until Dichat was killed, then they joined the disorderly retreat. Bonaparte's cavalry commander, Stengel took 200 dragoons across the Ellero, but Colonel Chaffardon counterattacked with 125 Sardinian horsemen and drove the French back. Stengel was mortally wounded in the melee.[10]
When the French arrived at Mondovì, the governor managed to stall the pursuers for a time with negotiations, but he surrendered the town when fired on at about 6 pm. Bonaparte forced the municipal authorities to provide large contributions of food to his hungry soldiers, so the town was not sacked.[11]
Results
According to historian
Footnotes
- ^ Chandler, Dictionary, p 283. Sources differ at on the date. Smith and Rothenberg say 22 April. Fiebeger says 20 April.
- ^ a b c d e Rothenberg, p 248
- ^ Chandler, Dictionary, p 283. Sources differ on the date. Smith and Rothenberg say 22 April. Fiebeger says 20 April.
- ^ a b Boycott-Brown, p 265
- ^ Boycott-Brown, pp 265-266
- ^ Boycott-Brown, pp 266-267
- ^ Boycott-Brown, pp 267-268
- ^ Boycott-Brown, p 270
- ^ Rooney-Chandler, p 452
- ^ Boycott-Brown, p 271
- ^ Boycott-Brown, p 272
- ^ Smith, p 113
- ^ Rickard, Battle of Mondovi
- ^ Chandler, Campaigns, p 75
References
Printed materials
- Boycott-Brown, Martin. The Road to Rivoli. London: Cassell & Co., 2001. ISBN 0-304-35305-1
- ISBN 0-02-523670-9
- Chandler, David. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Macmillan, 1966.
- Chandler, David (ed). Rooney, David D. "Serurier: The Virgin of Italy," Napoleon's Marshals. New York: Macmillan, 1987. ISBN 0-02-905930-5
- Fiebeger, G. J. (1911). The Campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte of 1796–1797. West Point, New York: US Military Academy Printing Office.
- ISBN 0253310768.
- ISBN 1-85367-276-9