First Battle of Marengo
First Battle of Marengo (1799) | |||||||||
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Part of the Italian campaigns in the War of the Second Coalition | |||||||||
![]() Habsburg Austrian grenadiers fought at First Marengo. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Strength | |||||||||
5,000–8,000[c] | 11,000–16,500[d] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
500 to 1,500[e] | 150 to 720[f] |
The First Battle of Marengo or Battle of San Giuliano (16 May 1799;
A series of Austrian and Russian victories in the spring of 1799 drove the French armies from north and northeast Italy. The commander of the combined Austro-Russian armies, Suvorov massed his forces opposite the fortress city of Alessandria. After a Russian force received a costly repulse in the
Background
The start of the 1799 campaign saw the Austrian army of
Schérer resigned and handed over command of the army to Moreau on 26 April 1799. The next day, Suvorov attacked and won the Battle of Cassano. General of Division Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier and 2,400 men of his division were isolated and forced to surrender that evening.[12] Moreau with General of Division Paul Grenier's division retreated west all the way to Turin, then crossed to the south bank of the Po River and marched east again. Victor's division crossed the Po at Casale Monferrato and took position near the fortress city of Alessandria. When Grenier joined Victor there on 7 May, Moreau mustered about 20,000 troops. The French were deployed between Alessandria on their right and Valenza on their left.[13] At this time, Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon led a division from France to occupy Genoa.[14]
On 6 May 1799, Suvorov's left wing crossed the Po at
Probably urged by
During this time, the
Battle
![Black and white print of a smiling man with short hair. He wears a white military uniform with fancy edging on the collar and lapels with the Knight's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa pinned to the coat.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Franz_Xaver_Joseph_Marquis_de_Lusignan_1801.png/150px-Franz_Xaver_Joseph_Marquis_de_Lusignan_1801.png)
As early as 10 May, the Cossack regiments of Denisov, Grekov, and Molchanov, supported by the Kalemin Grenadier Battalion, cleared the French from Marengo. The Austrians were massed east of the village of San Giuliano while Bagration's Russian vanguard was at Novi Ligure. Starting on 13 May, Suvorov began edging his south bank forces toward the north because he intended to cross the Po and march west toward Turin. He wanted his troops to begin crossing the Po at Alluvioni Cambiò on 16 May, but other events intervened.[2] Earlier, Moreau believed that Suvorov was going to march against MacDonald, but now he thought that the Russian was not going south after all. From 13–15 May, the French commander concentrated his army behind the Bormida River, throwing a bridge of boats across the stream. On 16 May, Moreau sent Victor on a strong reconnaissance east toward Tortona.[15]
![Sepia print of a solemn, clean-shaven man with long sideburns. He wears a simple, dark military uniform of the French Revolutionary era, with no epaulettes and a single row of buttons, with a narrow band of gold embroidery down the front.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Jean-Victor_Moreau.jpg/150px-Jean-Victor_Moreau.jpg)
The French crossed the Bormida at a point called The Cedars. At 8:00 am they split into two columns with General of Brigade Louis Léonard (Luigi Leonardo) Colli-Ricci on the left and General of Brigade Gaspard Amédée Gardanne on the right. The 74th Line Infantry acted as an advance guard. Colonel Louis Gareau with two battalions guarded the Bormida bridge.[2] The French cavalry crossed the river upstream. Altogether the French employed 7,500 troops in the operation. General-major Adrian Karpovich Denisov, commanding the Cossack screen captured a French officer and learned that the enemy incursion was substantial. He sent appeals for help to Bagration. The 74th Line quickly brushed aside the Cossacks and drove the Allied outposts from Marengo, Spinetta, and Cascina Grossa.[4] The outposts were manned by General-major Andreas Karaczay's Advanced Guard, but these troops did not otherwise participate in the ensuing action.[2]
General-major
Denisov reported that the French troops maintained a rolling fire by platoons. He claimed that Bagration's troops hung back in a wood and that neither the Cossacks nor the Austrian dragoons were willing to charge the French infantry. This caused the Austrians to bear the brunt of the combat and they were hustled to the rear by the French.
At about 4:00 pm, Moreau realized he was heavily outnumbered and issued the order to retreat. The French carried out their withdrawal in good order. They defended Marengo very stoutly, using the manor house and the streams in the vicinity.[8] The French relinquished Marengo at 5:00 pm, crossed the Bormida, and dismantled their bridge by 6:30 pm.[2] Suvorov appeared and demanded to know why the French were being allowed to escape. By this time, the French had reached a position where it was impossible to cut them off.[8] In another account, Suvorov got to the battlefield earlier and tried to rally the Austrians, who were retreating at that time.[2]
Result
![Painting shows a white-haired man standing in a blue uniform with red collar and cuffs and a light blue sash. He gestures with his right hand toward a battle scene. His bicorne hat and sword lie on a map next to him.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Joseph_Kreutzinger_-_Alexander_Suvorov.jpg/150px-Joseph_Kreutzinger_-_Alexander_Suvorov.jpg)
Historian Christopher Duffy stated that Allied casualties were between 480 and 710, while French losses were between 500 and 1,500.[8] A second source asserted that the Allies lost 43 dead, 404 wounded, and 273 missing for a total of 720. The French lost 569 dead and wounded.[2] Digby Smith gave Austrian losses as 97 killed and 250 wounded, and Russian losses as 27 killed and 80 wounded. These figures give a total Allied loss of 124 killed and 330 wounded, or 454 casualties, while French losses are estimated at 500 casualties. On the French side 8,000 troops were engaged, while there were 9,000 Austrians and 7,500 Russians involved in the action. Smith wrote that a French battalion was cut off near the river and that many soldiers drowned.[5] Other sources do not mention this incident.[2][8][19] Gaston Bodart stated the same number of French, and 11,000 Coalition. He gave 150 Coalition losses and 500 French.[6]
Moreau's reconnaissance-in-force failed to reveal his opponent's intentions through unlucky timing. If the French army commander attacked the following day, Suvorov would have been gone.[20] The 16 May battle convinced Moreau to abandon the Italian plain and get his army to the south side of the Ligurian Alps.[8] Assuming that Suvorov intended to remain where he was, Moreau sent Victor with 7,000 infantry, 200 cavalry, but no artillery on a march to join Pérignon in Genoa. Since Piedmont was in revolt against French occupation, Victor's troops had to fight their way through the insurgents, arriving in Genoa on 22 May.[19] Another 2,000-man column under Louis Lemoine moved from Gavi to Genoa.[21]
With Grenier's division, most of the cavalry, and all of the artillery, Moreau tried to get through the mountains but was prevented by the insurgents.
Suvorov's army crossed to the north bank of the Po and was in Chivasso by 25 May 1799. The Allied army drove the French from Turin into the citadel on 27 May and seized a large number of heavy cannons in the arsenal. These weapons would soon help the Austrians reduce the French garrisons of Alessandria, Tortona and other places.[21] Heinrich von Bellegarde's Austrian corps marched from Switzerland to the area of Alessandria, replacing Suvorov's troops.[22]
A month after the first battle of Marengo, the
Forces
French order of battle
Divisions | Brigades | Units | Unit Commanders |
---|---|---|---|
Division Victor General of Division Claude Perrin Victor
|
Colonel Antoine-Alexandre Rousseaux |
74th Line Demi-Brigade |
Antoine-Alexandre Rousseaux |
General of Brigade Luigi Leonardo Colli-Ricci |
17th Light Infantry Demi-Brigade, 3 battalions |
Dominique Honoré Antoine Vedel | |
14th Line Infantry Demi-brigade |
Jean Claude Moreau | ||
68th Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 2nd Battalion |
Jules-Alexander Boutrouë | ||
Joseph Denis Picard | |||
General of Brigade Gaspard Amédée Gardanne |
18th Light Infantry Demi-Brigade, 3 battalions |
Louis-Stanislaus-Xavier Soyez | |
1st Infantry Demi-Brigade, 2nd Battalion Aosta |
- | ||
3rd Infantry Demi-brigade, 2nd Battalion Regina |
- | ||
1st Swiss Legion Battalion |
- | ||
Artillery Company |
- | ||
15th Horse Chasseur Regiment |
Louis Lepic | ||
Colonel Louis Gareau |
20th Light Infantry Demi-brigade, 1st Battalion |
__ Lucotte | |
106th Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 1st Battalion |
__ Dupellin |
Austro-Russian order of battle
Division | Brigades | Strength | Units | Strength |
---|---|---|---|---|
Advance Guard Division General-major Pyotr Bagration |
None | 4,161 | 7th Jäger Regiment, 2 battalions |
624 |
Baranowsky Musketeer Regiment |
698 | |||
Rosenberg Grenadier Regiment |
627 | |||
Lomonosov Grenadier Regiment |
501 | |||
Dendriugyn Grenadier Regiment |
453 | |||
Molchanov Cossack Regiment |
435 | |||
Grekov Cossack Regiment |
414 | |||
Pasdeiev Cossack Regiment |
409 | |||
Division Lusignan General-major Franz Joseph, Marquis de Lusignan |
Colonel Franz Xavier Weber von Treuenfeld |
3,398 | Pertussy Hungarian Grenadier Battalion |
618 |
Weber Grenadier Battalion |
457 | |||
Morzin Grenadier Battalion |
582 | |||
Stuart Infantry Regiment Nr. 18, 1st & 2nd Battalions |
1,741 | |||
General-major Hannibal Sommariva |
1,976 | Paar Grenadier Battalion |
520 | |
Schiaffinati Grenadier Battalion |
620 | |||
Lobkowitz Dragoon Regiment Nr. 10, 6 squadrons |
836 | |||
Division Kaim Feldmarschall-Leutnant Konrad Valentin von Kaim |
General-major Franz Xavier von Auersperg |
1,767 | Samuel Gyulai Infantry Regiment Nr. 32, 1st Battalion |
740 |
Fürstenburg Infantry Regiment Nr. 36, 3rd Battalion |
858 | |||
Kaiser Light Dragoon Regiment Nr. 1, 1 squadron |
169 | |||
General-major Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky |
3,306 | Samuel Gyulai Infantry Regiment Nr. 32, 2nd Battalion |
742 | |
Fürstenburg Infantry Regiment Nr. 36, 1st & 2nd Battalions |
1,718 | |||
Kaiser Light Dragoon Regiment Nr. 1, 6 squadrons |
846 | |||
Advance Guard Only its outposts were engaged. |
General-major Andreas Karaczay |
5,271 | ex-Huff Infantry Regiment Nr. 8, 1st, 2nd & 3rd Battalions |
2,695 |
Fröhlich Infantry Regiment Nr. 28, 1st & 2nd Battalions |
1,641 | |||
Karaczay Light Dragoon Regiment Nr. 4, 6 squadrons |
935 |
See also
- Capture of Brescia
- Battle of Cassano
- Battle of Bassignana
- Battle of Modena
- Battle of the Trebbia
- Second Battle of Marengo
- Battle of Novi
Notes
- ^ He and Suvorov had little direct involvement in the battle, but despite this, they were fully responsible for the fact that the battle took place.
- ^ He and Moreau had little direct involvement in the battle, but despite this, they were fully responsible for the fact that the battle took place.
- ^
- ^
Initially 5,374, i.e. Lusignan Division's strength, which took the brunt of the French assault (excl. Karaczay's outposts).[2]
- ^
- ^
- ^ Orlov 1892, p. 136.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Acerbi 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g Petrushevsky, Alexander (1884). Generalissimo Prince Suvorov (in Russian). Vol. 3 (1st ed.). St. Petersburg: Типография М. М. Стасюлевича. p. 85.
- ^ a b c d Duffy 1999, p. 79.
- ^ a b c d e f Smith 1998, p. 155.
- ^ a b c d e Bodart 1908, p. 334.
- ^ Orlov 1892, p. 137.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Duffy 1999, p. 80.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 149.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 151.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 258–259.
- ^ a b Phipps 2011, pp. 262–263.
- ^ Phipps 2011, pp. 264–265.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 271.
- ^ a b Phipps 2011, p. 266.
- ^ Duffy 1999, pp. 72–73.
- ^ Duffy 1999, pp. 76–78.
- ^ Phipps 2011, pp. 274–275.
- ^ a b c Phipps 2011, p. 267.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 268.
- ^ a b c Phipps 2011, pp. 268–269.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 270.
References
- Acerbi, Enrico (2007). "The 1799 Campaign in Italy: Waiting for MacDonald's Army (May-June 1799), the Battles of Bassignana and Marengo". The Napoleon Series.
- ISBN 1-883476-18-6.
- ISBN 978-1-908692-28-3.
- ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
- Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905) (in German). Vienna and Leipzig: C. W. Stern. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- Orlov, Nikolay Aleksandrovich (1892). Разбор военных действий Суворова в Италии в 1799 году [Analysis of Suvorov's military actions in Italy in 1799] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Тип. Тренке и Фюсно. ISBN 9785998994289.
External links
"Position of the main armies. May 15, 1799"
Preceded by Battle of Bassignana |
French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns Battle of San Giuliano (1799) |
Succeeded by First Battle of Zurich |