The Battle of Marengo took place on 25 Prairial Year VIII (June 14, 1800), near the small village of Marengo (70 km north of Genoa) in Piedmont (northern Italy). It opposed the armies of Bonaparte to the Austrian armies.
“I thought I was attacking the enemy, it was he who warned me, come back in the name of God if you still can” wrote Bonaparte to General Desaix, when the battle of Marengo, badly started, turned to his disadvantage. A few hours later, Desaix arrived, offering victory to the First Consul. This victory concluded the war between France and Austria, and at the same time, the second coalition.
Prelude
Returning from Egypt in August 1799, Bonaparte took part in the coup d'etat of 18 and 19 Brumaire (November 9-10) of the same year. Having become First Consul, the conqueror of the Pyramids applies himself to restoring civil peace, while negotiating with the external enemies of France. Since the end of 1798, in fact, a new coalition, from which the Russians emerged after their defeat at Zurich (September 1799), was formed against France. Napoleon made advances to Austria and then to Great Britain, but he was met with a refusal.
Forced into war, Bonaparte imagines a new Italian campaign, much more reckless than the previous one. He formed a reserve army in Lyon, then entrusted General Moreau with the main action of his plan, that is to say the attack on Austria from southern Germany. During this time, Bonaparte will cross the Alps by the pass of Saint-Gothard, then surround the Austrian army and melt on its rear. But Moreau, frightened by this double maneuver, refuses to execute it.
Meanwhile, Austria keeps her army of Germany on the defensive and concentrates all her effort on Italy. The Austrian general Melas cut the French army in Italy in two:he besieged Genoa, where Masséna was blocked, while Suchet was thrown back into the Var. Bonaparte decided, after these events, to make Italy his main field of war. He conceives a new manoeuvre:he will occupy, on the road from Plaisance to Genoa, the defile of the Stradella and will thus force the Austrians to retreat to cover Milan.
The delay of Moreau, who was to create a diversion, but above all the harshness of the siege of Genoa, where Masséna's army was decimated by famine and epidemics, forced Bonaparte to cross the Alps by the shortest route, but also the one of the most difficult:the Grand-Saint-Bernard. On May 23, the passage was completed. On June 2, the Petit Corporal entered Milan, but the 4th Masséna capitulated in Genoa. Bonaparte still has to change his campaign plan.
To avoid a junction of the Austrians with the British, expected in Genoa, Bonaparte must hang Melas between Novi and the coast. On June 13, he still had not located the bulk of the enemy army. He therefore sent his army the next day to various strategic points. Two divisions are sent on reconnaissance:Lapoype's division on the left bank of the Po, and Desaix's division to the south. A few hours later, the Austrians cross the Bormida, by two bridges which the French have strangely not destroyed. During the night of June 13 to 14, the Austrians bivouacked in front of the French troops with prohibition to make fire.
The opposing forces
The Austrians align 3 army corps. O'Reilly, with 3,000 men, is on the right. In the center is Melas, with 20,000 men. Finally, located on the left, 7,600 men are under the command of Ott. That is 30,600 men including 7,500 horsemen. They collect about 180 cannons.
Bonaparte, deprived of artillery and 15,000 men sent on reconnaissance, had 24,000 men (composed of the corps of Victor, Lannes, Monnier and the Consular Guard) plus 3,700 cavalry (under the orders of Kellermann). The French have 15 guns.
The battle
The Austrian army deployed first, at 8 a.m., but very slowly. The French army, badly awakened and not expecting to be attacked, is neither deployed nor in order to do so, it spreads out in the plain of Marengo, in Piedmont. The Austrian artillery intervenes, destroys its French counterpart in less than a quarter of an hour, then attacks the infantry lines, digging bloody holes in the French ranks. The Austrian troops advance slowly, then, finally, the French reply at point-blank range. The attackers retreat, the French charge, but 100 meters further on, they have to stop because of a deep ditch. On the other side, the Austrians regroup and attack. For more than three hours, French and Austrians shoot each other at twenty paces.
At noon, the French still hold Marengo, despite the intervention of the Austrian cavalry.
At two o'clock, the French running out of ammunition, the cannonballs wreaking havoc on an infantry deprived of support, they retreated. Victor, on the left of the French device, retreats in good order. Lannes, in the center, risking being surrounded, also beat a retreat. The situation of the army is delicate and Bonaparte intervenes himself in the middle of the troops to give courage to his soldiers. The retreat is protected by cavalry charges from Champeaux, who is killed at the head of his men, Kellermann and finally the Consular Guard.
Around 3 p.m., the French front stretched over more than 6 km, between Villanova, where the Consular Guard was doing wonders, and San Giuliano Vecchio. But, for the French army, the affair is not far from turning into a disaster, and the Austrians already believe that victory has been won. So much so that their leader, Marshal Melas, slightly wounded (his horse died under him twice), left the battlefield and rushed to Alexandria (about 15 km from Marengo) to announce his victory at the Emperor of Austria. He leaves it up to Zach to finish off the enemy, sure of his success.
Worried about his leader, whom he admires, Desaix, sent to light with 10,000 men, takes it upon himself to disobey orders and retrace his steps, guided by the sound of cannon. This reinforcement saves the French army from a humiliating defeat. Bonaparte had sent a counter-order to the two generals who had gone forward. The counter-order does not arrive until 10 p.m. in the hands of Lapoype, on the other hand Desaix receives his quickly since not having waited for him to walk towards the battlefield. The counter-order addressed to Desaix is in these terms:
“I thought I was attacking the enemy, he warned me. Come back, in the name of God, if you still can! »
At 3 p.m., when the French were ready to organize the retreat, Desaix finally arrived with about 10,000 men divided into two divisions:
* Monnier Division (Adjutant-General Girard):
o Schilt Brigade:
+ 19th Light Infantry Demi-Brigade under the command of Bourgeois
+ 70th line infantry demi-brigade under the command of Rouyer (1460 h)
o Brigade Saint-Cyr:
+ 72nd line infantry demi-brigade under Mercier (1240 h)
* Boudet Division (Adjutant General Dalton)
o Brigade Musnier:
+ 9th light infantry demi-brigade (3 battalions) under the command of Labassée (2014 h)
+ 30th line infantry demi-brigade (3 battalions) ) under the orders of Lajeunesse (1430 h)
o Brigade Guesneau:
+ 59th line infantry demi-brigade (3 battalions) under the orders of Bourdois (1872 h)
Desaix is killed by a bullet through the heart.