The Battle of Mondovi took place on April 21, 1796 between the French army of Bonaparte and what remained of the troops of the Kingdom of Sardinia, already defeated in the previous battles of Montenotte, Millesimo and Dego under the orders of General Colli.
Battlefield information
The amphitheater-like village of Vico crowns the hillside bordering the small basin to the north, at the bottom of which rises the superb dome of Our Lady of Vicoforte. Its very extensive contour, accessible from all sides, makes it unfit to be defended, especially the part towards the east which is lower than the other. In the extension of the hills of Vico which join the hill carrying the town of Mondovi, there is a hill whose small curtain forms at the foot a kind of counter guard, whose slopes end on the Ellero. Its salient facing the Vico occurrence has like arrows that cover it in the mounds located along this occurrence, the main one of which, called the "lighter", is easy to put out of insult.
Sardinian dispositions
The troops of the right are left in front of Vico, the other ranges at wide intervals in the open around this village and along the main road which leads to Mondovi.
A 2-piece battery is placed at the eastern end of the small mound located towards the middle of the hillside bordering the village of Vico. Battalions of grenadiers piled up at the "lighter" under the protection of a battery of 6 pieces. Colli's objective is to delay the French advance as much as possible in order to allow him to empty the stores located in Mondovi before retreating north.
French layout
Around 3 p.m., Bonaparte left Lesegno, passed the Cursaglio at Prata, headed for the Bric della Guardia from where he took on all the operations. The orders are given:
to Meynier:Will move immediately with his troops to the position of La Biccaca in order to prolong the corps in movement on his left (Serrurier) and support the attack which will be carried out on Mondovi. Watch out to your right.
he orders Serrurier and Masséna to attack all the way.
The battle
Around 4am, the cavalry crosses; Stengel has with him the 5th dragoon and 25 hussars of the 1st regiment. The rest is up to Beaumont. In daylight, around 8 a.m., it is the turn of the infantry; Meynier crosses the bridge of Lesegno, he advances towards Vico, embracing on his right the slopes of Briaglia. Dommartin by the main road from la Torre to St-Michel, Fiorella fords the Corsaglia opposite Molline, finally Guyeux and Pelletier by the heights of Bellana.
The outposts of Brigadier Civalieri, Colonel Colli and Major Féa fall back under the rapid advance of the French towards Vico. Colonel Colli is in charge of the rearguard.
Everything is going very fast. The first cannon shots fired by the vanguard of Guyeux, party to the right of the chapel of St-Stefano, shake the troops posted on the Costa in the meadows below Poggio. As soon as the skirmishers of the column of Dommartin begin to show themselves, the Piedmontese troops disband.
The arrival of Meynier from Pra hastens the retreat of the corps of the Piedmontese left, which abandon St.Giovanni very early.
Fiorella runs down the bric Ceirole and takes shelter behind the small house of Blengine, located at the end of the buttress, from the fire he suffers from the Madona (shrine) and the end of the bric St-Roc.
The Piedmontese, posted on the Costa in the meadows below Poggio, are routed. Most of them retreated through the village to be safer from the musketry. Colonel Colli's corps regroups and takes position on the small buttress of Vuril and Blangin-Soprano.
As soon as Fiorella learns of Guyeux's progress, he suddenly throws himself into the courtyards and building of the Madonna. The shootings are very lively on the small plateaus found on the flanks of the village, on the surrounding walls of its gardens, and at the castle. The main street near the church is not spared from the fighting. At this time, several regiments are already completely disorganized in the village, and the French quickly and boldly take advantage of this moment of disorder.
The road, crossing a hill, forms a kind of defile guarded by the Royal grenadiers; They held firm for a while on the right flank of the village, in front of the chapel of St-Joseph.
2 pieces placed on Mercato Vecchio tried for a moment to slow down the ardor of the attackers by firing a few shots at the column heads, but with little success.
The 2 pieces are forced to withdraw when Fiorella takes them from the rear, passing the road south and below Pasquero, while the French skirmishers are engaged against their opponents.
Meynier throws himself into the valley of Mons, in order to cross the plank of the Otteria ditch and thus threaten to take the troops still present in Vico from the rear.
The Chasseurs de Colli, behind the walls of the Pilon de Vuril buildings, halted the French advance for a moment, with very high fire. They are supported by the battery and the platoon fires of the grenadiers posted at the "lighter".
The maneuver of extending the wings to embrace the enemy position while keeping the center out of the range of the cannon of the "briquet", arranged the French army in a crescent, lining the hills and mounds opposite those occupied by the Piedmontese. The skirmishers scattered in the intermediate lowlands, redouble their audacity and number. The fighting is closer and closer, aimed at the artillery of the "lighter" and the troops supporting it, and is terrible on both sides. This fight was supported for nearly 2 hours by various battalions of grenadiers providing relief.
An officer and a few soldiers go up to the guns, under cover of a parliamentary delegation. But once they reached the guns, they slashed the gunners. The small troop is attacked so vigorously that they descend the slope quickly. The fire redoubled from the Sardinian grenadiers. The Croats threw themselves bravely into the wood below the Mojes, pursued the French there and pushed them back to the Pestle of Vuril.
Bonaparte has the pieces at Bris St-Agnes and in the vineyards opposite the "briquet" a little south-east of the pestle of Vuril. The French artillery defeats the mound and the surrounding troops.
At the same time, General Colli marched on the enemy all the corps present in Vico in the morning, as well as a battalion of Stetler to support the troops of the "briquet". These reinforcements are placed on either side of the mound, but will not stay there for long. Dichat is mortally wounded. The 9th Grenadier Regiment is located on the right flank of the "briquet", the grenadiers of Chiusa even further to the right, the grenadiers of Varax occupy the Moje, Oneille is below the Mista, and the Colli hunters occupy the left flank .
The battle rages on; By 3 times, the grenadiers of Fiorella try to take the enemy positions, before succeeding in the fourth. The 9th Sardinian Grenadier Regiment suffers a lot. The grenadiers of Chiusa, threatened with encirclement, were forced to abandon their position and threw themselves to the left of the "briquet", into the valley of the Mojes.
Around 2 p.m., as the oldest Sardinian officer, Chevalier Ulerlini took command on the Butte du Briquet. The 16th light demi-brigade took the lead in attacking the mound. It is momentarily stopped by the murderous fire of the enemy; but the 3rd Battalion in the lead pushes forward. Ready to be surrounded by his right, attacked vigorously from the front and on the left flank, Ulerlini decided to abandon the position, leaving the artillery there for lack of horses without even beating it. He and his men rush into the valley of the Mojes. The 3rd battalion of the 16th light demi-brigade took advantage of this and took the hill. The artillery posted at Li Gari and St-Croce immediately opened fire on them. The French immediately returned the artillery taken on the mound, and responded to the fire of the enemy batteries.
The Sarde Stetler battalion and the companies of royal grenadiers, located behind to the left of the mound, were also forced to abandon their positions.
The French continue their attack from all sides. The grenadiers occupying the houses of La Moje are captured, the grenadiers of Varax are harassed. The light legion occupying Li Gari is forced by Guyeux to fall back under Mondovi.
If the disorder had been considerable at Vico in the morning, it was even more so in this circumstance; the high road was full of fugitives. Mondovi's gate was closed and guarded by a picket of dragoons. The troops retreated to the left bank of the Ellero.
Around 3 p.m., Bonaparte accompanies the “Brichetto”. For his part, Colli is obliged to abandon Mondovi to his own defense and leaves there, under the command of Dellera, the regiment Aux gardes, a Stetler battalion, a few companies of the Tortone regiment and the artillerymen necessary for the service of the guns of the citadel. .
Around 4 p.m., the cavalry, under the command of Beaumont, followed the infantry during the battle of Mondovi. Stengel with the 5th dragoons and 25 cavalry of the 1st hussar moved to the left bank of the Ellero.
The alarm spread among the completely discouraged, beaten, harassed Sardinian infantry, taking a short rest on the left bank of the Ellero before retreating. We learn that the French cavalry forded the river towards Pietra. Colonel Chaffardon of the King's Dragoons charges with the 125h (2nd and 4th squadrons). The charge is vigorous, General Stengel is mortally wounded.
The town of Mondovi surrenders, around 6 p.m., after a sustained bombardment of one hour. Part of the Piedmontese troops retreated to Fossano, the other to the Madona dell'Olmo near Cuneo.
Losses on the Sardinian side:9031 h prisoners, 900 wounded, and 10 senior general officers (Stettler, Flayes, .)
Consequences
The victors, having definitively separated the Sardinians from their Austrian allies, occupied the city of Alba on April 26, 1796 and proclaimed the Republic of Alba, a Republic which had a very short life, since in fact two days later, the April 28, with the signing of the armistice of Cherasco at the Salmatoris Palace, Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia recovers Alba and retains control of Turin, but cedes the fortresses of Coni, Ceva, Alexandria and Tortona to the French, also conceding the free passage of the armies of the Revolution through Piedmont to continue the war against Austria.
The victory at Pont de Lodi on May 10, 1796, and the defeat of Austrian General Johann von Beaulieu, paved the way for the conquest of Milan and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.
On May 15, 1796 with the Paris Peace Treaty, Nice and Savoy passed from the Kingdom of Sardinia to France.