Battle of Marengo
The Battle of Marengo was a military encounter between the French Army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Austrian Army, commanded by Michael von Melas, on June 14, 1800, near Marengo, northern Italy, during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle ended in a French victory as Napoleon routed the Austrian forces, driving them out of Italy, thus, saving the French Republic. General François Étienne de Kellermann played a key role during the battle.
Summary
Napoleon had crossed the Alps to relieve the siege of Genoa and to regain control of Italy. This city and northern Italy would be used by the Austrians as a platform from which they might launch an invasion of France to oust the new government (Consulate) and restore the monarchy there. Having crossed the Po River, Napoleon erroneously thought that the Austrians were falling back. He did not know that the Austrian commander, von Melas, was planning to attack his army.
The Battle of Marengo began when Napoleon forces approached Marengo. There, the Austrians launched a surprise attack at 07:00 hours on June 14, 1800. At the beginning, Napoleon thought the Austrian attack was a rear guard diversion to keep him from aggressively pursuing the Austrians. Nevertheless, French messengers sent word to Napoleon that it was a real battle.
As the French infantry lines were seriously threatened by the attacking Austrian troops, French General François Kellerman’s cavalry launched a surprise attack on the Austrian cavalry. After several charges and counter charges, the Austrians were thrown back into disordered flight back into Alessandria, losing around 9,500 men (killed, wounded, or captured).
