Battle Report #12 - Napoleon's Italian Campaign 1796.

[AUSTERLITZ]

Are people having trouble understanding the last 2 posts's content?

 

[asad71]

Are people having trouble understanding the last 2 posts's content?

Not at all.Pray carry on.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Suvorov dying regretted that he had not fought against Napoleon.

Indeed it was his great regret and would have been an epic fight.In any case he held napoloen in extremely high regard,Infact he was probably among the first to understand the depth of napoleon's potential and danger he posed to european armies.In the midst of the 1796 italian campaign itself he wrote-
''That fellow is going a bit too far,time to stop him''.A few months later,he already rated napoleon along with caesar,alexander and hannibal as one of the greats when asked by a officer.In 1796-97!.
"The young Bonaparte, how he moves! He is a hero, a giant, a magician. He overcomes nature and he overcomes men. He turned the Alps as if they did not exist ... My God, how he moves!"-
Suvorov in a letter to his nephew.

 

[vostok]

Indeed it was his great regret and would have been an epic fight.In any case he held napoloen in extremely high regard,Infact he was probably among the first to understand the depth of napoleon's potential and danger he posed to european armies.In the midst of the 1796 italian campaign itself he wrote-
''That fellow is going a bit too far,time to stop him''.A few months later,he already rated napoleon along with caesar,alexander and hannibal as one of the greats when asked by a officer.In 1796-97!.
"The young Bonaparte, how he moves! He is a hero, a giant, a magician. He overcomes nature and he overcomes men. He turned the Alps as if they did not exist ... My God, how he moves!"-
Suvorov in a letter to his nephew.

It was a case of someone, I do not remember who, recruit officers at the service of Russian tsar - with one rank down . Napoleon was then a lieutenant, he was also invited to the Russian army, but he demanded the rank of captain. He was denied - they were later very regretted...

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Bonaparte's Arrival.​

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The newly appointed 26-year-old commander in chief of the French Army of Italy arrived at his headquarters in Nice on March 27, 1796.A trio of generals,his would be subordinates -all of them more senior soldiers than him, awaited with smirks to meet this new political appointment who had earned his rank by mowing down the paris mob.


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First of them,Andre' Massena -38 years old born in Nice ,former fruit vendor and smuggler.Fond of both women and money but a very capable soldier.With the revolution had rapidly risen through the ranks and was now a soldier with vast practical experience,having won great reknown in the battle of loano a year earlier.Massena was to become One of napoleon's greatest battlefield marshals and earn the title 'The dear child of victory'.Massena had met napoleon once briefly earlier at toulon.



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Pierre Augereau.A product of the paris slums.The hook nosed braggart had earlier served in both russian and prussian armies and deserted from both.With the revolution he had rapidly risen through the ranks.An ardent republican,adventurer and swordsman he was popular with the soldiers.Not as good as massena,he was nonetheless an able tactician and a determined fighter-especially with his backs to the wall.Another future battlefield marshal.



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General Serurier.The senior most of the lot with 34 years in the ex-royal army.A cautious and meticulous commander but not with any great record of battlefield success.A future senatorial marshal.

The youthful commander, who according to one contemporary looked more like a mathematician than a general, eagerly showed the portrait of his beautiful new wife, Josephine de Beauharnais, to the amused older soldiers.When he began to discuss the campaign to come, however, their impression of General Napoleon Bonaparte abruptly changed.

Augereau confided to Massena that this 'little bastard of a General' frightened him.
''His look froze my blood'' - Augereau.
Massena recounted -
''He put on his General's hat,' 'and seemed to have grown two feet. He questioned us on the position of our divisions, on the spirit and effective forces of each corps, prescribed the course we were to follow, announced that he would hold an inspection on the morrow and on the following day attack the enemy.'!
All three divisional generals were impressed by their commander's energy and commitment to their future success.In a single meeting Bonaparte had imposed his authority on his subordinates by force of personality.

The young general also brought with him a small retinue including the colonel of cavalry -Joachim Murat,who had aided him in putting down the paris mob.


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A dashing and recklessly brave cavalryman with a superb eye for the charge,but little talent for anything else.Future-brother in law of Napoleon and his marshal of cavalry.The so named 'First saber of Europe'.



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Louis Alexander Berthier.Napoleon's chief of Staff and future marshal.It was to him to organize and efficiently send out detailed dispatches conforming to napoloen's orders to all the corps/divisions day in and day out.With a memory and capacity for work near equal to napoleon, he would serve him till 1814 as one of great Chiefs of staffs in history.However he had no aptitude for strategy himself and was found at a loss in napoleon's absence.
Also present was Auguste Marmont,an artillery specialist and friend of Napoloen.Another future marshal,he would desert him at the end.

Now the general turned to inspect the 'Army' he had inherited and begun to understand why none of the 3 senior general had been keen to assume command when the previous overall commander resigned.On paper he had 54,000 men.But 37,000 were fit for service.Rest being sick or deserted.
Morale was low,supplies were short,the soldiers had recieved no pay for years,Most had no proper uniforms,shoes and were in rags,some didn't even have muskets.Penned up in the ligurian mountains,with the austrians and piedmontese on 2 sides and nelson's royal navy at their back on the coast ,situation was dire.Cavalry horses were in half rations for half a year,artillery was in short supply -Hunger and neglect had led to a situation where the army was rapidly disintegrating.Taking advantage royalist agents were in the ranks inciting mutiny.2 days before his arrival, young Bonaparte faced a mutiny of the 209th Demibrigade, which refused to move forward, claiming it had no money or shoes.Grasping the gravity of the situation ,bonaparte determined that only a successful offensive could save the army and take it into the plains,out from the barren mountains.As he reviewed his skeptical soldiers he resorted to oratory -



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''Soldiers! You are hungry and naked; the Government owes you much but can give you nothing. The patience and courage which you have displayed among these rocks are admirable, but they bring you no glory–not a glimmer falls upon you. I will lead you into the most fertile plains in the world. Rich provinces, opulent towns, all shall be at your disposal; there you will find honor, glory, and riches. Soldiers of Italy! Will you be found wanting in courage or steadfastness?' -

Napoleon in his First address.

[Note the pragmatic and brutally realistic style of the speech.No babbling on the 'rights of man' and liberty as was the norm for the then republican generals.A direct appeal to the soldier's honour and courage coupled with a cunning and realistic lure to the greed and sense of materialism of the motley group of starving scarecrows.]

He succeeded in winning the soldiers over and instilling hope in them.But to carry out his promise he needed immediate success.Providing for a minimum time of reorganization and re-equipment he quickly dealt with looters and embezzlers,stiffened discipline,secured a loan by bullying the bank of genoa to pay at least some soldiers for the moment as the army of italy -Bonaparte's soon to be 'Heroes in rags' prepared to take the offensive.

Meanwhile,austrian intelligence had also noted the arrival of the young commander and described him as more of a theorist than a general.General Beaulieu,commander of the austrian army caustically remarking -''It would be a pleasure to teach the fundamentals of war to this brat of a buonaparte''.

An epic campaign was about to begin.

Next: Strategic situation and the Montenotte Campaign.

 

[M.AsfandYar]

I suddenly remmembered Napoleon Total War

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

@AUSTERLITZ

Please add a 500X250 picture, it has to be the first picture. It can be resized in paint . Let me know when its done, then we'll publish it.

Sry abt the late reply to this post-a little confused,but u mean to enlarge the first pic?.And then edit the thread?Publish what

 

[Kompromat]

@AUSTERLITZ

Take the first picture, open it in paint, alter its dimensions to 250x500 then insert it again on top of your post.

I need this for a thumbnil. This will be published on the front page.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

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Can't seem to edit my first post.Here's the altered pic.

 

[flamer84]

Excellent thread @AUSTERLITZ ,just a small correction,if you don't mind.There was no Austria-Hungary in 1792,it was called the Austrian Empire or Hapsburg Empire.Austria-Hungary came into existence only in 1867 because the austrian elites were shaken after the hungarian revolution in 1848.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Excellent thread @AUSTERLITZ ,just a small correction,if you don't mind.There was no Austria-Hungary in 1792,it was called the Austrian Empire or Hapsburg Empire.Austria-Hungary came into existence only in 1867 because the austrian elites were shaken after the hungarian revolution in 1848.

Yes i know,it was a mistake.Thanks.I'll continue with the next installments tonight.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

THE MONTENOTTE CAMPAIGN - DEFEAT OF PIEDMONT​

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The overall strategic situation in 1796.The bulk of both the armies of france and austria are concentrated in the rhine theater.The french armies under Moreau and Jourdan oppose that of the Archduke charles and Marshal Wurmser.
Aside from this Austria also has a reserve army[usually of second rate troops] further inland acting as an army of observation watching the prussians.
2 small french armies under kellerman[18,000] and hoche[15,000] Garrison the coast and the alpine passes.Note these are not field armies.They are mostly a collection of strung out detatchments covering the alpine passes from any austrian intrusion,and the french coast from british seaborne landings and raids.The royal navy is active in both the channel and the mediterranean.

The main effort was to be made in the german theatre while the italian theatre was to be a secondary one to distract the attention and resources of habsburg austria.At least that was the directory's plan.


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The Strategic Situation :​

A closeup of the situation in italy.The light yellow boundary denotes the ligurian mountains which seperates the enemy armies.French are penned up in the mountains with the coast on their back and strung out.Their LOC runs along the coast.
Massena's Forces form the right flank of bonaparte's army.It comprises of the divisions of Laharpe and Meynier.A detatchment from laharpe's division -Cervoni's brigade is situated far out on the extreme right holding Voltri in a rather isolated position.This exposed position was the result of the directory's attempt to bully the tiny republic of genoa for money.The previous commander,Scherer had thus sent this force of under cervoni of around 6,000 men towards genoa.On his arrival bonaparte suspended this movement away from the main body,but the withdrawal back into the main force had not yet been accomplished.It however served as a distraction for the main austrian army.In total Laharpe,Meynier and Cevorni's commands made up the forces nominally subordinated to Massena.This was the largest of the french divisions in the Army of italy.
The centre was formed By the division of Augereau.The Left wing by the division under serurier located adjacent to augereau's force.

The other blue oval partly visible in the diagram at the extreme bottom left,represents about 7,000 troops in small detatchments garrisoning fortresses and protecting the french LoC back to mainland france.These are not available for field duty.Thus inspite of his nominal strength of 58,000,bonaparte in reality has around 37,500 available for field service.

Ranged against these are the forces of austria and piedmont.On the left are the piedmontese under general Colli with around 20,000.He is supported by an auxillary austrian force under general provera based near Ceva.[If u search hard u can see Ceva inside the piedmontese army deployment area ]On the top right u can see partially see another piedmontese force.These were around 20,000 second rate troops under Corrigan guarding the alpine passes in small detatchments and garrisons,exactly the same role Kellerman's force was doing on the french side.Thus Kellerman and Corrigan cancelled each other out and none of these field armies capable for independent operations of large scale.
On the Right is the main austrian army under overall command of general Beaulieu.Nominally 35,000 strong -The division of general Argentau was the closest to the french numbering 11,500 men.Beaulieu personally had a further 20,000 odd under himself.Of these half were in forward positions under Vukassovich and Sebotendorff.The rest were held further back in garrisons and reserve around the main austrian supply base at the fortress of Alessandria.
[Note in the map there are 2 black dots at edge of the austrian battle area,if u look very closely the names Montenotte and Dego u might be able to see - Keep them in mind.These locations will assume importance later]

In all The french had 37,500 effective troops on the field to the allied 52,000.On paper this would be overwhelming for the french if concentrated,but as of yet they were still somewhat dispersed[so were the french for that matter] and relations between Colli and Beaulieu were patchy.Bonaparte understood however if he could achieve a rapid concentration on chosen sectors he may be able to gain a temporary numerical superiority on the battlefield even while being outnumbered overall,before the austrians had a chance to finish their concentration.

Now i will discuss the operational movements in depth.Unlike in battles it would be difficult to describe this one step at a time.So i will present the movements of the armies during a set time period as a whole,then describe those events in detail.



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Phase I of Montenotte Campaign- From Voltri to Dego

To understand the above diagram key is to follow the dates to get the sequence of events.Also note that the dotted lines represent roads-the nodes of the movement of armies.Whenever i mention a place scroll back to check the above diagram for better understanding.The above diagram is the key to follow the events below.

1]Beaulieu attacks Cervoni's isolated force at the battle of Voltri.The campaign has thus began ahead of bonaparte's schedule.Cervoni manages a fighting retreat and links up with bonaparte's main force.

2]Argentau attacks the advance elements of Laharpe's division at Monte Legino redoubt but is held off in a desperate effort just long enough for Laharpe to arrive with his main body and push the austrians back.

3]French advance on Montenotte .Laharpe pins Argentau frontally.Rest of Massena's command -Meynier's division [bonaparte in person is with this force] conducts a flank march and arrives on argentau's exposed side in the battle of montenotte.Battle of Montenotte is Napoleon's first pitched battle.French have now seized the central position at Carcare-Montenotte area.

4]Mauled Argentau retreats to dego.Bonaparte identifies Dego as the new startegic position to be seized to pin the austrians down and prevent Beaulieu from uniting with Colli.[recall the sequence of the central position tactic in earlier posts]

5]Meanwhile acc to Bonaparte's plan,Serurier advances to fix the attention of the Main Piedmontese army .Augeareau moves in from the flank but is held up at Milisemo-Cosseria.He finally takes cosseria.Further increasing the gap between the piedmontese and the austrians.

6]Part of Augereau's force is ordered to swing back and joins massena and bonaparte for a united strike on Dego.French rout argentau's remnants and reinforcements at the battle of dego and seize the central position,isolating Colli from Beaulieu.Beaulieu's desperate last minute reinforcements arriving from voltri under vukossavich arrive too late at Dego to prove more than a temporary hindrance.

The campaign enters its next phase-.
Now i will describe the events outlined above in detail.
The Respective Plans -

The campaign began against all expectations when Beaulieu goaded by Cervoni's now suspended movement against Genoa was roused into action.The austrian plan was simple - 2 columns under Vukossavich and Sebetendorff would envelop Cervoni's brigade and secure Genoa.The rest of Beaulieu's force would then fall back to alessandria leaving behind a sufficient blocking detatchment before Genoa.They would then regroup and this time advance along bormida valley to join argentau and the piedmontese for a general assault.Argentau meanwhile was to advance on Laharpe's position seperating him from Massena and hold until beaulieu arrived again with the main body.



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Bonaparte had not been idle either.His instructions from the directory were to treat the piedmontese mildly in hope of a settlement with them,bonaparte however determined on an immediate and ruthless attack to knock the piedmontese out of the war.Napoleon understood piedmont was war weary,but to focus on austria he had to secure his rear first.Bonaparte planned to seize the central position between the 2 armies which he identified as the town of Carcare[see map] with a combined drive by Massena and augereau.Laharpe would support their advnace.Serurier and Cervoni were to serve as diversions on the extreme flanks.He would then leave a pinning force to keep the austrians at bay in the vicinity of Dego and advance with the bulk of his forces on Colli and his isolated Piedmontese in a classic application of his Strategy of the central position.The plan was practical and would give Beaulieu little time to reinforce the threatened sector.The alternatives -an attack over the tanaro valley against the piedmontese was hindered by rough ground and distance and a concentrated drive towards genoa following cervoni would require redployment giving beaulieu time and would leave his rear vulnerable to a piedmontese descent.The whole operation was to begin on 15th april 1796.
> Battle of voltri and The defense of Monte legino -
In reality however things didn't go acc to plan.The austrians opened the campaign late on the 10th with an attack on Voltri taking napoleon by surprise.Cervoni however managed to conduct a skillful fighting rereat along the coastal road .This attack however had made it clear to napoleon the place of beaulieu's main effort.

Meanwhile Argentau advanced on Laharpe aiming for the main french supply base at Savonna.He was held up at Monte Legino Redoubt by a french holding force under Col.Rampon.
The difficult terrain and steep hillsides of Monte Legino redoubt and the courage of the defenders led by Rampon held up the austrian army,despite large numerical superiority.



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Colonel Rampon, with 32nd DB Ligne flag in hand, holding the small Monte Negino redoubt. The oath he made his soldiers swear….”It is here, my friends that we must conquer or die”.
The late afternoon struggle for this small mountain redoubt, with several bloody assaults , ended with the Austrian army retiring for the night and renewing the effort the next day.

Napoleon's Response-

Bonaparte had got word of Cervoni's retreat and The attack on Monte Legino by late afternoon on the 11th.He could send relief forces in both directions and try to stabilize the situation,but that would be reacting to the enemy and ceding the initiative.As the saying in war goes- ''Never reinforce Failure''.Instead he resolved to counterattack and go ahead with his original offensive plan with minor modifications.
'Realizing his advantage of interior lines and ignoring Beaulieu who was too far away for the moment, he brought forward his own offensive battle plans and issued his march orders for rapid concentration of three divisions in the Bormida river valley, centered on Carcare. Two divisions under GD Massena (Meynier and La Harpe) would come from the south and east and one (Augereau) from the southwest. The former Voltri defenders (Cervoni brigade) will march westwards crossing the shoreline hills to reach Savona and rejoin Massena. This would give General Bonaparte 20-30,000 troops massed in a fairly small area, just south and near the junction of the two allied armies.'

'The only Austrian forces within range of the area of concentration were FML Argenteau’s 9,000 men, mostly engaged below Monte Negino, and GM Provera’s Auxiliary Corps numbering 2,000 near Millesimo. FZM Beaulieu’s Voltri campaign forces were returning back over the Ligurian mountain passes, marching to support Argenteau from distant Acqui. The small column under Colonel Vukassovich return marched along mountain ridge roads towards Sassello, with the aim to link up with FML Argenteau near Dego on April 15th. FML Colli and the Piedmontese army remained entrenched and stationary around Ceva with small forward detachments.


The Battle of Montenotte -



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Overnight Laharpe reinforced Monte legino with his full strength and brought cannon up the heights.In the morning understanding his chances of taking the strongpoint was now zero,Argentau slowly retreated towards Montenotte Superior.Laharpe followed with vigour seeking to pin Argentau down.
French cannons began firing from Monte Negino on the Austrians below them.
Meanwhile Meynier's division of Massena's command with Bonaparte in person makes a rapid flank march.Shortly afterward, Masséna's soldiers launched their attack on the weakly held Austrian right flank, swamping the defenders with superior numbers.By now the french had 9000-14,000 men against Argentau's 7000-9000. Argenteau deployed the Stein and Pellegrini battalions under Nesslinger to hold the center and assigned the two Archduke Anton battalions to defend the left flank on Monte Pra. Then he took the Alvinczi battalion to the rescue of the 3rd Terzi battalion on his right flank. While Masséna overwhelmed Argenteau's right, Laharpe fell on the Austrians defending Monte Pra. At first the Austrians conducted a stout defense. But Masséna's assault made such rapid progress that Argenteau ordered a retreat. The 3rd Terzi battalion was nearly destroyed and Nesslinger's two battalions were badly cut up. In the Austrian retreat from Montenotte Superiore, the Alvinczi battalion provided the rear guard. The battalion had to fight its way out, losing its color and many soldiers. Argenteau's men barely cleared out of Montenotte Inferiore before Masséna's and Laharpe's flanking forces converged on the hamlet. By 9:30 AM the battle was over.Napoleon Bonaparte had won his first battle.

The escape from Montenotte was disastrous for the austrians as the survivors scattered in all directions.The french had lost 880 killed and wounded while argentau had lost 2500 and 12 guns.He retreated in disarray towards Dego hoping to link up with Beaulieu's forces from Acqui.However his effective command had been reduced to a mere 700 men.He reported in a dispatch to Beaulieu that 'his command was almost destroyed'.


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Engagement at Milisemo-Cosseria -

The french don't pause to celebrate.'General Bonaparte gave orders to march from their central position around Carcare and Montenotte and start the campaign against the Sardinian – Piedmontese army under FML Colli near Ceva. General Massena was to march towards Dego and determine the strength of the Austrian positions that afternoon, General La Harpe to Cairo from Montenotte Superiore after chasing the remains of Argenteau’s forces. General Augereau to Millesimo then attack today towards Montezemolo further west near Ceva . General Serurier towards the southern flank of Colli’s entrenched position at Ceva.'Bonaparte's already unreliable supply train was breaking down and french forces were running hungry.A central reserve of 6 battalions and bulk of what little cavalry the french had under Stengel were kept at carcare to rapidly reinforce any of the 2 sectors in a emergency.

Thus,Bonaparte planned to swing the main weight of his offensive to the west against the 21,000-strong Sardinian army. To keep Beaulieu's Austrian army from interfering, the French commander sent half of massena's division to seize Dego[other half under Laharpe to aid augereau against the sardinians] to the north and block the lilkely route of austrian reinforcements.

However things didn't go all to plan.Augereau's march was delayed first by a lack of shoes.Many were distributed muskets captured from the austrians at montenotte.
Initially augereau quickly swept away the allied outposts near Milisemo but the french advance was stopped cold at the fortress of Cosseria by a 1000 piedmontese and austrian grenadiers against 6000 french.3 costly attacks proved futile. Bonaparte arrived in person to inspect the situation.


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Bird's eye view of Cosseria fortress.
“You are surrounded on all sides. Your resistance would only cause the spilling of blood without gaining any advantage. If in a quarter of an hour you do not all give yourselves up as prisoners, I shall show mercy to no one.”-Napoleon's letter to Provera.
His demands for surrender were scornfully rejected by the opposing commander Provera leading the austrian provisional corps plus piedmontese grenadiers.Bonaparte's bluff had been called.

‘this blasted castle will force us to turn back to the Riviera.’ -A frustrated Napoleon.

Battle of Dego -

Meanwhile more bad news arrived.Massena sent word that a sizeable austrian force was holding Dego.Understanding time was not on his side Bonaparte changed his plans and again swung the weight of his forces against the austrians aiming for Dego.Leaving augereau with one brigade to surround Cosseria,he took the other brigade under Joubert[injured and so not leading in person] along with the Laharpe's forces[which were near Cairo] and turned back to join Massena for a united attack on Dego.


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Beaulieu had ordered Argentau to hold Dego for 2 days until the 15th-16th when he could arrive with the main body.Argentau tried his best by collecting available reinforcements from the area and the survivors of Montenotte.Late on the 13th he also requested Vukassovich to hurry to his aid.

However Bonaparte didn't give them any time.After forced marching,on early the 14th The french 3-prong attack under Masssena bolstered by the forces Bonaparte had assembled[Laharpe's force,part of joubert's brigade minus joubert and Stengel's cavalry from the reserve at Carcare] swept away the outnumbered Austrians from multiple directions.12,000 frenchmen having been concentrated against 6000 austrians.For 1500 casualities french inflicted 3000 and captured 19 guns.With this Argentau's command was nearly totally crushed and the remnants fled towards Acqui.

To cap off this success on the morning of the 14th news arrived that Cosseria had finally capitulated.It had cost the french 900 casualities while the austrians had suffered only 100 dead.However the rest of the force around 900 became prisoners to augereau's forces.

Leaving Massena to occupy Dego and block any advance by Beaulieu ,napoleon returned west with Laharpe and Joubert's force to unite with Augereau and Serurier and then focus his entire attention on Colli.

However the drama at Dego was not yet over.For the starving french troops,'Discipline now completely broke down, starved and hungry soldiers went on a rampage of looting and search for food.Disintegration and abandonment of duty which officers and generals were unable to contain. Churches were looted, the town of Dego searched and sacked from end to end for food and valuables. The long cold and rainy night added to slackening professional vigilance, encouraging the French looters to remain under shelter of the town houses.'



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At this juncture on dawn 15th,Vukassovich suddenly appeared from the fog with the french scattered and lying drunk all over the town.Predictably the french were totally routed and driven out in disarray.Massena himself was caught in bed with a woman and fled in his nightshirt.Vukassovich promptly began to improve the defences of Dego and await Beaulieu who was to arrive the next day.

On hearing of the reverse,a furious bonaparte countermarched back to Dego with the cursing troops of Laharpe.Meanwhile massena rallied his men and after joining with bonaparte and subjecting them to a verbal dressing down,the french again rushed forward like in the previous day to sawrm the outnumbered austrians of Vukassovich.12,000-15,000 french concentrating on 3500 austrians.The battle was however brutal.'Platoons fought platoons, companies exchanged musketry in the smoke of battle as Austrian redoubt cannon lashed apart French formations. GD La Harpe’s infantry forded the Bromida river again as the previous day, losing General Causse in a reckless assault near Plano as the battle raged. Victor’s troops spread out as skirmishers and gave support, a counterattack by brigadier Leczeny forced back the 51st DB. General Massena was everywhere on foot, leading, pushing, returning Frenchmen into the brawl as Colonel Vukassovich was likewise cheering forward his brave infantry.'Finally around 4 pm on the 15th austrians broke.French suffered 938 casualities and the austrians 1,757.The surrounding countryside was subjected to another round of plunder ,this time led by Laharpe's exhausted men.

Bonaparte expected Beaulieu's arrival and spent the entire 16th preparing for such a possibility at Dego.He sent probing patrols to determine the austrian intentions.
Beaulieu however had had enough.After suffering 3 defeats and Argentau's command being wiped out,he believed HE was about to be subjected to a major french attack.He fell back on Acqui to regroup.Bonaparte finally convinced of Beaulieu's inactivity left Laharpe to hold Dego and marched west to settle affairs with Colli.


Next: Phase 2 of the Montenotte Campaign.[The whole italian campaign 1796-1797 will consist of 6 mini-campaigns like the montenotte campaign and will take quite some time.So its going to be a long haul.These earliest battles are small and not in detail,but later ones will be big and far more extensive]

 

[asad71]

@
AUSTERLITZ

Pray, continue.Thanks.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

@
AUSTERLITZ

Pray, continue.Thanks.

Sry,abt delay.Real life issues.Tonight.Thanks for the prod,lol.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Phase II of Montenotte Campaign- From Dego to Mondovi



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[As usual consult this map to understand following events]

On the late 16th Bonaparte left Laharpe at Dego[The movement shown here is of a later date] ,and sent the rest of Massena's division towards San Benedetto so as to be ready to fall on Beaulieu's right flank if he advanced on Laharpe at Dego or alternatively support Augereau on the other flank.He himself transfered his headquarters from Carcare to Milisemo along with the bulk of the artillery.Meanwhile Serurier advanced from the Tanaro valley towards Ceva and Augereau had already made probing attacks towards it.

Battle of Ceva -

Augereau in the meantime with 8,000 men had begun a somewhat premature attack on Ceva on the 16th itself.Colli however had realized beaulieu was now out of supporting distance and was already preparing to withdraw.6000 men under count Vital forming the rearguard garrisoned the fortified sector at Ceva fortress.


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Ceva fortress and its surrounding redoubts.The entrenched camp at Ceva was an excellent defensive position.
At about noon, the French launched a number of uncoordinated attacks. To the north, Joubert’s column, fearing being outflanked from Mombarcaro, soon retreated in disorder. Meanwhile, two attack columns of Augereau’s division advanced toward La Pedaggera and Bric Bastia. After an initial failure, the French, with some artillery support, succeeded in taking the latter. Farther south, Rusca advanced to exploit a gap in the Piedmontese deployment, but a counterattack from the Mondoni Redoubt pushed him back. Their line restored, the Piedmontese forced the enemy to evacuate Bric Bastia.



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At this point, Augereau decided to give up and decided to await serurier's arrival.The battle of Ceva had cost 600 french casualities to 150 piedmontese.However with serurier advancing from their exposed right flank overnight the piedmontese abandoned the fortress except a tiny garrison of 500 and withdrew towards the main piedmontese body at behind the corsaglia river line near La bicocia[check corsaglia river in map].French seized Ceva immediately afterward.

The Corsaglia Line-La Bicocia

Bonaparte,furious at the enemy's escape, harried his forces to pursue with utmost speed,but colli beat a skillful retreat.On the 18th the exhausted troops of Serurier and attempted to force a engagement at La bicocia/St Michelle .
The corps of Baron Colli still had 12,000 infantrymen and 2,000 cavalrymen. Some units were in or near the town of Mondovì, some miles to the rear. The Tanaro - Corsaglia Rivers line, was meant - in the conditions Colli was finding himself in - as a delaying area to slow down the French advance.
'The core of the line was the fortified hill of la Bicocca di San Giacomo, where a bridge across the Corsaglia lay. The first line, right on the river bank, was made up by two grenadier battalions (8th and 9th, 800 men in all) led by a highly respected fighting man, Marquis Dichat. The bridge was garrisoned by the 2nd Swiss Grenadier company from the Christ Regiment, a light artillery battery with 2 guns and a heavy one with 6 guns. Behind them, on the hill, stood 2,000 men: two Guards battalions, one Savoy battalion, one Maurienne battalion, two grenadier battalions under Varax, a Savoyard officer of proven ability. The force was led by two excellent Piedmontese officers, brigadier Solaro della Chiusa (a veteran grenadier commander) and brigadier Civalieri.
Along the left sector of the line, Colli deployed 10 battalions with 3,400 infantry (of whom, 1,000 Austrians) and 1,500 dragoons, under brigadier Brempt. These troops should also keep the line of retreat of the whole corps safe and open.
On the center, 13 infantry battalions with 4,000 men and 300 cavalrymen of the Royal Piedmont Regiment.
On the right, 2,000 men including some Royal Grenadiers, Nice Chasseurs, Light Legion troops. The main stronghold was the Jesus Chapel of San Michele, on a hill, defended by Captain Radicati di Primeglio with Light Legion elements and an artillery battery. The 1st Grenadier battalion from the Chiusano regiment connected the stronghold to the village of San Michele.
All along the line, several very well placed artillery batteries added firepower to the defense. The line, however, had one serious flaw. The Bicocca stronghold formed sort of a bulge towards the French lines, and almost prompted a two-prongs attack from the north and the south to cut it off from the defensive line. Which was exactly what the French planned to do.The line was garrisoned by 8,000 men in all.'

'Bonaparte devised to use two divisions (Augereau and Sérurier), each with 6,000 men, possibly reinforced by a third one (Masséna), to carry out a hammer-and-anvil plan. Sérurier would attack the southern sector of the line, Augereau the center. Once crossed the river and pushed the defenders back, Augereau would play the anvil, and Sérurier - wheeling to his right, to the north - the hammer. After the destruction of the bulk of the enemy corps, its left wing would have been easily disposed of. Sérurier had at his disposal a relatively important cavalry force of 14 squadrons under generals Beaumont and Stengel. Those should be used after Sérurier's breakthrough to cut the Sardinian line of retreat.'In the night between 18 and 19 April, Bonaparte ordered to attack.



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The plan was to prove too hasty.Napoleon was in a hurry to demolish Colli and ignored advice from some of the more cautious french commanders to wait for massena.
'In the morning of 19 April,The Corsaglia river was in full spate, the cliff on the far bank looked impassable, and the Sardinian artillery opened up on them with a heavy and well directed fire. Augereau's attack stalled immediately and was called off.

The Piedmontese repulsed Serurier's morning attack on the San Michele bridge with loss. Later, some skirmishers of Guieu's brigade found an unguarded footbridge to the south near the hamlet of Torre Mondovì. Soon Guieu's men crossed in strength and began rolling up the Sardinian right flank. The defenders of San Michele broke for the rear, allowing BG Fiorella s troops to cross the bridge and occupy the town. In the confusion, Colli was nearly taken prisoner. Dichat was caught, but he escaped by bribing his captor. 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 onto his small bridgehead. One authority estimates that the French suffered about 600 casualties while the Piedmontese lost 300.

To Mondovi -
Napoleon finally recognizing the need for a period of reorganization called a halt to all operations for 2 days while the french regrouped and massed serurier,augereau and massena for an overwhelming 3-division assault.

An important step taken by napoleon at this juncture was the change in lines of communication of the french army.Hitherto it had run from the supply depot at savonna through the exposed cadibona pass which was vulnerable to an austrian attack.With the seizure of Ceva,Bonaparte changed them to a new line running from the more secure Ormea depot to ceva.[Note the change in LOC is depicted in the very first map of this post,this went into effect on 19th].This change made Dego strategically less important .
Therefore Laharpe was ordered to keep just one brigade near the Dego-Cairo region and send his second brigade to relieve massena's division at San Beneditto.
Massena with the rest of his command[-laharpe] was thus freed up to join Augereau and Serurier for a grand assault on Colli .
On the 20th Massena's division was brought up to join Augereau and Serurier,who rested.On the night of 20 April, Colli withdrew his army from the Corsaglia position, intending to fall back behind the Ellero River at Mondovì,the main sardinian supply depot. 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.

The Battle of Mondovi -



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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.
In all bonaparte had succeeded in massing 17,500 french against 11,000-13,000 piedmontese.

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 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.

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.
The battle of Mondovi had cost 600 french killed and wounded to 1600 sardinian and 8 cannon.

The taking of the well stocked arsenal of Mondovi marked a turning point.French supply problems were eased and FINALLY the french were out of the mountains and into the plains of piedmont,just as bonaparte had promised to his starving soldiers a fortnight ago.

The french now pursued the remaining piedmontese forces with vigour,formed up in a crude Battalion Carre with serurier and Laharpe forming the flanks and massena and Augereau the center each within 24 hrs supporting distance.Colli hopelessly outnumbered asked for a ceasefire on the 23rd.Bonaparte's response was to advance on the piedmontese capital of turin at double speed.Finally with the seizure of Cherasco and french armies on the gates of Turin,and all communication with beaulieu being severed-the sardinian court capitulated to bonaparte's demands by the armistice of Cherasco on the 28th.Several fortresses including Alessandria[currently in austrian hands],Ceva,Cuneo and Tortona were handed over to the french and france recieved right of passage through sardinian territory.With his rear secure Napoleon now ordered Laharpe to swing round and advance on Acqui and Beaulieu with other french formations following closely.



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In a ten day lightning assault,at the cost of just 6000 casualities, napoleon had knocked piedmont out of the war.The general had some right to self-congratulation when he boasted -''Hannibal forced the alps,we turned it''.[He was to force the alps in 1800 marengo campaign]

To placate the directory whose instructions he had ignored and without whose consultation the treaty had been signed,cunningly much booty was sent to Paris.Bonaparte knew the already unpopular directory wouldn't dare to undo his work and the material booty sent to the bankrupt govt would also be appreciated.

A declaration summed up his achievements.-

''Soldiers!In fifteen days you have gained six victories,taken 21 colours and 55 pieces of artillery,seized several fortresses and conquered the richest areas of piedmont.You have captured 15,000 prisoners of war and killed or wounded more than 10,000''

The promises made to his starving soldiers on his first speech had been fulfilled.Then,they had half-believed him.From henceforth -they would believe in him.

Strategic Picture of the Montenotte Campaign.



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Step by step representation of the campaign.Bonaparte seizes the central position at Carcare after crushing argentau's offensive at Montenotte.Then Widens the gap between the allied armies by smashing Dego and MIlisemo,at both places also pinning down the enemy.Originally intending to concentrate on the sardinians,he improvizes and changes target being held up at cosseria.After mauling Beaulieu he finally pursues and defeats colli.In all a prototype of the strategy of the central position with excellent improvisation twice.First on counterattacking rather than recating to the initial austrian advance on voltri and monte legino,then quickly switching targets to Dego at being held up at cosseria .The flexible changing of the lines of communication is also apparent mid-campaign.



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Through iron determination,brilliant manuevering,rapid concentration of force tempered with economy of effort,surprise with security and sheer audacity and speed Bonaparte had turned the balance of power in north Italy upside down in ten days,turning a disgruntled rabble into a powerful and mobile army.
And the Italian campaign had only begun.

Next: The Lodi Campaign -Pursuit of Beaulieu.