Battle of Mondovi

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Battle of Mondovi
Battle of Mondovi (painting by Bagetti Giuseppe Pietro)
Battle of Mondovi (painting by Bagetti Giuseppe Pietro)
date April 20 to April 22, 1796
place Mondovì
Exit French victory
Parties to the conflict

Sardinia KingdomKingdom of Sardinia Sardinia

France 1804First French Republic France

Commander

Sardinia KingdomKingdom of Sardinia Michelangelo Colli

France 1804First French Republic Napoleon Bonaparte

Troop strength
12,000 men 24,000 men
losses

1600 men

600 men

The information on troop strength and losses can differ significantly in the literature.
Location map

The Battle of Mondovi during the First Coalition War was actually several skirmishes on April 20 and 22, 1796 between French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte and units of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont under Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchini . Napoleon won. The Kingdom of Sardinia then withdrew from the war.

prehistory

Napoleon arrived in Nice on March 23, 1796 to take over the French Italian army of around 35,000 infantrymen and 4,000 cavalrymen. The troops were undisciplined and suffered from supply shortages. However, they were experienced soldiers.

Before he could attack the Austrian troops in northern Italy, Napoleon had to separate the troops of the Kingdom of Sardinia from their allies. The road from Savona to the north across the Apennines split at Carcare . One ran westward via Millesimo and Ceva towards Turin . The other led northeast via Cairo Montenotte , Dego and Acqui to Milan . The first road was protected by the troops of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the second was held by the Austrians. Napoleon initially wanted to turn against the Sardinian troops. Various circumstances, in particular the arbitrariness of subordinate generals, initially forced him to take action against the Austrians. He won at Montenotte (April 12), Millesimo (April 13) and Dego (April 14). The Austrian general Jean-Pierre de Beaulieu then withdrew to the plain. The Sardinian troops were thus isolated from Austrian support.

course

Napoleon then marched towards Ceva with four divisions . The Sardinian troops camped there under General Colli. The Sardinian troops initially withstood the attack on the camp until they were threatened from the flanks. Then Colli withdrew to Mondovi. There he took up a defensible position on the heights of the left bank of the Corsaglia river up to its confluence with the Tanaro . The right wing of the Sardinians reached as far as Vico, the left as far as Lesegno .

Napoleon attacked this position on April 20, 1796. Jean Sérurier was able to cross two strategically important bridges with his units. But the center of the Sardinian army resisted until reinforcements came along. Bonaparte withdrew André Masséna's division from Ceva and prepared a new attack.

General Colli, who only had about 12,000 men, considered his troops too weak to be able to hold his position against an opponent about twice as strong. He wanted to put his troops in a more advantageous position to await the arrival of the Austrians there. The departure took place on the night of April 22nd.

After the troop movements were noticed on the French side, Napoleon had the enemy pursued. Sérurier caught up with the units directly reporting to Colli at Vico. General Dichat, who commanded the center of the Sardinian troops, came to the aid of the troubled units and forced the French to retreat. This enabled Colli to restore order among his units and also to attack. But to protect the city, Colli had to break off the fight. In the meantime General Dichat had been fatally wounded and the center, weakened by Colli's withdrawal, was in confusion. Colli responded by crossing the Ellero River below Mondovi and marching towards Fossano . During the retreat there was heavy cavalry fighting between the two armies.

consequences

The victory resulted in the French reaching the rich Italian plains, and the area was sacked. With the victories of the last few weeks, Napoleon had allayed the distrust of his soldiers and generals. The Kingdom of Sardinia found itself isolated and concluded the Cherasco armistice with France on April 28th. Napoleon had thus exceeded his authority, but his conduct was approved by the Directory . Peace was made on June 3rd. This left the Kingdom of Sardinia from the anti-French coalition. Napoleon could now attack the Austrian troops in northern Italy unhindered.

literature

  • Bernhard von Poten (Ed.): Concise dictionary of the entire military sciences Volume 6, Bielefeld, Leipzig 1878, p. 40 f.
  • Roger Dufraisse: Napoleon. Revolutionary and monarch. A biography. Munich 2000, p. 24.
  • David Eggenberger: An encyclopedia of battles: accounts of over 1,560 battles from 1479 BC to the present. New York 1985, p. 281.
  • August Fournier: Napoleon I. A biography. 4th edition, Vienna / Dresden 1922, p. 99 f.

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