Battle of Montebello (1800)

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Battle of Montebello (1800)
date June 9, 1800
place near Montebello della Battaglia (Lombardy)
output French victory
consequences orderly withdrawal of the Austrians
Parties to the conflict

France 1804First French Republic France

Habsburg MonarchyHabsburg Monarchy Austria

Commander

France 1804First French Republic Jean Lannes

Habsburg MonarchyHabsburg Monarchy Charles of Bátorkéz

Troop strength
8,000 men, later 14,000 18,000 men
losses

3,000 men

4,275 men, 2 cannons

Second coalition war (1799–1802)

The Battle of Montebello on June 9, 1800 was a battle of the Second Coalition War . In the run-up to the decisive battle of Marengo , near Montebello in Lombardy, a French vanguard under Jean Lannes defeated an Austrian force commanded by Karl Ott von Bátorkéz .

prehistory

The capture of Milan by Bonaparte on June 2nd resulted in the fragmentation of the Austrian army into three main parts and many smaller units. While General Michael von Melas occupied Turin with 18,000 men, Lieutenant Field Marshal Peter Ott stayed with 18,000 soldiers near Genoa , where he secured the task of Major General ( général de division ) André Masséna's starving garrison on June 4th, after which Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton von took over Elsnitz withdrew from the Riviera with 8000 soldiers . Meanwhile, Lieutenant Field Marshal Joseph Philipp Vukasović and 4000 men had taken up position in the east of Milan . South of the Po River , Lieutenant Field Marshal Andreas O'Reilly marched with 3,000 troops towards Piacenza , while strong garrisons occupied the fortresses of Alessandria , Coni and Casale . This strong starting position led Melas to believe that he had plenty of time to gather his troops and then launch a counter-offensive north of Piacenza.

Major General Jean Lannes and his corps marched south from Milan, capturing Pavia on June 3 , and initially repulsed by Piacenza's tiny 400-man garrison. In a series of maneuvers, Major General Joachim Murat and Major General Jean Boudet sailed their troops across the Po River on June 6, landing in the east of Piacenza, while Lannes crossed the Po in the west of the city. Murat overran the Piacenza garrison, while Lannes O'Reilly pushed back west. Through these actions, the French severed the most important communication channel for the Austrians between Mantua and Alessandria, located in the strategically located gorge near Stradella . Murat was able to learn from documents that had been picked up that Genoa had fallen, whereupon Bonaparte ordered the Austrians to be put under pressure.

On June 7th, Ott's column marched from its original position to Voghera , where on the evening of June 8th they allied with the forces of O'Reilly. After enemy troops had been signaled in the east, Ott O'Reilly sent four cavalry squadrons with six infantry battalions to defend the village of Casteggio on the main east-west route.

Meanwhile, the length of the French front was stretched out. Assuming that the enemy could not be strong, Bonaparte sent the following note to Lannes, which read: "If troops should appear between Voghera and Stradella , they should be attacked without care; they are, certainly, fewer than 10,000 ". Lannes then planned to march further west, which should bring his 8,000 men in contact with the 18,000-strong corps under Ott.

Armed forces

French armed forces
Austrian armed forces
  • Corps Ott (18,000 men)
    • Division Ludwig von Vogelsang
    • Division Joseph von Schellenberg
    • Andreas O'Reilly division

Course of the battle

On the morning of June 9, the 6th Light Infantry Half-Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General François Watrin, encountered an Austrian position and attacked immediately. Melas' chief of staff, Major General Anton von Zach , who was with Ott at the time, advised Ott against a battle, but was passed over by this. Watrin then threw all his units into battle in an aggressive manner, but found that his three half-brigades, two gun batteries and the single cavalry regiment were facing superior forces, as Ott had 26 infantry battalions and 14 cavalry squadrons, as well as 35 cannons that were heavy for the French Inflicted losses.

For five hours the outnumbered French tried to break the Austrian lines, they even managed to take Casteggio twice, only to be pushed back each time by O'Reilly. Attempts to flank the Austrians were destroyed by the Lobowitz Dragoons and an artillery position, whereby it is only thanks to the repeated assault attacks of the 12th Hussars that the French were not overrun by the Austrian Dragoons. Nine Austrian battalions defended a hill to the south of the village, while - a little further west - five battalions waited as reserves in the village of Montebello. Meanwhile, the French received a little help when three consular guard guns and several other units arrived.

When Lanne's unit slowly threatened to collapse at 1:00 p.m., Jacques-Antoine Chambarlhac's division from the corps of Claude-Victor Perrin gen. Victor arrived on the battlefield. Victor then sent the 43rd Line Infantry under Brigadier General Olivier Rivaud to attack the enemy on the right flank, the 24th Light Infantry in a charge against the Austrian left flank and the 96th Line Infantry against the Austrian center. Despite intensive artillery support, Otts tired troops were no longer able to repel the concentrated attacks, which led the general to order an orderly retreat. O'Reilly's battalions held Casteggio to the last, which resulted in the Reisky regiment being nearly wiped out. The retreat was eventually covered by the survivors from O'Reilly's forces and the numerous Austrian cavalry.

consequences

The Austrians reported their losses after the battle as 659 dead, 1,445 wounded and 2,171 prisoners, as well as two field guns lost to the French. The French, on the other hand, put their losses at only 600 losses, but a more realistic estimate is 3000 losses. The battle of Montebello did not endanger Melas' situation. His strategy of concentrating his troops and then attacking them remained sensible. On the other hand, Austrian morale suffered a serious setback and Melas remained mesmerized in Alessandria for the next five days, making no move whatsoever, waiting for his troops to complete the concentration. The next meeting was to be the decisive battle at Marengo on June 14, 1800. Jean Lannes stood out for his achievements and bravery during the battle, which led to the fact that in 1808 he was awarded the title "Duke of Montebello" ( duc de Montebello ).

literature