The Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800) was fought between the French army of First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and an Habsburg army led by General der Kavallerie Michael von Melas. With Napoleon's army lying across the Habsburg army's line of communications to the west, Melas resolved to attack. Early in the morning, the Habsburg army advanced from the city of Alessandria and took the French army by surprise. It was not until 9:00 am before Melas' army completely moved through a bottleneck at the Bormida River bridges. At first the Austrian attack stalled, slowed by bitter French resistance. By 3:00 pm, the Habsburg army compelled their outnumbered opponents to retreat. Sore from having two horses killed under him, Melas handed over command of the pursuit to a subordinate and went to the rear. Later in the afternoon, a newly-arrived French division suddenly attacked the pursuing Austrians. Combined with a quick burst of cannon fire and a well-timed cavalry charge, the surprise assault caused a complete collapse of the Austrian center column, which fled to the temporary safety of Alessandria. The French suffered at least 7,700 casualties, including two generals killed and five wounded. The Austrians admitted losing 9,416 killed, wounded and missing, but some estimates range as high as 11,000–12,000 casualties. The Austrians lost one general killed and five wounded. The next day, Melas requested an armistice. The victory gave Bonaparte enough bargaining leverage to gain control of northwest Italy during the subsequent negotiations.
French Army General Staff First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte Commander-in-Chief: General of Division Louis-Alexandre Berthier (acted as Chief of Staff and Reserve Commander) Chief of Staff: General of Division Pierre Dupont de l'Étang Chief Engineer: General of Division Armand Samuel de Marescot Chief of Artillery: General of Brigade Auguste de Marmont
Corps Commanders
Organization +First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army at Marengo Corps Division Strength BrigadesSmith provided the French brigade organizations, the fact that the 19th Light had only 2 battalions, and the number of squadrons per regiment. Units Strength Corps LannesGeneral of DivisionJean Lannes Advance Guard 1,577 General of BrigadeJoseph Mainoni 28th Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 1,577 Division WatrinGeneral of DivisionFrançois Watrin 5,071 General of BrigadeJean-Pierre Firmin Malher 6th Light Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 1,408 40th Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 2,136 General of BrigadeClaude Ursule Gency 22nd Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 1,527 Artillery – None 2nd Horse Artillery Regiment, 2nd Company 6 guns, caliber? Cavalry 214 None 5th Dragoon Regiment 214One squadron of 72 troopers was detached to army headquarters. Corps VictorGeneral of DivisionClaude Perrin Victor Division GardanneGeneral of DivisionGaspard Amédée Gardanne 3,178 None 44th Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 2,248 101st Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 930 Unknown 2 3-pound cannons Division ChambarlhacGeneral of DivisionJacques-Antoine Chambarlhac 6,564 General of BrigadeJean-Baptiste Herbin Dessaux 24th Light Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 2,171 43rd Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 2,326 General of BrigadeOlivier Macoux Rivaud 96th Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 2,067 Artillery 5th Horse Artillery Regiment, 4th Company 1 4-pound cannon4 guns, caliber? Cavalry 262 None 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 2 squadrons 262 Corps DesaixGeneral of DivisionLouis Desaix Division BoudetGeneral of DivisionJean Boudet 4,856 General of BrigadeLouis François Félix Musnier 9th Light Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 1,833 30th Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 1,200 General of BrigadeLouis Charles de Guénand 59th Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 1,823 Artillery 2nd Horse Artillery Regiment, 3rd Company 4 4-pounder cannons 2nd Horse Artillery Regiment, 4th Company 4 8-pound cannons Division MonnierGeneral of DivisionJean-Charles Monnier 3,983 General of BrigadeClaude Carra Saint-Cyr 19th Light Infantry Demi-brigade, 2 battalions 673 70th Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 1,410 General of BrigadeJean Jacques Schilt 72nd Line Infantry Demi-brigade, 3 battalions 1,900 Artillery 1st Foot Artillery Regiment, 5th Company 1 8-pound cannon1 howitzer, 110 men 6th Foot Artillery Regiment, 10th Company 2 3-pound cannons Cavalry 120 None 1st Hussar Regiment, 1 squadron 120 Reserve CavalryGeneral of DivisionJoachim Murat None 2,898 General of BrigadeBernard Étienne Marie Duvignau 6th Dragoon Regiment, 4 squadrons 393 8th Dragoon Regiment, 4 squadrons 443 12th Horse Chasseur Regiment, 4 squadrons 391 General of BrigadeFrançois Etienne de Kellermann 1st Cavalry Regiment 123 2nd Cavalry Regiment, 1 squadron 258 20th Cavalry Regiment, 3 squadrons 191 General of BrigadePierre Champeaux 9th Dragoon Regiment, 3 squadrons 150 15th Horse Chasseur Regiment 249 General of BrigadeJean Rivaud (Not engaged) 12th Hussar Regiment, 4 squadrons 340 21st Horse Chasseur Regiment, 4 squadrons 360 ReserveGeneral of DivisionLouis-Alexandre Berthier Consular Guard 1,232 ColonelJérôme Soulès Foot Grenadier Regiment c. 400 Foot Chasseur Regiment c. 400 ColonelJean-Baptiste Bessières Guard Horse Grenadiers c. 240 Guard Horse Chasseurs c. 120 Artillery Guard Artillery Company 2 8-pound cannons1 howitzer, 72 men Reserve ArtilleryGeneral of BrigadeAuguste de Marmont 421 None Unknown 2 6-pound cannons3 guns, caliber? Military EngineersGeneral of DivisionArmand Samuel de Marescot 269 None Sappers 269 Grand Total – 29,942 – – 29,942, 33 guns
Habsburg Army General Staff Commander-in-chief: General der Kavallerie Michael von Melas Chief of Staff: General-major Anton von Zach
Habsburg commanders
Organization +Michael von Melas' Austrian Army at Marengo Wing Division Strength Brigades Units Strength Advance Guard None 1,290 Oberst (Colonel)Johann Maria Philipp Frimont Mariassy Jäger Battalion, 4 companies 164 Am Ende Light Battalion Nr. 3 291 Bach Light Battalion Nr. 4 277 Pioneers, 1 company 100 Kaiser Dragoon Regiment Nr. 1, 2 squadrons 272 Bussy Horse Jäger (French Émigré) Regiment, 2 squadrons 186 Cavalry Battery – Right Wing Feldmarschall-LeutnantAndreas O'Reilly von Ballinlough 2,997 General-majorFranz Rousseau d'Heriamont Mariassy Jäger Battalion, 1 company 40Ottocaner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 2, 1 battalion 298Oguliner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 3, 1 battalion 602Banater Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 4, 1 battalion 533Warasdiner-Kreutzer Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 5, 1 battalion 755 Nauendorf Hussar Regiment Nr. 8, squadrons 426 Hussar Regiment Nr. 5, 2 squadrons 230 Württemberg Dragoon Regiment Nr. 8, 1 squadron 113 Cavalry battery – CenterGeneral der KavallerieMichael von Melas Feldmarschall-LeutnantKarl Joseph Hadik von Futak 5,039 General-majorFranz (Giovanni) Pilati von Tassulo Kaiser Dragoon Regiment Nr. 1, 3 squadrons 309 Karaczay Dragoon Regiment Nr. 4, 6 squadrons 1,053 General-majorFriedrich Joseph Anton von Bellegarde Archduke Anton Infantry Regiment Nr. 52, 2 battalions 855 Johann Jellacic Infantry Regiment Nr. 53, 1 battalion 613 General-majorFranz Xaver Saint-Julien Michael Wallis Infantry Regiment Nr. 11, 3 battalions 2,209 Feldmarschall-LeutnantKonrad Valentin von Kaim 4,939 General-majorAuguste-François Landres de Briey Franz Kinsky Infantry Regiment Nr. 47, battalions 1,640 General-majorVinko Knežević (Vinzenz Knesevich) Tuscany Infantry Regiment Nr. 23, 3 battalions 2,188 General-majorLudwig Wolff de la Marselle Archduke Josef Infantry Regiment Nr. 63, 3 battalions 1,111 Feldmarschall-LeutnantAnton von Elsnitz 4,214 General-majorJohann Baptist Nobili von Loptay Archduke Johann Dragoon Regiment Nr. 3, 6 squadrons 859 Liechtenstein Dragoon Regiment Nr. 9, 6 squadrons 1,014 General-majorJoseph Nimptsch von Fürstund Kupferberg (Not engaged) Hussar Regiment Nr. 7, 8 squadrons 1,353 Erdödy Hussar Regiment Nr. 9, 6 squadrons 988 Feldmarschall-LeutnantFerdinand Johann von MorzinArnold did not list the grenadier battalions, other than to show Lattermann had five and Weidenfeld had six. Smith listed the battalions without noting which brigade they belonged to. However, the way they were ordered suggested that the lists in this table are probably accurate. 4,756 General-majorChristoph von Lattermann Paar Grenadier battalion 2,116This is the total strength of Lattermann's brigade. Pers Grenadier battalion – Sciaffinati Grenadier battalion – Weber Grenadier battalion – Czerwenka Grenadier battalion – General-majorKarl Philippi von Weidenfeld Pertusy Grenadier battalion 2,240This is the total strength of Weidenfeld's brigade. Piret Grenadier battalion – Khevenhüller Grenadier battalion – Gorschen Grenadier battalion – Weissenwolf Grenadier battalion – Saint-Julien Grenadier battalion – Attached Pioneers Pioneers, 4 companies 400 Left WingFeldmarschall-LeutnantPeter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz Advance Guard 811 General-majorFriedrich Heinrich von Gottesheim Mariassy Jäger Battalion, 1 company 40 Frölich Infantry Regiment Nr. 28, 1 battalion 523 Lobkowitz Dragoon Regiment Nr. 10, 2 squadrons 248 Feldmarschall-LeutnantLudwig von Vogelsang 2,194 General-majorJosef Kajetan von Ulm zu Erbach Hohenlohe Infantry Regiment Nr. 17, 2 battalions 912 Stuart Infantry Regiment Nr. 18, 3 battalions 1,282 Feldmarschall-LeutnantJoseph von Schellenberg 4,597 General-majorAnton von Retz Pioneers, 1 company 100 Frölich Infantry Regiment Nr. 28, 2 battalions 1,046 Joseph Mittrowsky Infantry Regiment Nr. 40, 3 battalions 853 General-majorFranz Seraph Sticker von Haymingthal Splenyi Infantry Regiment Nr. 51, 2 battalions 737 Josef Colloredo Infantry Regiment Nr. 57, 3 battalions) 1,369 Lobkowitz Dragoon Regiment Nr. 10, 4 squadrons) 492 Grand Total – 30,379 – – 30,37992 gunsBattalion guns are not counted in the total.
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References
External links This is the source of the full names of French generals. This is the source of the full names of Habsburg Austrian generals.