Marengo campaign

Marengo campaign
Part of the War of the Second Coalition
The Battle of Marengo by Louis-François Lejeune
Date 4 April to 15 June 1800 Location Liguria, Piedmont and Aosta regions in modern Italy 44°53′8″N 8°40′39″E / 44.88556°N 8.67750°E / 44.88556; 8.67750 Result French victory
Belligerents
Republican France	Habsburg monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon Bonaparte André Masséna	Michael von Melas Peter Karl Ott
class=notpageimage| Location within Northern Italy Show map of Northern Italy Marengo campaign (Europe) Show map of Europe

The Marengo campaign (4 April – 15 June 1800) saw a Habsburg Austrian army led by General der Kavallerie Michael von Melas fight against the defending French Army of Italy under General of Division (GD) André Massena and the invading French Reserve Army commanded by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte. In early April, Melas launched a successful offensive that split the outnumbered Army of Italy and initiated the Siege of Genoa with Massena's forces trapped within the city. In mid-May, Bonaparte led the Reserve Army across the Great St Bernard Pass and into the Aosta Valley. After encountering a serious delay at Fort Bard, Bonaparte's forces broke into the plains of the Po Valley toward the end of May. At Turin, Melas blocked the direct route to Genoa, but Bonaparte's forces instead seized Milan and began severing the supply lines between Melas' army and Austria. After a long siege, Massena finally surrendered Genoa in early June, but by that time Melas' forces were isolated in northwest Italy. Melas tried to break out of the trap in the Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800 and nearly succeeded because Bonaparte spread his army too thin. However, late-arriving troops defeated the Austrians and Bonaparte compelled Melas to evacuate northwest Italy as the price of a negotiated truce.