Marengo, Battle of

During the Napoleonic Wars, defeat of the Austrians on 14 June 1800 by the French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, as part of his Italian campaign, near the village of Marengo in Piedmont, Italy. It was one of Napoleon's greatest victories which resulted in the Austrians ceding northern Italy to France.

The Austrian army in Italy was about 100,000 strong but was divided, with only a small portion watching for a French advance. Napoleon assembled an army of about 40,000 troops in Switzerland and marched secretly across the St Bernard Pass. He entered Milan 2 June, cutting the Austrian supply and communication route. He then tried to find the main Austrian army and sent off detachments in several likely directions; eventually the Austrians found him when a major force of about 32,000 advanced from Alessandria toward Marengo where the main body of the French army, about 28,000 strong, was camped.

The French were outnumbered and were falling back when Napoleon arrived. He organized the retreat, falling back slowly and in good order, and the Austrians felt that the battle was as good as won. However, Napoleon had sent for reinforcements and at about 3 p.m. General Louis Desaix de Veygoux arrived with a fresh division of troops to attack on one flank, while cavalry attacked on the other and Napoleon massed what artillery he had in the centre to hold the Austrian advance. The Austrian force broke and fled the field, losing about 9,000 troops; French losses were about 4,000, including Desaix.