First Battle of Marengo 1799

About the battle

The First Battle of Marengo or Battle of San Giuliano (16 May 1799; Julian calendar: 5 May) saw Republican French soldiers under General of Division Jean Victor Marie Moreau launch a reconnaissance in force against a larger force of Habsburg Austrian and Imperial Russian troops led by Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov. The French enjoyed initial success, pressing back their opponents. However, large Austrian and Russian reinforcements soon arrived, causing the French to withdraw into Alessandria. This War of the Second Coalition meeting engagement occurred near the town of Spinetta Marengo, located just east of Alessandria in northwest Italy.

A series of Austrian and Russian victories in the spring of 1799 drove the French armies from north and northeast Italy. The commander of the combined Austro-Russian armies, Suvorov massed his forces opposite the fortress city of Alessandria. After a Russian force received a costly repulse in the Battle of Bassignana, Moreau sent General of Division Claude Perrin Victor's division to discover the Austro-Russian positions. After the action, Moreau sent half of his army into Genoa while taking the other half to the west. Meanwhile, Suvorov marched his troops up the north bank of the Po River to capture Turin.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article First Battle of Marengo (revision 1373308496), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Nearby battles

• Second Battle of Marengo 1799 · 0 km
• Battle of Marengo 1800 · 0 km
• Siege of Alessandria (1175) 1174 · 6 km
• Battle of Alessandria 1391 · 6 km
• Battle of Bassignana (1799) 1799 · 14 km
• Siege of Tortona 1155 · 14 km

Browse more: battles in Italy · Europe · Early modern battles

Further reading

• Wikipedia: First Battle of Marengo
• Wikidata Q55611682