Second Battle of Marengo explained

Conflict:Second Battle of Marengo (1799)
Partof:the Italian campaigns during the war of the Second Coalition
Date:20 June 1799
Place:Spinetta Marengo, present-day Italy
Coordinates:44.8833°N 49°W
Result:French victory
Combatant1: France
Combatant2: Austria
Commander1: Jean Victor Moreau
Commander2: Heinrich Bellegarde
Strength1: 14,000
Strength2: 8,000
Casualties1:900–1,000
Casualties2:2,300–3,000, 3 guns

The Second Battle of Marengo or Battle of Cascina Grossa (20 June 1799) saw French troops under General of Division Jean Victor Marie Moreau clash with a force of Austrian soldiers led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Heinrich von Bellegarde. The early fighting between Emmanuel Grouchy's division and Bellegarde was inconclusive. However, late in the day Moreau committed Paul Grenier's French division to the struggle and the Austrians were driven from the field. This War of the Second Coalition battle occurred near Spinetta Marengo which is just east of Alessandria, Italy.

Moreau was supposed to cooperate with Jacques MacDonald's army which was grappling with Alexander Suvorov's Austro-Russians at the Battle of the Trebbia (1799) to the east. When Moreau moved north, Bellegarde offered battle because his task was to keep the French from joining MacDonald. Moreau was too late; that day MacDonald's defeated army began to retreat from the Trebbia River. The French victory was barren because Moreau soon had to withdraw to the mountains to avoid being caught by Suvorov's returning soldiers.

See also

References

. Christopher Duffy . 1999 . Eagles Over the Alps: Suvarov in Italy and Switzerland, 1799 . The Emperor's Press . Chicago, Ill. . 1-883476-18-6 .

. Ramsay Weston Phipps . The Armies of the First French Republic and the Rise of the Marshals of Napoleon I: The Armies of the Rhine in Switzerland, Holland, Italy, Egypt, and the Coup d'Etat of Brumaire (1797-1799) . 5 . 2011 . 1939 . Pickle Partners Publishing . 978-1-908692-28-3 .

. Digby Smith . 1998 . The Napoleonic Wars Data Book . London . Greenhill . 1-85367-276-9.