"Oh, how this young Bonaparte walks!"
Antoine Jean Gros. Napoleon Bonaparte on Arkolsky Bridge
General situation
The Italian Front was part of the larger War of the First Coalition, which had been raging since 1792. Revolutionary France was opposed by a grand coalition led by the leading European powers. Britain, the Austrian Empire, and Prussia (until 1795) played the leading roles in the struggle against France. They were supported by various German and Italian monarchies—a unified Germany and Italy did not yet exist. Russia formally opposed France, but Catherine the Great, while actively supporting the allies in words, in practice preferred to pursue national issues (the Black Sea region, the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the reunification of the Russian land and people).
The war was fought on the continent, in the colonies, and at sea. In Europe, the main fronts were in the Netherlands and Belgium, and in Germany (on the Rhine). The German front was considered the main one.
The protracted war further deteriorated France, which had not yet recovered from the revolutionary events. The country continued to be in turmoil: royalist rebellions, peasant uprisings, and a violent criminal revolution. The collapse of the state apparatus reached an extreme level. Aristocrats, officers, and officials fled the country, many joining France's enemies.
The country was ruled by terror, the lowest level of governance. The treasury and the economy were in disarray. Trade was disrupted by a naval blockade and war with almost all of its neighbors. Meanwhile, dignitaries, bankers, and speculators flourished. Corruption, embezzlement, and all manner of abuses were at an all-time high.
Despite this, France was able to withstand the attacks of the anti-French coalition and even successfully counterattacked. A new army of over 1 million was formed, driven by revolutionary motivation and extensive combat experience. Successful new commanders emerged from the people, such as Joubert, Moreau, Masséna, and Napoleon. Meanwhile, France's adversaries lacked unity and coordination. They were unable to capitalize on their superior resources, men, ships, money, and economic might.
The 1795 campaign was generally successful for France. French troops occupied Holland, where the dependent Republic of Bataysk was established. On the Rhine, the fighting was mixed, with the French attempting to seize the initiative and shift the war to foreign territory.
There were no decisive battles on the Italian front; the Austrians and Piedmontese-Sardinians (the Kingdom of Sardinia or Piedmont-Sardinia) were unable to exploit their superiority in bayonets and sabers. The French commander, Kellermann, successfully repelled the enemy attacks but abandoned the Genoese Riviera. Spain withdrew from the war, easing France's position.
Based on the general situation, the French were planning to attack in Germany and Italy during the 1796 campaign in order to defeat their main enemy, the Habsburg Empire.
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot (1753–1823) was a French statesman and military leader, engineer and scientist, and was one of the architects of the new army of the First Republic.
Italian Campaign
The French government (Directory) considered the Italian Front secondary; the main offensive was planned in Germany. The best commanders, troops, and supplies were there.
War Minister Lazare Carnot, one of the architects of the new French army, put forward a bold offensive plan. Two main armies, commanded by Jourdan and Moreau, were to advance from the Rhine along the Danube to Vienna. A third army, commanded by Bonaparte, was to occupy northern Italy, separating the Italian states from the anti-French coalition and threatening Vienna from the south. The French had two more armies in reserve.
The Austrians were also planning to attack. The main attack on Belgium was to be carried out by Archduke Charles's army. Wurmser's army was positioned on the Rhine, and Beaulieu's army was to advance from Italy. However, the high commands of both France and Austria did not anticipate that the decisive battles of the 1796 campaign would take place in Italy.
Bonaparte had long dreamed of an independent campaign in Italy. Beginning in 1794, he drew up several plans of attack. He thoroughly studied the map of the future theater of operations. The Prussian military historian Clausewitz noted that Bonaparte "knew the Apennines like the back of his hand"As commander of the Paris garrison, he and Carnot drew up plans for the Italian campaign. The young general was a staunch supporter of an offensive campaign, one where war doesn't harm one's own lands, where soldiers and armies "feed" at the expense of foreign territory. And the country receives contributions and reparations.
His plan was simple. The French faced two armies: the Austrians and the army of the Piedmontese king—the "gatekeeper of the Alps," as Napoleon called him. He planned to defeat them separately: first, crush the Sardinians with a swift attack, and then turn on the Austrians.
Capture Turin and Milan, the rich region of Lombardy. Force the Kingdom of Sardinia to capitulate. Austria would lose an ally, and the French would gain resources for further war (fortresses, arsenals, money).
Italian army
On March 2, 1796, Bonaparte took command of the Army of Italy, replacing Scherer. He had his moment, and he seized it. Everyone thought the southern army would merely distract the Austrians and Sardinians, but Bonaparte had other plans.
On March 27, 1796, Napoleon arrived in Nice, the main headquarters of the Army of Italy. Scherer surrendered the army to Bonaparte. Officially, the army numbered over 100 soldiers, but in reality, it had only about 38. The rest were "dead souls"—dead, deserted, or sick. Of the remaining troops, 8 constituted the garrison of Nice and the coast; they could not be used in an offensive.
The enemy army, led by Austrian Field Marshal Beaulieu, numbered over 80 men and 200 cannons. The Austrians and Sardinians relied on strong fortresses and had no supply problems.
The French southern army was in dire straits. It was being supplied on a shoestring basis. The supply department had reached the point of disintegration. Almost nothing reached the soldiers, and all funds and materials were stolen. The soldiers resembled a mob of beggars and vagabonds, half-starved and in rags. All this was accompanied by a widespread decline in discipline.
The army was short of guns (artillery The fleet consisted of only 30 guns), ammunition, and supplies. The soldiers had not been paid for a long time. The situation was complicated by the fact that army commanders did not want to obey the young 27-year-old general. Bonaparte was known at that time only as a talented artilleryman who had distinguished himself at Toulon and executed rebels. Napoleon was even given several offensive nicknames, such as "scruffy little things", "General Vendémiaire" etc.
Napoleon immediately won the respect of both commanders and soldiers. He launched an uncompromising campaign against theft and disorder. The general reported to the Directory:
I have to shoot often.
Bonaparte quickly restored normal supplies. Soldiers and commanders immediately took note. He motivated the men to attack:
Soldiers, you are not dressed, you are poorly fed... I want to lead you to the most fertile countries in the world.
After the first victories, the soldiers already adored their “little corporal”.
Colonel Rampon defends the Monte Legino redoubt. Artist: René Théodore Berton
Offensive
On April 5, 1796, Napoleon marched his troops (25) across the Alps. He left behind Sérurier's division and a demi-brigade as a screen against General Colli's Sardinian army and the Austrians. The allies intended to attack, but they arrived too late, and their extended lines were unable to withstand the enemy's decisive breakthrough.
Bonaparte seized the initiative, acting decisively and swiftly. From the very beginning, the general demonstrated a willingness to take risks. The army took the shortest, but also most dangerous, route—along the coastal edge of the Alps. Here, the French risked being attacked by British ships, which dominated the seas.
The risk paid off; the French troops successfully crossed the "cornice." Having crossed the Alps, the French were in Italy on April 9. The Austro-Piedmontese command had been mistaken in assuming that the enemy, with its inferior forces, would defend itself and not dare to advance along the coastal road.
The division of the brave Amadeus de Laharpe was in the vanguard. Its advance brigade, under General Cervoni (approximately 2,000 soldiers with eight cannons), was aimed at Genoa. Concerned, Field Marshal Bollieu immediately moved his troops toward Genoa. The right wing (the Sardinians) remained on the defensive, while the center, led by General Mercy-Argenteau, advanced on Montenotte to cut off the enemy during its advance toward Genoa, attacking its left flank and seizing the coastal road. Beaulieu personally, with the left flank, advanced through Bocchetta to Voltri to defend Genoa. He then planned to defeat the main enemy forces.
On April 10, Bollier drove back Cervoni's brigade near Genoa. On April 11, General Argenteau, with six battalions (4,500 soldiers), encountered only La Harpe's outposts at dawn at Montenotte ("Night Mountain"), which had retreated to Monte Legino. They linked up with Colonel Rampon, who with two battalions stopped the enemy. The French (1600 soldiers) dug in on the hill and repelled three Austrian attacks. That evening, the Austrians retreated to neighboring heights to regroup and continue the battle the following day.
On the night of April 12, Bonaparte moved Masséna's and Augereau's divisions across the Cadibon Pass. By morning, D'Argenteau's division was surrounded and outnumbered, and the French forces had grown to 10 men. Early in the morning of April 12, the French struck the enemy. Laharpe led the attack on the enemy's frontal positions, while Masséna attacked the right flank.
By the time the Austrian commander realized the full gravity of the situation, it was too late. The Austrian division suffered a complete defeat: approximately 1,000 men were killed and wounded, and 2,000 were captured. Five cannons and four banners were captured. The French army lost 500 men killed and wounded.
This was Bonaparte's first victory during the Italian campaign, and it set the tone for the entire campaign. Napoleon himself later said:
Our lineage comes from Montenotto.
General Bonaparte at the Battle of Montenotte. Unknown artist.
Value
Victory at the Battle of Montenotte had enormous psychological significance for the French Army of Italy. The half-starved, ragged soldiers gained confidence in themselves after defeating a strong enemy. They believed in their commander.
Bollier began to withdraw his troops, and Bonaparte was able to strike at the Sardinian troops, implementing his plan to defeat the enemy piecemeal.
The Battle of Montenotte was Bonaparte's first major victory, marking the beginning of his brilliant campaign in Italy. The French commander became very popular in the army, and a brilliant cohort of commanders and generals gathered around him.
It was the First Italian Campaign that brought Napoleon fame in Europe. It became clear that a new, brilliant commander had emerged. It was then that the great, laconic Alexander Suvorov would say:
He's going too far, it's time to calm the young man down!
The invincible Russian commander foresaw the threat from Bonaparte, but he was not “calmed” in time.
Suvorov held Bonaparte's talent in high regard. In a letter to his nephew, Prince Gorchakov, in the late 1790s, he wrote:
Oh, how this young Bonaparte strides! He is a hero, a marvelous warrior, a sorcerer! He conquers both nature and man. He has circled the Alps as if they were not there. He hid their formidable peaks in his pocket, and concealed his army in the right sleeve of his uniform. It seemed the enemy only noticed his soldiers when he hurled them forward, like Jupiter with his lightning, sowing terror everywhere and striking down the scattered crowds of Austrians and Piedmontese. Oh, how he strides! As soon as he embarked on the path of military leadership, he cut the Gordian knot of tactics. Unconcerned by numbers, he attacks the enemy everywhere and utterly defeats him. He knows the irresistible force of the onslaught—nothing more is needed. His opponents will persist in their sluggish tactics, subordinated to the pens of their armchairs, but he has a military council in his head. He is as free in his actions as the air he breathes. He moves his regiments, fights, and conquers at his own will! Here is my conclusion: as long as General Bonaparte maintains his presence of mind, he will be victorious. Great military talents have been bestowed upon him. But if, to his misfortune, he throws himself into a political whirlwind, if he betrays his unity of thought, he will perish.
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