The Napoleonic Wars (Part - 2)

Campaign in Italy

"You are hungry and naked; the government owes you much but can give you nothing. The patience and courage which you have displayed among these rocks are admirable; but they bring you no glory—not a glimmer falls upon you. I will lead you into the most fertile plains on earth. Rich provinces, opulent towns, all shall be at your disposal; there you will find honour, glory and riches. Soldiers of Italy! Will you be lacking in courage or endurance?” On March 27, 1796, the General Bonaparte reviewed part of the ragged, disgruntled Army of Italy in the headquarters town of Nice, only a few hours after taking over command.

The morale of the army was not great; the units were put out in numerous small detachments along the coast road from Nice to Savona, their communications exposed to attack from the sea by Nelson’s frigates, from the hills by bands of “Barbets” or local guerillas, and from the mountainous interior by the numerically superior Austrian and Piedmontese forces. They had no rations and insecure pay from the bankrupt French Government. They had no weapons to fight, 200 mules were their entire transportation force. The Army of Italy's strength has dropped from 1,06,000 in 1792 to 37,000 "Fit to fight" men and 60 guns. There were no reinforcements. But still the French fought bravely, exhausted and hungry. It was their hallmark.

Napoleon however, had able men - Serurier, Massena (he's a former smuggler), Augereau. These men were surprised that they were to be led by a mere boy, not even 27. And now, he formally made Berthier, the chief of staff and inducted many people, who would go on to earn great fame. Joachim Murat , Major Junot, and Napoleon's brother - Louis Bonaparte along with Marmont.

It was figured out that the German front would be the main front, whereas the Italian would be the secondary front. It was hoped that Austrian attention would be diverted from the crucial northern theater by the Army of Italy’s action against Piedmont and Lombardy, and that after the successful “pacification” of North Italy, General Bonaparte would be free to march over the Alps to join Moreau in the Tyrol for the final drive on Vienna, the ultimate objective. Two small reserve armies—one on the slopes of the Western Alps under Kellermann, the other further back in the region of the River Var—would support these operations by at least partially protecting Bonaparte’s lines of communication with Provence.

But, these armies were separated and were very far to support each other. There was this natural barrier - The Alps, on which all the passes were controlled by the Austrians and the Piedemontese. There was no co-operation with each other. If either offensive was delayed, the Austrians could transfer some army to the other theater. And the directory didn't appoint a supreme commander to oversee these operations.

The Action

Napoleon decided that he must take out the Piedemontese army first, who were war weary and exhausted. For that, they must sever their link with their ally Austria. Napoleon identified that Carcare was the critical and delicate link. However, the Austrians attacked first, taking the French completely by surprise.  The French successfully repelled the attack. It also revealed the whereabouts of the Austrian commander Beaulieu's force.

Immediately, Napoleon put General Le Harpe's force and checked the incoming Austrians. He attacked Argenteau later and his 6000 men were reduced to a mere 700 the next day. They then successfully Carcare and they now have a central position. The French then organized a force of 25,000 against the Piedemontese and 6 battalions were put as reserve.

However, the start did not went well and their advance was stalled by 900 Austrians in the Cosseria castle. Torrential rain had even delayed the supplies. However, the next day went well for the French. They attacked Dego with a strong force and Massena, within short time, captured 5000 Austrian prisoners and 19 guns. Cosseria castle also surrendered. Now, they were free to attack the Piedemontese. Leaving Massena to occupy Dego, Napoleon rode to the west to concentrate his force at Ceva.

However, Massena's men were scattered in search of food when the Austrians attacked with 5 battalions. They were slated to arrive in the battle yesterday, on 14th, but an error in dating caused them to arrive one day later, on 15th. As expected, Massena's men fled and he lost all his guns. It's commander then put his men into a state of defense.

This stalled the French offensive into Piedmont once more. General La Harpe and the reserve was put into action. They retook the village for a further 1000 causalities. Now, La Harpe and Massena's men guarded Dego. On the other side, Augereau and Seruier massed 24000 men to attack Colli (Piedemont army's commander). However, he retreated to a strong position under the protection of two rivers.

Two attempts to defeat them failed. The French were to attack a third time on 21st but the Piedmontese retreated further back. This time, the French caught them when retreating and attacked furiously. They soon occupied Mondovi, which had lot of food and an arsenal of weapons. The Piedemontese then surrendered, because of their morale drop on the French occupation of Mondovi and they were put of the war in 10 days.

The Defeat of Austria in Italy

The Austrians were still in sizeable number, about 24,000 in North Italy. They were retreating to the River Po. The French government sent 10,000 men more as reinforcements to Napoleon, raising their strength to about 40,000. Napoleon planned to cross the river at the nearest point to Milan. Once the advanced forces of French crossed the river, the encountered the Austrians and fought inconclusively. In the mean time, Augereau's division was crossing the river, west of the battlefield, by that time, the Austrians retreated back to River Adda.

However, during the confusion of the battle, General La Harpe was shot tragically by his own men by mistake, depriving the French an experienced officer. On the bright side however, Napoleon completed the concentration of his army after Serurier and Massena had crossed the River Po. Milan fell into the French hands, providing the soldiers with cash and food (of course from looting) and rest. But the Austrians were still undefeated and retreated towards the great fortress of Mantua

The French advance was rapid and they lost no time in catching up with Beaulieu's Austrian force. He retreated to Trento and dispatched 4500 men to Mantua, which the French would siege very soon. Mantua was guarded by 12000 men and a whooping 316 cannons. On the North and East of Mantua were the lakes and the West and South were sealed off by marshes.

Austria attempted to relieve Mantua thrice but they failed twice and when the reinforcements for Mantua arrived, it was more of a bane because since there were more people, they consumed more food. All incoming supplies to Mantua were blocked and after 8 months of tireless and endless siege, Mantua capitulated. The trouble and the perils of the French during the siege of Mantua were huge and cannot be explained here. Then, a few more battles were fought against Archduke Charles in Tyrol to strengthen the French position in North Italy, concluding in the Peace of Leoben.