The Battle of Millesimo, fought on 13 and 14 April 1796, was the name that Napoleon Bonaparte gave in his correspondence to one of a series of small battles that were fought in Liguria, Northern Italy between the armies of France and the allied armies of the Habsburg monarchy and of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont.
The Battle of Mondovì was fought on 21 April 1796 between the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte and the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont led by Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi. The French victory meant that they had put the Ligurian Alps behind them, while the plains of Piedmont lay before them. A week later, King Victor Amadeus III sued for peace, taking his kingdom out of the First Coalition. The defeat of their Sardinian ally wrecked the Austrian Habsburg strategy and led to the loss of northwest Italy to the First French Republic.
The Battle of Montenotte was fought on 12 April 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, between the French army under General Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian corps under Count Eugène-Guillaume Argenteau. The French won the battle, which was fought near the village of Cairo Montenotte in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. The modern town is located in the northwestern part of Italy. On 11 April, Argenteau led 3,700 men in several assaults against a French mountaintop redoubt but failed to take it. By the morning of the 12th, Bonaparte concentrated large forces against Argenteau's now-outnumbered troops. The strongest French push came from the direction of the mountaintop redoubt, but a second force fell on the weak Austrian right flank and overwhelmed it. In its hasty retreat from the field, Argenteau's force lost heavily and was badly disorganized. This attack against the boundary between the Austrian and Sardinian armies threatened to sever the link between the two allies. This action was part of the Montenotte Campaign.
In the Battle of Ceva on 16 April 1796, troops of the First French Republic under Pierre Augereau fought against part of the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont led by General Giuseppe Felice, Count Vital. Augereau assaulted the strong defensive position without success. At the direction of the Sardinian army commander, Feldmarschal-Leutnant Michelangelo Colli, Vital withdrew on the 17th in order to avoid being trapped by a second French division.
Johann Peter de Beaulieu, also Jean Pierre de Beaulieu, was a Walloon military officer. He joined the Habsburg army and fought against the Prussians during the Seven Years' War. A cultured man, he later battled Belgian rebels and earned promotion to general officer. During the French Revolutionary Wars he fought against the First French Republic and attained high command. In 1796, a young Napoleon Bonaparte won some of his first victories against an army led by Beaulieu. He retired and was the Proprietor (Inhaber) of an Austrian infantry regiment until his death.
Giovanni Marchese di Provera, or Johann Provera, born c. 1736 – died 5 July 1804, served in the Habsburg army in Italy during the French Revolutionary Wars. Provera played a significant role in three campaigns against General Napoleon Bonaparte during the Italian Campaign of 1796.
The Battle of Loano saw the French Army of Italy led by General of Division (GD) Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer attack the Allied armies of Habsburg Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont led by Feldzeugmeister (FZM) Olivier, Count of Wallis during the War of the First Coalition. The assault took the Austrians by surprise since it occurred so late in the year. Additionally, the previous Austrian commander resigned the day before the attack. While the French left flank troops pinned down the Sardinian forces opposing them, the French center broke through the Allied center, forcing the Austrians to retreat. Meanwhile, the French right flank forces steadily pressed back the Austrians on the coast. The French gained a more favorable position, but Schérer did not exploit his victory.
Eugène-Guillaume-Alexis, comte de Mercy d'Argenteau or Eugen Gillis Wilhelm Graf Mercy d'Argenteau or Eugen Gillis Alexis Argenteau joined the Austrian army in 1760 and fought in the Seven Years' War. In 1784 he became the commander of an Austrian infantry regiment. He led the unit during the Austro-Turkish War at the 1789 Siege of Belgrade and was promoted to general officer. After the outbreak of the War of the First Coalition, he was loaned to the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont. He fought at Saorgio in 1794 and Monte Settepani and Loano in 1795. His division faced Napoleon Bonaparte and was badly defeated in the Montenotte campaign in April 1796. During the War of the Third Coalition he led several divisions at Caldiero in 1805. He retired from the army in 1808 but became inhaber (proprietor) of an Austrian infantry regiment from 1809 until his death.
Baron Josef Philipp Vukassovich was a Croatian soldier who joined the army of Habsburg monarchy and fought against both Ottoman Empire and the First French Republic. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he commanded a brigade in the 1796–1797 Italian campaign against Napoleon Bonaparte. He led a division during the Napoleonic Wars and received a fatal wound in action.
In the Montenotte campaign between 10 and 28 April 1796, General Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of Italy broke the link between Feldzeugmeister Johann Peter Beaulieu's Austrian army and Feldmarschallleutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi's Sardinian army. In subsequent engagements, the French defeated the Austrians, pursued Colli to the west, and forced the Sardinians to withdraw from the First Coalition against France. Actions were fought at Voltri on 10 April, Monte Negino (Legino) on 11 April, Montenotte on 12 April, Millesimo on 13 April, Second Battle of Dego on 14–15 April, Ceva on 16 April, San Michele Mondovi on 19 April, and Mondovì on 21 April.
The Montenotte campaign began on 10 April 1796 with an action at Voltri and ended with the Armistice of Cherasco on 28 April. In his first army command, Napoleon Bonaparte's French army separated the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont under Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi from the allied Habsburg army led by Johann Peter Beaulieu. The French defeated both Habsburg and Sardinian armies and forced Sardinia to quit the First Coalition. The campaign formed part of the Wars of the French Revolution. Montenotte Superiore is located at the junction of Strada Provinciale 12 and 41 in the Liguria region of northwest Italy, 15 kilometres (9 mi) northeast of Carcare municipality. However, the fighting occurred in an area from Genoa on the east to Cuneo on the west.
Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud, also Anton Liptai or Anton Liptay, served in the Austrian army, attained general officer rank, and fought in several battles against the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars.
In the Battle of Rivoli on 14 and 15 January 1797, the French Army of Italy led by Napoleon Bonaparte crushed the main Austrian army led by Jozsef Alvinczi. The battle occurred during the fourth Austrian attempt to relieve the Siege of Mantua. After crippling Alvinczi's army on the 14th, Bonaparte left Barthélemy Joubert and Gabriel Rey to finish off the Austrians and raced south with André Masséna to deal with a relief column led by Giovanni di Provera. On 16 January, Masséna, Pierre Augereau, and Jean Sérurier trapped Provera near the Mantua siege lines and forced his surrender.
Amédée Emmanuel François Laharpe was a Swiss military officer who served as a volunteer in the French Army during the French Revolutionary Wars. He rose to become a general of the Revolutionary Army, and led a division in Italy under Napoleon Bonaparte until his death in battle after being hit by friendly fire. He was a cousin of the Swiss political leader Frédéric-César de La Harpe.
Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi or Michelangelo da Vigevano or Michael Colli entered the Habsburg Austrian army as a commissioned officer and became a general officer after fighting in the Seven Years' War, War of the Bavarian Succession, and Austro-Turkish War. During the War of the First Coalition, he was loaned to the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont for three years. In 1796, his army was defeated by Napoleon Bonaparte in a swift campaign that knocked Sardinia-Piedmont out of the war. In early 1797, he was given command of the army of the Papal States, but his troops were defeated at Faenza.
Mathias Rukavina von Boynograd was a Croatian general in the Habsburg monarchy imperial army service. He joined the army in 1755 and fought against the Kingdom of Prussia, Ottoman Turkey, and the First French Republic. For most of his career he served with the light infantry from the military border with Turkey. He earned the rank of general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, distinguishing himself at Loano. During the 1796 Italian campaign, he commanded a brigade in several battles against the French army led by Napoleon Bonaparte. He was Inhaber (Proprietor) of an Austrian infantry regiment in 1803–1804.
The Second Battle of Saorgio was fought from 24 to 28 April 1794 between a French First Republic army commanded by Pierre Jadart Dumerbion and the armies of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and the Habsburg monarchy led by Joseph Nikolaus De Vins. It was part of a successful French offensive designed to capture strategic positions in the Maritime Alps and Ligurian Alps, and on the Mediterranean coast. Tactical control of the battle was exercised by André Masséna for the French and Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi for the Coalition. Saorge is located in France, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of Nice. At the time of the battle, the town was named Saorgio and belonged to Piedmont.
The Battle of Voltri was an engagement occurring on 10 April 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars and taking place in Voltri, a suburb of Genoa, Italy.
Philipp Pittoni Freiherr von Dannenfeld, fought in the army of Habsburg Austria during the French Revolutionary Wars. Promoted to general officer in 1795, he was a brigade commander in northwestern Italy at the time when Napoleon Bonaparte was appointed to lead the opposing French Army of Italy. He led one of the two main columns at Voltri in April 1796. At Borghetto in May, he unsuccessfully defended the bridge. He led a brigade at Castiglione in August and at Second Bassano and Arcole in November 1796. He retired from service the following year and died at Gorizia in 1824.
Jean-Jacques Causse was killed in action at the Second Battle of Dego while commanding a French Republican infantry brigade. He joined the French Royal Army and after serving in the ranks for 22 years, gained promotion to officer during the French Revolution. While fighting in the War of the Pyrenees Causse enjoyed rapid advancement, emerging as a general of brigade in December 1793. He transferred to the Army of Italy in February 1795. CAUSSE is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 30.
French Republic 
Habsburg monarchy 
Kingdom of Sardinia 
