Second Battle of Marengo (1799)

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Second Battle of Marengo (1799)
Part of the Italian campaigns during the war of the Second Coalition
Date20 June 1799
Location
Spinetta Marengo, present-day Italy
44°53′N8°41′E / 44.883°N 8.683°E / 44.883; 8.683
Result French victory
Belligerents
Flag of France official.svg France Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor (after 1400).svg Austria
Commanders and leaders
Flag of France official.svg Jean Victor Moreau Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor (after 1400).svg Heinrich Bellegarde
Strength
Flag of France official.svg 14,000 Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor (after 1400).svg 8,000
Casualties and losses
900–1,000 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.

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References

Preceded by
Battle of Trebbia (1799)
French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns
Battle of Cascina Grossa (1799)
Succeeded by
Battle of Novi (1799)