MARENGO
On June 14, 1800, the French
forces rapidly advanced over the river Scrivia toward the town
of Alessandria and the nearby village of Marengo. They were completely
unaware however that 31000 Austrians were close at hand. The French
Army of the Reserve had 23700 men but only 23 cannon pieces. The
confident French commander did not anticipate the Austrians to
take the initiative and attack. The early morning hours of June
14 saw three large Austrian columns coming from Alessandria. The
French Victor's division gave ground from around Marengo even
with the support of Lannes' division and Murat's cavalry. By 11:30
AM there were no French reserves left plus ammunition was in extremely
low supply. The Austrians stopped briefly to regroup the victorious
forces for a renewed assault. Fighting again broke out with the
French in retreat around Marengo. The Consular Guard and Monnier's
division was in the north attempting to thwart General Ott's flanking
maneuver. At 5:00 PM the tired French reinforcements of Boudet's
division marched up from the south and deployed just in time behind
Victor's shattered left wing. Napoleon ordered a counterattack.
French artillery rushed to the flank of the huge Austrian column
and fired case-shot at point blank range. A lucky shop exploded
an ammunition wagon stunning the Austrians. Then Killermann's
cavalry charged and 6000 Austrians fled in rout pursued by Boudet's
bayonet infantry. Soon panic spread through most of the army,
except for the Austrian left flank with Ott's troops who retreated
more orderly towards Alessandria. Both sides lost about 7000 men,
but the Austrians also had 7000 men taken prisoner.
