Battle of Millesimo

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French Revolutionary Wars In Italy
Lodi - Millesimo - Castiglione - Arcole - Rivoli - Montenotte - 1st Dego - 2nd Dego - Bassano - Rovereto - Mondovì - Cassano - Trebbia - Novi - Genoa - Montebello - Marengo

The Battle of Millesimo was the name that Napoleon Bonaparte gave in his correspondence to one of a series of small battles that were fought in Piedmont, Northern Italy, in April 1796 between the armies of France and the opposing armies of Austria and of the Kingdom of Sardinia. They included the Battle of Montenotte, Second Dego, and Ceva.

[edit] Background

In late March 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte took command of the French Army of Italy, which consisted of around 36,000 men under arms. Having been attacked near Genoa on 10 April by the left wing of the Austrian army, under General Beaulieu, Bonaparte switched to his left and advanced through the Cadibona pass, defeating the isolated right wing of the Austrian army, commanded by General Argenteau on 12 April, at the Battle of Montenotte. The French then moved further inland, intending to capture Dego, and increase the separation between the Austrian army and that of its ally, Piedmont-Sardinia.

[edit] The battle

The report that Bonaparte wrote to the French government regarding the actions that took place around Millesimo, and which he called "The Battle of Millesimo" is confusing, and perhaps even deliberately misleading, as it is probable that Bonaparte did not want to reveal at the time how serious French casualties had been, and how close he had been to having his plans seriously compromised. There was, in fact, no real battle at Millesimo itself, but rather a confused action on 13 April, in which a number of small enemy units were driven back, followed by a short but very costly siege of the castle of Cosseria, which was defended by only about a thousand Austrians and Piedmontese under General Provera and Colonel Del Carretto. It was only after the defenders had been forced to surrender the castle on 14 April, due to lack of ammunition, food and water, that the French advance inland could continue in safety. Bonaparte later admitted to the Piedmontese Colonel Costa that the siege of Cosseria had been a mistake, and had been due to his impatience. It was probably because he wanted to cover up this mistake that Bonaparte's report of the "Battle of Millesimo" was so misleading.

[edit] References

Schels, J. B. 'Die Gefechte in den Apenninen, bei Voltri, Montenotte, Millessimo, Cossaria und Dego, im April 1796.' Oesterreichische Militärische Zeitschrift, Bd. 2 (1822): 123-217
Napoleon. Correspondance de Napoléon Ier publiée par ordre de l'empereur Napoléon III. Paris, 1858-69
Birago, C., Gen. 'La difesa di Cosseria.' Antologia italiana, Giornale di scienze lettere ed arti, 2 (1847): 632-46
Boycott-Brown, M. The Road to Rivoli. London, Cassell, 2001
Costa de Beauregard, C. A. Un homme d'autrefois: souvenirs recueillis par son arrière-petit-fils. Paris, 1879