Suvorov in Italy Part 4 The Battle of Trebbia 1799

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#history #napoleon #napoleonicwars • Napoleon is still in Egypt, when Suvorov defeats French armies in Italy, destroying Napoleon' gains here. • The Battle of (the) Trebbia (17 [6 OS] – 20 [9 OS] June, 1799) was fought near the rivers of Tidone, Trebbia, and Nure in northern Italy between the joint Russian and Habsburg army under Alexander Suvorov and the Republican French army of Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald. Though French forces were moderately more numerous, the Austro-Russians severely defeated the French, sustaining about 5,500 casualties while inflicting losses of 16,500 on their enemies. The War of the Second Coalition engagement occurred west of Piacenza, a city located 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Milan. • In the spring of 1799 the Habsburg and Russian armies ousted the French from much of northern Italy after the battles of Magnano and Cassano and they placed the key fortress of Mantua under siege. Assembling the French occupation forces of southern and central Italy into an army, Macdonald moved north to challenge his enemies. Rather than playing safe by moving along the west coast road, Macdonald boldly chose to move east of the Apennine Mountains, hoping to be supported by Jean Victor Marie Moreau's French army. After brushing aside a much smaller Austrian force at Modena, Macdonald's army swept west along the south bank of the Po River. Suvorov swiftly concentrated his Russians and the allied Austrians of Michael von Melas to block the French move. The four-day battle took place in hot weather, and despite the fatigue of the Allied troops, they moved into the fight immediately after the march. • On 17 June, the leading French divisions bumped into a holding force led by Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz along the Tidone River. Ott was rapidly reinforced by the mass of the Austro-Russian army and the French pulled back to the Trebbia. Suvorov attacked on the 18th: the French managed to hold off the Allied drive, but they abandoned positions on the west bank of the Trebbia. On 19 June almost entire Macdonald's 33,500-strong army was concentrated and he ordered an attack which was poorly coordinated and repulsed at all points by the numerically inferior 22,000-strong Coalition forces. Realizing that assistance from Moreau was not forthcoming, that night Macdonald ordered the beaten French army to slip away to the south and west. The French initially had more men during the beginning of the battle, 19,000 compared to the 12–15,000 of the Russians. • On the 20th, along the Nure River, the Allies overran the French 17th demi-brigade acting as rearguard. Instead of bringing a powerful reinforcement to the hard-pressed French in northwest Italy, only the crippled remains of Macdonald's army arrived. This brigade (part of the Auvergne Regiment), considered to be the pride of the entire French army , was largely captured. • The battle of the Trebbia, or the Campaign of the Trebbia as Duffy called it, is one of the great victories in Alexander Suvorov's military career, along with the storming of Izmail. French general Moreau referred to the battle as a masterpiece of the military art, with Macdonald, the French general whom Suvorov defeated, sharing the same opinion. Military historians note that if Suvorov had no previous feats in his career, that the Trebbia campaign alone would make him a great commander. • Due to participation of some 3,000 soldiers of the Polish Legions, who were in the nominal service of the Cisalpine Republic, the Battle of Trebbia is commemorated on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, with the inscription TREBBIA 17 - 19 VI 1799 . Macdonald's army also included one Cisalpine dragoon regiment and one Cisalpine hussar regiment from the Lombard Legion. • Music by Scott Buckley. Thanks to him. • Attribution format: 'Legionnaire' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au • Music video Legionnaire by Scott Buckley: • Scott Buckley - 'Legionnaire' [Epic O... • #napoleonicera #napoleonbonaparte #russianhistory

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