Editing Battle of Novi (1799) (section)

==Background==
The 1799 campaign in Italy began with the [[Battle of Verona (1799)|Battle of Verona]], a series of costly but indecisive clashes around [[Verona]] on 26 March.<ref>Smith (1998), pp. 149–150</ref> At the [[Battle of Magnano]] on 5 April, the [[Austrian monarchy|Habsburg Austria]]n army of [[Paul Kray]] triumphed over the [[First French Republic|Republican French]] army of [[Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer]]. While suffering losses of 4,000 killed and wounded and 2,000 captured, Kray's Austrians inflicted casualties of 3,500 killed and wounded and captured 4,500 men, 18 artillery pieces and seven colors from the French.<ref>Smith (1998), p. 151</ref> Two days later, a distraught Schérer begged to be relieved of command, but before that happens, he would be defeated again in the small battle with [[Alexander Suvorov]] at [[Lecco]] on 26 April. [[Michael von Melas]] arrived to take command of the Austrian army from Kray on 9 April. Hearing that 12,000 Austrians were approaching from the [[County of Tyrol|Tyrol]] to the north, Schérer abandoned the line of the [[Mincio]] River on 12 April. Leaving 12,000 troops in the fortress of [[Mantua]] and 1,600 more in [[Peschiera del Garda]], the demoralized French commander ordered his crippled army to withdraw. As the soldiers fell back, the skies opened up and turned the retreat into a sodden nightmare.<ref>Duffy (1999), p. 47</ref>

On 15 April 1799, the veteran Russian field marshal Alexander Suvorov formally took command of the combined Austro-Russian army in Italy.<ref>Duffy (1999), p. 53</ref> On 27 April Suvorov defeated the French, now under [[Jean Victor Marie Moreau]], at the [[Battle of Cassano (1799)|Battle of Cassano]], and then in the [[First Battle of Marengo]] (Battle of San Giuliano) on 16 May. At Cassano, the Allies suffered 2,000 casualties while the French sustained losses of 2,500 killed and wounded plus 5,000 soldiers, 27 guns and three colors captured; the next day a 3,000-man French division was trapped and surrendered at [[Verderio Superiore]],<ref>Smith (1998), pp. 152–153</ref> however, the Russians subsequently lost the [[Battle of Bassignana (1799)|Battle of Bassignana]] on 12 May. After the battle of Cassano, the next [[Pitched battle|major action]] was the [[Battle of Trebbia (1799)|Battle of the Trebbia]] from 17 to 20 June where Suvorov's 37,000-strong Austro-Russian army (only up to 32,656 troops involved) mauled [[Jacques MacDonald]]'s 33,000-man French army, which had earlier broken through Austrian positions in the [[Battle of Modena (1799)|Battle of Modena]]{{Efn|MacDonald was injured there with two sabre blows.{{sfn|Orlov|1892|p=182}}}} on 12 June. The Allies suffered 5,500 casualties at the Trebbia, while inflicting 16,500 on the French including the taking of 7,000 prisoners.<ref name=Rothenberg>Rothenberg (1980), p. 249</ref> On 20 June, just as the battle of the Trebbia ended, the [[Second Battle of Marengo]] (Battle of Cascina Grossa) took place, where the Austrians suffered a setback. Nevertheless, Coalition forces successfully besieged a number of key fortresses in the meantime. Peschiera fell on 6 May,<ref>Smith (1998), p. 154</ref> [[Milan]] was captured on 24 May<ref>Smith (1998), p. 156</ref> and [[Turin]] fell on 20 June after a nine-day siege.<ref>Smith (1998), p. 159</ref> Suvorov and his Austrian allies had evicted the French from almost all of Italy, while [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen]] beat [[André Masséna]]'s French army at the [[First Battle of Zurich]] on 4&ndash;6 June.<ref>Rothenberg (1980), p. 43</ref>

[[File:Joseph Kreutzinger - Alexander Suvorov.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|alt=Painting shows a white-haired man standing in a blue uniform with red collar and cuffs and a light blue sash. He gestures with his right hand toward a battle scene. His bicorne hat and sword lie on a map next to him.|Alexander Suvorov]]

A day after defeating MacDonald along the Trebbia River, the Allies captured the 17th Light Demi Brigade, 1,099 men, six guns and three colors. On 22 June Suvorov halted pursuit by his army, exhausted by continuous marching and fighting. At first a division was allowed to follow the French,<ref>Duffy (1999), p. 112</ref> but this was soon reduced to an Austrian advanced guard under [[Johann von Klenau]] which went on to clear the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]] of enemy forces. On 20 June, Moreau and 14,000 French troops left the security of the mountains to defeat [[Count Heinrich von Bellegarde]] and 11,000 Austrians in the [[Second Battle of Marengo]]. Bellegarde withdrew to the west after suffering 2,260 casualties but Moreau soon scampered back to the safety of the Apennines after hearing news of the Trebbia.<ref name=Duffy113>Duffy (1999), p. 113</ref> French casualties numbered 1,000 killed and wounded in this encounter.<ref>Smith (1998), p. 160</ref>

By 27 June, Suvorov moved his main army west to cover the sieges of [[Alessandria]] and [[Tortona]] while Kray was still reducing Mantua.<ref name=Duffy113/> Suvorov and his Austrian [[chief of staff]] [[Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles]] planned to evict the weakened and battered French forces from [[Genoa]] and the [[Italian Riviera]]. However, instructions soon arrived from [[Vienna]] squelching any notion of offensive operations. [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Francis]] and his foreign minister [[Johann Amadeus Francis de Paula, Baron of Thugut]] insisted that the Italian fortresses must first be captured. In fact the emperor and Thugut were suspicious of Russian designs on Genoa and Tuscany, areas which they considered to be in Austria's sphere of influence. For his part, Suvorov was annoyed with Viennese officials for trying to direct the war from long distance.<ref name=Duffy114>Duffy (1999), pp. 114–115</ref>

Repeated military defeats shook the public's faith in the [[French Directory]]. The [[Coup of 30 Prairial VII]] occurred on 18 June which pushed [[Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès]] and [[Paul Barras]] into leading roles and elevated [[Jean Baptiste Bernadotte]] to the post of Minister of War.<ref name="Duffy129"/> There were two major forces in Italy, the 19,000-strong ''[[Army of the Alps]]'' under [[Jean Étienne Championnet]] and 40,713 men of the ''[[Army of Italy (France)|Army of Italy]]''. The French government placed its hopes on [[Barthélemy Catherine Joubert]] to retrieve the situation as the new commander of the ''Army of Italy''. Not only was Joubert a talented general, but he was believed to be lacking political ambitions and thus not a threat to the government. When Joubert arrived in the theater on 4 August, Moreau gracefully stepped aside and offered his assistance.<ref>Duffy (1999), pp. 130–131</ref>

[[File:Alessandria map.png|thumb|right|upright=1.8|alt=Modern map of Alessandria Province|Modern map of Alessandria Province in Italy shows the locations of Novi Ligure, Alessandria, Tortona, Gavi and Acqui Terme.]]

The Allies successfully wrapped up the siege of [[Alessandria]] on 21 July and the [[Siege of Mantua (1799)|Siege of Mantua]] on 30 July. These important events released 30,000 Coalition troops for field operations. Suvorov placed [[Konrad Valentin von Kaim]] with 14,000 Austrians to guard the west of Piedmont and [[Karl Joseph Hadik von Futak]] with 11,000 more to observe the alpine passes into Switzerland to the north. Klenau with 5,000 troops at [[Sarzana]] was watching the southeast side of Genoa. Kray was ordered to join the main army as quickly as possible. The rest of Suvorov's army was deployed in the area of Alessandria and Tortona.<ref name=Duffy129>Duffy (1999), p. 129</ref> In the meantime, Chasteler was seriously wounded by a [[canister shot]] on 17 July during the siege of Alessandria<ref>Duffy (1999), p. 123</ref> and replaced by another Austrian, [[Anton von Zach]].<ref name=Duffy114/> Despite the pain of his injury, Chasteler produced a new plan for ousting the French from the Ligurian mountains. This plan was put on indefinite hold when the news of the impending French offensive became known.<ref name=Duffy129/>

[[File:Général Barthélemy Catherine Joubert 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|alt=Black and white engraving of a man with long sideburns in a dark military coat. He wears a large bicorne hat with a plume.|Barthélemy Joubert]]

The ''Army of Italy'' was fortunate in having capable generals. [[Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon]] led the left wing while [[Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr]] directed the right wing. Both became [[Marshals of France]] under [[Napoleon]] along with Joubert's chief of staff [[Louis Gabriel Suchet]] and division commander [[Emmanuel Grouchy]]. Joubert's generals wished to wait for Championnet's army to come up on their left around 20 August before advancing. However, Joubert believed that his orders to attack from the Directory were imperative and refused to delay.<ref>Duffy (1999), p. 132</ref> Saint-Cyr's wing moved north through the [[Bocchetta Pass]] and [[Gavi, Piedmont|Gavi]]. At [[Serravalle Scrivia]] they besieged a castle held by four companies of Austrians. This position had been captured by [[Pyotr Bagration]]'s 2,100-man Russian advance guard as recently as 9 August. Pérignon's wing had farther to march. This French column pushed some of Bellegarde's troops out of [[Terzo, Piedmont|Terzo]] then swung east through [[Acqui Terme]], [[Rivalta Bormida]] and [[Capriata d'Orba]]. Saint-Cyr arrived alone at [[Novi Ligure]] on 13 August, but Suvorov declined to attack, hoping to lure the French into the plains where his superior cavalry and artillery might prove decisive. That same day contact was established with Pérignon's approaching troops.<ref>Duffy (1999), p. 133</ref>

Kray's troops reached Alessandria on 12 June and Suvorov planned to launch them into an attack on Pérignon's wing early on the 14th. This proved to be impossible, but Kray managed to join Bellegarde's force and he promised to attack on 15 August. Meanwhile, the division of [[François Watrin]] moved down from the hills in the direction of Tortona, giving every indication that the French offensive was still in full swing. Joubert had hoped that he was facing only 8,000 enemies. But he was stunned to see that he was facing at least 36,000 enemies including Kray's corps in the plains below. Both Pérignon and Saint-Cyr counseled retreat, but Joubert put off a final decision until the next day. Meanwhile, Suvorov assumed that the French army would soon descend into the plains. When the French came forward, Kray and 27,000 soldiers would cut into their left flank while Bagration's 5,700-man Russian advance guard would turn their right flank. With luck the two forces would link hands behind the French. Once the turning movements were well developed, [[Wilhelm Derfelden]]'s 9,850 Russians and Melas' 8,800 Austrians would join the battle. Farther north, Johann Baptist Alcaini's 5,260-strong force besieged Tortona, covered by [[Andrei Grigorevich Rosenberg]]'s 8,270 Russians.<ref>Duffy (1999), pp. 134–135</ref>