Editing Battle of Trebbia (1799) (section)

===Coalition successes===
The [[War of the Second Coalition]] in northern Italian began with the inconclusive [[Battle of Verona (1799)|Battle of Verona]] on 26 March 1799 between the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg]] army of [[Paul Kray]] and the [[First French Republic|Republican French]] ''[[Army of Italy (France)|Army of Italy]]'' under [[Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Smith, Digby|author-link=Digby Smith|year=1998 |title=The Napoleonic Wars Data Book |location=London |publisher=Greenhill |isbn=1-85367-276-9 |pages=149–150 }}</ref> The subsequent [[Battle of Magnano]] on 5 April was a clear-cut victory by Kray over the French, with the Austrians sustaining 6,000 casualties while inflicting losses of 8,000 men and 18 guns on their foes.<ref>Smith (1998), p. 151</ref> The defeat was a crushing blow to French morale and prompted Schérer to plead with the [[French Directory]] to be relieved of command. Finding his strong position behind the [[Mincio]] River outflanked on the north by 12,000 Austrians, Schérer left 12,000 troops to hold the key fortress of [[Mantua]], directed 1,600 more to defend [[Peschiera del Garda]] and retreated to the west on 12 April. Two days later, [[Alexander Suvorov]] arrived at [[Vicenza]] with an [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russian]] army and assumed command of the combined Austro-Russian forces.<ref>Duffy (1999), p. 47</ref>

[[File:Jean Victor Marie Moreau (1792).jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.6|alt=|Jean Victor Moreau]]

On 27 April, the Coalition allies led by Suvorov were victorious over [[Jean Victor Marie Moreau]]'s French army at the [[Battle of Cassano (1799)|Battle of Cassano]] along the [[Adda (river)|Adda River]]. The next day at [[Verderio]], [[Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier]]'s division was surrounded and in the fighting that followed the French lost 252 men killed before the 2,700 survivors gave up. The defeats caused Moreau to fall back, leaving 2,400 men to hold the [[Milan]] citadel.<ref name=Smith152>Smith (1998), pp. 152-153</ref> On 6 May the garrison of Peschiera capitulated to Kray while on 11 May [[Pizzighettone]] and 1,500 French soldiers surrendered to [[Konrad Valentin von Kaim]]. On 12 May, Suvorov's subordinate [[Andrei Grigorevich Rosenberg]] through the blame of [[Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia|Konstantin Pavlovich]] suffered a minor setback in the [[Battle of Bassignana (1799)|Battle of Bassignana]],<ref name=Smith154>Smith (1998), pp. 154-155</ref> but then Suvorov's troops were victorious at the [[First Battle of Marengo (1799)|First Battle of Marengo (Battle of San Giuliano)]] on 16 May. [[Ferrara]], [[Ravenna]] and Milan all capitulated to Austrian besieging forces on 24 May.<ref>Smith (1998), p. 156</ref>

Meanwhile, 30,000 Allies under Suvorov moved up the north bank of the [[Po (river)|Po River]] toward [[Turin]]. On the morning of 26 May, [[Josef Philipp Vukassovich]]'s advance guard seized Turin with its arsenal and over 300 cannons plus large stocks of ammunition. [[Pascal Antoine Fiorella]] and his 3,400-man French garrison withdrew to the citadel where they were besieged.<ref>Duffy (1999), pp. 80-82</ref> Early June found the Allied main body of 47,087 troops under Suvorov, Rosenberg and [[Michael von Melas]] camped near Turin. [[Karl Joseph Hadik von Futak]] with 9,900 Austrians watched the Swiss mountain passes. Kray's 19,760-man corps was engaged in the [[Siege of Mantua (1799)|Siege of Mantua]], covered by 6,122 Austrians under [[Johann von Klenau]] at Ferrera. Finally, Suvorov summoned the 19,458-strong corps of [[Count Heinrich von Bellegarde]] from Switzerland to Milan where they arrived on 5 June. To face this array, Moreau counted about 25,000 soldiers in the divisions of [[Paul Grenier]], [[Claude Victor-Perrin]], [[Pierre Garnier de Laboissière]] at [[Genoa]], Paul Louis Gaultier de Kervéguen at [[Florence]] and [[Joseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard]] at [[Bologna]]. But the Allies were aware that [[Jacques MacDonald]] had a strong French occupation force in southern and central Italy.<ref name=Duffy84>Duffy (1999), p. 84</ref>