Editing André Masséna (section)

===Under Bonaparte's orders in Italy===
{{Further information|Italian campaign of 1796–1797}}
[[File:Nice,musée Masséna058,général Masséna1796.jpg|thumb|Masséna as a general of the [[French Revolutionary Army]], 1796]]
{{cquote|Comrades, in front of you are 4,000 young men belonging to the richest families of Vienna; they have come with post-horses as far as Bassano: I recommend them to you.|20|20|General Masséna's proclamation to his troops before the [[Battle of Rivoli]].{{sfn|Phipps|1935|p=131}}}}
Masséna, then aged 37 and with an already well-established reputation, seemed poised to succeed Schérer in the command of the Army of Italy. It was thus with skepticism that he received the appointment to this post of General Napoleon Bonaparte, ten years his junior, better known for his influential connections in Parisian circles than for his experience on the battlefield. Initially hostile to the newcomer, Masséna and the other divisional commanders were, however, very quickly won over by the Bonaparte's determination, energy and sense of command.{{sfn|Montanelli|Cervi|1981|p=43}} At the start of the campaign, in April 1796, Masséna had under his command the Laharpe (8,500 men) and [[Jean-Baptiste Meynier|Meynier]] (9,500 men) divisions.{{sfn|Béraud|2008|p=18}}

After a meeting with Bonaparte on 10 April, during which the commander-in-chief informed him of his intentions, Masséna fought at the [[Battle of Montenotte]] where he launched a successful offensive on the [[Colle di Cadibona]], cutting the Austro-Sardinian formation in two.{{sfn|Chandler|1988|p=404}} He then pursued the Austrians retreating to [[Acqui]].{{sfn|Béraud|2008|p=28}} On 14 April, his troops [[Second Battle of Dego|captured the village of Dego]] after fierce combat and engaged in all sorts of excesses, in defiance of discipline. Indeed, when [[Josef Philipp Vukassovich|Vukassovich]]'s Austrian corps attacked the next day, it came as a total surprise: the French soldiers had to evacuate the village and Masséna himself, finding himself in bed with a mistress, had to flee in his nightshirt. The general nevertheless managed to regroup his forces and to retake Dego at the end of the day, though not without suffering significant losses.{{sfn|Bassett|2015|pp=197-198}} The French troops soon won a series of victories that led the Kingdom of Sardinia to request [[Armistice of Cherasco|an armistice]], while the Austrians retreated hastily across Northern Italy.{{sfn|Chandler|1988|p=404}}

Having crossed the [[Po (river)|Po]] at [[Piacenza]], Bonaparte caught up with the Austrian rearguard at [[Lodi, Lombardy|Lodi]], on the banks of the river [[Adda (river)|Adda]]. At the [[Battle of Lodi]], the bridge separating the two banks was taken at a rapid pace by an infantry column led by Masséna and a handful of generals ([[Claude Dallemagne|Dallemagne]], [[Jean Lannes|Lannes]], [[Louis-Alexandre Berthier|Berthier]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Cervoni|Cervoni]]). The Austrians, shaken by this vigorous action and the deployment of the French cavalry, abandoned the field.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=670-673}} Masséna was awarded a sabre of honour for his conduct during this battle. Bonaparte entered [[Milan]] on 16 May.{{sfn|Prévost|2011|p=39}} Despite the enthusiastic reception of the population, he demanded the payment of a contribution of 20 million gold pounds and allowed his troops to engage in looting, which led a week later to anti-French revolts in [[Binasco]] and [[Pavia]].{{sfn|Montanelli|Cervi|1981|pp=50-52}} On 21 May, the commander-in-chief decided to resume his advance and the vanguard commanded by Masséna reached [[Brescia]] on 27 May and then [[Verona]] on 1 June. In this phase of the campaign, marked by numerous attempts by the Austrians to lift the [[Siege of Mantua (1796–1797)|Siege of Mantua]], Masséna was constantly on the front line, which earned him the esteem of Bonaparte,{{sfn|Chandler|1988|p=405}} who said of him on 14 August: "active, tireless, has audacity, ''[[coup d'œil]]'' and promptitude in making decisions".{{sfn|Fiebeger|1911|p=17}}

[[File:Pierre-Charles Coqueret - Masséna.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait by Hilaire Ledru, 1797-1800]]

At the moment when Bonaparte prepared to confront [[Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser|Wurmser]]'s imperial army, Masséna's division had 12,000 soldiers.{{sfn|Béraud|2008|p=49}} Faced with an Austrian thrust from the north, Masséna retreated to [[Castelnuovo del Garda|Castelnuovo]] and then headed towards [[Lonato del Garda|Lonato]], where his division took part, on 3 August, in [[Battle of Lonato|the battle]] that resulted in the defeat of [[Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich|Quasdanovich]]'s Austrian corps.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=676-678}} Two days later he commanded the left wing of the French army at the [[Battle of Castiglione]], fought by Bonaparte against Wurmser. Early in the day, his troops feigned a retreat, leading Wurmser to rush into this "gap" in order to link up with Quasdanovich, who was now far away. However, a premature attack by Sérurier's division on his rear caused him to interrupt his movement; Bonaparte then unleashed a general attack and launched Masséna and [[Charles-Pierre Augereau|Augereau]] against the Austrian center, while the positions of the Imperials on both of their wings were taken, leading to Wurmser's retreat.{{sfn|Béraud|2008|p=55-57}}

A month later, Wurmser returned to the offensive in order to relieve the fortress of Mantua, still besieged by the French. Bonaparte immediately sent his forces to intercept him: the Masséna division defeated the Austrian general [[Paul Davidovich|Davidovich]] at the [[Battle of Rovereto]] on 4 September, occupied [[Trento]] on the 5th and set off after Wurmser, who tried by all possible means to reach Mantua.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=679-680}} At the [[Battle of Bassano]] on 8 September, the Imperial rearguard was cut to pieces by the Masséna and Augereau divisions,{{sfn|Boycott-Brown|2001|p=431}} which did not prevent Wurmser from reaching Mantua on 15 September. At this point, Masséna's division numbered no more than 5,300 men, compared to around 10,000 at the beginning of the month.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|p=680}} Shortly afterwards, a powerful Austrian army commanded by General [[Alvinczi]] arrived in the Italian theatre: Masséna, greatly outnumbered, retreated successively to [[Vicenza]] and then Verona, before attempting a counter-offensive against Alvinczi that was [[Battle of Caldiero (1796)|defeated at Caldiero]] on 12 November.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=681-682}} Modifying his strategy, Bonaparte decided to strike the Austrian rear at the [[Battle of Arcole]]. On 15 November, Masséna captured the town of Porcile, covering Augereau's manoeuvre which was directed towards [[Arcole]]. However, despite the determination of their soldiers, the French were unable to hold on to the Alpone and retreated to the [[Adige]]. On 17 November, however, the clashes resumed and this time turned to the advantage of the Army of Italy: Masséna recaptured [[Ronco all'Adige|Ronco]] and Arcole which, combined with the pressure from Augereau's troops, forced Alvinczi to retreat.{{sfn|Béraud|2008|pp=66-67}}

[[File:Napoleon at the Battle of Rivoli.jpg|thumb|General Bonaparte at the Battle of Rivoli, 14 January 1797, in which Masséna's division played a decisive role. Painting by [[Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux]], 1844.]]

Masséna's division was  then put into winter quarters in Verona, but indiscipline soon set in among the soldiers who threatened to rebel against their commanders. Alvinczi's resumption of the campaign in January 1797 nevertheless brought operations back to the forefront.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|p=683}} On 13 January, Masséna, whose troops amounted to around 10,000 men, received the order to reinforce General [[Barthélemy Catherine Joubert|Joubert]], who was facing the bulk of the Austrian army at [[Rivoli Veronese|Rivoli]], but only arrived there the following day after marching all night. With a [[bayonet]] charge, his division destroyed General Lusignan's Austrian column and helped to secure the French victory at the [[Battle of Rivoli]].{{sfn|Béraud|2008|pp=70-78}} As soon as the battle was over, Masséna and his troops headed south to intercept a second Austrian army advancing to relieve Mantua. On 15 January, at the [[Villa La Favorita]] in front of Mantua, he encircled and defeated [[Giovanni Marchese di Provera|Provera]]'s column.{{sfn|Chandler|1992|pp=178-181}} For his successes and talents as a tactician, Masséna was described in front of the troops by Bonaparte as "the dear child of victory" (''l'enfant chéri de la victoire''). The president of the [[French Directory|Directory]] in Paris, [[Jean-François Rewbell]], was also congratulatory: "The Executive Directory congratulates you, citizen general, for the new success that you have obtained against the enemies of the Republic. The brave division that you command has covered itself with glory in the three consecutive days that forced Mantua to capitulate, and the Directory is obliged to regard you among the most capable and useful generals of the Republic."{{sfn|Horward|1997}} In 1808, in memory of Masséna's conduct during this battle, Bonaparte would award him the [[victory title]] of [[Duke of Rivoli]].{{sfn|Chandler|1988|pp=414, 422}} His soldiers had indeed shown remarkable endurance on this occasion, as the historian Stéphane Béraud attests:

{{Cquote|Masséna's men, during these three days [from 13 to 15 January 1797], fought at Verona on 13 January, then undertook a night march to fight again at Rivoli on 14 January, before finally taking the route south towards Mantua during the night of 14 to 15 and the whole day on the 15th. They ended this succession of forced marches with the combat of La Favorite which brought about Provera's surrender. These men covered nearly 90 kilometres in 120 hours.{{sfn|Béraud|2008|pp=78, 81}}}}

The [[Habsburg monarchy]], alarmed by the French victories in Italy, dispatched to the front its best general, [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen|Archduke Charles]], to redress the situation. For his part, Bonaparte, who now disposed of significant troops thanks to reinforcements detached from the Army of the Rhine, went on the offensive: Masséna, with 10,000 men, was placed on the French left. His mission was to turn the Archduke's troops as soon as the opportunity presented itself. On 14 March, he defeated [[Franz Joseph, Marquis de Lusignan|Lusignan]]'s corps and prevented the Austrian armies of [[Tyrol]] and [[Friuli]] from joining up.{{sfn|Béraud|2008|pp=83-84}} A few days later, on 22 and 23 March, he seized the Tarvis pass at the [[Battle of Tarvis (1797)|Battle of Tarvis]], capturing 3,500 Austrians and 25 cannons;{{sfn|Prévost|2011|p=40}} on the 30th, he entered [[Klagenfurt]] with the commander-in-chief and the [[Louis François Jean Chabot|Chabot]] and [[Jean Joseph Guieu|Guieu]] divisions.{{sfn|Béraud|2008|p=86}} He continued to pursue the imperial forces and occupied [[Leoben]] on 7 April, being informed the same day of the signing of the [[Peace of Leoben|Armistice of Leoben]]. The advanced elements of his division, positioned at [[Bruck an der Mur|Bruck]], were then less than 160 km from [[Vienna]].{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=693-694}}