Battle of Trebbia (1799)

The Battle of (the) Trebbia (17–20 June [O.S. 6–9 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 using the oblique order tactics, sustaining about 5,500 casualties while inflicting losses of 16,500 on their enemies. The Russian contingent was on the right flank of the coalition force and in the center, and it was the Russian units that played the main attacking role; the Austrians dealt with the French on the left flank, and they helped the Russians in the center. 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, but, at the desire of Francis II, did not receive the additional expected support from Paul Kray's Austrian corps, which was involved at Mantua. 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 forced march. The French units also gradually joined the battle, since they were on the march as well. Suvorov's task of defeating Macdonald was made easier by the latter's physical weakness, as Macdonald was still suffering from the wounds received at Modena and therefore was bedridden, that is why the French command was not as effective as it could have been. Nevertheless, Macdonald was still able to assess tactical situations and subsequently give orders.

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 also had more men to begin the battle with, 19,000 compared to the 12–15,000 of the Russians and Austrians (including latecomers from both the Allied and French sides); however, Suvorov's forced march helped to concentrate superior forces on 17 June. 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 to Moreau. During the Allied pursuit, 7,500 wounded Frenchmen left in Piacenza hospital were captured by Melas. Among them were generals: Salme, Olivier, Rusca. Thus, the total number of unwounded prisoners, wounded prisoners, and missing amounted to 14,500 French; the total number of bloody losses, inclusive of wounded prisoners, amounted to 9,500, of which only 2,000 French were killed, or up to 4,000 or 6,000 killed, as some estimates inflate. Among Suvorov, 1,000 were killed, 4,000 were wounded and 500 were captured/missing. Some authors estimate fewer than 1,000 killed among the Allies, and less than 2,000 killed among the French.

The Battle of the Trebbia, or "The Campaign of the Trebbia" as military historian Duffy titled it, is one of the great victories in Alexander Suvorov's military career, along with the storming of Izmail. (The "campaign" applies to all operational movements from 17 to 20 June.) 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.