Battle of Trebbia (1799)

For Hannibal's battle of the Trebbia, see Battle of the Trebia.
Battle of the Trebbia
Part of the Italian campaigns in the War of the Second Coalition

Suvorov's battle at Trebbia by Alexander Y. Kotzebue
Date17–20 June 1799[1][a]
Location
Trebbia River in Po Valley, Duchy of Parma, Northern Italy; present-day Italian Republic
45°3′0″N 9°36′0″E / 45.05000°N 9.60000°E / 45.05000; 9.60000
Result
Belligerents
French First Republic France
Russian Empire Russia
Holy Roman Empire Habsburg monarchy
Commanders and leaders
French First Republic Étienne Macdonald
French First Republic Claude Victor-Perrin[b]
French First Republic Jean-Baptiste Salme (POW)
French First Republic François Watrin
French First Republic Jean-Baptiste Olivier (POW)
French First Republic Joseph de Montrichard
French First Republic Jean-Baptiste Rusca (POW)
Jan Dąbrowski (WIA)		 Russian Empire Alexander Suvorov
Russian Empire Andrey Rosenberg
Russian Empire Pyotr Bagration (WIA)
Russian Empire Yakov Povalo-Shveikovsky (WIA)
Russian Empire Ivan Förster [ru]
Holy Roman Empire Michael von Melas
Holy Roman Empire Peter Ott
Habsburg monarchy Michael von Fröhlich
Units involved

Army of Naples,
Gen. Macdonald

Allied Field Army,
FM Suvorov

  • 1st Column (Rosenberg)
    • Bagration's Advance Guard
    • Povalo-Shveikovsky's Division
  • 2nd Column (Rosenberg, Förster)
    • Förster's Division
  • 3rd Column (Melas)
Strength
33,000–35,000[c]
Casualties and losses
16,000–18,000 killed, wounded, captured, & missing[i]
(incl. 8 generals and 502 officers[1])
…more calculations
7 guns, 8 standards[1]		 5,500–6,000 killed, wounded, captured, & missing[j]
(incl. 3 generals and 149 officers[1])
…more calculations
Battle of Trebbia (1799) is located in Europe
Battle of Trebbia (1799)
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Location within Europe
War of the Second Coalition:
Italy
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50km
30miles
Marengo
12
Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800
11
Battle of Montebello (1800) on 9 June 1800
10
Siege of Genoa (1800) from 6 April to 4 June 1800
9
Battle of Genola on 4 November 1799
8
Battle of Novi (1799) on 15 August 1799 Second Battle of Novi (1799) on 24 October 1799
7
Siege of Mantua (1799) from April–July 1799
6
5
Battle of Modena (1799) on 12 June 1799
4
Battle of Bassignana (1799) on 12 May 1799
3
Battle of Cassano (1799) on 27 April 1799
2
Battle of Magnano on 5 April 1799
Verona
1
Battle of Verona (1799) on 26 March 1799
  current battle
  Napoleon in command
  Napoleon not in command

The Battle of (the) Trebbia (17 [6 OS] – 20 [9 OS] June, 1799[1]) was fought near the rivers of Tidone,[k] Trebbia,[l] and Nure[m] 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,[32][33][34] 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,[35] 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.[36]

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.[citation needed] This brigade (part of the Auvergne Regiment), considered to be "the pride of the entire French army", was largely captured.[37]

The battle of the Trebbia, or the Campaign of the Trebbia as Duffy called it,[38] 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.[37] Military historians note that if Suvorov had no previous feats in his career, that the Trebbia campaign alone would make him a great commander.[39]

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[40] from the Lombard Legion.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Bodart 1908, p. 337.
  2. ^ a b c d Dupuy & Dupuy 1993, p. 755.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Duffy94 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Acerbi 2008.
  5. ^ Dupuy & Dupuy 1993, p. 755; Smith 1998, p. 160 (the seven listed grenadier battalions were Ficquelmont, Korherr, Mercandin, Neny, Soudain, Weber and Wouvermanns); Tucker 2009, p. 1008; Clodfelter 2017, p. 109; Bodart 1908, p. 337 (38 battalions, 34 squadrons); Orlov 1892, p. 203 (33,500)
  6. ^ Eggenberger 1985, p. 443; Duffy 1999, pp. 96–97 (according to Duffy, a total of 35,684; if gunners and sappers are excluded, since the Coalition had an unknown number of gunners, the result is 34,596; however, Duffy deducted the losses suffered at the Battle of Modena and on 17 June at the Tidone from these figures: he estimated them to be about 33,500 as a grand total including gunners and sappers); Petrushevsky 1900, p. 592.
  7. ^ Longworth 1966, p. 250 (16,000 at the stage of Ott's reinforcement by Melas' column); Petrushevsky 1900, p. 583; Milyutin 1852, p. 254.
  8. ^ Longworth 1966, p. 251 (28,000 full strength); Duffy 1999, pp. 96–97; Orlov 1892, p. 205 ("The total allied force in the combat of 18 June, if the casualties of 17 June are roughly deducted, was around 22,000, which is equal to the French forces.")
  9. ^ Duffy 1999, pp. 106–107; Orlov 1892, p. 322 (33,000 on 19 June); Rickard 2009 (33,500 as "maximum strength"); Petrushevsky 1900, p. 592 (33–35,000 highest force)
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Duffy84 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Rickard 2009 (24,000); Eggenberger 1985, p. 443 (25,000); Orlov 1892, pp. 205, 217–218, 228
    Orlov: "Field Marshal Suvorov's orders for the forthcoming attack had in mind first of all to concentrate as large a force as possible; for this purpose officers were sent back to gather and bring the rest during the forced march on 17 June; orders were sent to Nikolay Chubarov that he should hurry to join the army; besides, support from Paul Kray was expected. However, neither Chubarov nor reinforcements from Kray arrived on that day, and the troops were reinforced only by stragglers, who were pulled up throughout the 18th of June and went straight from the march into the fray."; "Suvorov's forces [June 19] increased, but not much: to the Russian troops in the middle of the battle joined Chubarov with 3 battalions (1,300 men), and to the Austrians — Württemberg Dragoon Regiment (6 squadrons, about 1,000 men); but we must take into account the losses, which, of course, were not small in such a stubborn battle."; "The advance guard, under Chubarov, overtook Victor's rearguard and forced it to retreat behind the Nure [20 June]. Victor's rearguard (17th Line Demi-Brigade, 2 guns and 6 squadrons) took position at San Giorgio Piacentino, and his other troops at some distance behind the rearguard. Victor did not want to engage at all and was already preparing to retreat, but the Russians quickened their step, Rosenberg's main force came up to Chubarov; all of this rushed from different sides on San Giorgio, cut off the French units from retreating, and the famous Auvergne Regiment laid down its arms…"
  12. ^ a b c Rickard 2009.
  13. ^ Myachin 2001.
  14. ^ a b c d Petrushevsky 1900, p. 592.
  15. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Duffy96 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Longworth 1966, p. 250 (*6,000 originally in Piacenza; 9,000 at the stage of Ott's reinforcement by Melas' column); Petrushevsky 1900, p. 583 (14–15,000); Orlov 1892, p. 322 (15,000)
  17. ^ Longworth 1966, p. 251; Orlov 1892, pp. 205, 322 (22,000 on 18 & 19 June: "The total allied force in the combat of 18 June, if the casualties of 17 June are roughly deducted, was around 22,000, which is equal to the French forces.", "On 19 June with 22,000 Suvorov beat 33,000 of MacDonald."); Petrushevsky 1900, p. 583 (22,000 on 18 June, not noted for 19 June); Rickard 2009 (35,000 men in all, still arriving as reinforcements on the 19th)
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Smith 1998, p. 160 (according to Smith, this is the numbers of troops present); Bodart 1908, p. 337 (Bodart stated 44 battalions, 56 squadrons; the Russian Cossacks did not have squadrons, but sotnias and their unique regiments, so perhaps they are not being taken into account); Rothenberg 1980, p. 249.
  20. ^ Dupuy & Dupuy 1993, p. 755 ("the Russian general had about 40,000 men scattered around Alessandria"); Tucker 2009, p. 1008; Acerbi 2008 (42,000, with 62 guns)
  21. ^ a b Eggenberger 1985, p. 444.
  22. ^ a b Arsenyev & Petrushevsky 1901, p. 746.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Smith160 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Rothenberg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Blease 1920, p. 266.
  26. ^ Longworth 1966, p. 254.
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference Duffy114 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Tucker 2009, p. 1008.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference Duffy110 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Blease 1920, p. 267.
  31. ^ История русской армии.– Москва: Эксмо, 2023. – 768с.–(Подарочные издания. Российская императорская библиотека). IBSN 978-5-699-42397-2. P.142
  32. ^ Мячин, Александр Николаевич (2001). 100 великих битв [100 Great Battles] (in Russian). Вече. pp. 173–176.
  33. ^ Волковский, Н. Л., ed. (2003). История русской армии: В 7 т. [History of the Russian Army: In 7 volumes. Volume 1: From the birth of Rus' to the War of 1812.] (in Russian). Vol. 1: От зарождения Руси до войны 1812 г. СПб: ООО «Издательство Полигон». pp. 405–413. ISBN 5-89173-205-X.
  34. ^ Клаузевиц, Карл фон (2009). Принципы ведения войны [Principles of War] (PDF) (in Russian). Translated by Игоревский, Л. А. Москва: Центрполиграф. p. 176. ISBN 978-5-9524-4349-5.
  35. ^ Petrushevsky, Alexander (1884). Generalissimo Prince Suvorov (in Russian). Vol. 3 (1st ed.). Типография М. М. Стасюлевича. pp. 120–124.
  36. ^ Osipov, K. (1939). Alexander Suvorov: A Biography. Hutchinson & Co. pp. 148–149, 177.
  37. ^ a b Osipov, K. (1939). Alexander Suvorov: A Biography. Hutchinson & Co. p. 152.
  38. ^ Duffy (1999), p. 90
  39. ^ Волковский, Н. Л., ed. (2003). История русской армии: В 7 т. [History of the Russian Army: In 7 volumes. Volume 1: From the birth of Rus' to the War of 1812.] (in Russian). Vol. 1: От зарождения Руси до войны 1812 г. СПб: ООО «Издательство Полигон». p. 412. ISBN 5-89173-205-X.
  40. ^ Duffy (1999), p. 97


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