Suvorov's Italian campaign. 220 years ago, on August 15, 1799, the great Russian commander Suvorov defeated the French army at Novi. Russian-Austrian troops could finish off the French army in the Genoa Riviera and create conditions for a campaign in France. However, Vienna did not use the extremely advantageous situation for the final defeat of the enemy.
Almost all of Italy was liberated from the French, and the Austrian government hastened to get rid of the Russians. Great Britain, concerned about the successes of the Russian army and navy, also wanted the removal of Russian forces from Italy. The Italian campaign was over, and the Russian miracle heroes Suvorov were thrown into Switzerland.
General environment
The Ushakov squadron successfully operated in southern Italy. The Russian squadron headed for the Kingdom of Naples, occupied by French troops. The Brindisi garrison fled without a fight. Then the Russian naval commander landed an assault under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Belli at Bari. Having joined several thousand Calabrian rebels, Belli's detachment crossed Italy and went to Naples. The French troops that came out to meet were defeated. The Russians took the Vilheno fort, which covered the approaches to Naples. Naples fell on June 3. Italian monarchists began repressions against the republicans, but Russian sailors stopped the reprisals.
The landing of Russian troops and their successful actions contributed to the growth of the national liberation movement. Local residents warmly greeted the Russians and created militias to jointly fight the invaders. At the request of the British and the direction of Suvorov, Ushakov sent a detachment of Rear Admiral Pustoshkin to siege the city of Ancona, on which the French troops of MacDonald and Moreau relied. Ancona was blockaded and the approaching Austrian detachment under the command of Freilich occupied the fortress. The actions of Ushakov's squadron ended with the landing of troops to occupy Rome. The successes of Russian sailors in southern Italy contributed to the actions of our forces in northern Italy.
After the defeat at Trebbia, the French army retreated to the Genoese Riviera. The Austrians did not allow the Russian commander-in-chief to finish off the enemy. Hofkrigsrat banned offensive operations until the surrender of Mantua, which was besieged by the Austrian Corps of the Region. Suvorov stationed his army in the area of Alessandria (Alexandria). Under his leadership there were about 40-50 thousand people. Another 25 thousand soldiers were stationed at the borders of Savoy and Switzerland, 5 thousand people - at Tuscany and 30 thousand troops besieged Mantua. The Russian commander was preparing an offensive with the aim of completely defeating the French in Italy. However, the Austrian high command demanded that he first of all concentrate his efforts on the capture of Mantua and other strongholds-citadels - Alessandria, Tortona, Koni, etc. As a result, a whole month passed in inaction. This greatly annoyed Suvorov, and he did not hide his anger. His relationship with the Austrian leadership finally deteriorated.
Parties' plans
The Austrian gofkriegsrat (supreme military council) tied the initiative of Alexander Suvorov. He was forced to postpone the offensive. On July 2, 1799, he developed the first offensive plan. The Russian commander-in-chief planned to enter Tuscany and Rome in order to establish contact with the fleet. The second operation was to occupy Genoa and the third - Nitsa. In July, the citadel of Alexandria and Mantua were captured, and the fort of Serraval was captured. This changed the situation at the front and made it possible to concentrate efforts on the main direction. The freed Kray corps reinforced Suvorov's army.
On July 19, Suvorov presented a new plan. He planned to take Nice and the chain of the Savoy Mountains before winter. To go to Genoa through Novi and Acqui, then from Genoa to Nice meant waging a difficult mountain war. Therefore, the commander-in-chief proposed to advance through the Tenda passage to Nice in order to cut off the French in Genoa and force them to leave the region and, with luck, cut off the enemy's escape route. In accordance with this plan, the regrouping of troops began. Rebinder's corps arrived from Russia, which made it possible to assemble a powerful offensive group. The corps was headed by Rosenberg. The main forces of the army (over 51 thousand people with 95 guns) were located between Alessandria and Tortona. Alexander Vasilyevich intended to set out on August 4, 1799. However, on July 30, he received information about the French army's performance under the command of Joubert, whom the Directory had appointed together with Moreau and MacDonald.
Taking advantage of the respite, the French came to their senses. Due to the heavy defeats that the French troops suffered from Suvorov, the loss of Northern Italy, the Italian theater became the main theater for Paris. The French government had to take extraordinary measures to keep France safe from invasion. It was planned to form a new army to defend the Alps from the Savoy and Dauphinés. The Directory created a new Italian army (about 45 thousand people) from the remnants of the armies of Moreau and MacDonald, sent in reinforcements. Moreau was ordered to launch a counteroffensive and defeat Suvorov's army, regain control over Northern Italy, and lift the siege of Mantua. Moreau, reasonably considering this task impracticable, planned to act on the defensive, closing the mountain passages from Italy to France. There was enough strength for this. However, the Directory did not like the defensive strategy. Moreau was dismissed. The new commander-in-chief was appointed a young, talented general Barthelemy Joubert, a participant in Napoleon's Italian campaign, who was considered one of the best generals of the republic.
The French commander-in-chief went on the offensive. Joubert had erroneous information that the Russian-Austrian troops were scattered over a large area and was going to crush them with a sudden blow from concentrated forces. The French were moving in two columns. The French were going to attack the Russians at Tertz, but they were not there. Continuing the movement, the troops of Joubert reached the border of the Lemme River on August 2. The French left flank was at Francoville, the extreme right at Serravalle. The French had to descend into the plain north of Novi to fight the Russians. However, when the French army descended from the mountains, the French commander-in-chief discovered that he had made a major mistake. The superior forces of the allies awaited the enemy in well-prepared positions. At Pozolo Formigaro, the vanguard of Bagration and Miloradovich was located, several miles away, at Rivalta, the troops of Melas and Derfelden, on the river. Obre-Austrian Corps of the Edge and Bellegarde, and in the rear at Tortona - the Rosenberg corps.
Attacking allies on the move was suicide, and retreating in full view of the enemy was shameful. Almost all the generals offered to retreat to Genoa. Joubert refused, but doubts remained. The French army regrouped its forces and prepared for the defense in strong positions. They occupied the last spurs of the Apennines, between the valleys of the Scrivia and Aubri rivers. The terrain was elevated, heavily rugged, convenient for defense. The city of Novi had stone fortifications. True, the escape routes were difficult, the rear was cut by rivers and ravines. On the left wing near the village of Pasturana were the divisions of Lemoine and Grusha, behind them stood a reserve - the divisions of Closel and Partuno (17 thousand soldiers). The center of the position was occupied by the division of Labusiere, the Cauchy brigade and the division of Vatren (12 thousand people). On the right wing were the divisions of Saint-Cyr, Gardan, Dombrowski and the reserve. In total, the French army numbered about 40 thousand people, it occupied a front of 20 km. An important role was played by the city of Novi, through which the escape routes passed.
Suvorov at this time was preparing for an active defense. The advance detachments were to conduct reconnaissance in force and retreat in front of superior forces, luring the French into the valley. The vanguards of Rosenberg and Derfelden were given the task of resisting the French at Vigizolla and Rivalta. All other troops were located in the depths of the position and acted on the basis of the movement of the enemy, striking from the front and making a detour. Thus, the advanced units had to start the battle, determine the intentions of the enemy, then the main forces entered into action. Suvorov's troops were deployed in echelons in depth, which made it possible to introduce new forces into battle as needed.
The Russian commander-in-chief, convinced that the enemy did not dare to attack, ordered on August 4 (15), 1799 to go on the offensive in the general direction of Novi with the troops of the left flank under the command of Bagration, Miloradovich and Derfelden. The strike group was to be supported by the reserves of Melas and Rosenberg. As a result, 32.5 thousand people were concentrated. The right flank, led by General Krai (17 thousand people), conducted an auxiliary operation, diverting the enemy in the direction of a secondary strike.
Battle
In the early morning of August 4 (15), General Krai struck the left wing of the French. The Austrians attacked from the march, while the rest of the allied army at the beginning of the battle were out of sight of the French. This misled Joubert, who believed that he could defeat part of the Allied army before the main forces arrived. Austrian columns pushed Lemoine's division back and began to develop an offensive along the Lemme River. The French commander-in-chief personally led the counterattack and was mortally wounded by a stray bullet, the army led by General Moreau. He transferred to the left flank the entire infantry reserve and part of the forces from the right flank (more than 8 thousand people). Having concentrated more than 20 thousand people here, the French stopped the Austrians, but thereby weakened the right flank, where Suvorov delivered the main blow.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, Suvorov's troops attacked the enemy's right wing. Having ordered the Krai to resume the offensive on the right flank of the allied army, the commander-in-chief moved the vanguard of Bagration and Miloradovich to Novi. The divisions of Gardan and Saint-Cyr defended here. The French repulsed three attacks of Bagration, there were much more of them in the center than they had expected. During the third attack, the French division of Vatren, descended from the mountains and attacked the left flank of Bagration. The Russian avant-garde was pushed aside. Then Suvorov threw Derfelden's troops into battle. The French division was thrown back and pinned down by part of the fresh Russian-Austrian troops. After that, our troops, personally led by Suvorov, drove the enemy back in the center to Novi. After a stubborn battle, the French retreated behind the city fortifications. The stone walls of the city withstood volleys of field cannons. They could not take the city on the move. The edge on the right flank could not advance.
At 13 o'clock the Russian commander-in-chief suspended the offensive until the reserves arrived. After the approach of Melas's units, Suvorov ordered the Krai to resume attacks on the enemy's left flank, Bagration, Miloradovich and Derfelden to oppose Novi, and Melas to strike on the right flank of the French from Rivalta, bypassing Vatren's division. Rosenberg was to take the position of Melas. In accordance with the command of the commander, the Allies again went on the offensive. Melas moved slowly and only by 15 o'clock began to cover the right flag of Vatren. Moreau could not prevent this, since all reserves were used on the left flank of the French army. True, Melas directed part of his forces to Serrevalle, thereby weakening his forces. However, the general blow was so strong that the French could not stand it and began to withdraw. By 17 o'clock our troops took Novi.
The center of the French army was completely destroyed. The Vatren division, which had held down the forces of the allies for a long time, was surrounded and, after stubborn resistance, surrendered. The main forces of the French army on the left wing were under the threat of encirclement and complete destruction. To save the army from death, Moreau gave the order to retreat, which, under the simultaneous offensive of the allies from the front and flank, under artillery fire, quickly turned into a flight. Only part of Saint-Cyr's troops were able to retreat to Gavi in relative order. The onset of night saved the French from total annihilation. Both sides fought valiantly, but the victory went to a better controlled allied army. On August 5 (16), Rosenberg's reserve corps continued to pursue the enemy. During the retreat, the French suffered significant losses. However, the Austrians did not allow Suvorov to develop an offensive and finish off the enemy army in the Genoa region. He was stopped.
The French army was defeated and, according to various estimates, lost up to 7 to 10 thousand people only killed, and over 4 thousand prisoners, 39 guns (all Joubert's artillery), the entire baggage train and supplies. On August 5, during the pursuit, several thousand French fled and deserted. The losses of the allies - according to various sources, about 6-8 thousand people killed and wounded. Most of the losses fell on the Austrians. Russian troops, despite the fierce battle in the center, when the French repulsed four attacks, lost less than 2 thousand people killed and wounded.
The remnants of Moro's army fled to the Genoese Riviera. The French now could not even defend the mountain passes. The allies could, without much effort, complete the liberation of Italy and create the conditions for an offensive into France. However, this opportunity was not used in Vienna (which would ultimately lead Austria to a military-political catastrophe), fearing the growth of Russia's influence in Western Europe. In France itself, the Battle of Novi and the loss of almost all of Italy were the final straw for the Directory regime. In Paris, bets were made on how long it would take for Suvorov to reach the French capital. Soon, on a wave of hatred for the regime, rotten through and through, General Napoleon will come to power through a coup.
The Russian Tsar Pavel for Novi ordered to give the Prince of Italy, Count Suvorov-Rymnik, even in the presence of the Tsar, all military honors, like those given to the person of His Imperial Majesty. For the liberation of Piedmont, the Sardinian king marked the Russian commander with the rank of field marshal of the Piedmont army, a grandee of the kingdom of Sardinia, with the hereditary title of prince and "brother" of the king. In England, the great commander was honored. Only in Vienna remained cold to this brilliant victory. The Austrian emperor and the Hofkriegsrat continued to send remarks and reproaches.
Completion of the Italian campaign
The Battle of Novi was the last in the Italian campaign. Relations between the allies at this time deteriorated to the point that they decided to act on their own. The Austrians and British insisted on the removal of the Russians from Italy. The Austrians were to continue operations in Italy, and Suvorov's troops went to Switzerland. The Austrians rushed our troops in every possible way, at the same time they put obstacles at every step, disrupted supplies. As a result, the Swiss campaign had to be postponed for two weeks. "Having squeezed out of me the juice that Italy needs, they throw me over the Alps, and for a week now I have been in a fever more from the poison of Viennese politics." - said the great Russian man on this matter.
Meanwhile, the Austrian Archduke Karl, who was in Switzerland, left there, without waiting for the arrival of Suvorov, and left the Russian 30 thousand corps of Rimsky-Korsakov to the mercy of fate. This betrayal led to the defeat of the Russian corps. On August 28, Suvorov's army set out from Alessandria on a new campaign.
Thus, despite all the intrigues of Vienna, Suvorov completed the task. He three times inflicted a decisive defeat on the French army, a strong and skillful enemy, with brave soldiers and brilliant generals. In a few weeks he liberated a vast country, captured and blockaded all cities and fortresses. And all in the conditions that the Viennese court in every possible way interfered with the Russian commander. And Suvorov himself was 69 years old. However, he overcame all difficulties.
