220 years ago, on April 26-28, 1799, Russian troops under the command of A. V. Suvorov in the battle on the Adda River completely defeated the French army under the command of J. V. Moreau. The Russians took Milan. Thus, almost all of Northern Italy was liberated from the French.
The situation before the battle
In 1798, the government of Emperor Paul the First decided to oppose France, joining the ranks of the Second Anti-French Coalition. The Black Sea squadron under the command of F. F. Ushakov was sent to the Mediterranean to help the allies: Turkey and Britain.
In the land theater, the Allies in 1799 planned to organize a large-scale offensive - in the space from Holland to Italy. Russian troops, together with the allies, were to operate in Holland, Switzerland and Italy. In Italy, the allied Russian-Austrian army was to be led by Alexander Suvorov. The Austrian military-political leadership formally agreed with the independence of the Russian commander, but tried to impose on him its own strategic plan, which was based on the defense of the Austrian borders. Suvorov planned to act in his own style, quickly and decisively. Carry out a decisive offensive in Northern Italy, liberate Lombardy and Piedmont from the French. To create a strategic foothold in Italy for an attack on France, through Lyon to Paris.
On April 3 (14), 1799, Suvorov arrived at the camp of the allied forces in the city of Verona. He published a manifesto in which he announced the restoration of the former order in Italy. When Rosenberg's corps approached, having more than 48 thousand soldiers (12 thousand Russians and 36, 5 thousand Austrians), Suvorov decided to launch an offensive, disregarding the instructions of the Gofkrigsrat. On April 8 (19), the commander began an offensive with the main forces from Valeggio to Addu. For the blockade of the fortresses of Mantua and Peschiera, the 15,000th corps of the Austrian general of the Krai was left.
French forces. Allied offensive
The French army under the command of Scherer, after an unsuccessful offensive and defeat by the Austrians at Magnano, retreated and with its main forces took up defenses along the western bank of the Adda River. However, two divisions (about 16 thousand people) were late, so 28 thousand French soldiers defended the crossing at the front with a length of about 100 km. The French had a strong natural position: the Adda River was quite deep, it was impossible to wade it. The right bank was higher than the left, that is, it was convenient for shooters. At the top of the river, from Lake Como to Cassano, the banks were high and steep; below Cassano - the banks became low-lying, swampy, the river itself broke up into branches, which made it difficult to cross. The bridges at Cassano, Lecco and other crossings were well defended by the French. As the Russians approached, the French blew up the bridges.
Suvorov, with his offensive on Brescia, Bergamo and Lecco, secured his right flank, contacting the Austrian troops in Tyrol and trying to bypass the enemy army from its left wing, and then continue to move to the south-west, pushing the enemy to the Po River. In the vanguard was Bagration (3 thousand people) and the Austrian division of Ott. The vanguard was followed by the main forces of the Austrians under the command of Melas. The Hohenzollern division (6, 5 thousand people) occupied the left flank and moved through Pozzola to Cremona. She was supposed to provide the left flank of the army from a possible flank attack of the enemy. On April 10 (21), the allies took the fortress of Brescia, on April 13 (24) - Bergamo. On April 14 (25), the allied forces reached the Adda River.
At the same time, Suvorov was dissatisfied with the allies. The Russian commander acted quickly and decisively, he did not tolerate delays. The troops marched out at night, making frequent short halts. In 14 hours, the army had to travel up to 30 miles. True, it was not always possible to maintain such a pace of movement, sometimes the roads were too difficult. The Austrians were not used to this and began to complain about the large crossings and the speed of the marches. This irritated Alexander Vasilyevich. So, he arranged a drag for the Austrian commander Melas himself, who gave the troops a good rest after a long march in the rain, which disrupted the army's movement schedule. Suvorov wrote to Melas: “Women, dandies and sloths are chasing good weather … those who are in bad health should stay back … In hostilities, one should quickly figure out - and immediately execute, so that the enemy does not give time to come to his senses … … Further Suvorov tried not to mix the Russian units with the Austrian ones. An exception was made only for the Cossacks, who conducted reconnaissance and security in front of the Austrian columns.
Having reached the Adda River, the Russian commander-in-chief decided to break through the enemy's defenses on a wide front, striking in the Lecco-Cassano sector. Suvorov decided to strike the main blow in the Brivio (Brevio) - Trezzo sector, the auxiliary one at Lecco. General objective: to cross the river and take Milan. In the event of a delay in the crossing at the designated areas, it was decided to force the river at Cassano, followed by an offensive in the Milanese direction. Hohenzollern's left-flank division was given the task of crossing the Adda at Lodi and moving in the direction of Pavia.
The main forces of Suvorov's army, which included Rosenberg's Russian corps and the Austrian divisions of Vukasovich, Ott and Zopf (totaling about 27 thousand people), were to force the water barrier in the Brivio, Trezzo sector and then develop an offensive to Milan. Bagration's detachment (3 thousand people) operated in the auxiliary direction near the city of Lecco. The divisions of Keith and Frohlich (13 thousand people), which were guided by the crossing at Cassano, remained in the reserve of the allied army in the Trevilio area.
Battle of the Adda River
The first to attack was on April 15 (26), 1799 Bagration's detachment at Lecco. This blow was supposed to mislead the enemy, distract them from the direction of the main attack. The city of Lecco, located on the left (eastern) bank, was defended by the 5-thousandth French garrison of General Soye with 6 guns. At the same time, the French occupied the dominant heights. As a result, the French, having a strong position and an advantage in forces, fought fiercely. The battle lasted 12 hours. First, the miraculous heroes of Bagration with a powerful attack drove the French out of the city. The French retreated to the northern outskirts of Lecco. But they quickly came to their senses and, finding that there were more of them, launched a counterattack. By evening, the enemy began to take up. Bagration requested reinforcements. Three battalions under the command of Miloradovich and Povalo-Shveikovsky helped Bagration's detachment to turn the tide and go on the offensive again. By 20 o'clock, Russian soldiers captured Lecco, throwing the enemy far to the north. French soldiers retreated beyond Addu and blew up the remaining crossings. The French lost about 1 thousand people in this hot battle, our total losses are 365 people.
On the same day, the French commander changed - Scherer was replaced by General Jean Victor Moreau. He was considered one of the best generals in France. The new commander regrouped the forces. He planned to gather the main forces in the area of Trezzo and Cassano. That is, on the whole, he correctly identified the area where the allies were delivering the main blow. This allowed the French to strengthen their defenses.
However, Bagration's demonstrative blow was useful. The Serurier division, which was moving from Lecco to Trezzo, reached the place, and then it was turned back. Only one battalion was left in Trezzo. At the same time, the French believed that crossing the river in this place was impossible for the whole army. The eastern bank here was steep, which made the descent of pontoons and troops to the river extremely difficult. Therefore, the French did not even set up guard posts here. At the same time, in this place, the width of the river was less and the western bank was convenient for disembarkation. Therefore, Suvorov ordered to direct the crossing in the Trezzo area.
On the night of April 15-16, the pontoons of the Ott division began to build the bridge. By the morning of April 16, it was erected. Ott's vanguard was the first to cross the river, followed by the Cossack regiments of Denisov, Molchanov and Grekov, then the main forces of the Ott division. After that, units of the Zopf division crossed the river. As a result, the appearance of the Austrians and Russian Cossacks in Trezzo came as a complete surprise to the enemy. Only the slowness and caution of the Austrians saved the French battalion at Trezzo from immediate destruction. The French had time to prepare for the defense of the settlement. However, the Cossacks bypassed Trezzo from the north, and their attack broke the enemy's resistance. The French fled to Pozzo. Thus, thanks to the successful crossing of Adda at Trezzo, the defense of the French army was hacked.
The French command gave the order to the Grenier division to take up defenses in the Vaprio-Pozzo sector with a front to the north and to meet the Austrians advancing from Trezzo. Ott's division could not break the enemy's resistance and began to roll back to Trezzo under pressure from the French. The Austrian troops showed their weakness in the actions based on columns and loose formation. The battle at Vaprio continued. The Austrians brought both divisions into battle - Ott and Zopf. However, the French continued to attack. Only the blow of the Russian Cossack regiments from the Pozzo area under the general command of Denisov broke the enemy's resistance. The French began to retreat. After that, Denisov's Cossacks attacked a French cavalry regiment approaching from Gorgonzola and defeated it. Moreau ordered the Grenier division to withdraw to the Cassano-Inzego line.
On the same day, Alexander Suvorov threw his reserve into battle - the divisions of Frohlich and Keith (under the general command of Melas). They were supposed to lead an offensive from Trevilio to Cassano, cross the river at Cassano, then go to Gorgonzola. This led to the dispersal of the French forces. Also, a flank attack made it possible to encircle and destroy the main forces of the French army. However, these were Austrian divisions, not Russians, they did not know how to fight in Suvorov style. For seven hours the Austrians fought with one French semi-brigade (2 thousand soldiers) and could not defeat it. The French successfully defended Cassano from the troops of Melas. Suvorov had to personally come to this sector of the front. Meanwhile, the French garrison of Cassano was reinforced by Arno's brigade from Victor's division. Suvorov regrouped the troops, deployed a 30-gun battery and launched a new offensive. After that, the French wavered and retreated to the right bank of the Adda, not having time to destroy the bridge. At about 6 pm the Austrians occupied Cassano.
Seeing that the defenses were broken, Moreau ordered the army to retreat to Milan. The attempt of the French commander to organize resistance at Trezzo and Cassan failed. Thus, the Russian-Austrian troops broke the resistance of the French army on the Adda line, crossing the river at a front of 55 km. However, it was not possible to encircle the main forces of the Austrians due to the weak tactical training of the Austrian troops. The weary Austrians hardly pursued the enemy. The French were pursued only by the Cossacks. On April 17 (28), the allies suppressed the resistance of the last centers of enemy resistance. The troops of Vukasovich and Rosenberg defeated parts of the Serurier division. The French general lost contact with Moreau and, not knowing the general state of affairs, spent the night. As a result, he was captured. Soon Suvorov will release him on his word of honor.
The Battle of the Adda River on April 16 (27), 1799 Engraving by N. Schiavonetti from a painting by Singleton
Outcomes
The French army was defeated and fled. The French lost in killed and wounded 2,5 thousand people, prisoners - 5 thousand, 27 guns. Our losses are 2 thousand killed and wounded.
The battle is distinguished by the fact that crossing the river on such a wide front was a novelty in the art of war of that time. The enemy's front was broken through by a blow from concentrated forces in the main direction during active attacks from the flanks, which disorientated the enemy. At the same time, Suvorov was able to achieve victory mainly using Austrian troops.
The road to Milan was clear. The city was supposed to be defended by Serurier's division, but it was already defeated. Therefore, on the evening of April 17 (28), the Cossacks entered Milan. On April 18 (29), the Russian commander-in-chief Alexander Suvorov arrived in the city. The Italians greeted him with great enthusiasm, as a savior and deliverer. Following Milan, the Allies occupied the cities of Tortona, Marengo and Turin. Suvorov's strategy to defeat the main forces of the enemy army in the field fully justified itself. In a short time, all of Northern Italy was liberated from the French. The remnants of the French army were blockaded in Mantua, Alexandria, the strong citadels of Tortona and Turin. The main forces of the French retreated to Genoa.
However, Suvorov's successes alarmed Vienna. On the one hand, the Austrian high command was pleased with the victories of the Russian commander. On the other hand, the Austrians feared the independence and decisiveness of Alexander Suvorov. They wanted the Russian commander to stop, to take up the defense of Northern Italy and the restoration of Austrian rule there. Therefore, the Austrian troops were ordered to disarm the Italians and crush the national liberation movement. Suvorov was against this. Therefore, the Austrians decided that Suvorov should be removed from Italy, since his presence there is dangerous.
Suvorov's entrance to Milan. Artist A. Charlemagne, c. 1901
