Second Battle of Saorgio (1794)

 From April 24 to 28, 1794, the Second Battle of Saorgio was fought between a French First Republic army led by Pierre Jadart Dumerbion and soldiers from the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and the Habsburg monarchy led by Joseph Nikolaus De Vins. It was part of a successful French attack aimed at capturing vital positions in the Maritime and Ligurian Alps, as well as on the Mediterranean coast. The battle was tactically controlled by André Masséna for the French and Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi for the Coalition. Saorge is situated in France, approximately 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast of Nice. The town was called Saorgio and belonged to Piedmont at the time of the conflict.

The Piedmontese defenses around Saorge have evaded capture since September 1792. Early in April 1794, the French launched an offensive along the Italian Riviera, taking the little port of Oneglia. Masséna then moved north to seize two villages in the upper Tanaro valley before turning west to outflank the fortifications surrounding Saorge. 

After considerable fighting, the Austro-Piedmontese withdrew to the north side of the French-occupied Col de Tende (Tenda Pass). Dumerbion's forces also took control of a substantial chunk of the Italian Riviera. The battle took place during the War of the First Coalition, which was part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The encounter is notable in military history because the offensive was planned by a newly commissioned artillery general named Napoleon Bonaparte.

Background

In a battle with France, the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont was at a disadvantage because two of its provinces were on the French side of the Alps. These were the counties of Nice on the Mediterranean coast and Savoy in the north. Aware of his predicament, King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia attempted to form an alliance with Habsburg Austria while also holding diplomatic talks with the French.

The French First Republic and Sardinia went to war in the spring of 1792. The French government directed General Anne-Pierre, Marquis de Montesquiou-Fézensac, to attack Savoy on May 15, but the officer determined that more time was needed to prepare. During the summer, King Victor Amadeus bartered with Austria for military support. Austria ultimately consented to deploy an auxiliary corps of 8,000 men under Feldmarschallleutnant Leopoldo Lorenzo, Count of Strassoldo, on September 22. The Convention of Milan, however, arrived too late.

Montesquiou entered Savoy on September 21, 1792, and the resistance crumbled. The general reported to his government that his troops were well-received by the populace. On September 24, the town of Chambéry was occupied. A 70-year-old relic, Sardinian General Lazary, was unable to launch an effective resistance. On September 27, a second French force entered Nice without incident and went on to occupy Villefranche-sur-Mer two days later. 

On November 27, Savoy was absorbed into France at the request of its leaders. On September 23, a French naval squadron led by Rear Admiral Laurent Jean François Truguet went to Oneglia, Piedmont, where an 800-man battalion disembarked. Before returning to their ships, the army ravaged the town and slaughtered some monks. The Sardinians defeated their opponents at Sospel (Sospello) on November 18, 1792. The French fled to L'Escarène and prepared for winter.

Disgusted by his generals' ineptitude, King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia urged the Austrians to send a commander to command the combined Austrian and Piedmontese armies. On December 21, 1792, the Austrian government appointed Feldzeugmeister Joseph Nikolaus De Vins to assume the position. Nonetheless, Austria was aware that the French were attempting to negotiate a peace treaty with the Sardinians, and the Austrians did not completely trust their ally. The execution of King Louis XVI of France on January 21, 1793, shocked Europe's other crowned monarchs and further isolated France.

On February 28, 1793, near Levens, 12,000 French troops headed by Lieutenant General Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duke of Biron, clashed with 7,000 Sardinian soldiers led by Charles-François Thaon, Count of Saint-André. Each side suffered 800 casualties in this French victory. Furthermore, the French captured two of their adversary's six cannons. The Sardinian troops occupied a strong defensive position in Saorge (Saorgio), preventing access to the strategically crucial Col de Tende (Tenda Pass). The Army of Italy, led by General of Division Gaspard Jean-Baptiste Brunet, gained a minor victory over the Sardinians on June 8, 1793, in the vicinity of L'Aution Peak west of Saorge. 

On June 12, the armies met once more in the First Battle of Saorgio. The French were defeated this time. Sardinian units active in these battles included two battalions of the Cacciatori and Swiss Christ Infantry Regiments, as well as one battalion each of the Saluzzo, Sardinia, and Lombardy Infantry Regiments. The Cacciatori de Canale, Light Infantry, 1st, 3rd, and 5th Grenadier Battalions, as well as the Vercelli, Casale, and Acqui Provincial Regiments, were also involved. The attack was "ill-conceived" and "disastrous."

The allies attempted a counteroffensive, but their efforts were hampered by the new commander's slowness. A number of officers objected to De Vins' proposal to recover both Savoy and Nice. De Vins intended to command both offensives from Turin since he suffered from gout. 

The Duke of Montferrat, who led the counter-invasion of Savoy, was to obey De Vins' stringent daily commands. The arrangements were unworkable because Turin was 45 miles (72 kilometers) away. In the end, on September 15, 1793, a French force led by General of Division François Christophe de Kellermann defeated Lieutenant General Cordon's Savoy column at the Battle of Epierre. The French suffered 500 casualties out of 8,000 troops, while the Sardinians suffered 1,000 casualties out of 6,000.

From Saorgio, the Count of Saint-André was ordered to move on to Nice. The conflict between Saint-André and his Austrian subordinate, Feldmarschallleutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi, made this effort difficult. Meanwhile, De Vins' chief of staff, Eugène-Guillaume Argenteau, managed to irritate the majority of the Piedmontese officer corps. Parts of southern France revolted against the revolutionary government during this period. 

Large French republican forces were required to subdue the uprising at the Siege of Toulon, allowing Piedmont to reclaim its lost territory. King Victor Amadeus and De Vins departed the capital in August to oversee the southern front, where operations were set to begin on September 7. Six Piedmontese battalions from the Aosta, Guardia, and Piedmont Infantry Regiments defeated the French at Gilette on October 18. Three days later, the 5th Grenadiers were involved in an inconclusive skirmish at Utelle. Heavy snowfall in the highlands forced the king to abandon the offensive and return to his capital in November.

Battle

At the start of 1794, the Piedmontese occupied a formidable defensive position stretching from Roquebillière to Saorge via the Col de Raus, L'Aution Peak, and Colle Basse. The railway stretched northeast from Saorge to Cima di Marte, Col Argente, and Monte Saccarello. The line was so strong that an eastward outflanking move seemed obvious. 

General Dellera of Sardinia believed that the French would conquer the Colle di Nava, northwest of Oneglia. He wanted to occupy Briga Alta, northeast of Saorgio, but De Vins refused. Dellera, on the other hand, persuaded the army commander to send an Austrian force from the Po River basin to Dego. De Vins also ordered 4,000 Sardinian troops to patrol the area near Oneglia.

The Army of Italy was commanded by French General Pierre Jadart Dumerbion. He was competent but old, and he had seen far too many generals executed for failing or holding the wrong political ideas. Brunet died on November 15, 1793, and Biron died on December 31, 1793, both in the same year. To avoid difficulties, Dumerbion decided to consult the all-powerful Representatives before embarking on a mission. The representatives at the time were Augustin Robespierre and Antoine Christophe Saliceti, who were both influenced by the newly elevated General of Brigade, Napoleon Bonaparte, the army's new artillery chief. 

Bonaparte devised a strategy, and Dumerbion listened. Bonaparte intended to start a push northeast along the coast to conquer Oneglia, a haven for Sardinian privateers preying on the Genoa-to-Nice grain trade. The French would turn north from Oneglia to conquer Ormea, outflanking the enemy's positions from the east. During this time, the main force would distract the Coalition defenses by moving directly towards Saorge. Dumerbion's 43,000-man field army was divided into three columns and a reserve, with 20,000 men forming the attacking force.

Dumerbion launched his onslaught on April 6, 1794. On September 9th, the French took the port of Oneglia after crossing neutral territory belonging to the Republic of Genoa. Argenteau, commander of the local Piedmontese division, took Ormea and strung out his ten battalions in an attempt to connect the Saorge defenses in the west with Dego in the east. 

The French offensive, commanded by General of Division André Masséna, swept aside Argenteau's forces and took Ormea on April 17 and Garessio on April 19. Colli, the newly appointed commander of Saorge, now found himself outflanked. Colli was advised by De Vins to retain the position but to withdraw any soldiers not required for urgent defense. At the time, relations between the allies were so strained that some Piedmontese officers suspected De Vins of trying to betray them. On the French side, Auguste Marmont reported that the critically ill Dumerbion remained in Nice throughout the operation.

As the French main army marched north on April 24, there was a battle at Saorge. Three battalions of the Alvinczi Infantry Regiment Nr. 19, the 3rd Battalion of the Strassoldo Infantry Regiment Nr. 27, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Archduke Anton Infantry Regiment Nr. 52, and the 2nd and 9th Battalions of the Karlstadt Grenz infantry regiment were among Colli's defenders. 

On the same day, Masséna's division, led by General of Brigade Amédée Emmanuel François Laharpe, successfully attacked the Col Argente. The French took La Brigue on April 27, inflicting significant losses on the Sardinians. The Cacciatori, Guardia, and Tortona Infantry Regiments, the 1st Grenadier Battalion, two French volunteer companies, and the Cacciatori di Pandini company were among them.

Results

After Colli resigned, the French captured Saorgio on April 28. He fled to Limone Piemonte, slightly north of the pass, after abandoning the Col de Tende. Colli retreated to Borgo San Dalmazzo, near Cuneo's citadel, in early May. The French moved along the coast to conquer Albenga and Loano. François Macquard, General of Division, occupied the Col de Tende, while Masséna placed his forces to hold the slopes between Ormea and Loano. In the action near Saorge, historian Digby Smith estimated that the French suffered 1,500 casualties, while the Coalition suffered 2,800. The results of the other battles are not provided.

Lazare Carnot vetoed a fresh operation recommended by Napoleon and the mission's representatives to capitalize on the win. The setback startled the Austrians and Sardinians, prompting them to conclude a pact on May 29. Sardinians swore to protect the Alpine routes, while Austrians promised to defend the seaside. On September 21, 1794, the First Battle of Dego took place in the area.