Second Battle of Saorgio

• 1. Background And Alliances

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  King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia sat on a throne that felt increasingly precarious in the spring of 1792. Two of his territories, the County of Nice and the Duchy of Savoy, lay on the French side of the Alps. This geographical awkwardness left him vulnerable to invasion from both directions. He attempted to secure an alliance with Habsburg Austria while simultaneously holding diplomatic talks with the French government. War broke out between the French First Republic and Sardinia in spring 1792. The French government ordered General Anne-Pierre, marquis de Montesquiou-Fézensac to invade Savoy on the 15th of May. That officer decided he needed more time to prepare. During the summer, King Victor Amadeus frantically haggled with Austria for military assistance. On the 22nd of September, Austria finally agreed to provide an Auxiliary Corps of 8,000 troops under Feldmarschall-Leutnant Leopoldo Lorenzo, Count of Strassoldo. However, the Convention of Milan came too late. On the 21st of September 1792, Montesquiou invaded Savoy and resistance collapsed. The general reported to his government that the people welcomed his army. The town of Chambéry was occupied on the 24th of September. Sardinian General Lazary, a 70-year-old relic, proved unable to mount an effective defense. A second French force captured Nice without bloodshed on the 27th of September and went on to seize Villefranche-sur-Mer two days later. At the behest of its leaders, Savoy was incorporated into France on the 27th of November.

• 2. Commanders And Strategy

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  Dismayed by the incapacity of his generals, King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia begged the Austrians to send a commander to direct the combined Austrian and Piedmontese armies. The Austrian government appointed Feldzeugmeister Joseph Nikolaus De Vins to fill the post on the 21st of December 1792. Even so, Austria was aware that the French were trying to negotiate a peace with the Sardinians, and the Austrians did not fully trust their ally. The execution of Louis XVI on the 21st of January 1793 appalled the other crowned heads of Europe and further isolated France. On the 28th of February 1793, 12,000 French troops under Lieutenant General Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duke of Biron battled with 7,000 Sardinian soldiers under Lieutenant General Charles-François Thaon, Count of Saint-André at Levens. In this French success, each side lost 800 casualties. In addition, the French captured 2 of their foe's 6 cannons. The Sardinian army held a powerful defensive position at Saorge (Saorgio), blocking access to the strategically important Col de Tende (Tenda Pass). On the 8th of June 1793, the Army of Italy under General of Division Gaspard Jean-Baptiste Brunet won a minor victory over the Sardinians in the area of L'Aution Peak west of Saorge. The forces clashed again in the First Battle of Saorgio on the 12th of June. This time the French were defeated. The Sardinian units involved in these fights were two battalions each of the Cacciatori and Swiss Christ Infantry Regiments, one battalion each of the Saluzzo, Sardinia, and Lombardy Infantry Regiments.

• 3. Napoleon Bonaparte's Role

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  French General of Division Pierre Jadart Dumerbion commanded the Army of Italy. Competent but old, he had seen too many generals sent to the guillotine for failing or for having the wrong political views. Two of his predecessors suffered this fate, Brunet on the 15th of November 1793 and Biron on the 31st of December 1793. In order to stay out of trouble, Dumerbion determined to consult the all-powerful Representatives on mission before acting. At this time, the representatives were Augustin Robespierre and Antoine Christophe Saliceti and both were influenced by freshly promoted General of Brigade Napoleon Bonaparte, the army's new artillery chief. Bonaparte drew up a strategic plan and Dumerbion listened. Bonaparte, basing his strategy on the work of Pierre-Joseph Bourcet, planned to launch a drive northeast along the coast to capture Oneglia, a nest of Sardinian privateers that preyed on the Genoa-to-Nice grain trade. From Oneglia, the French would turn north to seize Ormea, outflanking the enemy's defenses from the east. While these moves were implemented, the main army would distract the Coalition defenders by advancing directly on Saorge. Of Dumerbion's 43,000-man field army, 20,000 men formed the attacking force, divided into three columns and a reserve.

• 4. The April Offensive

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  On the 6th of April 1794, Dumerbion opened the offensive. Crossing neutral territory belonging to the Republic of Genoa, the French seized the port of Oneglia on the 9th. Argenteau, who commanded the local Piedmontese division, occupied Ormea and strung out his 10 battalions in an attempt to link the Saorge defenses in the west with Dego in the east. The French advance, led by General of Division André Masséna, brushed aside Argenteau's men and captured Ormea around the 17th of April and Garessio on the 19th. Seeing that Massena was preparing to storm his outpost, the old Sardinian officer defending Ormea saw that his task was hopeless. He insisted, "Draw back and let me fire 5 or 6 gun-shots in the air, and we will then write that I surrendered after an honorable defense." Massena denied his request, replying that he had no time for such out-of-date formalities. Colli, the newly appointed commander at Saorge, now found that his position was outflanked. De Vins advised Colli to hold the position but to send back any forces not needed for immediate defense. Relations between the allies were so bad at this time that some Piedmontese officers believed that De Vins was plotting to betray them.

• 5. Tactical Engagements

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  On the 24th of April there was a clash at Saorge, as the French main army advanced north. Colli's defenders included 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. On the same day, Masséna successfully attacked the Col Ardente with General of Brigade Amédée Emmanuel François Laharpe's division. On the 27th of April, the French seized La Brigue, inflicting heavy losses on their Sardinian opponents. These included the Cacciatori, Guardia, and Tortona Infantry Regiments, the 1st Grenadier Battalion, two companies of French volunteers, and the Cacciatori di Pandini company. On French far left flank, General of Division Pierre Dominique Garnier advanced up the Vésubie valley past Lantosque, while his left brigade under General of Brigade Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier occupied Isola and linked with the right wing of the Army of the Alps.

• 6. Aftermath And Consequences

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  The French seized Saorgio on the 28th of April after Colli withdrew. He abandoned the Col de Tende and retreated to Limone Piemonte, just north of the pass. In early May, Colli fell back to Borgo San Dalmazzo near the fortress of Cuneo. On the coast, the French advanced to seize Albenga and Loano. General of Division François Macquard occupied the Col de Tende, while farther east Masséna deployed his troops to hold the ridges between Ormea and Loano. In the fighting near Saorge, historian Digby Smith stated French losses as 1,500 killed and wounded, while the allied casualties numbered 2,800. Losses for the other battles were not given. Bonaparte and the representatives on mission proposed a new operation to exploit the victory, but it was vetoed by Lazare Carnot. The defeat shocked the Austrians and Sardinians into signing a treaty on the 29th of May. The Sardinians promised to hold the Alpine passes while the Austrians pledged to defend the coast. The next action in the area was the First Battle of Dego on the 21st of September 1794.