Knežević led his hussars with distinction at the Battle of the Trebbia on 17 to 20 June 1799. In this action, his unit was part of Friedrich Heinrich von Gottesheim's Avantgarde of the Left Column. On 19 June, the hussars helped throw back François Watrin's French division. He was also at the Battle of Novi on 15 August. In that action, the "Palatine" Hussars fought in Pál Kray's corps. From 16 November to 3 December, he and his hussars participated in the siege of Cuneo under the command of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein. At the end, the 3,000-man garrison surrendered the fortress with 187 guns and 14,000 hundredweight of gunpowder.