His promotion to general of division came in August 1795, and later in the year Laharpe took part in the Battle of Loano. When Napoleon Bonaparte took command of the Army of Italy in March 1796, his division commanders included Laharpe, André Masséna, Pierre Augereau, and Jean Sérurier. In the Montenotte Campaign, these four divisions rapidly defeated the Austrian army and forced the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont to sue for peace. Laharpe fought at the battles of Montenotte and, once again, at Dego. Thereafter, his troops guarded the east flank of the army against a possible Austrian counterattack.