In the spring of 1796, Emperor Francis II of Austria appointed Colli's friend, "Feldzeugmeister" Johann Beaulieu, to lead the Austrian army in Piedmont. But because the Austrian government gave Beaulieu secret instructions warning him not to trust the Piedmontese, the two generals were unable to work out a coherent allied strategy. When Beaulieu launched an attack on the extreme right flank of the French army, Bonaparte immediately thrust between the Austrian and Sardinian armies. In the Montenotte Campaign, the French general mauled the Austrian army and drove it northeast, then turned west and relentlessly pressed the Piedmontese back. Colli's rear guards ably defended themselves at the Battle of Ceva and at San Michele Mondovi, but the Piedmontese were soundly beaten at the Battle of Mondovì on 21 April.