Shortly before the coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), he was sent as divisional general to the Army of Italy, which was then under the command of General Jean-Étienne Championnet. After his death, he obtained the command of the Army of Italy until the arrival of General André Masséna. He commanded one of the divisions of the French forces fighting in Liguria, and was stationed in the city of Savona. The heights of the city were the subject of numerous battles, especially on 6 and 13 April 1800, as the Austrian troops were trying to make their way to the city of Genoa. He soon fell ill and had to be transported to Genoa to receive medical treatment. He died on 19 April 1800, during the Austrian siege of Genoa as a result of his wounds and of typhus. He was accompanied by his son, then Second-lieutenant and later General Marcellin Marbot, who also took part in the siege and described his father's last moments in his famous Memoirs.