He commanded the 15th (Italian) Division in the Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia. The 15th Division was assigned to the IV Corps, which was largely composed of Italian soldiers, and was commanded by the viceroy of Italy, Eugène de Beauharnais. Pino commanded his division in the Battle of Maloyaroslavets on 24 October 1812, in which his brother Giacomo was killed. Although claimed as a French victory, in that the Russians withdraw from the field, the battle caused Napoleon to take the disastrous decision to retreat from Moscow along the same path as his army had advanced earlier that year. Of 27,000 Italians that invaded Russia, only 1,000 returned.