Battle of Marengo The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria , in Piedmont , Italy . The French overcame General Michael von Melas ' s surprise attack near the end of the day , driving the Austrians out of Italy , and enhancing Napoleon ' s political position in Paris as First Consul of France in the wake of his coup d ’ état the previous November . Surprised by the Austrian advance toward Genoa in mid - April 1800 , Bonaparte had hastily led his army over the Alps in mid - May and reached Milan on 2 June . After cutting Melas ’ s line of communications by crossing the river Po and defeating " Feldmarschallleutnant " ( FML ) Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz at Montebello on 9 June , the French closed in on the Austrian army , which had massed in Alessandria . Deceived by a local double agent , Bonaparte dispatched large forces to the north and south , but the Austrians launched a surprise attack on 14 June against the main French army under General Louis Alexandre Berthier . Initially , their two assaults across the Fontanone stream near Marengo village were repelled , and General Jean Lannes reinforced the French right . Bonaparte realised the true position and issued orders at 11 : 00 am to recall the detachment under " Général de Division " ( GdD ) Louis Desaix , while moving his reserve forward . On the Austrian left , Ott ’ s column had taken Castel Ceriolo , and its advance guard moved south to attack Lannes ’ s flank . Melas renewed the main assault and the Austrians broke the central French position . By 2 : 30 pm the French were withdrawing and Austrian dragoon s seized the Marengo farm . Bonaparte had by then arrived with the reserve , but Berthier ’ s troops began to fall back on the main vine belts . Knowing Desaix was approaching , Bonaparte was anxious about a column of Ott ’ s soldiers marching from the north , so he deployed his Consular Guard infantry to delay it . The French then withdrew steadily eastward toward San Giuliano Vecchio as the Austrians formed a column to follow them in line with Ott ’ s advance in the northern sector . Desaix ’ s arrival around 5 : 30 pm stabilised the French position as the 9ème Légère ( 9th Light Infantry ) delayed the Austrian advance down the main road and the rest of the army re - formed north of Cascina Grossa . As the pursuing Austrian troops arrived , a mix of musketry and artillery fire concealed the surprise attack of " Général de Brigade " ( GdB ) François Étienne de Kellermann ’ s cavalry , which threw the Austrian pursuit into disordered flight back into Alessandria , with about 9 , 400 killed , wounded , or captured . The French casualties were considerably fewer , but included Desaix . The whole French line chased after the Austrians to seal " une victoire politique " ( a political victory ) that secured Bonaparte ’ s grip on power after the coup . It would be followed by a propaganda campaign , which sought to rewrite the story of the battle three times during Napoleon ’ s rule . Background . The Battle of Marengo was the victory that sealed the success of Napoleon ' s Italian campaign of 1800 and is best understood in the context of that campaign . By a daring crossing of the Alps with his Army of the Reserve ( officially commanded by Louis Alexandre Berthier ) in mid - May 1800 almost before the passes were open , Napoleon ( who crossed on a mule ) had threatened Melas ' s lines of communications in northern Italy . The French army then seized Milan on 2 June , followed by Pavia , Piacenza and Stradella , Lombardy , cutting the main Austrian supply route eastward along the south bank of the Po river . Napoleon hoped that Melas ' s preoccupation with the Siege of Genoa , held by General André Masséna , would prevent the Austrians from responding to his offensive . However , Genoa surrendered on 4 June , freeing a large number of Austrians for operations against the French . On 9 June , General Jean Lannes beat Feldmarschallleutnant Peter Ott in the Battle of Montebello . This caused Napoleon to become overconfident . He became convinced that Melas would not attack , and further , that the Austrian was about to retreat . As other French forces closed from the west and south , the Austrian commander had withdrawn most of his troops from their positions near Nice and Genoa to Alessandria on the main Turin - Mantua road . Austrian plans and the preliminary French moves . The Austrians planned to fight their way out eastward but — using a local double agent , usually known by his cover of François Toli — attempted to deceive Bonaparte into thinking they would try to march north , cross the Po , and head for Milan , joined by the remaining troops marching up from Genoa . The spy would advise Bonaparte to march via Sale on the northern side of the plain , so that he could be engaged by the Austrian left wing ; meanwhile the main force would move through Marengo village in the centre , turn north , and fall into the French left flank . Ott arrived from Montebello on 12 June , increasing the Austrian force to 30 , 000 fit troops , who faced a French force about two thousand weaker under Bonaparte , which arrived at Sale on 13 June . The Austrian decision to march east had been taken on the evening of 13 June in a war council . The senior generals of the Austrian army strongly approved this plan , as the alternative would have meant that the Austrian army would have had to retreat along the river Po and leave Piedmont to the enemy without a fight . Nonetheless , by abandoning the San Giuliano plain , where the superior Austrian cavalry could have given him an edge , Melas probably made a serious mistake . Napoleon knew that Ott had no way out from Alessandria , but he had no idea on Melas ' s position . Following his meeting with the spy and fearing that the Austrian general might try to escape , Bonaparte spread his army out in a wide net by sending Louis Desaix with GdD Jean Boudet ’ s division ( 6 , 000 men ) south to Novi Ligure and GdD Jean François Cornu de La Poype ( 3 , 500 men ) north on the other bank of the Po . Further north , from Vercelli to Lake Maggiore , were stationed the divisions of Antoine de Béthencourt and Joseph Chabran and , further to the back , north of Piacenza , Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge ' s division . Napoleon ' s view was confirmed when General Claude Victor - Perrin , supported by GdD Joachim Murat ’ s cavalry , swiftly evicted FML Andreas O ' Reilly von Ballinlough ’ s Austrian brigade from Marengo village that afternoon . Victor then deployed GdD Gaspard Amédée Gardanne and GdD Jacques - Antoine de Chambarlhac de Laubespin ’ s divisions along the Fontanone stream . Austrian headquarters debated building a bridge to the north to outflank the French , but the lack of pontoons and time forced the Austrians to cross the river Bormida and then launch a single , direct assault across the Fontanone bridge . Battlefield . The battle took place to the east of Alessandria , on a plain crossed by a river forming meanders , the Bormida , over which the Austrians installed a bridgehead . On the plain were spread numerous hamlets and farms which represented strategic points . The three main sites of the battle formed a triangle , with Marengo in the west , Castel Ceriolo in the north , and San Giuliano Vecchio in the east . A small stream , the Fontanone , passed between Marengo and the Bormida . The First Consul had established his headquarters at Torre Garofoli , which was further to the east . This headquarters nowadays visitable is situated in the street : " Strada Comunale Cerca " coordinates GPS N44°53 ' 37 . 01 " E 8°48 ' 14 . 12 " Forces . The 30 , 000 Austrians and their 100 guns were opposed by 22 , 000 French and their 15 guns . Meanwhile , after the arrival of Desaix , 6 , 000 men would reinforce Bonaparte ' s army . The 1799 campaign had exhausted the Austrian army in Italy , casualties and disease reducing some regiments to 300 men . The largest component of the army was in Piedmont and the neighbouring Po valley ; only a few units were moved to winter quarters in better - supplied areas . Long distances from the home bases , from which the regiments drew reinforcements , meant that troop transports had to endure miserable conditions , so only about 15 per cent reached the field army . The army of March 1800 was scarcely larger than at the conclusion of the 1799 campaign . Equipment and uniforms were improved and updated . Although a simpler uniform , with a leather helmet and smaller calibre musket s , was introduced , little had reached the field armies by 1800 . Efforts were made to standardise equipment , but many units used a variety of musket and sabre patterns . Melas split his army into three corps facing the Bormida , in front of Alessandria . In the north FML Ott ( Friedrich Heinrich von Gottesheim ' s advance guard plus Joseph von Schellenberg and Ludwig von Vogelsang ' s divisions ) , in the south FML O ' Reilly ' s division , while himself commanded in the centre the most important formation ( the divisions of Karl Joseph Hadik von Futak , Konrad Valentin von Kaim , Ferdinand Johann von Morzin and Anton von Elsnitz ) . In 1799 the 36 , 000 French troops in Italy were in a desperate state similar to that at the end of 1795 . Supplies of all sorts were inadequate , discipline was breaking down , desertion was increasing , and on a few occasions , whole formations marched to the rear in search of food . The survivors would be of limited combat value . In establishing the Army of the Reserve in France , Bonaparte ' s first move was to overhaul the supply system to provide the troops with regular food and decent uniforms . Lacking the large superiority in infantry and artillery enjoyed in many Republican campaigns , the core of Bonaparte ' s reserve was 30 , 000 men , mostly from the Batavian Republic , who had been used under Guillaume Marie Anne Brune to crush the rebellion in the Vendée . Additional veteran troops came from the remains of the former Army of England . The new mililary doctrine emphasised the offensive , mobility and the bayonet , over linear firepower . In front of the Austrian army were stationed , in and to the south of Marengo , the corps of Victor ( Jacques - Antoine de Chambarlhac de Laubespin and Gaspard Amédée Gardanne ' s divisions ) , supported on the left by François Étienne de Kellermann ' s cavalry and , further to the northeast , by the corps of Lannes ( François Watrin ' s division , Mainoni ' s brigade ) together with two cavalry brigades . To the east of Castel Ceriolo took position Jean - Charles Monnier ' s division , supported by the Guard , which formed the reserve . Victor was the one who would bear the brunt of the Austrian attack . Austrian attack . The Austrian troops advanced from Alessandria eastwards across the Bormida river by two bridges debouch ing in a narrow bend of the river ( the river being not easily crossed elsewhere ) . Poor Austrian staff work prevented any rapid development of their attack and the entire army had to file through a narrow bridgehead . The movement began about 6 am with the first shots fired around 8 am , but the attack was not fully developed until 9 am . The 1 , 200 - man Austrian advance guard , under Colonel ( " Oberst " ) Johann Maria Philipp Frimont and a division of 3 , 300 men under FML O ' Reilly , pushed the French outposts back and deployed to become the Austrian right wing , driving the enemy from Pedrabona farm , then heading south to tackle the French at La Stortiglione farm . The Austrian centre ( about 18 , 000 under Melas ) advanced towards Marengo until halted by GdD Gardanne ' s French infantry deployed in front of the Fontanone stream . On the Austrian left , 7 , 500 men under FML Peter Ott waited for the road to clear before heading for the village of Castel Ceriolo well to the north of the French positions . This move threatened either an envelopment of the French right , or a further advance to cut the French line of communication with Milan . Gardanne ' s men gave a good account of themselves , holding up the Austrian deployment for a considerable time . When Gardanne ' s division was exhausted , Victor pulled it back behind the Fontanone and committed his second division under GdD Chambarlhac ( this officer soon lost his nerve and fled ) . The French held Marengo village and the line of the Fontanone until about noon , with both flanks in the air . First , at 8 am , Melas hurled FML Karl Joseph Hadik von Futak ' s division ( four battalions ) at Victor ' s defenses , supported by Frimont ’ s advance guard battery along the stream . Forced into a funnel by the bad ground and Fontanone stream , Hadik ’ s attack came under fire from two sides and failed , with Hadik being killed . The Austrian commander then committed FML Konrad Valentin von Kaim ' s division but this attack was also thwarted by 11 am . Finally , as the French position was reinforced by François Étienne de Kellermann ' s cavalry and Jean Lannes ' s formation was on the way , FML Ferdinand Johann von Morzin ' s elite grenadier division was sent in to attack Marengo village . Melas also committed a serious tactical blunder , detaching " Generalmajor " ( GM ) Nimptsch ' s brigade of 2 , 300 hussar s and two artillery batteries back over the Bormida bridge to block the corps of General Louis Gabriel Suchet , which was mistakenly reported around 9 am from Acqui Terme to be approaching Alessandria from the south . Besides delaying the crossing of the Austrian left wing , this also meant that , being 30 kilometers away , Nimptsch ' s brigade would play no part in the battle . Stalemate in the centre around Marengo . It took Bonaparte ( 5 kilometers away from Marengo ) until about 10 am to recognize that the Austrian activity was not a diversionary attack to cover the anticipated retreat by Melas . His subordinates had brought their troops up in support of Victor ' s corps . Lannes ' s corps had deployed on the crucial right flank . GM Friedrich Joseph Anton von Bellegarde ’ s part of Kaim ’ s division had crossed the Fontanone north of Marengo and occupied La Barbotta farm . Lannes directed Watrin ’ s infantry to drive Bellegarde back . They briefly crossed the Fontanone before Austrian reserve guns drove the French back . Kellermann ' s heavy cavalry brigade and the 8th Dragoons took up a covering position on the left , smashing an attempt by GM Giovanni Pilatti ' s light dragoon brigade which attempted to cross the steep - sided Fontanone at its southern end to envelop Victor ' s flank . On the right , GdB Pierre Champeaux was killed trying to stop the progress of Ott ' s column . A small part of the 6ème Légère ( 6th Light Infantry ) occupied Castel Ceriolo to the north , but soon Ott ' s lead units took it around 11 : 30 am and began putting pressure on the French right flank . Ott could not see any sign of the expected main French advance from Sale ( to the northeast ) , so he sent GM Friedrich Heinrich von Gottesheim ’ s reinforced advance guard to outflank Lannes north of Marengo . By 11 am Bonaparte was on the battlefield . He sent urgent recalls to his recently detached forces and summoned up his last reserves . As they came up , GdD Jean - Charles Monnier ' s division and the Consular Guard were committed to extend and shore up the French right , rather than to try to hold Marengo where Victor ' s men were running short of ammunition . Austrian breakout across the Fontanone . Toward 12 : 30 pm Lannes moved the rest of his force to face Gottesheim in a hook shape , while Kaim attacked again , but this time against Victor ’ s wings . A " Laufbrücke " ( small bridge ) was thrown over the Fontanone and supported by reserve artillery . GM Christoph von Latterman ’ s grenadiers crossed to engage Olivier Macoux Rivaud de la Raffinière ’ s two demibrigades defending Marengo village , while Bellegarde and Frimont ’ s four squadrons split Watrin off . Although Rivaud retook the village , O ’ Reilly had taken Stortiglione by 2 : 00 pm , and in the north , Ott prepared to send FML Joseph von Schellenberg ’ s column to support Gottesheim . After securing the Fontanone bridge , Pilatti ’ s cavalry crossed but were again charged and defeated by Kellermann . However , Victor could no longer hold his positions and withdrew southeast to the main vine belt ( grape vines slung among mulberry trees ) , Lannes mirroring the move . The Marengo farm garrison was abandoned and at around 2 : 30 pm Melas led two cavalry squadrons to capture them . At about 2 : 00 pm the French attacked Castel Ceriolo and delayed the advance of Schellenberg ’ s column by attacking its tail . Aided by Frimont , Ott defeated Monnier and forced two - thirds of his command to retreat to the northeast . About the same time , Marengo had fallen to the Austrians , forcing Napoleon ' s men into a general retreat . As Austrian troops crossed the Fontanone , their guns bombarded the French infantry in the vines . In a bid to further delay Schellenberg ’ s advance , Bonaparte committed his main Guard battalion and its artillery , which moved to flank the column . After driving off Austrian dragoon s with the aid of GdB Champeaux ’ s remaining cavalry ( under Joachim Murat ) , they engaged the head of the column . After a 15 - minute firefight around 4 : 00 pm the Guard were surprised and destroyed by Frimont ’ s cavalry . The French fell back c . 3 km and attempted to regroup to hold the village of San Giuliano . With the French outnumbered and driven from their best defensive position , the battle was as good as won by the Austrians . Melas , who was slightly wounded , and 71 , handed over command to his chief - of - staff , General Anton von Zach , and Kaim . The Austrian centre formed into a massive pursuit column in order to chase the French off the battlefield , with the advance guard commanded by GM Franz Xaver Saint - Julien . The column formed up around Spinetta , southeast of Marengo , and advanced down the New Road . However , delays in the flanks led to the Austrian army forming a crescent shape with a thinly stretched central sector . On the Austrian right wing , O ' Reilly wasted time hunting down a 300 - man French detachment led by Achille Dampierre ( which was finally captured ) and moved southeast . This took his troops out of supporting distance from the Austrian main body . On the Austrian left , Ott hesitated to press hard against the French because GdB Jean Rivaud ' s small brigade of French cavalry hovered to the north . French counter - attack . However , Desaix , in charge of the force Bonaparte had detached southwards , had hastened his advance and reached a small road junction north of Cascina Grossa ( 3 kilometers west of San Giuliano ) . Shortly before 5 : 00 pm , he reported to Bonaparte in person with the news that his force ( 6 , 000 men and 9 guns of Boudet ' s division ) was not far behind . The story goes that , asked by Bonaparte what he thought of the situation , Desaix replied : " This battle is completely lost . However , there is time to win another . " The French were fast to bring up and deploy the fresh troops in front of San Giuliano , and the Austrians were slow to mount their attack . Boudet and the 9ème Légère were quickly moved on to the exit from the main vine belt , where they surprised the head of Saint - Julien ’ s column . As the Austrian infantry deployed on the south side of the road , the 9ème Légère conducted a steady withdrawal for 30 minutes back to Desaix ’ s position . There he had placed GdB Louis Charles de Guénand ’ s brigade on the north side while most of the remaining French army ( Monnier and Lannes ) were forming up north from there . The Austrians deployed three artillery batteries on the north side of the road supported by a dragoon regiment . GdB Auguste de Marmont massed the remaining French cannon against the Austrians as they advanced . Boudet ' s division advanced in line of brigades against the head of the Austrian column , defeating Saint - Julien ' s leading Austrian brigade . Zach brought forward GM Latterman ' s grenadier brigade in line and renewed the attack . Faced with a crisis , Napoleon sent Desaix forward again and ordered a cavalry charge requested by Desaix . The 9ème Légère halted to face the main Austrian advance and Marmont ' s guns blasted the Austrians with grapeshot at close range . Further back , an Austrian ammunition limber exploded . In the temporary heightening of confusion , Lattermann ' s formation was charged on its left flank by Kellermann ' s heavy cavalry ( ca . 400 men ) and disintegrated . At the decisive moment of the battle , Desaix was shot from his horse . Zach and at least 2 , 000 of his men were taken prisoners . Murat and Kellermann immediately pounced on the supporting Liechtenstein Dragoons who were too slow to respond and routed them as well . The fleeing Austrian horsemen crashed into the ranks of Pilatti ' s rattled troopers and carried them away . As the mob of terrified cavalry stampeded past them , the exhausted Austrian infantry of the main body lost heart , provoking a wild rush to the rear . The gun teams fled , pursued by French cavalry , while their whole infantry line advanced westward . The second grenadier brigade under GM Karl Philippi von Weidenfeld and some unpanicked cavalry delayed Boudet ’ s advance long enough for O ’ Reilly ’ s cavalry to return , and together with Frimont , they mounted a last defense around Marengo village as night fell , allowing the Austrian centre to reach safety behind the Bormida . Ott with the Austrian left failed to intervene and found his retreat through Castel Ceriolo blocked by French troops advancing northwest from the centre , but managed to fight his way back to the Bormida bridgehead . The Austrians fell back into Alessandria , having lost about half the forces they had committed . The Austrians had lost heavily in the 12 hours of fighting : 15 colours , 40 guns , almost 8 , 000 taken prisoner , and 6 , 500 dead or wounded . French casualties ( killed and wounded ) were on the order of 4 , 700 and 900 missing or captured , but they retained the battlefield and the strategic initiative . Desaix ' s body was found among the slain . Consequences . Bonaparte needed to depart for Paris urgently and the next morning sent Berthier on a surprise visit to Austrian headquarters . Within 24 hours of the battle , Melas entered into negotiations ( the ) which led to the Austrians evacuating northwestern Italy west of the Ticino river , and suspending military operations in Italy . Bonaparte ' s position as First Consul was strengthened by the successful outcome of the battle and the preceding campaign . After this victory , Napoleon could breathe a sigh of relief . The generals who had been hostile to him could see that his luck had not abandoned him . Thus , he had surpassed Schérer , Joubert , Championnet , and even Moreau , none of whom had been able to inflict a decisive blow on the Coalition . Moreau ' s victory at Hohenlinden , which was the one that in reality had put an end to the war , was minimised by Bonaparte who , from then on , would pose as a saviour of the fatherland , and even of the Republic . He rejected offers from Louis XVIII , who had considered the Consulate to be a mere transition towards the restoration of the king . Thanks to the victory at Marengo , Napoleon could finally set about reforming France according to his own vision . Propaganda . A last - gasp victory in reality , Marengo was mythologised in an army bulletin and three increasingly glamourised " Official Reports " during Bonaparte ' s reign . Tales were invented about the Guard and the 72ème demibrigade , which had been under his direct control throughout . General François Kellermann distinguished himself at Marengo . Melas , trapped in Alessandria with his hopes of breaking through the east shattered , sent the same evening to Vienna a message in which he explained that the " charge of Kellermann had broken the soldiers and this sudden and terrible change of fortunes finished by smashing the courage of the troops . The disorder of the cavalry which had disorganised our infantry precipitated its retreat . " At the same time , Murat was writing to Berthier : " I especially have to tell you about Kellermann ; through a powerful charge he managed to tilt the balance in our favour . " However , in the " Bulletin de l ' armée " issued the following day , Napoleon sought to counterbalance Kellermann ' s charge with Jean - Baptiste Bessières ' s : " The " chef de brigade " Bessières , in front of the reckless grenadiers of the guard , executed a charge with as much activity as valour and penetrated the line of the enemy cavalry ; this resulted in the entire rout of the army . " Another piece of work which attempted to justify the retreat maneuver and to present it as a highly strategic calculation was Berthier ' s " Relation de la bataille de Marengo " , published in 1804 . Berthier suggests that time had to be given to Desaix and Boudet ' s division to occupy their positions : " The enemy general misinterpreted this maneuver and thought the army was in full retreat , while in reality it was only executing a movement of conversion . " However it is known that Desaix ' s arrival , while definitely expected , was not certain before the retreat . The bulletin explains that Desaix ' s forces were waiting in reserve with artillery pieces , which in reality was false , because they arrived late in the battle . Several participants to the fighting reveal the precarious condition of the army throughout the day , including Marmont in his Memoirs , Captain Coignet : " We were retreating in good order but all ready to start running at the earliest sign of danger " , Captain Gervais : " In this battle , we were many times on the verge of being defeated . The enemy cavalry , on a terrain favourable to this arm , charged us repeatedly . We were often obliged to concentrate and even to retreat " , and General Thévenet : " There is no doubt that a part of the French army was repelled up to the Scrivia " . Marengo museum . The Museum of Marengo " Museo della Battaglia di Marengo " is located in : " Via della Barbotta , Spinetta Marengo , Alessandria " . This is exactly the place where there were the most of the fights between the French and Austrian armies . It is a part of Villa Delavo , with the park of the museum surrounding the Village of Marengo . Remembrance . Napoleon sought to ensure that his victory would not be forgotten , so , besides the propaganda campaign , he entrusted General Chasseloup with the construction of a pyramid on the site of the battle . On 5 May 1805 , a ceremony took place on the field of Marengo . Napoleon , dressed in the uniform he wore on 14 June 1800 , together with Empress Joséphine seated on a throne placed under a tent , oversaw a military parade . Then , Chasseloup gave Napoleon the founding stone , on which was inscribed : " Napoleon , Emperor of the French and King of Italy , to the manes of the defenders of the fatherland who perished on the day of Marengo . " This pyramid was actually part of a very ambitious project meant to glorify Bonaparte ' s conquests in Italy . The field of Marengo was supposed to become the site of a " city of Victories " whose boulevards , named after Italian battles , would converge to the pyramid . Unfortunately , the project was abandoned in 1815 and the stones recovered by the peasants . The column erected in 1801 was also removed , only to be restored in 1922 . Napoleon ordered that several ships of the French Navy be named Marengo , including " Sceptre ( 1780 ) " , " Jean - Jacques Rousseau ( 1795 ) " , " Ville de Paris ( 1851 ) " and " Marengo ( 1810 ) " . In 1802 , the Marengo department was named in the honour of the battle . Furthermore , Napoleon ' s mount throughout the battle was named Marengo and further carried the Emperor in the Battle of Austerlitz , Battle of Jena - Auerstedt , Battle of Wagram , and Battle of Waterloo . After Bonaparte ' s fall , Marengo County , Alabama , first settled by Napoleonic refugees with their Vine and Olive Colony , was named in honour of this battle . Since then , numerous settlements were named Marengo in Canada and the United States ( see Places named Marengo ) . Presently , a museum of the battle exists on the outskirts of Alessandria . Re - enactments are also organised every year to commemorate the event . Cultural references . Puccini ' s opera " Tosca " is set in Rome three days after the battle of Marengo , which is how long it took for the news of Napoleon ' s victory to reach Rome . The conflict between Papists and Republicans is an important part of the plot . Chicken Marengo is named for this battle ; either Napoleon ate its first preparation after his victory or a restaurant chef named the dish in Napoleon ' s honor .