Battle of Montebello ( 1800 ) The Battle of Montebello was fought on 9 June 1800 near Montebello in Lombardy . During the lead - up to the Battle of Marengo , the vanguard of the French army in Italy engaged and defeated an Austrian force in a " glorious victory " . Background . Napoleon ' s capture of Milan on 2 June found the Austrian army separated into three major and several minor concentrations . General Michael Melas held Turin with 18 , 000 men , Feldmarschall - Leutnant ( FML ) Peter Ott ' s 16 , 000 troops remained near Genoa where they secured the surrender of General of Division André Masséna ' s starving garrison on 4 June , and FML Anton von Elsnitz with 8 , 000 soldiers retreated from the Riviera . To the east of Milan , FML Josef Philipp Vukassovich had 4 , 000 men . South of the Po River , FML Andreas O ' Reilly von Ballinlough marched east toward Piacenza with 3 , 000 men . Strong garrisons manned the fortresses of Alessandria , Coni and Casale . Melas believed he had plenty of time to mass his army and launch a counter - offensive north from Piacenza . General of Division Jean Lannes moved south from Milan with his corps , seizing Pavia on 3 June and being initially repulsed by Piacenza ' s tiny 400 - man garrison . In a series of operations on 6 June , Generals of Division Joachim Murat and Jean Boudet ferried their troops across the Po to the east of Piacenza while Lannes crossed the Po to the west of the city . Murat then overran Piacenza while Lannes pushed O ' Reilly back to the west . These actions placed French forces directly on the main Austrian line of communication between Alessandria and Mantua in the strategic Stradella defile . Meanwhile , Murat captured a set of Austrian dispatches that disclosed that Genoa had fallen . Confronted with a new situation , Napoleon issued orders to press the Austrians . On 7 June , Ott ' s column was marching north from Genoa . Ott ' s corps reached Voghera at 8 pm on 8 June to join O ' Reilly . A patrol reported French troops to the east . Ott directed O ' Reilly with six infantry battalions and four cavalry squadrons to defend the village of Casteggio on the main east - west highway . Meanwhile , the French army became overextended . Believing that his enemies could not be in strength , Napoleon sent a note to Lannes , " If troops should present themselves between Voghera and Stradella let them be attacked without caution ; they are , certainly , fewer than 10 , 000 men . " Lannes planned to continue marching west . This would bring his 8 , 000 men into contact with Ott ' s corps of 18 , 000 . Forces . French Forces : Lannes < br > Corps : Lannes ( 8 , 000 ) Corps : Victor ( 6 , 000 ) Austrian Forces : Ott Battle . On the morning of 9 June , the 6th Light Infantry Demi - brigade belonging to General of Division François Watrin bumped into an Austrian position and immediately attacked . Melas ' chief - of - staff , General - Major Anton von Zach was on the scene and he advised Ott against bringing on a battle . Ott overruled him . Watrin aggressively fed his units into the battle , but found his three demi - brigades , two batteries and one cavalry regiment opposed by a superior force . Ott disposed of 26 infantry battalions and 15 cavalry squadrons , but his 35 cannons caused the French the worst trouble . For five hours , the outnumbered French soldiers tried to break the Austrian position . Twice they seized Casteggio , but were driven out by O ' Reilly ' s troops . Attempts to flank the Austrian left were repulsed by the Lobkowitz Dragoons and an artillery battery . The 12th Hussars charged repeatedly to keep the French infantry from being overrun by the Austrian dragoons . Nine Austrian battalions defended a hill to the south of the village while , a short distance to the west , five battalions waited in reserve in the village of Montebello . The French received some help when the Consular Guard ' s three field pieces and other units arrived . As Lannes ' command neared their breaking point at about 1 : 00 pm , General of Division Jacques - Antoine de Chambarlhac de Laubespin ' s division of Claude Perrin Victor ' s corps arrived on the scene . Victor sent the 43rd Line under General of Brigade Olivier Macoux Rivaud de la Raffinière to attack the enemy right , the 24th Light to assault the Austrian left and the 96th Line to charge the center . Despite intense Austrian artillery fire , the combined pressure forced back Ott ' s tired soldiers and convinced that general to order a phased withdrawal . O ' Reilly ' s battalions held Casteggio to the last and the Reisky Regiment was nearly wiped out . O ' Reilly ' s survivors and the numerous Austrian cavalry covered the retreat . Result . The Austrians reported losing 659 killed , 1 , 445 wounded and 2 , 171 captured , as well as two field pieces lost . The French claimed only 600 casualties , but a more realistic assessment is that they suffered about 3 , 000 losses . " Yet the Battle of Montebello did not fatally compromise Melas ' situation . His strategy to mass his forces and then attack remained sound . " On the other hand , " Austrian morale suffered a serious relapse , and Melas remained as if hypnotized around Alessandria for the next five days without making any significant move , waiting for his troops to complete their concentration . " The next engagement would be the decisive Battle of Marengo on 14 June . Jean Lannes distinguished himself at this battle , for which he was awarded the victory title of " duc de Montebello " in 1808 .