Battle of Voltri Battle of Voltri on 10 April 1796 saw two Habsburg Austrian columns under the overall direction of Johann Peter Beaulieu attack a reinforced French brigade under Jean - Baptiste Cervoni during the French Revolutionary Wars . After a skirmish lasting several hours , the Austrians forced Cervoni to withdraw west along the coast to Savona . Voltri is now part of the western suburbs of the major Italian port of Genoa . Voltri was the opening action of the Montenotte Campaign , part of the War of the First Coalition . In the spring of 1796 , Beaulieu was installed as the new commander of the combined armies of Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia - Piedmont in northwest Italy . His opposite number was also new to the job of army commander . Napoleon Bonaparte arrived from Paris to direct the French Army of Italy . Bonaparte immediately began planning an offensive , but Beaulieu struck first by launching an attack against Cervoni ' s somewhat overextended force . After the action , the Austrian commander found himself in an position in which it was difficult to march to the support of his right wing . Seizing this opening , Bonaparte counterattacked the Austrian right flank in the Battle of Montenotte on 12 April . Background . " See the Montenotte 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for units and organizations of the French , Austrian , and Sardinian armies . " In mid - March , Johann Peter Beaulieu was appointed commander of the Austrian Army of Italy and promoted to Feldzeugmeister . Despite his 70 years , the veteran of the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years ' War was regarded with favor by the Austrian Foreign Minister Johann Amadeus Francis de Paula , Baron of Thugut , who liked his energy . In addition , Beaulieu shared a personal friendship with Feldmarschall - Leutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli - Marchi an Austrian subject who led the allied Sardinian army . Unfortunately for Beaulieu , his government warned him of the possibility that Sardinia might make peace with France or even switch sides . This ruined any chance of a cooperative relationship between the two allies . The situation was further aggravated by the fact that the lines of communications of the two armies ran in divergent paths . Beaulieu also had at his disposal 1 , 500 allied cavalry from the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily . The Austrian soldiers had suffered severely that winter . The new army commander notified his government that a shocking total of 927 soldiers had died of sickness in February . Altogether , the allied armies counted 17 , 000 Sardinians and 32 , 000 Austrians . Of this total , Colli ' s army included 4 , 000 Austrians under Feldmarschall - Leutnant Giovanni Marchese di Provera in the Auxiliary Corps . The paper strength of Beaulieu ' s army was 32 , 000 infantry , 5 , 000 cavalry , and 148 artillery pieces , but these were not the actual numbers . Beaulieu ' s army was deployed in two wings . His right wing was led by Feldmarschall - Leutnant Eugène - Guillaume Argenteau and included 9 , 000 infantry and 340 cavalry in 11 battalions and two squadrons . As late as 10 April , these troops were thinly deployed across a wide area and separated by poor roads . There were four battalions near Sassello , two battalions at Mioglia , and one battalion each at Cairo , Dego , Malvicino , Pareto , and Acqui . The left wing was commanded by Feldmarschall - Leutnant Karl Philipp Sebottendorf . Of the 19 , 500 troops of the left wing , only half were available for use in the field while the rest was dispersed in garrisons . Against these forces , the French Army of Italy counted 63 , 000 men . Of these , only 37 , 000 soldiers and 60 artillery pieces were available for the field army . Another 7 , 000 troops in two small divisions guarded the Col de Tende on the direct road from Nice to Cuneo . In March 1796 , the representative - on - mission with the Army of Italy , Antoine Christophe Saliceti tried without success to secure a loan from the neutral Republic of Genoa . Saliceti decided to threaten the Genoese authorities into agreeing to the loan . The French army commander General of Division Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer acceeded to Saliceti ' s request and ordered 6 , 000 men to prepare for the movement . Strategically the idea was risky because it extended the French position an additional eastward along the Italian Riviera . On 24 March , General of Brigade Jean Joseph Magdeleine Pijon left Savona and marched toward Genoa with two demi - brigades . Three days later , Austrian General - major Philipp Pittoni von Dannenfeld reported to Beaulieu that the French had occupied Voltri . About this time , General of Division Napoleon Bonaparte replaced Schérer and ordered the movement suspended on the 28th . At first he wanted to withdraw the exposed unit , but later decided to hold the position at Voltri . Beaulieu was alarmed at the French move . To put a stop to this threat , he ordered Pittoni on 31 March to invade the Republic of Genoa and cross the Bocchetta Pass . Brushing aside Genoese protests , Pittoni occupied Novi Ligure and sent his men on the road up the pass . One battalion was left to guard Novi . Beaulieu , who accompanied the move , noted that the weather was bitterly cold and that Pittoni was sick , though the general persevered in his duty . The Austrian commander - in - chief sent four artillery pieces with Pittoni ' s force , one 12 - pound cannon , one 6 - pound cannon , and two 7 - pound howitzers . Pijon also became ill and was replaced in command of the Voltri force by General of Brigade Jean - Baptiste Cervoni . Pittoni was in possession of the Bocchetta Pass on 8 April , but reported to Beaulieu that it would take six hours of marching over bad roads to contact Colonel Josef Philipp Vukassovich ' s command near Masone . For his part , Vukassovich sent a communication to his army commander that he was isolated from Argenteau on his right and Pittoni on his left . One of Argenteau ' s brigadiers , General - major Mathias Rukavina von Boynograd reported from his position at Sassello that it would take eight hours of hard marching to reach Dego to his west . Being isolated from one another , the components of Beaulieu ' s army were not in a good position to launch an offensive . Battle . On the morning of 10 April , Pittoni ' s column consisted of four squadrons of the " Mészáros " Uhlans , two battalions of the " Reisky " Infantry Regiment Nr . 13 , and one battalion each of the " Terzi " Infantry Regiment Nr . 16 , " Nádasdy " Infantry Regiment Nr . 39 , and " Szluiner " Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr . 63 . Pittoni ' s force numbered 3 , 350 infantry and 624 cavalry . Sebottendorf ' s 3 , 200 - man division included two battalions of the " Wenzel Colloredo " Infantry Regiment Nr . 56 , the 2nd Battalion of the " Carlstädter " Grenz Infantry Regiment , and single battalions of the " Alvinczi " Infantry Regiment Nr . 19 and " Lattermann " Infantry Regiment Nr . 45 . Accompanied by Beaulieu , Sebottendorf ' s column was directed to cross the Turchino Pass north of Voltri . Cervoni ' s defenders included approximately 2 , 000 soldiers in two battalions of the 51st Line Infantry Regiment , 3 , 181 men of the 75th Line Infantry Demi - Brigade , and three companies of grenadiers of the 51st led by Chef de brigade Jean Lannes . The French army had undergone an " amalgame " in early March and received new regiment numbers . For example , the 51st was formerly the 99th and the 75th was the 70th . Another source put French numbers at 3 , 500 and Austrian strength at 10 , 000 . On 9 April , the 75th Line was engaged in skirmishing all day . Cervoni disposed his troops from Pegli to Bric Ghigermasso , a height that dominated the road from Turchino Pass . French outposts extended into the mountains . Pittoni detached 250 volunteers to cover his right flank by moving through the Shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia . While the flank guard moved out at 8 : 00 AM , Pittoni ' s main body did not march from Campomorone until 11 : 00 AM . The force moved down to the coast , turned west to cross the Polcevera stream , and entered the village of Sestri di Polente . On the other flank , Sebottendorf ' s column cleared a French outpost from Masone village about 2 : 00 PM and began crossing the Turchino Pass . Leading the column , Vukassovich directed three companies of Grenzers to bear left and attack the hamlet of Acquasanta , while three more advanced on their right . The " Alvinczi " battalion supported these efforts . Lannes led the defense in this sector and he carried out a fighting withdrawal with few casualties . Led by four companies of Grenzers under Beaulieu ' s son - in - law Captain Gustave Maelcamp and the 250 volunteers , Pittoni ' s column began pressing the 75th Line near Pegli at 3 : 00 PM . They captured two hills near Pegli in a bayonet attack . Under Chef de brigade Jacques - Antoine de Chambarlhac de Laubespin , the 75th Line held out in the Pegli area until around 6 : 00 PM when they withdrew to avoid being cut off . Four companies were briefly surrounded but they were able to break out . By 7 : 00 PM the bulk of the 75th Line was able to shake off Austrian pursuit and fall back along the coast . In the sector facing the Turchino Pass , the French defenders fell back to a fortification at Mele around 5 : 00 PM . Cervoni evacuated Mele when Vukassovich threatened to turn his left flank . Result . Pittoni occupied Voltri that evening with three battalions and his cavalry . He was joined by Beaulieu around midnight . The Austrians captured two French officers and some soldiers in the town , as well as 200 sacks of flour . Total Austrian losses were probably no more than 50 casualties . Of these , the " Carlstädter " battalion lost only nine wounded . One authority estimated 250 French casualties . The 75th Line reported one officer killed and seven wounded or missing . Losses in the rank and file were 16 killed , 45 wounded , and 148 captured . These figures give a total of 217 . Admitted losses in the 51st Line were two killed , six wounded , and two missing . Historian David G . Chandler wrote that Cervoni executed a " masterly retreat " to avoid being trapped . As Martin Boycott - Brown pointed out , Beaulieu committed a serious blunder by moving his left wing over the Bocchetta Pass . The Austrian advance to the coast near Genoa put a mountain range between the left wing and Argenteau ' s vulnerable right wing . Beaulieu would have been better advised to apply an indirect strategy than the direct move that he made . On 12 April , Bonaparte scored a victory over Argenteau in the Battle of Montenotte . This action drove a wedge between the Austrian and Sardinian armies .