Battle of Saorgio The Battle of Saorgio was fought from 24 to 28 April 1794 between a First French Republic army commanded by Pierre Jadart Dumerbion and the armies of the Kingdom of Sardinia - Piedmont and the Habsburg Monarchy led by Joseph Nikolaus De Vins . It was part of a successful French offensive designed to capture strategic positions in the Maritime Alps and Ligurian Alps , and on the Mediterranean coast . Tactical control of the battle was exercised by André Masséna for the French and Michelangelo Alessandro Colli - Marchi for the Coalition . Saorge is located in France , about northeast of Nice . At the time of the battle , the town was named Saorgio and belonged to Piedmont . Since September 1792 , the Piedmontese defenses around Saorge had resisted capture . In early April 1794 , the French struck northeastward along the Italian Riviera , quickly seizing the small port of Oneglia . From there , Masséna struck north to capture two towns in the upper Tanaro valley before turning west to outflank the positions around Saorge . After some fighting , the Austro - Piedmontese withdrew to the north side of the Col de Tende ( Tenda Pass ) which the French occupied . Dumerbion ' s troops also seized a large portion of the Italian Riviera . The action occurred during the War of the First Coalition , part of the French Revolutionary Wars . The engagement is significant in military history because a newly appointed artillery general by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte drew up the plans for the offensive . Background . The Kingdom of Sardinia - Piedmont stood at a disadvantage in a war with France because two of its territories lay on the French side of the Alps . These lands were the County of Nice on the Mediterranean coast and the Duchy of Savoy in the north . Aware of his awkward situation , King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia attempted to secure an alliance with Habsburg Austria at the same time as he held diplomatic talks with the French . In spring 1792 , war broke out between the First French Republic and Sardinia . The French government ordered General Anne - Pierre , marquis de Montesquiou - Fézensac to invade Savoy on 15 May , but that officer decided that he needed more time to prepare . During the summer , King Victor Amadeus frantically haggled with Austria to get military assistance . On 22 September , Austria finally agreed to provide an Auxiliary Corps of 8 , 000 troops under Feldmarschallleutnant Leopoldo Lorenzo Count of Strassoldo . However , the Convention of Milan came too late . On 21 September 1792 , Montesquiou invaded Savoy and resistance collapsed . The general reported to his government that the people welcomed his army . The town of Chambéry was occupied on 24 September . Sardinian General Lazary , a 70 year - old relic , proved unable to mount an effective defense . A second French force captured Nice without bloodshed on 27 September and went on to seize Villefranche - sur - Mer two days later . At the behest of its leaders , Savoy was incorporated into France on 27 November . On 23 September , a French naval squadron under Rear Admiral Laurent Jean François Truguet sailed to the Piedmontese port of Oneglia where an 800 - man battalion disembarked . The troops sacked the town and murdered some monks before taking to their ships again . On 18 November 1792 , the Sardinians repulsed their adversaries at Sospel ( Sospello ) . The French retreated to L ' Escarène and went into winter quarters . Dismayed by the incapacity of his generals , King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia begged the Austrians to send a commander to direct the combined Austrian and Piedmontese armies . The Austrian government appointed Feldzeugmeister Joseph Nikolaus De Vins to fill the post on 21 December 1792 . Even so , Austria was aware that the French were trying to negotiate a peace with the Sardinians , and the Austrians did not fully trust their ally . The execution of King Louis XVI of France on 21 January 1793 appalled the other crowned heads of Europe and further isolated France . On 28 February 1793 , 12 , 000 French troops under Lieutenant General Armand Louis de Gontaut , Duke of Biron battled with 7 , 000 Sardinian soldiers under the Count of Saint - André at Levens . In this French success , each side lost 800 casualties . In addition , the French captured two of their enemy ' s six cannons . The Sardinian army held a powerful defensive position at Saorge ( Saorgio ) , blocking access to the strategically important Col de Tende ( Tenda Pass ) . On 8 June 1793 , the Army of Italy under General of Division Gaspard Jean Baptiste Brunet won a minor victory over the Sardinians in the area of L ' Aution Peak west of Saorge . The forces clashed again in the same area at the Col de Raus on 12 June . This time the French were defeated . The Sardinian units involved in these fights were two battalions each of the " Cacciatori " and Swiss " Christ " Infantry Regiments , one battalion each of the " Saluzzo " , " Sardinia " , and " Lombardy " Infantry Regiments . Also engaged were two companies of French volunteers , the " Cacciatori de Canale " , Light Infantry , 1st , 3rd , and 5th Grenadier Battalions , and the " Vercelli " , " Casale " , and " Acqui " Provincial Regiments . The attack was " ill - conceived " and ended in " disaster " . The allies tried to mount a counteroffensive , but this effort was crippled by the new commander ' s slowness . De Vins planned to recapture both Savoy and Nice , which a number of officers objected to . Because he suffered badly from gout , De Vins planned to control both offensives from the capital of Turin . The Duke of Montferrat , who led the counter - invasion of Savoy , was to follow strict daily orders from De Vins . Since Turin was distant , the arrangements were impractical . In the event , a French force under General of Division François Christophe de Kellermann repulsed Lieutenant General Gordon ' s Savoy column at Épierre on 15 September 1793 . The French suffered 500 casualties out of 8 , 000 troops , while the Sardinians lost 1 , 000 men out of 6 , 000 engaged . The Count of Saint - André was directed to advance on Nice from Saorgio . This effort was made difficult by tension between Saint - André and his Austrian subordinate Feldmarschallleutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli - Marchi . Meanwhile , De Vins ' chief of staff , Eugène - Guillaume Argenteau managed to get himself on bad terms with most of the Piedmontese officer corps . At this time , portions of southern France rebelled against the revolutionary government . Large French republican forces had to be sent to suppress the revolt at the Siege of Toulon , giving Piedmont a chance to recover its lost territory . King Victor Amadeus and De Vins left the capital in August to oversee the southern front where they planned to start operations on 7 September . On 18 October , six Piedmontese battalions of the " Aosta " , " Guardia " , and " Piedmont " Infantry Regiments defeated the French at Gilette . Three days later there was an inconclusive skirmish at Utelle involving the 5th Grenadiers . The offensive ended when heavy snow fell in the mountains , forcing the king to give up the campaign and return to his capital in November . Battle . At the start of 1794 , the Piedmontese occupied a formidable defensive position that ran from Roquebillière on the west through the Col de Raus , L ' Aution Peak , and Colle Basse to Saorge . From Saorge , the line ran northeast to Cima di Marte , Col Argente , and Monte Saccarello . The line was so strong that an outflanking move to the east seemed the obvious move . Sardinian General Dellera feared that the French might seize the Colle di Nava northwest of Oneglia . He wanted to occupy Briga Alta northeast of Saorgio but De Vins refused to authorize it . However , Dellera convinced the army commander to move an Austrian force from the Po River valley to Dego . In addition , De Vins ordered 4 , 000 Sardinian troops to protect the area around Oneglia . French General Pierre Jadart Dumerbion commanded the Army of Italy . Competent but old , he had seen too many generals sent to the guillotine for failing or for having the wrong political views . Two of his predecessors suffered this fate , Brunet on 15 November 1793 and Biron on 31 December 1793 . In order to stay out of trouble , Dumerbion determined to consult the all - powerful Representatives on mission before acting . At this time , the representatives were Augustin Robespierre and Antoine Christophe Saliceti and both were influenced by freshly - promoted General of Brigade Napoleon Bonaparte , the army ' s new artillery chief . Bonaparte drew up a strategic plan and Dumerbion listened . Bonaparte planned to launch a drive northeast along the coast to capture Oneglia , a nest of Sardinian privateers that preyed on the Genoa - to - Nice grain trade . From Oneglia , the French would turn north to seize Ormea , outflanking the enemy ' s defenses from the east . While these moves were implemented , the main army would distract the Coalition defenders by advancing directly on Saorge . Of Dumerbion ' s 43 , 000 - man field army , 20 , 000 men formed the attacking force , divided into three columns and a reserve . On 6 April 1794 , Dumerbion opened the offensive . Crossing neutral territory belonging to the Republic of Genoa , the French seized the port of Oneglia on the 9th . Argenteau , who commanded the local Piedmontese division , occupied Ormea and strung out his 10 battalions in an attempt to link the Saorge defenses in the west with Dego in the east . The French advance , led by General of Division André Masséna , brushed aside Argenteau ' s men and captured Ormea around 17 April and Garessio on the 19th . Colli , the newly appointed commander at Saorge , now found that his position was outflanked . De Vins advised Colli to hold the position but to send back any forces not needed for immediate defense . Relations between the allies were so bad at this time that some Piedmontese officers believed that De Vins was plotting to betray them . On the French side , Auguste Marmont claimed that the ailing Dumerbion stayed in Nice during the entire operation . On 24 April there was a clash at Saorge , as the French main army advanced north . Colli ' s defenders included three battalions of the " Alvinczi " Infantry Regiment Nr . 19 , the 3rd Battalion of the " Strassoldo " Infantry Regiment Nr . 27 , the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the " Archduke Anton " Infantry Regiment Nr . 52 , and the 2nd and 9th Battalions of the " Karlstadt " Grenz Infantry Regiment . On the same day , Masséna successfully attacked the Col Argente with General of Brigade Amédée Emmanuel Francois Laharpe ' s division . On 27 April , the French seized La Brigue , inflicting heavy losses on the Sardinians . These belonged to the " Cacciatori " , " Guardia " , and " Tortona " Infantry Regiments , the 1st Grenadier Battalion , two companies of French volunteers , and the " Cacciatori di Pandini " company . Results . The French seized Saorgio on 28 April after Colli withdrew . He abandoned the Col de Tende and retreated to Limone Piemonte , just north of the pass . In early May , Colli fell back to Borgo San Dalmazzo near the fortress of Cuneo . On the coast , the French advanced to seize Albenga and Loano . General of Division François Macquard occupied the Col de Tende , while farther east Masséna deployed his troops to hold the ridges between Ormea and Loano . In the fighting near Saorge , historian Digby Smith stated French losses as 1 , 500 killed and wounded , while the allied casualties numbered 2 , 800 . Losses for the other battles are not given . Bonaparte and the representatives on mission proposed a new operation to exploit the victory , but it was vetoed by Lazare Carnot . The defeat shocked the Austrians and Sardinians into signing a treaty on 29 May . The Sardinians promised to hold the Alpine passes while the Austrians pledged to defend the coast . The next action in the area was the First Battle of Dego on 21 September 1794 .