A minor Russian defeat at Bassignana during the War of the Second Coalition, resulting from a disobeyed crossing order that left a corps exposed to French counterattack.
Key Facts
- Date
- 12 May 1799
- Distance from Alessandria
- 19 kilometres northeast km
- Russian commander
- Andrei Grigorevich Rosenberg
- French commander
- Jean Victor Marie Moreau
- French divisions engaged
- Paul Grenier and Claude Victor-Perrin
- Conflict
- War of the Second Coalition
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following a string of Austro-Russian victories that expelled French forces from northern Italy in spring 1799, Suvorov ordered Rosenberg to cross to the south bank of the Po below its confluence with the Tanaro. Grand Duke Constantine apparently overruled this order, and Rosenberg instead crossed above the confluence, placing his corps in a tactically disadvantageous position opposite a concentrating French army.
On 12 May 1799, Rosenberg's Russian corps attempted to establish a bridgehead on the south bank of the Po near Bassignana. Moreau rapidly concentrated superior French forces and launched a counterattack. After several hours of hard fighting, two French divisions under Grenier and Victor-Perrin drove the Russians back across the river with serious losses.
The battle proved only a minor setback for the Allied coalition, which retained the strategic initiative in northern Italy. A few days later, Moreau conducted a reconnaissance in force that escalated into the First Battle of Marengo, continuing active operations in the region.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Andrei Grigorevich Rosenberg, Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich.
Side B
1 belligerent
Jean Victor Marie Moreau, Paul Grenier, Claude Victor-Perrin.