The 1799 Campaign in Italy: August 14, 1799 Change of Initiative
By Enrico Acerbi
During the afternoon of August 14 Joubert, St. Cyr and Moreau rode together along the southern hill of Novi to perform a reconnaissance. It was not clear what happened during that ride, but the large camp of Fieldmarshal Kray at Fresonara probably induced Joubert to assume a more careful plan of attack (in effect almost turned into a defensive plan).
If the French still had some will to attack the Coalition’s army, the French deployment could have been very dangerous. Someone said Joubert did deploy his troops in some inconsiderate way. He did not have an homogeneous army; most of his units were regiments or battalions only on papers, seeming more “current re-enactors units” than military ones. His order of battle was more suitable for a defensive battle than for an attack action. The French line was a narrow dart pointed into Novi with two wings and no center or large reserve behind the town. He almost made his army surrounded by its enemies, imagining the weak Watrin Division could not resist for long time at the Scrivia.
The terrain was very difficult to manage as much of the very cultivated terrain of Northern Italy. The heights were about 200 feet above the plain and covered with vineyards and small, terraced farms. An ordered unit could have easily defended this kind of battlefield, but a disordered, retreating unit had no other option than rout. In addition, behind the southern Novi hill there was a deep gorge (Braghena) which acted as an impassable point, making easy the encirclements by troops advancing in the French left, from Pasturana and the Orba creek.
It was not possible Joubert would underestimate the enemy forces, a large linear army, with such a numerical superiority to be been able to be lined up on two parallel lines, one behind the other. So, having beaten the first line, the tired attack units would have had to bang against a solid second rank of muskets. Joubert’s line somehow remembered that of Rivoli 1797, which the Chief had well mastered and which had the two extreme wings left free to watch the enemy encirclement trial; at Novi, nevertheless, were missing either the Bonaparte genius and the Masséna toughness. Or, maybe, the deployment was chosen by the careful Moreau, who had no hope to gain that battle. The death of the French commander-in-chief left the doubt without any answer, the French lost the operational initiative and Novi seemed to be a lost battle since its start (it was moreover the battle the Directory had ordered to do, making it a political affair).
Suvorov was, originally, the defender and he loved to do so, by forcing the French to advance into the plains. During the whole daylight he rode tensely near Pozzolo Formigaro, up and down without his uniform, in white shirt and underwear for the hot weather, looking for the best engagement formation. He deployed Bagration in front of Pozzolo and Miloradovich behind the town as a tactical reserve. He ordered Kray to take position at Fresonara and Mélas at Rivalta, while Derfelden had to protect Tortona. During the late afternoon he observed the French taking positions on the Pasturana hills, like they wanted to defend the plateau instead of making an advance. At this point the Fieldmarshal returned to Pozzolo and sent new orders to his army: attack! [i]
The Austro-Russian center had to attack the linking point of the French right wing, cutting Watrin away from Novi and Serravalle and eliminating every danger for Tortona. The rest of the army had to follow the movement pivoting by its left, avoiding a frontal attack at Novi and keeping a strong detachment on its right to stop every French advance along the Orba. This was Suvorov’s original point of view.
At this point, however, the history reported something a little bit confused. General Mèlas, for example, in his report after the battle, said his orders were to attack in the direction of Serravalle and not to stay at Rivalta. Another commander (formerly at Mantua) Kray (Kriegsarchiv report of August 17) said he had orders to attack the French left wing and not to wait at Fresonara, having, in effect, received an agreement from the general headquarters at Pozzolo. What was the truth? Too many roosters in the hen-pen? Was it possible the Austrians thought they could act by own initiative?
Maybe Mélas did such a report to mask his “partial” obedience and formal deference to Suvorov’s orders (related to some events which occurred during the battle and on which it will be related after). But Kray? Fieldmarshal Suvorov had a complete control of the Coalition while operating in full agreement with Chief of Staff, Marquis Chasteler, while not always with Mélas. Now he had to argue with another influential Austrian Fieldmarshal and, above all, with another more influential Chief of staff: General Zach, who was the involuntary origin of the aforesaid confusion. All this happened while Suvorov was taking a rest in that torrid day.
Kray had written a message to Suvorov at 11 a.m. where he said he was of the opinion to launch the Austrian right wing into a right-flank attack on Novi at dawn on August 15, hoping to hit the French when they were the march to Tortona and so cutting th communications with Genoa. This letter crossed with another dispatch sent to Kray by Suvorov’s chief of staff Zach from headquarters at Pozzolo Formigaro at 9.45 a.m.:
“The enemy have seized Novi. The column which had been operating against Lieutenant-General Bellegarde has now mostly crossed the Orba and united with the enemy column at Novi, which means that only a weak screen remains along the left bank of Orba. If Your Excellency would throw it back and could march at once on Novi, you will not only take it with no great difficulty, but reduce the enemy to a fearsome state of disorder.
The enemy’s target is to relieve Tortona—one of the columns is advancing by way of Novi, and the other across the Scrivia against Sarzano and Monte Goldone. Write to tell me of your intentions and your time of attack, and we will advance simultaneously from Rivalta di Scrivia. The field-marshal is asleep; I am riding to see the general [Mélas]”.
Suvorov, awaken and refreshed, maybe realized it could be a good plan, not in contrast with the fake-attack-cover-the-left directive he had in mind for Kray:
“I am more than pleased with your proposal to attack the enemy with all your forces at first light tomorrow the 15….”
The Fieldmarshal agreed and the Austrians realized they could have a certain degree of initiative. On 20 PM in the evening, at sunset, Kray moved his corps, divided in two large columns. It was deployed in the night (at midnight the French performed an heavy artillery fire against the Austrians), ready to attack at dawn, as stated.
Austrian Right Wing
FML Paul Kray de Krajowa et Topolya
Staff – Lieut.Colonel De Pest, Obersten Beschinnyi, Herlitz, Neugebauer, Captains Hippert, Troyer
FML Paul Kray Right Wing
Battalions
Companies
Squadrons
Total
Heavy Guns
Austrians
30
20
12
From the extreme right (Orba creek) to left
Kray Right Wing
Division FML Heinrich Joseph Johannes Graf von Bellegarde
Cavalry brigade Commander Generalmajor Nikolaus Joseph Pálffy von Erdöd
First Line
Feldbrigade Generalmajor Friedrich Bellegarde
Wucherer [ii]
Miliutin [iii]
K.K. 2nd Hussar regiment Erzherzog Joseph Anton – 3 squadrons
438
313
K.K. 33rd Regiment Graf Anton Sztaray – I, II and III Battalions
2643
2517
K.K. 32nd Hungarian Regiment Graf Samuel Gyulai – I, II Battalions
1361
1370
K.K. 8th Regiment (former Huff Regiment) – I, II Battalions
1665
1500
Second Line
Brigade Generalmajor Friedrich Heinrich Freiherr Gottesheim
K.K. 1st Light Dragoons Regiment “Emperor” Kaiser Franz II – 4 squadrons
—
592
K.K. 39th Line Hungarian Infantry Regiment Graf Támas Nádasdy – I, II and III Battalions
1559
1380
K.K. 10th Line Infantry Regiment (former Regiment Kheul) –I and III Battalions
1669
1690
K.K. 45th Line Infantry Regiment Freiherr Franz von Lattermann – II and III Battalions
1148
1339
Kray Left Wing
Division Generalmajor Carl Peter Ott de Batorkéz
Cavalry Brigade commander GM Graf Johann Franz Seraphin von Saint Julien Walsee
First Line
Brigade Generalmajor Anton Freiherr von Elsnitz
Wucherer
Miliutin
K.K. 2nd Hussar regiment Erzherzog Joseph Anton – 4 squadrons
584
416
K.K. 48th Hungarian Line Infantry Regiment Frh. Philipp von Vukassovich – I, II Battalions
733
1277
I Battalion of 3rd Croatian Grenzregiment Carlstädt-Ogulin – Commander: Freiherr Carl von Letzenyi
665
900
III Battalion 3rd Grenzregiment Carlstädt-Ogulin former 7th Carlstadt Battalion
665
869
K.K. 4th Line Regiment Hoch und Deutschmeister – Erz. Maximilian von Köln Commander: Obst Carl von Brixen – I, II, III Battalions – the Grenadiers being with Hohenfeld Battalion
2325
2700
Second Line
Brigade Generalmajor Freiherr Ferdinand von Minkwitz ?
K.K. 3rd Light Dragoons Regiment FM Erzherzog Johann Baptist – 6 squadrons
983
906
K.K. 16th Line Regiment Freiherr Ludwig Terzy Commander: Graf Franz Khevenuller-Metsch – I, II and 1/3 of III Battalion
1256
2700
K.K. 40th Hungarian Line Infantry Regiment GM Graf Joseph Mittrowsky – I, II Battalions
1758
1584
I Battalion of 4th Grenzregiment Carlstädt Szluiner (1st Szluiner Battalion)
614
614
Right flank cover brigade (Basaluzzo and Lemme creek)
Brigade Generalmajor Friedrich Freiherr von Seckendorff
3rd Light Dragoons and 2nd Hussar Regiment were listed under Pálffy in Mélas Korps, by Wucherer
Wucherer
Miliutin
K.K. 5th Hussar Regiment 3 Squadrons.
400
Not listed
IV Battalion 4th Grenzregiment of Carlstädt – Szluin (2nd Szluiner Battalion)
??
430
K.K. 15 Regiment Oranien Prinz Wilhelm- I,II Battalions
1761
1417
Others and garrisons
Wucherer
Miliutin
K.K. 32 Hungarian Regiment Graf Samuel Gyulai – III Battalion – on garrison duty
With I & II
630
K.K. 8 Regiment (former Huff Regiment) – III Battalion – on garrison duty
With I & II
661
K.K. 13 Line Infantry Regiment Freiherr Franz Wenzel Reisky von Dubnitz – I, II Battalions Alexandria garrison – the third at Serravalle as garrison
1406
1512
K.K. 1st Light Dragoons Regiment “Emperor” Kaiser Franz II – 2 squadrons
—
296
Cavalry vanguard (as listed in Wucherer’s article)
Wucherer
Miliutin
K.K. 5th Hussar Regiment 3 Squadrons.
400
Not listed
Notes:
[i] He probably was sure that a strong wing attack could have engaged also the French reserves. Some authors told Suvorov wanted a central attack with the Russians, when the French center would have weakened because on the wing attack. However it seems he, really, hoped the French left wing could be pushen downhill, in the plains, where the Russians (artillery and Cossacks) could destroy easily the Republicans, now in open fields.
[ii] Freiherr von Wucherer, “Die Schlacht von Novi am 15. August 1799, eine Ruhmesthat des österreichischen Armee”, in Organ der Militärwissenschaftlichen Vereine, Band LIX, Wien 1899. The orders of battle came from the Archiv of the Reichkriegs Ministerium papers (ordre de bataille vom 8. August 1799) and probably listed the “on duty” numbers, while Miliutin gave the numbers (generally lower) of those fit to combat. This article represents a fine summary of the previous jobs (Jomini, St Cyr memoirs listed by the author as giving an unreliable OoB, Stutterheim). The presence of units not listed by the above authors comes from Austrian and French military histories and are confirmed by some memoirs.
[iii] Miliutin numbers are sometimes calculated by dividing the totals of the units (i.e. cavalry).