Historical context

The war in Italy did not begin under the best auspices for the Republican forces: Schérer's hesitant management had led to a failed victory and a clear defeat at Verona and Magnano respectively, forcing the French army to retreat first to the Mincio, then to the Oglio and finally to the Adda. To make matters worse, the Habsburg forces, already numerically superior, received further reinforcements from the Russian army under Suvorov.

After taking Brescia, Suvorov launched an offensive on the Adda to push the French further back: they were defeated three times in three consecutive days, losing General Sérurier's division entirely. Forced to abandon Lombardy, the French took refuge in Piedmont, where they clashed twice with the Russian army before abandoning the plain for the Apennines and the Alps: at Bassignana they managed to repel General Rosenberg's division, while at Marengo, after an initial advantage, the arrival of Bagration's Russian reinforcements brought the battle to a substantial draw.

Background

With the Piedmont plains firmly in the coalition's possession, Suvorov decided to take the city of Turin, which hosted a large French garrison. The decision to march on the city was not only due to military reasons, but was also due to political considerations: Turin was considered the emblem of the French occupation of Piedmont, and more generally of French interference in the Italian peninsula, and liberating it would have led to a series of anti-republican uprisings, contributing to complicate the position of Moreau's army. ^[4]

Having directed all his troops towards the capital of the Savoyard kingdom, Suvorov began the siege on 26 May. ^[5] General Vukassovich's forces did not take long to penetrate inside the city walls: the people of Turin, intolerant of the presence of French troops in the city, freed themselves of the republican soldiers guarding the entrances and opened them, allowing Austrian soldiers and a crowd of rioters to enter the city. The rest of the French garrison, under the command of General Fiorella, closed themselves in the citadel and prepared to resist the siege attempts. When the Russians attempted to position a battery of guns on the Monte dei Cappuccini, the French opened fire on the city: an agreement was reached whereby both sides would engage in military clashes in such a way as to involve only the external side of the complex and avoid the rest of Turin as much as possible. ^{[6] [7]}

While the French forces retreated towards the mountains of Liguria, Moreau left in Alessandria a garrison of about 3,000 men under the command of General Gardanne. ^[8] For a few weeks, Gardanne's forces were kept under close observation by the forces of General Shveikovsky, without any noteworthy military action taking place. ^[9] Then, the arrival of MacDonald's troops forced Suvorov to march towards Piacenza, freeing Piedmont from the bulk of his forces. Moreau returned to the plains and temporarily liberated Tortona. The hope of a joint attack against the Russian general evaporated when the first news of the clash on the Trebbia arrived. Realizing that he could not remain in the plains, Moreau returned to the Alps.

With MacDonald's army destroyed and Moreau's unable to put up the necessary resistance, the Imperial forces were finally able to concentrate on the French garrisons remaining on the plain and take their strongholds one by one. Three cities had already been in the sights of the Imperial forces for some time: Tortona, Mantua and Alessandria. The first had initially been blockaded by Suvorov's forces but had recently been resupplied by Moreau's French, after the descent from the Alps in mid-June; the second had already been blockaded for months, but for a short time the Austrian troops had been forced to suspend the measure (because of MacDonald, although only indirectly) while the last had always been screened by the Austro-Russian forces, starting to show the first signs of shortage of supplies. For this reason, Suvorov chose to start from Alessandria. ^[10]

Siege

Gardanne, who had managed to climb the ranks of the army during his stay in Italy, was certain that no help would come from Moreau. Nevertheless, convinced that it was for the good of the fatherland, as well as necessary to maintain his own honor and that of his garrison, he decided to resist the Austro-Russian forces and not to surrender the citadel. He continually encouraged his men, calling them back when it was time to take measures to defend the walls. Bellegarde's forces, on the other hand, numbered, at least initially, more than 20,000 men, with over 130 large-caliber artillery pieces, recently brought from the armories of Turin, ready to fire on the walls of the fortress. Suvorov himself was seen in the city, intent on supporting his men. ^[11]

The two sides, as previously done by Fiorella in Turin, agreed to attack only from the outside, so that the city and its inhabitants would not be involved. After that, preparations for the siege began. Bellegarde had a first circumvallation trench dug. ^[12] Once finished, on 14 July, Bellegarde called Gardanne and asked him what his intentions were: the Frenchman intended to resist. ^[10] The citadel was hit by a myriad of shells, to which Gardanne tried to respond with his cannons. In total, about 300 cannons, mortars and howitzers were firing. The quantity of shells fired by the allies was so great that a good part of the cannon beds broke, perhaps due to excessive vibrations. The effects of the bombardment were clear: numerous French gunners had been hit, a barracks was caught in a fire and on 16 July a gunpowder depot exploded. Taking advantage of the moment, the besiegers rushed forward and, by using hoes, managed to begin digging a second line of trenches. Gardanne attempted to prevent the attackers from approaching, using arquebuses, as the cannons had proven ineffective. Bellegarde's soldiers managed to complete the work and, taking advantage of the night, moved part of the artillery into the new trench. In particular, the Piedmontese, who had returned to the service of the Savoy family, distinguished themselves. The success of the operation was not flawless: on 18 July, General Chasteler was seriously wounded and his nephew killed. Suvorov's post as Chief of Staff was temporarily filled by General Zach. ^[13] Many other Russian soldiers also fell victim to French fire. ^[12]

The purpose of this second trench was to force the Republicans to abandon the covered bridge that connected Alessandria with the fortress, located on the opposite bank of the Tanaro, and allow the complete encirclement of the citadel. After the artillery movement was completed between 18 and 19 July, the constant fire of the Allies, less than 60 meters away from the covered road, forced Gardanne's men to abandon it. ^[14] The following night, the road was occupied by the attackers. As the time for the final assault approached, with no ammunition left and only four guns still fit to fire, Gardanne asked his officers to prepare for surrender the next day, believing he had fully fulfilled his duty. ^[15]

Consequences

Gardanne and his garrison surrendered on July 21. His men were given the honours of war, after which they were taken as prisoners to Germany. Gardanne, for his valour, was released on parole. The following day, the fortress was occupied by Bellegarde's men. With the fortress of Alessandria liberated, only two other cities in the plain remained to host French garrisons. The first was Cuneo, the second Tortona. The latter posed a potential danger to the Allied forces and thus became a priority target: Tortona's proximity to Lombardy made it an ideal stronghold from which to begin the reconquest of the territories lost in the previous months. Moreau's forces could use it both as a base for potential incursions into Austrian-controlled territory and as a defensive pivot in the event of a potential offensive orchestrated by Suvorov. ^[15]

References

Bibliography