Probably indisputably, Massena is one of the 'Big Four', by which I mean those four marshals who spring to mind when one invariably ends up discussing the wherewithal of that distinguished group. Who the other members of the 'Four' might be I leave open, for the moment.

Massena was born in Nice on the 6th of May, 1758. Technically, at the time he was not a Frenchman, but rather a Piedmontese, as they owned the city. It of course also meant that his mother tongue was Italian. Massena must have known little of his family, being orphaned at the age of only six. Little is known of the early life of the hapless child until his enlistment, aged 17, in the Regiment Royal-Italien, a French unit. Clearly like many of his future fellows war suited Massena, and by 1779, inside two years, he had been made up to sergeant, with further promotions following. At 26 he was the regiment's sergeant major. Then in 1789, a month after the outbreak of the Revolution, Massena took his discharge, aged 31. Up to that point his career had been adequate but undistinguished. After all, how far could the orphaned son of a storekeeper hope to go?

The Revolution of course changed all that. The year of his discharge Massena married Rosalie Lamarre, with whom he would have three children. The children that he undoubtedly fathered elsewhere are harder to verify.

Then in 1791 Massena rejoined the army, joining the Volontaires du Var as a warrant officer, and as with the likes of Ney, his career took off. Within a year his comrades had elected him colonel of the regiment and when France annexed part of the Piedmont, and Nice with it, he attained the French nationality that he craved.

By 1793 he was a General de Brigade, with promotion to divisional rank coming after his successful participation at Toulon. Then further good luck got him posted to the Army of Italy in early 1794. He commanded the right wing under Scherer, and was involved in what on the surface seemed to be the idiotic winter campaign of 1795-96. This was another of the barmy ideas sent to the front by the Directory, and with which the generals had no option to comply. Nevertheless, the defending Austrians were completely surprised and thoroughly routed, with Massena attaining a high degree of credit for the success.

When, in February 1796, Scherer resigned following one-too-many run-ins with the Directory, it seemed to all that Massena, his star rising, would naturally succeed him. However, on the horizon was a star that would eclipse them all. Barras, the dominant force in France at the time had a pet of his own. The former artillery commander of the Army of Italy, one Napoleon Bonaparte. It must have at first galled Massena to be placed under the command of a jumped up gunner 11 years his junior.

Under Napoleon in Italy

His opinion soon changed, for it was clear that Bonaparte was no ordinary soldier. By April the army was driving all before it, and the geriatric Beaulieu, commanding the Austrians, was thoroughly outmanoeuvred. At Turin on April the 28th an armistice was signed with the Austrian's Sardinian allies, and Massena for his part, which was considerable, received the thanks of the Directory themselves.

With the Sardinians neutralised, Bonaparte turned on the Austrians, now commanded by another entrant in the senility stakes, Würmser. It was decided that despite the neutrality of the Venetian Republic, the only place for Würmser was back into Austria itself, and accordingly Bonaparte invaded the place in May of 1796. Massena, now Bonaparte's best commander, was entrusted with the advance guard. They pushed forward as far as Lake Garda before pulling up, with Massena holding a position on the army's left, commanding a 'corps' of six brigades.

Würmser decided to launch a counter-attack with his 47,000 troops - about the same as the French - and at first had some success, driving Massena back to the River Mincio. Then on August 5th Bonaparte launched his own counter-offensive, at Castiglione. Würmser lost 20,000 in killed, wounded and prisoners. Massena was given much of the credit by his commander, who told as much to his friends at the Directory. In September Massena fought at Bassano, another victory. It was a luxurious situation that had become a habit.

Clearly the Austrians could not sit back and do nothing. Würmser needed relief, blockaded as he now as in Mantua. Command devolved to Alvintzy, yet another old fogey, along with 40,000 men to do the job. At first Alvintzy too had a modicum of success. Massena, along with Augereau, was forced out of Bassano, and Massena took heavy casualties on September the 11th at Caldiero. He then fought at the famous battle of Arcola on September the 15th, and three days later was entrusted with the counter-attack that forced Alvintzy to withdraw.

Even the onset of winter did not put an end to the vicious fighting, and in January 1797 Alvintzy attacked again. On the 14th Massena had probably his finest hour at Rivoli, where he went to Joubert's assistance, coming up during the night and routing Alvintzy.

Looter Extraordinaire

Not everything one can say about Massena can by any means be described as complimentary. Certainly he was probably the biggest looter amongst all of Napoleon's marshals, and he honed this skill alongside Augereau during the campaigns in Italy. He was also a vigorous philanderer, and invariably had at least one mistress in tow on campaign, often dressed in some fashionable cavalry uniform.

On March 1st, 1799 the War of the Second Coalition began, and Massena was given the newly created Amy of Switzerland (another unfortunate neutral) to command, centred at Zurich. This is an important departure for Massena, as it represented his first independent command, enabling him to further develop his two personal sidelines. His forces totalled 34,000 men in six brigades. It was planned that these troops would engage the Austrian General Hotze and push him back. Scherer, with the Army of Italy would support Massena to his strategic right. He moved at once to the Upper Rhine valley that separates the Swiss from the Vorarlberg, which was part of the Austrian Empire. Despite a troublesome thaw, Massena got his troops over the river and he personally led the attack on the St Luzisteig Fort, which duly fell.

Unfortunately the supply situation was its usual erratic self, and Massena found his men soon low in just about everything, with the nature of the terrain hampering any foraging. Perhaps guided by their commander's nature, the Army of Switzerland proceeded to bleed the area dry, looting anything that wasn't nailed down, and probably a few things that were. Massena himself, feasibly annoyed that his men were taking things earmarked for himself wrote to the Directors, threatening to resign unless something was done.

To compound matters the French were losing battles. The Archduke Charles thoroughly trashed Jourdan on Massena's left, whilst Kray - another Austrian - roundly beat Scherer near Verona. Thus Massena found both his flanks driven back and exposed. Worst of all, 24,000 Russians under Suvorov had arrived and that well-capable general took overall command.

Decision

Massena had to make a decision. Should he abandon Switzerland? Perhaps if he had not been given complete regional command he would have done, but with the remnants of the defeated forces attached to his own he held his ground. Of the 115,000 men under his orders, he had a field army of perhaps 60,000.

Fortunately the Austrians helped out by taking their time, and it was not until May that they pressured his positions. A month of to-and-fro fighting then ensued, which at the end saw Massena falling back to his strong camp at Zurich. On June 4th the Archduke Charles attacked, but was beaten off, suffering 3,500 casualties, with the corps commander Hotze being wounded. Despite this the following day Massena withdrew slightly south-west of Zurich, into the Utliberg hills. It was a stronger defensive position, and one which Massena expected to need.

He was right. Rimski-Korsakov's corps of a further 30,000 Russians duly arrived in August, and Suvorov took direct command to shift Massena. The cunning old Russian decided to attack Massena frontally using Hotze and Korsakov whilst he himself turned Massena's rear via the St Gotthard Pass. In open country such a plan of concentration might have worked, but not in the Alps. It also took no account of Massena. On September 25th he attacked Korsakov whilst Suvorov was still manoeuvring and routed him. Elsewhere, Hotze, who appears to have been getting patently unluckier, contrived to get himself fatally shot by troops under Soult, and his troops withdrew as well.

Suvorov did not hear of this until it was too late. Threatening Massena's rear, he suddenly found himself effectively cut off. It was the beginning of October and the first winter snows arrived, punishing the out of supply Russians heavily. He fought his way out by October 10th, but there was no doubt who had won, and Suvorov was recalled by the Czar that Christmas. It elevated Massena's status and when the new First Consul returned from his jaunt to Egypt, he confirmed Massena as commander of the Army of Italy. This was not an easy position to fill. The army had been highly unsuccessful, losing regularly to Suvorov. The men were without decent equipment and unpaid since July.. It was the turn of 1800 when he arrived to command, having spent Christmas in Paris. He arrived to a mutiny. He immediately had a few men shot - always a winner with mutinies - but it wasn't until the beginning of February that he had sorted things out properly. That was before he thought about the enemy.

Of Genoa

Genoa was his most immediate concern. Despite the garrison of 7000 men it appeared clear that Melas the (old, of course) Austrian in command fancied his chances of taking it, particularly with a squadron of British warships anchored offshore. There were 60000 Austrians available against only 36000 French. Melas duly decided to split into four columns, attacking on a broad front. The left pair under Ott and Hohenzollern attacked Genoa, whilst Melas himself went for the Cadibona Pass that led to Nice. For once the Austrians were vigorous, and in three days all the first phase objectives were taken.

Massena knew that he needed to counter-attack, and he decided to do it in person. However, it was not stunningly successful, and by April 20th he was driven back once more. Further Austrian attacks at the end of April were repulsed, and then on May the 2nd Reille, serving as a colonel on Massena's staff arrived from Paris, having breached the British blockading squadron. In his possession was one million francs in back pay for the troops, and a copy of Bonaparte's intended plan to rescue Massena.

Throughout May, under sever deprivation, both the French garrison along with the Genoese population and 8000 starved Austrian prisoners hung on, launching local counter-attacks to raid for supplies. During one of these Soult was wounded and captured. On May 29th the Genoese population rose in revolt, and it was a close run thing before Massena put them down. He then refused the second offer of surrender he had received from Admiral Keith, commanding the British squadron. Two days later several hundred French troops deserted and typhus was reaching epidemic proportions. It appeared that Massena would have no choice but to throw in the towel.

Elsewhere things of great magnitude were occurring, but not to the knowledge of Ott or Massena. Ott? Indeed, for Melas and the majority of his army had moved north to deal with Bonaparte, leaving Ott to handle the surrender. On June 2nd negotiations began, with two days supplies left. Agreement was finally reached on June 4th for a French surrender. Unknown to Massena, Ott had received orders from Melas to lift the siege on June 1st to join him against Bonaparte for what he considered would be the crucial battle. Ott ignored the order, clearly sniffing glory at Genoa. It may have been a fatal error. On May 6th the French garrison marched out in surrender, but on June 14th Bonaparte won at Marengo.

The effect of the siege of Genoa had a similar effect on Massena to the retreat from Moscow on Ney. He was absolutely exhausted, and an understanding Bonaparte effectively retired him on full pay. For the next five years the plunderer of Italy spent a comfortable existence at his chateau at Rueil, a mere 10 miles from Paris. He even let his wife and three children stay with him. One must assume that his mistresses were more discreet than usual.

One-Eyed Marshal Massena

It was May 19th, 1804 when anything of consequence occurred. Massena was made a marshal by the new Emperor, fifth in seniority. With the outbreak of fresh hostilities Massena was again given the Army of Italy, defeating Archduke Charles at Verona. He missed out on all the main fighting however, and this was the story over the next two years. Nevertheless, commanding V Corps in 1807, Massena contracted serious lung problems in Poland, resulting in him being sick throughout the following year. During that time the Emperor remembered him when he was creating his new aristocracy, and Massena found himself Duke of Rivoli.

Then in September of 1808, Massena was involved in one of the most bizarre stories of the whole period. Invited to Fontainebleau by Napoleon for one of his shooting parties, Massena was actually shot in the face by Napoleon, losing the sight of his left eye. What makes the story so silly is that because it looked bad for the Emperor to look so bad, Berthier put his hands up and claimed he did it!

This injury had recovered enough for Massena to take a corps in 1809 against Austria. It was IV Corps that he led so well at Aspern-Essling and then again in the blood-bath of Wagram. He then led the pursuit, taking a nasty riding fall along the way, and having to be transported around in a carriage. He was now 51, and Prince of Essling, following a further elevation by Napoleon. He wanted nothing more than to retire with his loot and his women, to enjoy his middle age. He had not foreseen the death-ground of marshals: The Peninsula.

The Peninsula

In April 1810 Massena was given command of the Army of Portugal. He didn't want it, and told the Emperor so. He had chronic rheumatism, but got the job anyway. It was a bad posting. Travelling more in the style of a circus than a general, Massena arrived with all the comforts of home, much to the disgust of hard-fighting commanders like Ney and Montbrun. He is described as looking closer to sixty than fifty, and stooping. It does indeed appear as if this once-great general was past his sell-by date.

At first things went well, a fortunate magazine explosion gave him the fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo. That was August. A month later Almeida fell in almost the same manner, and it looked as if Massena was going to have a lucky war. Perhaps the Emperor's old adage would prove true. Things though, were not well within the French camp. Ney was remarkably rude to Massena, disobeying orders regularly, whilst Junot, another corps commander, openly said that he hoped that Massena would fail. Worse for Massena was that amongst his staff rode that remarkable diarist, Baron de Marbot, whose razor pen has noted much of Massena's antics. Chief of which was to chose routes considered most suitable for the safety of his mistress rather than his men. Such behaviour was bound to end in disaster, and so it did at Busaco on September 27th, 1810.

Having spent the previous evening arranging quarters for his mistress instead of scouting, Massena got what all frontal assaults deserve to get. Flattened. Wellington then retired to his prepared defensive lines, the Torres Vedras, leaving a surprised Massena completely nonplussed. He stayed within 20 miles of Wellington for four months until March 1811 before pulling his starving troops back to Salamanca. Then he suddenly proposed an eastwards invasion of Spain which Ney refused to agree to. It was the final straw for these two, and the fiery red-head was sent to Paris in disgrace.

Within days however, Massena could see that Ney had been right. His invasion route was useless, and he abandoned the idea. On April 19th Massena received a despatch from Berthier, informing him that the Emperor was displeased with his conduct of the campaign, and appointing Marmont as Ney's replacement. Feeling suitably refreshed, at the end of April Massena moved against Wellington who was at Fuentes de Onoro. Another frontal attack on May 3rd against a ridge-line position ensued, with the same results, although few casualties for either side. Finally realising that scouting might be a good option, Massena spent the following day probing Wellington's flank, before launching another attack at dawn on the 5th. The see-saw affair ended with Massena's artillery low on ammunition, obliging a withdrawal. It would be Massena's last battle. A few days later he was relieved of command. On his audience with the Emperor, he was greeted with the most cutting of remarks: "Well, Prince of Essling, so you are no longer Massena." Ouch!

Massena took no part in the campaigns that followed, and on the Emperor's abdication Massena was happy to retain his titles under the Bourbons. He was not quite so happy when Napoleon returned, but avoided action by pleading ill health. It seems unlikely that Napoleon would have trusted him with anything substantive.

Massena died on April 4th, 1817, aged 58 years old. He was buried with full honours at the cemetery of Pere-Lachaise in Paris. There can be no doubting Massena's ability, particularly during the Revolutionary Wars. Of all the marshals he was one of the few who was capable of independent command. His weaknesses, women and loot, only really caused his heart to go out of fighting, rather than any malaise beforehand, and certainly during the 1790s in Italy he combined all three perfectly well.