The Allies Strike Back:
Field Marshal Suvorov
Retakes Italy in 1799

Suvorov Painting (slow: 100K)

© Ray Rubin


The conquest of Italy in 1796-97 by the young General Napoleon Bonaparte had astonished the world. The reversal of French military fortunes in 1799 had no less dramatic consequences, including the toppling of the French government by the coup of 30 Prairial (18 June 1799).

The resurgence of the ancien régime in Italy can be attributed to the leadership of Russian Field Marshal Suvorov. Given command of an Austro-Russian army — a delicate political entity but a formidable military force — Suvorov crushed the French in Italy in a series of battles and sieges that undid Napoleon's territorial gains of 1796-97. His campaign in Italy opened with victories over Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer and Jean Victor Moreau along the Adda River. These battles broke the French forces in northern Italy, doomed their puppet Cisalpine Republic and opened the way to the liberation of Piedmont.

The next to be humbled by Suvorov was future French marshal Jacques Etienne Joseph Alexandre Macdonald at the Battle of the Trebbia on 18 June. After this victory, Suvorov urged the Austrians to allow him to finish sweeping the French from Italy and to advance to the French frontier.

However, fears that the Russians had designs on reconstituting Piedmont into a pro-Russian state led Austrian Emperor Francis to order Suvorov to instead concentrate on capturing the critical fortifications of Alessandria, Mantua, and others still in French hands. These sieges gave the French time to assemble a new force under Barthélemy Catherine Joubert. The final battle of the campaign was at Novi on 15 August.

In this new painting by Ray Rubin, 69-year-old Russian Field Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevich Suvorov is shown in the center of the group in a white Austrian field marshal's uniform which was a gift from Emperor Francis.

On the far left are two of Suvorov's Russian Cossack bodyguards. From left to right, the other officers of the group are Austrian General Jacques Gabriel Chasteler (Suvorov's chief of staff), Russian Prince Petr Ivanovich Bagration, Russian Grand Prince Constantine (Tsar Paul's second son), an Austrian cavalry general, Suvorov, Russian General Mikhail Andreivich Miloradovich, Austrian General Michael Friedrich Benoit Melas (commanding the Austrian forces under Suvorov), and an Austrian staff adjutant (from the back) whose standard green uniform appears very similar to the Russian uniform coat.

The Allies Strike Back: Suvorov Retakes Italy 1799

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