The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General Michael von Melas' surprise attack, drove the Austrians out of Italy and consolidated Bonaparte's political position in Paris as First Consul of France in the wake of his coup d'état the previous November.
The Battle of Marengo, by Louis-François Lejeune
Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David
Torre Garofoli, Napoleon's headquarters before the battle
Michael von Melas led the centre of the army during the attack, but he mistakenly believed that the battle was over before the arrival of Desaix.
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a multinational European great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, it was the third most populous monarchy in Europe after the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom. Along with Prussia, it was one of the two major powers of the German Confederation. Geographically, it was the third-largest empire in Europe after the Russian Empire and the First French Empire.
Greatest extent of the Austrian Empire (1846–1859)
Karl von Schwarzenberg and the monarchs of Austria, Prussia, and Russia after the Battle of Leipzig, 1813
The Battle of Komárom during the Hungarian Revolution, 1849
Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph with his troops at the Battle of Solferino, 1859
