Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz was a military officer in the armies of the Habsburg monarchy. Of Hungarian origin, Ott fought in the wars against the Kingdom of Prussia, Ottoman Turkey, and the First French Republic in the last half of the 18th century. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he rose in rank to general officer and twice campaigned against the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy. He played a key role in the Marengo campaign in 1800. He was Proprietor (Inhaber) of an Austrian Hussar regiment from 1801 to 1809.

The siege of Genoa saw Austria besiege and capture the city of Genoa from France during the War of the Second Coalition. However, the battle was ultimately a successful diversion conducted by André Masséna's forces that allowed Napoleon to win the subsequent Battle of Marengo. In the end, around 30,000 of Genoa's 160,000 inhabitants had died of starvation and disease in the course of the siege.