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.

André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli, was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon I. He was nicknamed l'Enfant chéri de la Victoire. He is considered to be one of the greatest generals of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.