Battle of Voltri

Part of the French Revolutionary War

Date	10 April 1796
Location	near Genoa, Italy
Result	Austrian victory

Belligerents

French Republic

Habsburg Austria

Commanders and leaders

Jean-Baptiste Cervoni

Johann Beaulieu

Karl Sebottendorf

Philipp Pittoni

Strength

5,200

7,200

Casualties and losses

227

The Battle of Voltri was an engagement occurring on 10 April 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars and taking place in Voltri, a suburb of Genoa, Italy.

The battle saw two Habsburg Austrian columns under the overall direction of Johann Peter Beaulieu attack a reinforced French brigade under Jean-Baptiste Cervoni. After a skirmish lasting several hours, the Austrians forced Cervoni to withdraw west along the coast to Savona. Voltri is now part of the western suburbs of the major Italian port of Genoa. Voltri was the opening action of the Montenotte Campaign, part of the War of the First Coalition.

In the spring of 1796, Beaulieu was installed as the new commander of the combined armies of Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont in northwest Italy. His opposite number was also new to the job of army commander. Napoleon Bonaparte arrived from Paris to direct the French Army of Italy. Bonaparte immediately began planning an offensive, but Beaulieu struck first by launching an attack against Cervoni's somewhat overextended force. After the action, the Austrian commander found himself in a position in which it was difficult to march to the support of his right wing. Seizing this opening, Bonaparte counterattacked the Austrian right flank in the Battle of Montenotte on 12 April.

See the Montenotte 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for units and organizations of the French, Austrian, and Sardinian armies.

In mid-March, Johann Peter Beaulieu was appointed commander of the Austrian Army of Italy and promoted to Feldzeugmeister. Despite his 70 years, the veteran of the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War was regarded with favor by the Austrian Foreign Minister Johann Amadeus Francis de Paula, Baron of Thugut, who liked his energy. In addition, Beaulieu shared a personal friendship with Feldmarschall-Leutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi an Austrian subject who led the allied Sardinian army.

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Wikipedia