Battle of Novi

Battle context

The Battle of Novi on 15 August 1799 was a significant engagement in the Italian theater of the War of the Second Coalition. A combined Austro-Russian force under Field Marshal Suvorov, numbering around 50,000, confronted a French Republican army of roughly 35,000 near Novi Ligure in Piedmont, northern Italy. The French suffered a decisive defeat: their commander Joubert was killed early in the fighting, forcing Moreau to assume overall command, and the Austro-Russians ultimately broke through French defensive positions and drove their opponents into a disorderly retreat. The capture of French division commanders Pérignon and Grouchy compounded the collapse of French leadership. With casualties on the French side reaching between roughly 9,600 and 12,000, the battle further eroded French control of northern Italy at a critical juncture in the coalition's campaign to reverse French gains on the peninsula.