ORDER OF BATTLE // April 10, 1800
Battle of Sassello
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 22,000 estimated
France
2,000
Medium-confidence figure
Austria
20,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The skirmish at Sassello, fought 30 kilometers northwest of Genoa on 10 April 1800, pitted a 2,000-strong French force under Soult against an Austrian corps of roughly 20,000 under Prince Hohenzollern. Despite comparable casualties on each side — approximately 1,000 men — the engagement ended in Austrian favor. Genoa was at the time under French control but already under Austrian siege, and the outcome at Sassello allowed the Austrians to continue and consolidate their encirclement of the city. The action illustrates the broader French difficulty in maintaining positions on the Ligurian coast during the opening phase of the 1800 campaign, and it set conditions for the tightening of the siege that would follow.
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