Marengo, Battle of, battle fought on June 14, 1800 during the War of the Second Coalition (see French Revolutionary Wars). Marengo was the narrowest victory to be won by Napoleon Bonaparte. When he came to power, the young general inherited a difficult situation in Italy. The French presence there was confined to 18,000 troops under André Masséna, holding Genoa. Facing this force, meanwhile, were over twice as many Austrians under the 71-year-old Michael Melas. On April 20 the Austrians besieged Genoa, but Napoleon saw that if Masséna could stand firm, he could surround Melas. Massing a large force in secret around Dijon, he took the Austrians by surprise by striking across the Alps.

By now Genoa had fallen—the French forces there had surrendered on June 4—but Napoleon could still have trapped Melas. Surprisingly, however, Napoleon did not advance but instead split his army into a cordon designed to block every possible line of escape. The result was predictable: a very capable commander, Melas led 31,000 men to attack the 22,000 troops that Napoleon had kept under his own command at Marengo. In artillery, meanwhile, the Austrians had 100 cannons, and the French 23. Not surprisingly, Napoleon was unable to hold his own. Helped by the strong terrain, the French fought bravely, but by early afternoon they were low on ammunition and in danger of being outflanked. Very soon, the whole force was in full retreat: Napoleon had, in fact, been beaten.

At the last minute, however, help arrived in the shape of General Desaix. Having heard the sound of the guns, Desaix had rushed to the field and now fell on the Austrians. Taken by surprise, the latter were badly beaten and fell back in rout, having lost some 9,400 men to 6,000 French. Conveniently for Napoleon, Desaix was killed in the stuggle, and the affair was therefore dressed up as a clever trap. Thus disguised, Marengo brought the French ruler great advantages at home, ending, as it did, all chance that his régime might be overthrown by a rival general, and it is therefore no coincidence that Napoleon both named his favourite horse “Marengo” and always relished a highly flavoured chicken stew that he ate on the night of the battle.