by T E Crowdy
Boudet led his division in the direction of Marengo, heading diagonally across the open plain, following the line of the old road, with the divisions of Watrin and Chambarlhac to their rear and right. They drove back Kaim’s troops ahead of them. Captain Rauch was witness to the flight of the Austrian army in the centre:
‘Our cannon were withdrawn and the artillery falling back at the gallop immediately gave the signal for a general flight. Only he who was an eyewitness to the panicked shock at this hour of the engagement can have any idea of the terrible confusion, which resulted from the disordered retreat. The officer put his life and honour at risk, but he was no longer heard; his orders were no longer followed; he shouted hoarsely: “Halt, halt”, but in vain. Everyone shouted “Halt” after him and fled. Some threw their guns away and ran where they could, others fired their muskets randomly into the air, or not infrequently, at their brave comrades, who were still faced forward and better behaviour could no longer be expected from the men, who were seized with panic, from the moment it set in. At such a moment, the enemy musketry often doubled its murderous effect; most of the prisoners taken and the guns lost were at that stage.’3
During this pursuit of the Austrian centre, Valhubert states that the 28th Line maintained its square and supported the right of Boudet’s division. The 40th Line were also reported to be in this area, as were the 24th Light Infantry, who followed directly behind Monnier’s men. This report of Monnier perhaps also clears up the mystery of the whereabouts of the French Foot Guards. Speaking of the troops who had fought at Castelceriolo earlier, Monnier writes: ‘The attack having recommenced, they attacked, assembled with the Guard of the Consuls, led by Adjutant-General Léopold Stabenrath.’
Léopold Stabenrath was an officer on Berthier’s staff. We encountered him briefly before, with Maurice Dupin at the time of the French retreat. What was this staff officer doing at the head of the Consular Guard? In 1803, the Count de Castres attempted to prepare an account of the battle. He interviewed officers from Carra-Saint-Cyr’s brigade as part of this work and (according to de Cugnac, Campagne de l’Armée de Réserve en 1800, Vol. 2, p.458) they claimed the following:
‘They said they had executed this [retreat] through vineyards, which had protected them against the Austrian cavalry; that it was five-quarters of an hour, or an hour and a half, after they had left the village, and that they were marching in isolation and without any knowledge of the rest of the French army, when an aide-de-camp met them and told them that they should carry themselves forward, and that he had been sent to give orders to all the troops he would meet to resume the offensive.’
It appears likely that Stabenrath was the ADC identified by Carra-Saint-Cyr; in which case, if Monnier’s troops were found in the vines, it is entirely plausible Stabenrath first found the Foot Guard in the same area.4
Having retreated from Castelceriolo, Carra-Saint-Cyr headed straight back to the place when told to advance. It appears the Foot Guards went with him. At the same time, Rivaud’s light cavalry brigade at last decided to advance boldly onto the battlefield, coming down from the Sale road also heading for Castelceriolo. Admittedly uncoordinated, these two pincers moving towards Castelceriolo overtook Ott’s column, which had continued its march eastwards and was not far off being level with San Giuliano. Ott’s column, not yet seriously engaged, was now in danger of being cut off.
When the firing had begun at San Giuliano, Ott ordered his troops to halt while the new situation was assessed. FML Vogelsang was in favour of falling on the French right flank, just as they had done at noon when the French held Marengo. They were still strong, and Vogelsang was all the more emboldened because he had collected various detachments of cavalry during the advance. This time Ott was more hesitant. He looked instead for advice from his principal staff officer, Colonel de Best.
Crossard saw de Best and Stutterheim together. His account describes the conversation he had with de Best.
‘Colonel, the enemy has arrived in the centre.’
‘I know.’
‘Should we not, with the greater part of our left, fall on their flank?’
‘But do you know what has happened on the right?’
‘No.’
‘Well, we must retire.’
Stutterheim gives a different rendition of what occurred, albeit the result was the same. He states de Best rode towards the San Giuliano road to observe what was taking place there. This must have taken some time. On his return he urged caution, telling Ott the coming darkness would not allow them to see the enemy’s strength. Stutterheim then states that ‘a voice’ rang out and assured Ott his men ‘would certainly not make any difference alone, that moreover everything was lost, so it would be best, if we gave up waging war and that those who were responsible for all our misfortunes should be hung’.5 Ott ordered a retreat back to Castelceriolo.
Stutterheim does not identify the man behind the voice, but it was almost certainly de Best. Here we reach the climax in the conflict between Zach and his deputy, and indeed, the operational leadership of the imperial army in Italy. It is uncertain if Ott’s intervention in the battle would have changed the results, but we see in this conversation the principal cause of the Austrian defeat. The French army was fully united behind Bonaparte. Witness the way the French rallied to support Desaix’s attack. Now witness the advice given to Ott by the deputy chief of staff. Zach and his sponsor, Thugut, were the architects of this disaster and upon them would fall the blame. These were the men de Best thought should be hanged.
Unfortunately for Ott, he did not enjoy an easy journey back to Alessandria. Lannes advanced against Ott’s column, supported by Chambarlhac’s division and, it appears, the surviving Foot Guards. Schellenberg’s infantry did not wait idly for this attack, but launched one of their own against the oncoming French. As two sets of bayonets stabbed and parried, the outcome of the affair was by no means guaranteed to favour the French. The 96th Line in particular came under heavy attack and became entangled in a fierce mêlée. Quartermaster-Corporal Leroy was carrying the battalion flag, when he found himself surrounded by Austrians eager to dispossess him of this prize. It was only after the intervention of a handful of Leroy’s comrades that the battalion’s honour was saved, although only after Leroy had been savagely wounded. In another incident, Grenadier Bisson watched as his captain was dragged away captive. He threw off his haversack so as not to be encumbered and called for two of his comrades to help him rescue the officer. The three men flew after the Austrians and succeeded in releasing the grateful captain again. Coignet was also in the thick of it. A Hungarian infantryman had thrust at him with his bayonet, and although Coignet parried it, the bayonet still nicked him on the eyelid. Blood poured into Coignet’s eye, half-blinding him, but still he managed to make a thrust of his own, killing his assailant. All around individual fights began to go the way of the French, and the Austrians, disordered by their charge, began to fall back. Corporal Daumas of the 6th Light walked boldly to within four paces of one group of Austrians, and calmly shot their senior officer dead. Rather than exact their revenge, the Austrians ran away in disorder, unsure what to do in the chaos.
As Rivaud approached Castelceriolo, he encountered the debris of Pilatti’s cavalry brigade and the Lobkowitz Dragoons. This force of cavalry was attempting to maintain Ott’s line of retreat, because by now it was clear the French counterattack had driven in the Austrian centre and appeared headed for Marengo. Rivaud formed his brigade into a column of platoons, 12th Hussars at the front, 21st Chasseurs in the rear, and pursued the Austrian cavalry. Unfortunately for the latter, when they arrived at Castelceriolo, they found Carra-Saint-Cyr had reoccupied the place at 8.00 pm. Some Austrian infantry formed square to protect themselves from Rivaud’s troopers, but Corporal Coliboeuf shot an officer with a pistol as he rode by.6
Finding Castelceriolo blockaded, Vogelsang led his troops to attack. Within a moment, the general was wounded and had to be carried off to safety – another Au
strian general fallen victim to the battle. Ott’s troops had to bludgeon their way through the village, being fired on by French troops all the way. Crossard took over a company of the Bach Light Infantry in the vineyards outside the village. For a moment he was able to direct fire into the French right flank and halt their advance, but he was unsupported. The other Austrian troops simply used this moment to make good their escape. Crossard says it was as if the army was gripped ‘by enchantment’. He saw the cavalry escaping, and among them Prince Max de Latour Taxis, the commander of the Lobkowitz Dragoons. Crossard looked imploringly at the prince, but admitted he did not have sufficient rank to order him to stand and fight, and his own horse was by now extremely fatigued. With Melas absent, Zach captured and so many generals wounded, the Austrian army was leaderless at the moment it needed leadership the most. Worse still, the headlong flight had to pass over the Fontanone ditch at Marengo, and then cross the Bormida in order to reach safety. ‘What finer ground could offer itself to the victor to complete the defeat,’ Crossard wrote. ‘Where could the ruin of this army be better consumed than in the passage of a river?’7
The final act of the battle has a certain savage, poetic justice to it. Throughout the campaign, Zach’s plan had been to lure the Army of the Reserve out onto the open plain, where he could destroy it with superior forces of artillery and cavalry. The Austrian artillery had played its part in the battle, and the fields were littered with dead and maimed Frenchmen as a testament to its skilful employment. However, when the French retreated, the Austrian cavalry did not have its great moment. We have seen the reasons for this as the battle unfolded. So it is with some sense of irony that it was left to the numerically weaker French cavalry to deliver the knockout blow. While Kellermann’s charge was a severe blow to the Austrians, helping turn the tide of the battle, it was a French cavalry charge which ended the battle and administered to the Austrians the terminal coup de grâce.
Before describing this charge, we must return to the main road and review events since the capture of Zach. From studying casualty returns, it appears the Paar battalion of Lattermann’s brigade was able to disengage from Desaix’s attack, and make off in the direction of Spinetta in reasonably good order. This battalion of grenadiers perhaps acted as a rallying point for the Austrian fugitives escaping Desaix’s attack. On the right, IR 47 had reached Cascina Grossa, but had then fallen back when the results of the French counter-attack became clear.8 This regiment headed towards Spinetta, where Weidenfeld’s grenadier brigade had taken up position, deployed across the road. On the opposing side, it took some time for the 9th Light Infantry to regroup after securing prisoners and passing these to the cavalry to escort to the rear. The half-brigade advanced along the main road, supported by an assortment of troops from Victor’s command, who had rallied at San Giuliano. These advanced westwards and encountered Weidenfeld in the vineyards behind Spinetta and on the high ground.
Captain von Ostoich was the interim commander of the right-hand grenadier battalion. When he saw the French advancing towards him, he seized the battalion flag and advanced with it towards the enemy. Grenadier Heinrich Eichelmann ran over to Ostoich and offered to take his place, promising not to abandon the standard and to advance as far forward as ordered. To loud cheers, Eichelmann began advancing towards Victor’s soldiers; Ostoich ordered the battalion to advance in support. It was a brave but foolhardy gesture. The French directed their fire on Eichelmann, who fell wounded, with eight shots also hitting the flag. Another soldier, Franz Graf, ran out of the line and recovered the flag before the French could reach it, and Eichelmann was rescued.9 The fighting now became more intense as Weidenfeld’s whole brigade opened up with volleys of musketry. However, without orders, Weidenfeld began to fall back in the direction of Marengo lest he be cut off from his own line of retreat. Behind Weidenfeld, a body of Austrian cavalry began to form. This included the detachment of the Archduke Johann’s Light Dragoons, who had been sent to scout the Novi road, and also some of O’Reilly’s troopers. This force of horsemen rode round Weidenfeld’s left flank into the centre opposite Marengo.
While Victor was engaged with Weidenfeld, Murat advanced with the cavalry of the Consular Guard. Kellermann rode up to support Murat with his heavies and the remains of Champeaux’s dragoons. As they advanced across the plain, Kellermann ordered the 8th Dragoons to send some men forward to act as mounted skirmishers and screen their advance. Night was beginning to draw in. At Marengo there was terrible confusion as the debris of the Austrian centre attempted to negotiate the bottleneck of the bridge over the Fontanone. Infantrymen were mixed pell-mell with the artillery and cavalry. Murat saw this and realized now was the moment for the French cavalry to turn retreat into utter rout. Petit describes the scene:
‘Night was coming on; the troops of the enemy in disorder: cavalry, infantry, artillery, were heaped one upon another towards the centre; in the throng, many of their own men were thrown off the bridge into the river. The artillery which they had drawn back at the commencement of our good fortune, for fear that by its being taken it might be turned against themselves, was, in the present circumstance of more injury than use to them, as it intercepted their passage. Murat, seeing the importance of precipitating their retreat, and increasing their confusion, made us advance on a full trot, when we, in a short time, got before a part of their infantry, which had no resource but to be made prisoners, or to be cut to pieces. The Horse Grenadiers, and the Chasseurs of the Guard, kept the right of the road, to the number of 200, four or five hundred men of the 1st, 6th, 8th dragoons, and 20th cavalry, occupied the left: Murat flew from one side to the other. The decisive moment was come: Chief of Brigade Bessières, filled with the same ardour which inspired us all, and, exciting a desire in each corps to distinguish itself, gave orders for the trumpet to sound a charge, that we might fall upon the enemy’s infantry, already out of breath.’
As these 600 horsemen advanced, Bessières perceived an Austrian cavalryman thrown on the floor, holding out his hands, pleading for the French horsemen not to crush him. In a moment of humanity, Bessières called out: ‘My friends, open your ranks; let us spare this unfortunate man.’
Just before the French cavalry charged, they saw the arrival of the Austrian cavalry coming out from behind Weidenfeld’s brigade. Petit continues the account:
‘The Austrian cavalry, resolving to save the infantry, came up to us in column, and their rapid pace obliged us to give loose to the reins. We inclined to the left, by obliquing on them. At the distance of about thirty paces, was a ditch, which again separated us. The crossing it, taking sword in hand, surrounding the two first platoons, all was but a work of five minutes. Stunned by this proceeding, and probably intimidated by the height of the men, whose hairy caps seemed to add to their natural stature, they but ill defended themselves and were therefore cut down or thrown into disorder. We made no prisoners, nor did we take any horses. While all this was doing the dragoons took the same column in the flank, and added to the general carnage.’
According to Eugène Beauharnais, the melee lasted no more than ten minutes.10 Having crossed two ditches, the French cavalry crashed into the Austrians at the moment they were deploying. In the melee, Trumpeter Faniel of the 8th Dragoons was particularly noticeable; in his left hand were his reins and trumpet, on which he sounded the charge relentlessly, while in his right hand was his sword, with which he battled at the same time. He saw his chief of squadron fall from his horse wounded and rode over to protect him, escorting him to the rear. Once the commander was safe, Faniel, sounding his continual charge once more, rode back into the fray, killing two, dismounting another and capturing a new horse.
The Horse Grenadiers and Kellermann’s heavies were among the biggest men in the army, and were mounted on the largest horses. They pushed the lightly mounted Austrian cavalry towards Marengo. Gripped with terror, the Austrian horsemen rode into the throng of fugitives around Marengo and stampeded across them. Men were crushed and drowned in
the ditch, which was already choked with bodies. Those who made their way across it fled towards the Bormida. There the crush began again as men rushed to pass through the bridgehead. By now Melas had been told of the disaster. He returned to the battlefield, but it was too late for him to do anything but issue instructions for men to reform where they had camped the night before. He posted a battalion from the city garrison to help restore order, and directed an officer in the bridgehead to shout down the assembly orders to the retreating men.11 As the queue at the bridgehead built up, some attempted to swim the Bormida, but were swept away in the current. One artillery driver chanced his luck by taking his team through the water, gun still in tow. Improbably, he was successful, and seeing this others followed. The wheels of the wagons and limbers churned the bed of the river into a complete morass, and these hopefuls now found themselves stuck. Twenty guns were lost this way.