He served as Napoleon Bonaparte's main lieutenant in the Italian campaign of the War of the First Coalition, playing a decisive role in the victories of Arcole and Rivoli, and was at the helm of the advance into Austrian territory that compelled them to open peace negotiations.

While those of noble rank acquired their education and promotions as a matter of privilege, Masséna rose from humble origins to such prominence that Napoleon referred to him as "the greatest name of my military empire".

When he was not yet ten years old, his grandmother, anxious to compensate for his lack of education, tried to make him a baker, but Masséna did not appreciate this career any more than he did working in his uncle's soap factory, where he remained until the age of 14.

[9] In 1775, at the age of 17, Masséna definitively gave up sailing and, on the advice of his uncle Marcel, who was already serving in the unit as a non-commissioned officer, enlisted in the Royal Italian Regiment [fr] stationed in Toulon.

He received command of the Fougasse camp, on the Col de Turini, and proceeded to execute an arrest warrant against General Dortoman [fr], whose management of the troops was called into question.

[23] In late March, in accordance with Dumerbion's orders, he launched an offensive in the Genoa sector which took him as far as Garessio on 19 April and then to Colle Ardente, which he captured at the same time as the mille Fourches camp.

[33] Comrades, in front of you are 4,000 young men belonging to the richest families of Vienna; they have come with post-horses as far as Bassano: I recommend them to you.Masséna, then aged 37 and with an already well-established reputation, seemed poised to succeed Schérer in the command of the Army of Italy.

[36] After a meeting with Bonaparte on 10 April, during which the commander-in-chief informed him of his intentions, Masséna fought at the Battle of Montenotte where he launched a successful offensive on the Colle di Cadibona, cutting the Austro-Sardinian formation in two.

At the Battle of Lodi, the bridge separating the two banks was taken at a rapid pace by an infantry column led by Masséna and a handful of generals (Dallemagne, Lannes, Berthier and Cervoni).

[41] Despite the enthusiastic reception of the population, he demanded the payment of a contribution of 20 million gold pounds and allowed his troops to engage in looting, which led a week later to anti-French revolts in Binasco and Pavia.

In this phase of the campaign, marked by numerous attempts by the Austrians to lift the Siege of Mantua, Masséna was constantly on the front line, which earned him the esteem of Bonaparte,[43] who said of him on 14 August: "active, tireless, has audacity, coup d'œil and promptitude in making decisions".

Bonaparte immediately sent his forces to intercept him: the Masséna division defeated the Austrian general Davidovich at the Battle of Rovereto on 4 September, occupied Trento on the 5th and set off after Wurmser, who tried by all possible means to reach Mantua.

On 17 November, however, the clashes resumed and this time turned to the advantage of the Army of Italy: Masséna recaptured Ronco and Arcole which, combined with the pressure from Augereau's troops, forced Alvinczi to retreat.

[53] On 13 January, Masséna, whose troops amounted to around 10,000 men, received the order to reinforce General Joubert, who was facing the bulk of the Austrian army at Rivoli, but only arrived there the following day after marching all night.

Despite defeats at the simultaneous battles of Klöntal and Muottental, the operation conceived by Masséna was a success: the Russian troops, badly battered, only escaped destruction by carrying out an exhausting retreat east into the 9,000-foot high mountains of the Panikh range.

Considering the strength and effectiveness of his foes, his own hazardous position, and the consequences of failure, he meticulously prepared to deliver a series of decisive blows; when they came, he crushed his enemy in detail.

Masséna continued his advance and successively broke through the enemy's defensive lines on the Brenta, the Piave, the Tagliamento and the Isonzo, seeking, in accordance with the Emperor's orders, to prevent the Austrian armies from linking up.

The French invasion of Naples initially unfolded without great difficulty: King Ferdinand IV fled to Sicily and the fortress of Gaeta capitulated in July 1806 after a siege of almost five months.

Masséna harshly supressed the revolts, devastated occupied territories and adopted draconian measures which sometimes resulted in mass executions; the insurgent leader Fra Diavolo was hanged and the town of Lauria was completely ravaged in a massacre [it] committed by French troops.

Meanwhile, the marshal seized the property of the vanquished in southern Italy and even authorized himself to issue import licenses, in total contradiction with the Continental Blockade policy applied against British shipping.

[93] Charged with covering Warsaw and keeping General Essen's Russian corps in place, Masséna's troops did not play a very active part in the 1807 campaign which resulted in the defeat of Russia and Prussia.

During the battles of Landshut and Eckmühl, Masséna's corps, which advanced by forced marches under the energetic leadership of its commander, did not arrive in time to complete the encirclement of the Austrians, who managed to retreat north of Ratisbonne.

[98] After participating in the march on Vienna, Masséna fought the bloody Battle of Ebersberg on 3 May against the Austrian rearguard, where he was criticized by the Emperor for having prematurely ordered a frontal attack on the enemy positions.

Following the mortal wounding of Marshal Lannes and Napoleon's decision to suspend the offensive, Masséna took command of the bridgehead and skillfully organized a retreat to the island of Lobau, in the middle of the Danube.

[111] Masséna, noting the futility of attacking the solid British infantry head-on, organized a manoeuvre which allowed him to outflank the enemy defences and resume his march towards Lisbon, while Wellington managed to retreat with his army intact.

[112] At the head of a smaller army than before and weakened by food shortage, Masséna continued his advance and arrived near Lisbon, but on the way came up against the lines of Torres Vedras which Wellington had erected to protect access to the Portuguese capital.

While the Allied troops were supplied by sea and thus had sufficient resources to sustain a siege, the situation of the French army, stuck in front of the fortifications and in the grip of a logistical crisis, became increasingly precarious.

[109] After having uselessly idled in front of the lines for over a month, Masséna, considering his situation hopeless and having been refused the artillery park requested from Joseph Bonaparte (then King of Spain), decided to abandon the siege on 14 November and retreated to Santarém, where he remained until 6 March 1811 in difficult conditions.

[114] Timidly pursued by Wellington, Masséna decided to resume the offensive in order to relieve blockaded Almeida and engaged the Anglo-Portuguese army at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro on 3 May 1811.

[93] During this confrontation that lasted three days, Masséna succeeded in exploiting a weakness in Wellington's line, but the inaction of General Lepic's cavalry and the attitude of Marshal Bessières, who refused to support him, finally forced him to withdraw.