[citation needed] In 1799, Russian and Austrian forces swept across the Po River valley, recapturing lands taken by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796.

However, the Coalition planners proceeded to throw away their advantage by sending Suvorov's Russians to Switzerland, a change of strategy that ended badly.

Leaving 12,000 troops in the fortress of Mantua and 1,600 more in Peschiera del Garda, the demoralized French commander ordered his crippled army to withdraw.

[23] On 15 April 1799, the veteran Russian field marshal Alexander Suvorov formally took command of the combined Austro-Russian army in Italy.

[30] A day after defeating MacDonald along the Trebbia River, the Allies captured the 17th Light Demi Brigade, 1,099 men, six guns and three colors.

At first a division was allowed to follow the French,[31] but this was soon reduced to an Austrian advanced guard under Johann von Klenau which went on to clear the Grand Duchy of Tuscany of enemy forces.

On 20 June, Moreau and 14,000 French troops left the security of the mountains to defeat Count Heinrich von Bellegarde and 11,000 Austrians in the Second Battle of Marengo.

[33] By 27 June, Suvorov moved his main army west to cover the sieges of Alessandria and Tortona while Kray was still reducing Mantua.

[32] Suvorov and his Austrian chief of staff Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles planned to evict the weakened and battered French forces from Genoa and the Italian Riviera.

In fact the emperor and Thugut were suspicious of Russian designs on Genoa and Tuscany, areas which they considered to be in Austria's sphere of influence.

The Coup of 30 Prairial VII occurred on 18 June which pushed Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès and Paul Barras into leading roles and elevated Jean Baptiste Bernadotte to the post of Minister of War.

[35] In the meantime, Chasteler was seriously wounded by a canister shot on 17 July during the siege of Alessandria[37] and replaced by another Austrian, Anton von Zach.

This French column pushed some of Bellegarde's troops out of Terzo then swung east through Acqui Terme, Rivalta Bormida and Capriata d'Orba.

Saint-Cyr arrived alone at Novi Ligure on 13 August, but Suvorov declined to attack, hoping to lure the French into the plains where his superior cavalry and artillery might prove decisive.

Meanwhile, the division of François Watrin moved down from the hills in the direction of Tortona, giving every indication that the French offensive was still in full swing.

Farther north, Johann Baptist Alcaini's 5,260-strong force besieged Tortona, covered by Andrei Grigorevich Rosenberg's 8,270 Russians.

François Guérin d'Etoquigny's [fr] cavalry reserve numbered 425 sabers in five squadrons of the 16th and 19th Dragoons and 19th Chasseurs à Cheval.

At last, Ott's columns were overthrown by the 26th Light and 105th Line and Kray's entire wing fell back to the bottom of the heights to reform.

Encouraged by his success, Partouneaux unwisely charged down into the plain where his troops were scattered by four squadrons of the Archduke Joseph Hussars and Kaiser Dragoons.

Instead of a full-fledged frontal attack on the right of the Novi position, he carefully reconnoitered the ground and also decided to head out east of this strong position—on the distant right flank.

The Austrian sent Nobili's two battalions and two squadrons south along the east bank of the Scrivia River toward the Serravalle Castle to prevent any French threat from that direction.

Loudon and Mittrowsky headed that way due to pressure from the Austro-Russian commander in chief, who directed them to be moved from the east bank, thus only Nobili's brigade remained there, going to Serravalle.

[18] Christopher Duffy stated that one Austrian account admitted a sum of 799 killed, 3,670 wounded and 1,259 missing, though this adds up to less than the 5,754 reported total.

[10] According to Aleksandr Bogolyubov [ru], Coalition losses amounted to 8,000 men, and French casualties, including those soldiers who fled after the battle, totaled 16,000 and all the wagons.

[57] According to another version, — Orlov's, — together with the dispersed, the losses amounted to only 15,100, but it is based on the assumptions of some, as stated by the author; by the same estimate 6,500 were killed or wounded and 4,600 captured (11,100 totally).

[12] According to Ivan Rostunov [ru], general irretrievable and sanitary losses of the French reached 20,000 soldiers and officers (also including the retreat that followed; i.e. those who deserted, stragglers, died under various circumstances, taken prisoner, battle-wounded and sick who were hospitalized, etc.).

The right wing, however, was in a difficult spot because it was unable to withdraw through Gavi and Nobili's command blocked its escape route via Arquata Scrivia.

The Russian commander in chief still planned to evict the French from Genoa and the Italian Riviera, but orders soon arrived sending troops elsewhere.

A new strategy put forward by the British and approved by Czar Paul and the Austrians directed Suvorov to take command of a new Russian army assembling in Switzerland.

When Korsakov arrived in Switzerland, Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen immediately moved north into Germany with the main Austrian army.