The battle saw two Habsburg Austrian columns under the overall direction of Johann Peter Beaulieu attack a reinforced French brigade under Jean-Baptiste Cervoni.

After a skirmish lasting several hours, the Austrians forced Cervoni to withdraw west along the coast to Savona.

Bonaparte immediately began planning an offensive, but Beaulieu struck first by launching an attack against Cervoni's somewhat overextended force.

In addition, Beaulieu shared a personal friendship with Feldmarschall-Leutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi an Austrian subject who led the allied Sardinian army.

Of this total, Colli's army included 4,000 Austrians[4] under Feldmarschall-Leutnant Giovanni Marchese di Provera in the Auxiliary Corps.

[4] In March 1796, the representative-on-mission with the Army of Italy, Antoine Christophe Saliceti tried without success to secure a loan from the neutral Republic of Genoa.

The French army commander General of Division Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer acceded to Saliceti's request and ordered 6,000 men to prepare for the movement.

Strategically the idea was risky because it extended the French position an additional 28 miles (45 km) eastward along the Italian Riviera.

[11] Three days later, Austrian General-major Philipp Pittoni von Dannenfeld reported to Beaulieu that the French had occupied Voltri.

To put a stop to this threat, he ordered Pittoni on 31 March to invade the Republic of Genoa and cross the Bocchetta Pass.

Beaulieu, who accompanied the move, noted that the weather was bitterly cold and that Pittoni was sick, though the general persevered in his duty.

[13] Pittoni was in possession of the Bocchetta Pass on 8 April, but reported to Beaulieu that it would take six hours of marching over bad roads to contact Colonel Josef Philipp Vukassovich's command near Masone.

One of Argenteau's brigadiers, General-major Mathias Rukavina von Boynograd reported from his position at Sassello that it would take eight hours of hard marching to reach Dego to his west.

[14] On the morning of 10 April, Pittoni's column consisted of four squadrons of the Mészáros Uhlans,[15] two battalions of the Reisky Infantry Regiment Nr.

[20] Cervoni disposed his troops from Pegli to Bric Ghigermasso, a height that dominated the road from Turchino Pass.

The force moved down to the coast, turned west to cross the Polcevera stream, and entered the village of Sestri di Polente.

On the other flank, Sebottendorf's column cleared a French outpost from Masone village about 2:00 PM and began crossing the Turchino Pass.

Leading the column, Vukassovich directed three companies of Grenzers to bear left and attack the hamlet of Acquasanta, while three more advanced on their right.

[21] Led by four companies of Grenzers under Beaulieu's son-in-law Captain Gustave Maelcamp and the 250 volunteers, Pittoni's column began pressing the 75th Line near Pegli at 3:00 PM.

In the sector facing the Turchino Pass, the French defenders fell back to a fortification at Mele around 5:00 PM.