Battle of Bassignana (1799)

The Battle of Bassignana (12 May 1799) saw an Imperial Russian army led by Andrei Grigorevich Rosenberg attempt to establish a bridgehead on the south bank of the Po River in the presence of a Republican French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau. The French rapidly massed superior strength and forced the Russians to abandon their foothold with serious losses. The War of the Second Coalition action occurred near the town of Bassignana, located in the angle between the Po and Tanaro Rivers, about 19 km northeast of Alessandria, Italy.

The Austrian victory over the French at Magnano and Alexander Suvorov's Austro-Russian triumph over Moreau at Cassano allowed the capture of Milan and other northern Italian cities. Suvorov ordered his lieutenant Rosenberg to join him on the south bank of the Po below its confluence with the Tanaro. Probably overruled by the Tsar's son Grand Duke Constantine, Rosenberg unwisely crossed above the confluence with the Tanaro. Two of Moreau's divisions under Paul Grenier and Claude Victor-Perrin soon counterattacked and defeated the Russians. The Bassignana action was only a minor setback for the Allies. After another clash with the French, Suvorov's army marched up the north bank of the Po to seize Turin.