Historical Note
The battle of Dego fought on April 14, 1796 was a one sided affair. The Austrian/Piedmontese forces had a number of prepared positions but their combined force of 4,000 men was heavily outnumbered by the two French Divisions of Meynier and La Harpe that totaled over 10,000 men.
The French simply outflanked them on both flanks while pinning them from the front. Most of the 4,000 men and all 18 guns were captured. Austrian reinforcements arrived too late and were themselves surprised by a French Brigade north of Dego.
Briefings and Orders of Battle
General Comte Eugène-Guillaume-Alexis Mercy d'Argenteau :
Yesterday your commander, Beaulieu ordered you to hold Dego for two or three days. At which
time he would arrive in force to remedy the previous reverses experienced by your command.
In response to this you ordered Vukassovich to Dego if it is threatened. At 11:00am today
(April 14, 1796) you can hear firing coming from Dego. In response you ordered the balance
of your command (as per above) to march to Dego.
Colonel Comte Avogadro di Valdengo :
Yesterday the French probed your positions and fell back to Rocchetta Cairo.
You expect reinforcements from Spigno. At 9:00am today you can hear sporadic firing.
Your guns are in place but what disposition and orders do your battalion commanders have?
A minimum of 75 men (one block) must occupy each village.
NOTE: If firing is heard by Argenteau before/after 11:00am the E.T.A. times will change.
For a detailed Order of Battle click HERE.
Commander Advance Guard Divisions: Général André Masséna :
Yesterday your troops probed the Austrian positions and then fell back to spend the night
at Rocchetta Cairo. You know about the gun emplacements and have estimated there are about
4,000 Austrians in the area. All the villages are occupied. It’s now April 14, 1796,
what specific orders do your commanders have?
For a detailed Order of Battle click HERE.
Dego - April 14, 1796 : After Action Report
Since the French probing attack made yesterday on Dego did not get past the Grillero Stream, Masséna had decided that a direct assault on Dego could be too costly. He also ruled out an attack on the Austrian right flank as the terrain appeared to be too difficult. He also knew where the Austrians had constructed earthworks and placed their guns. Clearly they were protecting their left flank. He ordered a conservative battle plan, but it was a direct attack on the Austrian left flank. His entire force would deploy to the right of Bric S. Lucia. From there he would launch attacks on Costa, Bric del Poggio and Chiaffoni. In the back of his mind he harboured doubts about the size of the enemy force. He expected that before the end of the day he would encounter more then the 4,000 men estimated to be holding the Dego area.
At 6:00am the French departed Rocchetta Cairo. By 8:50am they had marched to their appointed starting positions, deployed and were moving forward. Victor's brigade, supported by Stengel's cavalry was deployed first to the right of Bric S. Lucia. Cervoni was to the right of Victor. Next in the line were La Salcette, then Meynier, and Rondeau was last on the French right flank.
The commander at Dego, Colonel Avogadro could clearly see the large French force approaching the Grillero Stream by 9:00am. He had only arrived in Dego yesterday and this morning his commander who was in pain from a wound had departed for Acqui. Although he did not know the actual lay of the ground or the true disposition of his command he was ready for the challenge that had know been thrust upon him.
Dego was an important position and some defensive works had been completed and manned before the battle. They were deployed as follows;
By 9:20am Avogadro was convinced that the French were not going to attack Dego as their movements were towards Costa and Chiaffoni. Also before departing Rukavina had told him Argenteau was sending reinforcements. They would most likely arrive through the pass between Bric del Groppo and Bric Sella. Aware of these facts Avogadro decided on a bold plan. In the very face of the French movement he would move his small force on the hill east of Dego to the unmanned earthworks below Bric Sella. By the time he got there he hoped to have word about the reinforcements.
The four Austrian guns started moving down the road towards Costa by 9:30am. The infantry and cavalry moved overland in a north-easterly direction to avoid direct contact with the French. The French were stunned to see this but before they could react the guns were safely in Costa. Avogadro knew he was very lucky to have pulled this off and pressed on to Bric Sella with his guns.
The Austrian gunners at Magliani and Bric del Poggio opened fire on the masses of French at about 9:40am. By 10:00am Argenteau who was at Pareto was convinced that Dego was under attack and he ordered his scattered forces to move at once to Dego. This was about an hour earlier then what happened historically. Vukassovich had the only force that was not responding. He thought his orders were for the next day, that being April 15.
Masséna's attack was straight forward. Victor would take Costa, Cervoni would attack Bric del Poggio from the front and Meynier would attack if from the flank, who was also ordered to take Chiaffoni. Stengel would protect the left flank, Rondeau the right flank and La Salcette would remain in reserve.
Victor's troops attacked Costa at 10:10am and received heavy fire from not only the La Marina Regiment that was defending it, but also from the four guns at Magliani. The firepower was too much for the French. Almost the entire brigade broke and fell back.
Cervoni attacked Bric del Poggio with the first two battalions of the 75th Ligne at about 10:20am. Using cold steel they pushed their way to the top and captured four guns. The first battalion of IR#32 (Gyulai) seeing that their musketry failed to stop the French broke and fled the field.
Meynier had deployed his troops at Chiaffoni by 10:30am and sent a rider to ask the Piedmontese to surrender. At first they refused but before the French pressed into the village they raised a white flag.
By 10:40am Victor had rallied his troops and attacked Costa again. Once again the firepower proved to be too much for these faint-hearted Frenchmen. Victor's brigade broke leaving only one battalion standing. This was too much for Masséna, who had seen both attacks fail. He rode over to Victor and relived him of his command. He replaced him with Colonel Lannes. He then quickly rode over to Cervoni and ordered him to take Costa and Magliani.
Cervoni attacked Costa from the east and it fell at 11:00am to the mighty 75th Ligne. At 11:20am Magliani was taken by the 51st Ligne.
It was now 11:30am and although Avogadro still had over half his troops in good order all he could see in front of him was a mass of French troops. Twelve French guns were also unlimbering on Bric del Poggio that would soon bring overwhelming firepower upon his small command. Since he had still not seen or heard anything further about reinforcements he did the only practical thing he could do ... he order a general withdrawal.
Conclusion
It would be tough for the French to lose this battle, so winning it was no surprise. But a true victory for this battle must be measured against the historical outcome. Masséna comes up short, he only captured 150 men and four guns vs the historical one that bagged almost the entire command.
Colonel Avogadro's placement of guns and protective works was beyond his control. His placement of troops allowed him some flexibility and could be challenged, but it worked out very well for him. He responded to every situation as soon as possible and was able to obtain an outcome that far exceeded the historical one. He carefully planned the placement of troops in Costa knowing they could get supporting artillery fire from at least eight guns. He never envisioned he would repulse an entire brigade twice! Shifting his position from Dego was another big gamble but it paid off in spades. It allowed him to save most of his command.
Since the Austrian/Piedmontese outcome was so much better then the historical one, Colonel Avogadro gets the nod as the winner.
