User:Quarkonium

Napoleon Bonaparte's first Italian Campaign was his first experience at theater command. In it, the French Army of Italy was pitted against the combined forces of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Empire. However, Bonaparte's defeat of Colli's Sardinian field forces during the first phase of the campaign left only the Austrians to oppose him thereafter.

During the first phase of the campaign, the outnumbered Bonaparte-37,000 against the combined Austro-Sardinian force of 47,000 in overall command by Beaulieu- managed to isolate Colli's forces from his Austrian allies. Colli was then defeated in turn with locally superior numbers. Following the defeat of Colli's army on the April 20 1796 at Mondovì, the Franco-Sardinian Armistice of Cherasco was signed on the 28th, signalling the end of French hostilities against the Sardinians.

The French then turned in pursuit of Beaulieu's forces, culminating in the Battle of Lodi. With the French victorious, Beaulieu's forces were driven into the fortress of Mantua, which was then besieged by the French. The subsequent phase of the campaign saw Bonaparte thwarting multiple Austrian attempts at Mantua's relief, in which a total of 4 Austrian armies were sent till Mantua's capitulation.

The Campaign was notable for Bonaparte's use of quick marches to gain a local superiority against a numerically superior but divided enemy. Often appearing before his enemies could achieve a reasonable concentration of force, he was then allowed him to defeat each part of the enemy's contingents in turn.