Battle of Chiusella River

The Battle of Chiusella River or Battle of Romano (26 May 1800) saw the vanguard of a French Republican army led by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte attack a Habsburg Austrian division led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant (FML) Karl Joseph Hadik von Futak. The action occurred in the Marengo campaign during the War of the Second Coalition. In May 1800, Bonaparte's Reserve Army crossed the Great St Bernard Pass into the Aosta Valley in northwestern Italy. Though its advance was delayed by Fort Bard, the Reserve Army's vanguard under General of Division (GD) Jean Lannes moved past the fort and captured Ivrea. Hadik attempted to block the French at the Chiusella River north of Romano Canavese. After a hard-fought action, the Austrians withdrew toward Turin. Hadik's battle report finally helped convince the Austrian army commander General der Kavallerie Michael von Melas that the main French threat was coming from the Aosta Valley.