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Title: (As in the
Liste Chronologique des Tableaux, 1901, P. 10) Loano (Bataille de) |
| Author: Bagetti
Execution Date: Dimensions: 79cm x 50cm |
Archive: S.H.A.T.
Catalogue Number: B2 Material/Technique: watercolour |
Text on Image: Le 23 novembre, la droite de l'armée française attaque et force la gauche des Autrichiens établis entre Loano et le Mont-Calvo. |
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Description/Comments: The battle of Loano took place not under the direction of Napoleon but under that of General Scherer. The attack occurred on the 23rd of November 1795, very late in the season for an attack, and was therefore not anticipated by the Piedmontese and Austrian allies. The French forces approached from three directions: from Ormea (commanded by General Sérurier) from Zuccarello (commanded by General Massena), and from Borghetto (commanded by General Augereau). The battle effectively separated the Austrian and Piedmontese forces and gave the French under Scherer an opportunity to consolidate that separation and to push their advantage inland. Given the lateness of the season, the fatigue of his troops, the lack of reinforcements and the difficulty of the mountain terrain, Scherer did not follow up on this battle as Napoleon almost certainly would have done. Instead the army remained in the towns and countryside of Piedmont, which was not rich enough to support both the local inhabitants and a poorly supplied foreign army. Certainly Napoleon regarded Scherer’s decision as seriously flawed. Clearly visible in the image are French troops approaching from the east, from the coast and from over the high hills to the North. The town itself is surrounded by French forces. Half way up the hill, behind the town, the enemy forces (which could be Austrians or Piedmontese) are trapped between French forces in the cliffs above them and French forces approaching from the valley. Near the coast, Piedmontese or Austrian soldiers, in a fort in the first line of hills from the coast, are surrounded by French forces. A small fort on a hill just behind this fort is also besieged. A battalion of probably Austrians is just inland from the coastal town, being fired on both by French land and sea forces. Depicted clearly here is the dynamism and high mobility of the French forces relative to the relative immobility of the traditional formations used by the Austrians. |
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