Battle of Genola

The Battle of Genola or Battle of Fossano (4 November 1799) was a meeting engagement between a Habsburg Austrian army commanded by Michael von Melas and a Republican French army under Jean Étienne Championnet. Melas directed his troops with more skill and his army drove the French off the field, inflicting heavy losses. The War of the Second Coalition action represented the last major French effort in Italy during 1799. The municipality of Genola is located in the region of Piedmont in northwest Italy a distance of 27 kilometres (17 mi) north of Cuneo and 58 kilometres (36 mi) south of Turin.

Championnet became the army commander after Barthélemy Catherine Joubert's death in the French defeat at Novi in August. His aim was to keep the fortress of Cuneo under French control. In November, both Championnet and Melas advanced and their armies collided at Genola. The French were forced to retreat into the Alps, leaving Cuneo to be besieged and captured on 3 December 1799. The badly-fed and clothed French army was ravaged by a typhus epidemic during the winter; the disease claimed the life of Championnet and many others.