.jpg) Signing of the Convention of Alexandria (byMichel Martin Drolling) | |
| Context | after thedefeat of theArchduchy of Austria by theFrench First Republic in theWar of the Second Coalition |
|---|---|
| Signed | 15 June 1800 (1800-06-15) |
| Location | Alessandria |
| Parties |  French First Republic Austria |
| Full text | |
 Convention of Alessandria atWikisource | |
TheConvention of Alessandria (also known as theArmistice of Marengo) was anarmistice signed on 15 June 1800 between theFrench First Republic led byNapoleon andAustria during theWar of the Second Coalition. Following the Austrian defeat at theBattle of Marengo, they agreed to evacuate Italy as far as theMincio and abandon strongholds inPiedmont andMilan. Great Britain and Austria were allies and hoped to negotiate a peace treaty with France, but Napoleon insisted on separate treaties with each nation. The negotiations failed, and fighting resumed on 22 November 1800.
The War of the Second Coalition was the second war againstrevolutionaryFrance by various European monarchies. The Second Coalition was led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and included the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Naples, various German monarchies and several other minor European states. Its aim was to contain the expansion of the French Republic and to restore the monarchy in France.[1][2][3][4]
French troops returned to Italy in 1799, following a brief period of absence which had precipitated the collapse of theirItalian client republics.[5]Napoleon Bonaparte, who had seized power in theCoup of 18 Brumaire,[6] carried out a crossing of the Alps with his Army of the Reserve (officially commanded byLouis-Alexandre Berthier) in May 1800.[7][8] This move, made almost before the passes were open, threatened Austrian GeneralMichael von Melas' lines of communications in northern Italy. The French army then seizedMilan on 2 June, followed byPavia,Piacenza andStradella, cutting the main Austrian supply route eastward along the south bank of thePo river. Bonaparte hoped that Melas' preoccupation with theSiege of Genoa, held by French GeneralAndré Masséna, would prevent the Austrians from responding to his offensive. However, Masséna surrendered the town on 4 June, freeing a large number of Austrians for operations against the French.[9]
On 9 June French GeneralJean Lannes beat AustrianFeldmarschallleutnantPeter Ott in theBattle of Montebello. Bonaparte subsequently convinced himself that Melas would not attack and, further, that the Austrians were about to retreat. As other French forces closed from the west and south, the Austrian commander had withdrawn most of his troops from their positions nearNice andGenoa toAlessandria on the mainTurin-Mantua road.[9] TheBattle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between Bonaparte and Melas near Alessandria. Towards the end of the day, the French overcame the Austrian surprise attack.[10]
At 4:00 am on 15 June 1800, von Melas sent General Johann Ferdinand von Skal and two captains to the French encampment with aflag of surrender. Napoleon, who had expected the Austrians to continue fighting, quickly accepted the surrender.[11][12] A cease-fire was signed a few hours later. In the agreement, the Austrians agreed to evacuate to the left bank of theBormida, and that hostilities would cease for forty-eight hours. The Austrians initially hoped to give up onlyPiedmont and Genoa, but Napoleon demanded they retreat to behind thePo andMincio. The final agreement was formalized and signed as the Convention of Alessandria.[13][14]
On 15 June, the convention was signed. It caused the fighting to end,[15] and the Austrians agreed to evacuate Italy as far as the Mincio and abandon all of their strongholds in the Piedmont and Milan,[16] losing all that they had gained in 1798 and 1799.[17] The Austrians agreed to give the FrenchTortona, Alessandria, Milan, Turin,Pizzighetone,Arona, and Piacenza by 20 June. They agreed to surrender by 24 June the fortress ofConi, the castles of Seva andSavona, and the city of Genoa; and the city ofUrbino by 26 June. The land between theChiesa, theOglio, and the Po rivers was ceded to the French, and that between the Chiesa and the Mincio was designated a neutral zone, not to "be occupied by either of the two armies."[15] The Austrians retained control ofTuscany,[18] and the bulk of their army, with the French letting their soldiers retreat.[19]
On 17 June, Napoleon left for Paris after the signing of the convention.[20] He stopped in Milan that same day,[21] and was greeted as a hero, with large crowds celebrating his arrival. TheCisalpine Republic was again established as aFrench client republic, and a temporary government was put in place until the signing of a peace treaty with Austria. Many strongholds listed in the convention were given up by the Austrians and their fortifications dismantled by the French, including Genoa on 24 June. Napoleon left Milan the same day, and stopped briefly in Turin andLyon before arriving in Paris on 2 July.[22][23] The victory consolidated Napoleon's political position inParis asFirst Consul.[10] French historianFrançois Furet noted that the battle served as "the true coronation of [Napoleon's] power and his regime".[24]
General Officer Count Joseph Saint-Julien was sent to deliver the convention toFrancis II,[a][26] and it was soon ratified by the Court of Vienna.[27][13] It proved to be only a temporary cease-fire, asJohann Amadeus von Thugut (and the Austrian government) refused to accept the terms and give up any of Austria's Italian holdings.[28][27] Francis II, several hours before receiving the convention on 20 June 1800, had signed a treaty with Britain, in which Britain agreed to give Austria two millionpounds sterling in exchange for Austria continuing the war with France. The treaty also prohibited negotiations between Austria and France without the involvement of Britain before 1 February 1801.[29][30]
Austria soon dispatched Saint-Julien to travel to Paris, carrying news of the treaty's ratification, and to further consider the terms of it.[b][29][30] He arrived on 21 July and began negotiations.[23] On 22 July he attended a meeting of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs at which Saint-Julien was persuaded to assume the position of anaccredited diplomat and sign several preliminary articles on 28 July.[32] Saint-Julien andGéraud Duroc were dispatched to deliver the news to Vienna. On 4 August, they arrived at Alt Oettiugen, the headquarters ofPaul Kray.[33] The negotiations were disavowed by Austria due to their treaty with Britain. Duroc was turned away and Saint-Julien was arrested for negotiating without instructions. On 29 September, the Convention ofCastiglione was signed, extending the Convention of Alessandria;[29][30] but further negotiations atLunéville were fruitless, as Napoleon demanded separate peace treaties with England and Austria.[34] On 22 November 1800 hostilities resumed.[28]
British general and military historianJohn Mitchell argued in 1846 that the French would have accepted many fewer concessions and wrote that "nothing equal to this ill-fated convention had ever been known in military history."[14] The treaty was described by British historianThomas Henry Dyer in 1877 as "one of the most disgraceful capitulations in history."[35] HistorianDavid Bell concluded in 2014 that a bulk of the Austrian army had survived the Battle of Marengo, and Melas was still in a position that he could have continued fighting. Prussian historianDietrich Heinrich von Bülow, "the keenest contemporary observer of the 1800 campaign,"[36] said of the convention: "Bonaparte did not seize success; Melas threw it away."[12] According to historian David Hollins, the victory allowed Napoleon to "secure his political power for the next 14 years."[21]
Media related toConvention of Alessandria at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by Battle of Marengo | French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns Convention of Alessandria | Succeeded by Battle of Hohenlinden |
