Convention of Alessandria
- When
- 1800
- Where
- Alessandria and its vicinity; Alessandria; Alessandria, site of the convention; Strongholds in northern Italy, including Alessandria; Vienna (Austrian government seat, not explicitly named in passages); Castiglione and Lunéville (not among allowed places)
- Episodes
- 6
The Convention of Alessandria, signed on 15 June 1800, was an armistice between the French First Republic under Napoleon and Austria following the Battle of Marengo. Austria agreed to evacuate Italy as far as the Mincio and surrender strongholds in Piedmont and Milan, though the ceasefire proved temporary when Austria refused to accept the terms.
Episodes
- Defeat at Marengo prompts Austrian capitulation
The Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800 near Alessandria preceded the armistice negotiations.
- Signing of the Convention of Alessandria
Austria agreed to evacuate to the left bank of the Bormida with a forty-eight-hour ceasefire, formalized as the Convention of Alessandria.
- Terms: Austrian evacuation of Italy
Austria agreed to evacuate Italy as far as the Mincio, surrender strongholds, and cede territory between the Chiesa, Oglio, and Po rivers.
- Handover of strongholds and dismantling of fortifications
Austrians gave up strongholds listed in the convention, and the French dismantled their fortifications, including Genoa on 24 June.
- Austria repudiates the convention
Thugut and the Austrian government refused the terms; Francis II signed a British subsidy treaty hours before receiving the convention.
- Castiglione extension and resumption of hostilities
The Convention of Castiglione extended the armistice on 29 September, but Lunéville negotiations failed and fighting resumed on 22 November 1800.
Background and detail
Background. French troops returned to Italy in 1799 after an absence that had precipitated the collapse of their Italian client republics. Napoleon Bonaparte, having seized power in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, crossed the Alps with his Army of the Reserve in May 1800, officially commanded by Louis-Alexandre Berthier. This move threatened Austrian General Michael von Melas' lines of communications in northern Italy.
Negotiation and Signing. After the Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 near Alessandria, Melas sent General Johann Ferdinand von Skal and two captains to the French encampment with a flag of surrender at 4:00 am on 15 June. The Austrians agreed to evacuate to the left bank of the Bormida and cease hostilities for forty-eight hours, and the final agreement was formalized and signed as the Convention of Alessandria.
Terms. The Austrians agreed to evacuate Italy as far as the Mincio and abandon their strongholds in Piedmont and Milan, losing all gained in 1798 and 1799. They agreed to give the French Tortona, Alessandria, Milan, Turin, Pizzighetone, Arona, and Piacenza by 20 June. Land between the Chiesa, Oglio, and Po rivers was ceded to France, while the land between the Chiesa and the Mincio became a neutral zone. Austria retained Tuscany and the bulk of its army.
Aftermath. The armistice proved temporary. Johann Amadeus von Thugut and the Austrian government refused to accept the terms and give up Austria's Italian holdings. Hours before receiving the convention on 20 June 1800, Francis II signed a treaty with Britain providing two million pounds sterling for continuing the war. The Convention of Castiglione, signed on 29 September, extended the Alessandria convention, but negotiations at Lunéville were fruitless, and fighting resumed on 22 November 1800.
People involved
- Napoleon Bonaparte · French leader of the First Republic
- Michael von Melas · Austrian commander who sent envoys with a flag of surrender
Sources
- Convention of Alessandria Wikipedia, revision of 2025-10-06
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.