The Battle of Marengo was the culmination of Napoleon’s campaign in Italy in May–June 1800. It completely unraveled the string of Second Coalition victories across the peninsula that began the year before. The battle is notable for Napoleon’s initial underestimation of his enemy. Only timely reinforcements and Austrian hubris won him the day. Napoleon recounted the words of Gen. Louis Desaix at Marengo, that “the battle is completely lost; but it is only two o’clock and we still have time to win another today.”Marengo became a foundational pillar in the Napoleonic legend, and from the moment victory was achieved, NapoleonThe post The Importance of the Battle of Marengo appeared first on War on the Rocks.