The Second Battle of Dego was fought on 14 and 15 April 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars between French forces and Austro-Sardinian forces. The battle was fought near Dego, a hamlet in northwestern Italy, and ended in a French victory. Background After successfully defeating the Austrian right wing at the Battle of Montenotte, Napoleon Bonaparte continued with his plan to separate the Austrian army of General Johann Beaulieu from the army of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia led by General Michelangelo Colli. By taking the defences at Dego, the French would control the only road by which the two armies could link with each other. The town's defences comprised both a castle on a bluff and earthworks on rising ground, and were held by a small mixed force, consisting of units of both the Austrian and Piedmont-Sardinian armies. Forces Army of Italy: Napoleon Bonaparte (15,000) Attached to army command: Cavalry Division: Henri Stengel Regiments: 5th Dragoons, 22nd Horse Chasseurs Corps: André Masséna Division: Amédée Laharpe Brigadiers: Jean Pijon, Jean Ménard, Jean Cervoni Demi-brigades: 1st Light, 14th, 21st, 69th, 70th and 99th Line Division: Jean Meynier Brigadiers: Elzéard Dommartin, Barthélemy Joubert (not present) Demi-brigades: 45th, 46th, 84th and 100th Line Austrian Forces Part of Right Wing: Eugène Argenteau (5,700) Austrian Regiments, 1 bn each: Stain IR # 50, Pellegrini IR # 49, Schröder IR # 26, Alvinczi # 19, Terzi IR # 16, Nádasdy IR # 39, Deutschmeister IR # 4 Austrian Regiments: Preiss IR # 24 (3 bns), Archduke Anton IR # 52 (2 bns) Sardinian Regiments: La Marina IR (2 bns), Montferrat IR (1 bn) Brigade: Josef Vukassovich (3,500) Regiments: Carlstadt Grenz IR (2 bns), Alvinczi IR # 19, Nádasdy IR # 39, Preiss IR # 24 (all 1 bn) Key Line = Line Infantry Light = Light Infantry IR = Infantry Regiment bn = infantry battalion Battle On 14 April, André Masséna, leading Amédée Laharpe's division and one brigade of Jean-Baptiste Meynier's division attacked the town. The French overran the defences, losing about 1,500 killed and wounded. The Austrians suffered 3,000 casualties, including a large number of prisoners. Argenteau's survivors fled northeast to the town of Acqui Terme. Bonaparte ordered Meynier to hold Dego, while he took Laharpe's division west to fight Colli's Sardinians. However, the French troops in Dego then gave themselves over to looting, and during the night they were mostly scattered in the nearby houses.