 At the close of the battle, Bessières led a successful cavalry charge with the Guard Cavalry though its effect on the battle was not as decisive as Napoleon pretended.It was General François Étienne de Kellermann´s cavalry charge that won the battle for Marengo but Napoleon gave the credit largely to his own Guard Cavalry.Promoted to general of division in 1802, he was subsequently promoted to Marshal of France in 1804, a wholly undeserved distinction based on his loyalty and friendship with Napoleon.