The main Sardinian defenses covered the town of Saorgio, situated on the east bank above the gorge of the Roya River. From Saorgio, a line of fortifications ran west, starting at the Saint-Martha entrenched camp on the west side of the Roya. Going west along the crest, the key points were the Colle Basse, Massif de l'Authion and Col de Raus. The village of Roquebillière marked the western end of the line. In the other direction from Saorgio, the mountain ridge trended to the northeast via the Cima di Marte, Colle Ardente and Monte Saccarello. Dellera and Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi led the two defending brigades. The Austro-Sardinians suffered from command problems. Like De Vins, Colli was an Austrian general lent to Sardinia. Colli and his superior Saint-André did not get along. The situation was made worse by instructions from De Vins for Colli to obey an order from Saint-André only if the Austrian generalissimo concurred. The Sardinian officer corps also disliked De Vins' chief of staff, another Austrian named Eugène-Guillaume Argenteau.