Uniform of Division General worn by Napoleon at the Battle of Marengo, 1800
© Paris - Museé de l'Armee / P Segielte Following his stay at Naples, Nelson returned overland to England with the Hamiltons. Meanwhile, Napoleon was planning a major confrontation with the Austrians in Italy. He marched his troops across the St Bernard Pass, forcing the Austrians to turn northwards to fight.

Napoleon misjudged the Austrian army's intentions. He divided his troops and sent several forward units to provoke a confrontation.

He wanted to attack first, before the Austrians could unite their scattered forces. But on 14 June 1800, the French were attacked by surprise on the plain of Marengo in the Piedmont. They were heavily outnumbered but, thanks to the timely intervention of Generals Desaix and Kellermann, Napoleon snatched a victory.

This success reinforced Napoleon's position after his coup d'état of November 1799 and strengthened his control over foreign policy. With peace negotiations with Austria successfully concluded in February 1801, Britain became Napoleon's sole opponent.

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