Massena and the Italian Army in the Alps

Massena and his men mar east along the coast, easily dispersing the small piedmontese garrisons in the area. By the seventeenth of april, they were dangerously close to the rear of the coalition line. The austrian commander pulled troop s from the main defensive line to reinforce the eastern flank against massena but cautiously only a few thousand men. On may eighth, the republicans took the col de tonde, the last remaining mountain pass between france and italy.