The Battle of Morengo

Back at french headquarters, napoleon was painfully slow to grasp the seriousness of the situation. He could hear the musket volleys and cannon fire with his own ears but remained convinced this was nothing more than a delaying action or a diversion. By noon, bonaparte had already been forced to commit his reserves to extend the fragile french line and prevent it from being outflanked. The line held, but only barely. After only around two hours of battle, victor's officers were already worried about their ammunition supplies. They would not be able to stand this kind of pressure for long.