MELAS ON SALE £5.95

We have very few of these left. You can buy also unpainted on a normal base but theres nmo difference in price

Melas entered an infantry regiment in 1746. He took part as aide-de-camp to field marshal Leopold Joseph von Daun in the seven years ' war, he rose to the rank of Colonel in 1781 and major General in 1789. In 1793 he commanded a brigade on the Sambre. He served as Lieutenant field marshal in 1794 on the lower Rhine and in 1795 the Middle Rhine, where, after the withdrawal of Beaulieu, was for a long time Supreme Commander.

At the end of 1798 was intended to head of the headquarters of Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau, Commander of the army of Italy, in preparation for the campaign that you announced for the coming year. The sudden death of the Prince, the 6 January 1799 in Padua, for an infection, forced Archduke Charles, Commander in Chief of the imperial armies, to pass the command at Melas.



These debuted well, beating, together with the Russian General Suvorov, the French  of Macdonald on the Trebbia and those of Joubert (who died in battle) in Novi Ligure.



After Suvorov was dismissed in Switzerland to tackle  Massena, Melas, in command of 40,000 troops  beat on the 4th of November  at Genola General  Championnet and took possession of Cuneo.



In 1800 he was preparing the invasion in Provence, when General Bonaparte, returned from the Egypt campaign, he arrived at his back while crossing the Western Alps and interrupted his lines of communication. Melas tried to react by confronting the enemy at the battle of Marengo and missed by little that he nearly succeeded: , the sudden arrival of French troops of General Desaix (who died in battle) overthrew the fortunes of the clash and Melas was defeated.



Totally discouraged, he signed the Convention of Alexandria, which made him  retreat to the East of the river Mincio. Was transferred to commanding general of Bohemia, until, in 1803, he retired to private life. He died three years later.