After the Battle of Diego, the Austrian troops withdrew their defenses from fortresses and passes such as Karcali.
Boliue ordered Vukcevic's division, which was in front of Massena, to discard most of its baggage and hurriedly retreat to the important stronghold of Piacenza on the Po River.
By the time the French Army's vanguard reached Piacenza, the Austrians had already taken all the boats to the other side of the river and set up camp along the riverbanks.
There were about ten thousand soldiers of the Austrian forces on the other side of the Po River, far fewer than the French Army.
Moreover, the French Army had just won a major victory and was high in morale, normally they should be able to charge over in one fell swoop.
But the Po River stopped the French Army.
The river, almost perfectly east-west in orientation, cuts the plains south of Milan in half.
