The Second Battle of Dego, fought on 14–15 April 1796, was one of the small but pivotal engagements of Napoleon Bonaparte's first Italian campaign. The French army under Bonaparte and Masséna defeated the Austrian forces under Argenteau and drove a wedge between the Austrian and Piedmontese armies; within two weeks Piedmont sued for peace and the road to Milan was open.
A modest commemorative stone in the fields east of the village marks the site. It is a short walk or drive from the centre and is mostly of interest to those following the Napoleonic campaign trail through this corner of Italy — but the location, on a low hill above the Bormida, makes it easy to read the terrain on which the battle was fought.