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The Road to Rivoli

Napoleon's First Campaign

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In the spring of 1796 the 26-year-old Napoleon took command of the Army of Italy - a collection of some 45,000 ill-fed, poorly-clothed and disillusioned men. He had only ever participated in one campaign and had never been involved in a major battle, much less conducted one as the commander of an army. And yet within just two months he and his scarecrow army had knocked the Piedmontese out of the war, driven the Austrians half way across Italy and laid siege to the fortress of Mantua, the capture of which was essential for the control of northern Italy. Over the course of the next ten months Napoleon led his men to victory after victory, making them virtual masters of Northern Italy, and marching them to within 95 miles of Vienna. It was a campaign of such audacity, skill and ingenuity that it entirely baffled his opponents, and firmly established for the first time the strategic and tactical genius of the young Bonaparte.

In this account, Martin Boycott-Brown follows the campaign from the first Austrian attack on Napoleon's troops right through to their final defeat and the signing of the treaty at Campo Formio. Using eyewitness accounts from the memoirs and letters of participants and observers, he describes the war from both the Austrian and French sides, from the highest strategic level right down to the experience of the front line soldier, and even of the civilians caught in the cross-fire. The result is a comprehensive description of the campaign which first created the legend of Napoleon Bonaparte.

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