Original subtitles

In the summer of 1793, the French Revolution was entering its fourth year,

and France was on the verge of anarchy.

In Paris, political extremists had seized control of the Revolution.

They'd guillotined the king...

and imposed a Reign of Terror that dealt summary

justice to all suspected enemies of the Revolution.

Hoping to unify the new republic, France' leaders had declared war on the Habsburg Empire.

But the conflict quickly widened, and soon France was facing the combined

might of Europe's leading powers, determined to stamp out her dangerous political experiment.

Meanwhile, whole regions of France had come out in open revolt,

horrified by the new extremism of the Revolution.

In August, the Republic suffered a further,

potentially fatal, blow, when the city of Toulon joined the revolt.

Toulon was France's largest and most important naval base in the south,

home to a third of the entire French navy.

But now rebels welcomed their old enemy, the British Royal Navy,

into the port, led by Admiral Lord Hood aboard HMS Victory.

It was an extraordinary coup – without a shot being fired, the Allies had crippled

French naval power in the Mediterranean, and gained a vital toehold on the French coast.

All French forces in the area were immediately

diverted to face this new threat, and lay siege to the rebel port...

19,000 troops in all - but since most French officers had been aristocrats, who were now

fleeing the Revolution in large numbers, they were seriously short of professional leadership.

Their commander, General Jean-Francois Carteaux, was a loyal Republican,

but a court painter by trade, with no military training.

To make matters worse, one of his few professional officers,

his artillery commander Colonel Donmartin, had been badly wounded on the approach to Toulon.

Antoine Saliceti, a Corsican deputy of the National Convention in Paris,

recommended as his replacement a fellow countryman... a 24-year-old artillery

officer who was passing Toulon en route to the front, named Napoleone Buonaparte, or Bonaparte.

Bonaparte was a professional soldier, but he'd seen almost no active service. Nevertheless,

Saliceti was impressed by his manner, and most of all, his politics – Bonaparte had

just written a political pamphlet: a short story about a young artillery officer,

who berates his fellow diners for their disloyalty to the Republic.

General Carteaux thought it wise to accept Deputy Saliceti's recommendation.

The great port of Toulon was well defended by city walls and a dozen outlying forts and redoubts.

They were held by 2,000 British soldiers and sailors, 6,000 Spanish troops,

6,000 Neapolitans, and 800 Sardinians.

Artillery would be the key to overcoming these formidable defences.

But when Bonaparte was put in command of the artillery on 16th September, he

found himself with few cannon, not enough trained gun-crews, and a shortage of gunpowder and shot.

With relentless energy and determination, Bonaparte transformed the situation,

requisitioning unused guns, training infantrymen to work them, setting up a new forge and workshop,

and arranging transport from Marseilles of 100,000 sandbags, for constructing new batteries.

Through hard work, he was ultimately able to build his force up to 64 officers

and fifteen hundred men, manning 100 cannon, howitzers and mortars.

Within days Bonaparte had established two new forward batteries, with good revolutionary

names – La Montagne and Sans-Culottes – which brought Toulon's inner harbour within range,

and forced Admiral Hood to move all his ships closer to the port.

Bonaparte also came up with a plan – one that would allow the French to bypass most

of Toulon's defences, and secure the rapid victory the Republic so desperately needed.

Bonaparte argued that if Fort L'Eguilette could be captured, which looked out across the harbour,

he could fill it with heavy guns, and shell the British and Spanish fleet at anchor.

Admiral Hood would be forced to abandon the port,

and take with him the Allied soldiers that Toulon relied on for its defence.

General Carteaux saw the merits of Bonaparte's plan,

and on 22nd September, French forces attacked Mont Caire.

But to Bonaparte's exasperation, while he'd argued for an attack by 3,000 men,

the indecisive Carteux committed only 400.

Not only was the attack easily repulsed, but it alerted the Allies to the danger:

within 48 hours, they'd reinforced Mont Caire with thousands more troops,

and built a new fort, named Fort Mulgrave, bristling with 20 cannon.

The position was now so strong the French nicknamed it, 'Little Gibraltar'.

Finally, in mid-November, an experienced,

professional soldier arrived to take command of French forces, General Dugommier.

He saw at once that Bonaparte's plan was the only way to take Toulon, and gave it his full backing.

Bonaparte, promoted to Major, got to work, overseeing construction of several more

batteries in preparation for the decisive assault.

One forward battery was so exposed to enemy fire that men refused to

be sent there. So Bonaparte renamed it 'La Batterie des Hommes sans Peur' – the Battery

of Men Without Fear... and suddenly, there was no shortage of volunteers.

It was an early display of Napoleon's genius for inspiring his soldiers - one

that would serve him well in the years ahead.

On 30th November, the Allied land forces commander, British General Charles O'Hara,

tried to seize back the initiative,

leading an assault on the new French batteries facing Fort Malbousquet.

At first, the attack was successful: the batteries

were overrun and the French guns spiked, but a counterattack, with much greater numbers,

and led in person by General Dugommier and Major Bonaparte, drove back the Allies.

General O'Hara himself was shot through the hand and captured. Twelve years before,

he'd surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown,

during the American War of Independence. Now he got to surrender to Napoleon Bonaparte.

In the early hours of 18th December, in howling wind and driving rain,

the French launched a major assault on Fort Mulgrave.

The wet conditions made muskets useless, except as clubs, or with bayonets.

Bonaparte led the second wave in person. Amid fierce hand-to-hand fighting, his horse was

killed under him, and he was bayonetted in the thigh by a British sergeant – a wound

that came within inches of ending his life and radically changing the course of history.

Finally the Allied garrison was overwhelmed, and Mulgrave fell to the French.

Fort L'Eguilette and Tour de la Balaquier were soon also in French hands...

By the following afternoon, the French had 10 heavy guns in L'Eguilette,

placing the Allied ships within range.

Admiral Hood could not expose his valuable ships-of-the-line to such a threat. He had no

option but to order an immediate evacuation of the fleet and garrison from Toulon.

Small Spanish and British teams raced to destroy all the French

ships and naval stores that they couldn't take with them.

But amid the chaos of their departure,

18 ships-of-the line were allowed to fall back into French hands – a badly missed opportunity.

Many French citizens of Toulon were desperate to escape aboard the Allied

ships, knowing that the Republicans would inflict terrible reprisals on the city.

British and Spanish ships took as many as they could,

about 14,000 in all – but scores were drowned amid chaotic and desperate scenes.

Others were left to face the wrath of the Revolution...

Republican troops entered the city the next morning, and executions and firing

squads began almost immediately. For the next two weeks, about 200 were executed every day.

Allied propaganda later blamed Bonaparte for the atrocities,

but there's no evidence he was directly involved.

France's young republic was now fighting back on all fronts. And with the fall of Toulon,

the Allies had lost a golden opportunity – a chance to stir up further revolt,

deal a lasting blow to French naval power... perhaps even overturn the Revolution.

But instead, the French Republic had weathered one of its greatest storms.... In no small part,

thanks to the remarkable judgement, energy, and courage of one 24-year-old artillery officer,

now promoted Brigadier General in recognition of his extraordinary service at Toulon.

Napoleon Bonaparte had taken his first step on the path to greatness.

In 1796, at the height of the French Revolutionary Wars,

a young French general took charge of a ragged, demoralised army in northern Italy.

It was his first command. Many expected him to fail.

Instead, in just one month, he won his first brilliant campaign.

With astonishing self-confidence, boldness and energy… he led his army to victory after victory…

transforming the war in Europe… winning praise from a grateful Republic… and forging a legend…

This is the story of Napoleon Bonaparte’s first campaign, and the dawn of a new age.

1792. Europe is plunged into conflict by revolution in France.

At first, it seems this infant republic will be quickly snuffed out by her neighbours.

Incredibly, France clings on, thanks to mass mobilisation,

patriotic fervour, and her traditional military power.

In 1795, France occupies the Low Countries… while Prussia and Spain withdraw from the war.

But the French Republic still faces a powerful coalition of enemies,

which includes the Austrian Empire.. and Kingdoms of Piedmont-Sardinia.. Naples.. and

Great Britain.. as well as a counter-revolutionary revolt in the Vendée region of western France.

In Paris, the most extreme revolutionaries had been toppled, sent to the guillotine,

as they had sent so many before them.

France is now governed by ‘the Directory’ – a more moderate five-man committee..

which quickly wins a reputation for corruption and inefficiency.

Nevertheless, in 1796 they plan a major military offensive,

to knock their most dangerous adversary – Austria - out of the war.

The two main efforts will be made along the Rhine,

by powerful armies under General Jourdan.. and General Moreau.

A third effort – of which much less is expected – will be made in Northern Italy.

The French ‘Army of Italy’ is a poor cousin – starved of money and supplies,

stripped of troops to reinforce French forces on the Rhine.

But its fortunes are about to change.

On 2nd March 1796, the Directory appoint a new commander to lead the army - one

of France’s youngest generals, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon arrives at the Army of Italy’s headquarters in Nice on 25th March.

He is just 26 years old.

2 years have passed since he masterminded French victory at the siege of Toulon.

Since then, his fortunes have been mixed: a short spell as artillery commander in Italy;

ten days in jail when his political patrons fell from power; he then refused to serve in the

Vendée, fighting French counter-revolutionaries –leading to several months’ unemployment in Paris.

Then, an extraordinary break:

13 Vendémiaire, Paris. A royalist mob threatens to storm the national

government. Napoleon is the closest general to hand, and put in charge of its defence.

He disperses the crowds with brutal efficiency… and is acclaimed, ‘Saviour of the Revolution’.

A grateful Directory promotes Napoleon to General of Division,

and awards him command of the Army of Italy.

On 9th March he marries his great love,

Joséphine de Beauharnais…. and leaves for the front two days later.

There are French generals in Italy with a better claim to command than Napoleon:

Sérurier, a professional soldier who first saw action in the Seven Years’ War,

a decade before Napoleon was born.

Augereau, a tough, experienced soldier, bold tactician and committed republican.

And Masséna, risen from the ranks, fearless,

tireless, hero of the Battle of Loano against the Austrians the year before.

All three would later become Marshals of Napoleon’s empire.

For now, Napoleon seems to these veterans young and under-qualified… a political appointment,

embarrassingly infatuated with his new wife.

But there is something about the Corsican.

As Masséna observed, “His small size and puny face did not put him in their favour…

but as soon as he donned his general’s hat, he seemed to grow by two feet.”

Napoleon impresses above all with his tireless energy. And he has much to do.

His army is organised into Masséna’s Advance Guard of two divisions, one led by a hard-fighting Swiss

general La Harpe, the other by Meynier, whom Napoleon soon decides is incompetent.

The main body comprises the divisions of Augereau, Sérurier,

and two smaller divisions under Macquard and Garnier.

The cavalry is led by General Stengel.

But the Army of Italy has been shockingly neglected by the Directory. The men are hungry

and unpaid, with a few units on the verge of mutiny. Some men don’t even have shoes or muskets.

Napoleon inspects the troops and studies reports.

He enforces discipline and breaks up rotten units.

He is assisted by his aides-de-camp - Junot,

Marmont and a dashing cavalry colonel, Joachim Murat.

As Emperor, Napoleon will make two of these men Dukes, and one, a King.

His most valuable assistant is his new Chief of Staff, General Berthier, who helps him to

reorganise the army’s supply system, and scour southern France for food, transport and forage.

The situation begins to improve.

But Napoleon knows what will really rejuvenate his ragged divisions:

victory in battle, and the promise of plunder.

Napoleon has spent two years studying the situation in Northern Italy,

and the history of past wars here.

He has developed clear plans on how the campaign must be fought. Now he will put them into action.

Napoleon - with 38,000 troops - outnumbers the Piedmontese and the Austrian army.

But if they combine, he will be outnumbered. So he must prevent this at all costs.

His plan bears all the hallmarks of what will become known as the Napoleonic art of war:

A bold, rapid advance… not against the expected target, Genoa, but Dego.

Here he will occupy ‘the central position’... and prise his enemies apart.

He knows that when threatened,

the Piedmontese will retreat on their capital, Turin; the Austrians, on Milan.

With his enemies divided, unable to support each other, he can defeat each in detail.

Napoleon’s plan will be aided by the fragility of the Austro-Piedmontese alliance;

they regard each other with deep distrust after years of rivalry.

The new Austrian commander, General Beaulieu, is experienced, and was once considered energetic.

But he is now 70 years old… and does not know Italy.

He is convinced the French will target Genoa – the port used by

the British to supply their coalition allies...

So much so, that he rejects Piedmontese plans for close co-operation. Their troops

remain scattered across mountain passes, in a general defence against invasion.

On 4th April, Napoleon moves his headquarters forward to Albenga,

in preparation for his offensive.

But Beaulieu strikes first.

On 10th April, Austrian troops take Voltri, to disrupt the expected French attack on Genoa.

The small French garrison falls back to join Masséna’s advance guard at Savona.

But Beaulieu’s fixation with Genoa is playing into Napoleon’s hands.

Dego – with its vital crossroads that link the Piedmontese and Austrian armies – is

covered by just 8,000 men of Argenteau’s corps.

Mountainous terrain means Beaulieu can only march

to Argenteau’s aid via Acqui – more than 20 miles to the north.

What’s more, Argenteau has orders to take French positions at Montenotte,

as a diversion for the attack at Voltri.

But the French cling on courageously. Corporal Rouach particularly distinguishes himself,

exposing himself to enemy fire to shoot down on the enemy.

His commander, Colonel Rampon, tells his men,

“Here, we must conquer or die.” – a moment which quickly enters French military folklore.

It’s the perfect set up for Napoleon - the enemy’s attention is focused on Voltri,

and Argenteau’s corps has been left dangerously exposed.

He swings into action… sending La Harpe’s division to reinforce Rampon’s troops, while Masséna makes

a tough night march across steep ravines, in rain and fog, to turn Argenteau’s right flank.

By dawn the Austrians are outnumbered, outflanked, and under heavy attack… They retreat in disarray.

Napoleon orders Masséna to move on Dego, while he turns his attention to the Piedmontese.

But Augereau’s advance gets held up at Cosseria.

The old castle is held by Piedmontese and Croatian grenadiers. The French

launch frontal attacks into withering fire, and suffer hundreds of casualties.

When the colonel of the 18th Demi-Brigade is killed,

a 26-year-old Louis-Gabriel Suchet takes over command.

“I have never seen fire like it,” wrote Marmont, Napoleon’s aide-de-camp.

Despite heroic resistance, the hopelessly outnumbered garrison surrenders the next day.

With Sérurier’s division also advancing from the south, Piedmontese commander

General Colli has little choice but to abandon his position at Montezemolo.

The same day, under Napoleon’s watchful eye, Masséna takes Dego.

But while La Harpe’s division moves off to reinforce Augereau,

hungry French troops left in Dego turn to plunder and pillage.

No one spots Colonel Vukassovich, a tough Croatian commander, approaching with 3,000 reinforcements.

He attacks at dawn, routing the French and retaking Dego with ease.

It requires the recall of La Harpe’s division,

and another day of heavy combat, before Vukassovich can be driven out of Dego.

A bayonet charge led by 27-year-old Colonel Lannes wins particular praise from General Bonaparte.

Napoleon has won three victories in 4 days. The

marches and battles have been gruelling. But he has achieved his first objective:

The Austrians are regrouping at Acqui, and will soon retreat to Alessandria.

They can offer no support to the Piedmontese.

And so General Colli orders another withdrawal,

to a strong defensive position behind the Corsaglia River.

Napoleon orders an immediate attack: Augereau’s division on the right,

Sérurier on the left, Masséna in support.

But the French, under heavy fire, struggle to cross the swollen river with its steep banks.

When Sérurier’s troops finally get into San Michele,

they immediately begin looting the town, and are thrown out by a counterattack.

Despite his success, Colli is still heavily outnumbered and

fears encirclement. The following evening, he begins a covert withdrawal to Mondovì.

But Napoleon is not deceived by the fake campfires…

Patrols confirm his suspicions - the Piedmontese are pulling back. Though

his troops are exhausted, wet and hungry, he launches them after the fleeing enemy.

Colli’s troops are caught before they can establish a new defensive line...

The brave and popular General Dichat is killed…

Retreat turns to rout.

The French enter Mondovì in triumph… where at last, briefly, they can eat and rest.

General Colli, his defeated troops scattered and demoralised, requests an armistice.

Napoleon declines, as his troops descend from the mountains, into the fertile plain of Piedmont.

Destitute and starved, French soldiers now plunder the Italian countryside freely.

Brigadier General Joubert is among those frustrated by the men’s conduct.

“Everything would go very well if the soldiers did not abandon themselves

to pillage. Not a day passes without some looters being shot. Despite this severity,

the mania doesn’t stop: the rural folk are arming themselves…”

Napoleon condemns such behaviour, but his orders have limited impact - especially as everyone

knows generals Masséna and Augereau to be two of the greatest offenders.

On 25th April, French troops enter Cherasco, just 30 miles south of the Piedmontese capital, Turin.

Meanwhile, General Beaulieu is at long last marching to Piedmont’s aid. But he is a week late.

And when he learns that Piedmont has opened negotiations with the enemy,

he withdraws his troops in disgust, planning to take up new positions along the Po River.

Austrian troops join in the plunder of Piedmontese villages as they go.

Victor Amadeus the Third, King of Piedmont-Sardinia,

sees no option but to accept Bonaparte’s terms for an armistice.

Piedmont must give up the strategic fortresses at Cuneo, and either Alessandria or Tortona,

leaving the country virtually defenceless.

The final peace treaty, signed three weeks later in Paris,

cedes Nice and Savoy to France, and grants free passage to French armies.

Napoleon has ended the four-year war with Piedmont in less than 3 weeks.

The Army of Italy has little time to rest on its laurels. Four days later,

having received 7,000 reinforcements and fresh supplies, it’s on the move again.

Napoleon plans to invade the rich province of Lombardy,

ruled by the Emperor of Austria, and defeat Beaulieu’s army.

But first he must cross the Po River, which is closely watched by Austrian forces.

It will prove one of Napoleon’s most brilliant manoeuvres.

Masséna is ordered to make conspicuous preparations to cross the river near Sale,

assembling boats, and building gun batteries.

Meanwhile, Napoleon has formed a new elite brigade: 5,000 grenadiers, carabiniers and

chasseurs, to act as the army’s advance guard, under the command of General Dallemagne.

This force is ordered to march rapidly east to Piacenza, and cover 40 miles in just 36 hours.

They are followed by La Harpe’s division, then Augereau, and the cavalry.

Beaulieu receives reports that French troops are moving east, and begins to redeploy his

forces – while remaining conscious that there are still French troops that might cross the

Po as far west as Valenza. This uncertainty makes it impossible for him to concentrate his forces.

What’s more, he’s completely underestimated the scale and speed of Napoleon’s move.

The French Advance Guard, with Colonel Lannes in the lead, crosses the Po on 7th May,

chasing off Austrian patrols that are the only opposition.

By the next morning, most of La Harpe’s and Augereau’s divisions, and the cavalry,

are across, consolidating the French bridgehead…

while Masséna and Sérurier move to the crossing as fast as they can.

Men of General Lipthay’s division are the closest Austrian troops.

They take up defensive positions at Fombio, but are overwhelmed by the French attack.

That evening, Beaulieu’s advance guard arrives,

expecting to reinforce Lipthay. Instead they blunder into La Harpe’s division. In

confused night fighting, General La Harpe is shot dead, possibly by friendly fire.

Napoleon regards him as one of the army’s best generals, and his loss, a great blow.

Beaulieu, realising that the French have crossed

the Po in force and now threaten to cut him off, orders a rapid withdrawal east.

Milan is to be sacrificed. The great fortress of Mantua will be his next refuge.

The French Advance Guard is soon in pursuit.

On the morning of 10th May, they catch the Austrian rearguard at Lodi.

French troops chase the Austrians across town..

and over the town’s 200-yard bridge over the River Adda.

But when they try to follow, they find the bridge is swept by fire

from 14 guns. Its far end is held by 3 battalions of Croatian infantry.

Several more battalions and cavalry squadrons are behind them,

in reserve – around 6,500 men in total.

Napoleon soon arrives, and positions guns to bombard the Austrians on the far bank.

An artillery duel rages for much of the afternoon.

Napoleon sends Beaumont’s cavalry brigade upstream to look for a ford,

so they can cross the river and flank the Austrian defences.

But he grows impatient.

Masséna’s division has begun to arrive from the south,

bringing his strength up to 15,000 men and 30 guns.

Napoleon makes a speech to the infantry, taunting them,

daring them to take the bridge – then orders them forward.

To cries of ‘Vive la Republique’, the hardened 2nd Carabinier battalion leads the charge.

They come under torrential fire from the Austrian guns.

But urged on by Napoleon, Berthier, Masséna,

Lannes and others, French infantry surge across, under and around the bridge.

Faced with this irresistible onslaught,

the Austrian front line crumbles. And with French cavalry across the river to the north,

the rest of the Austrian rearguard begins an orderly withdrawal.

Five days after his victory at Lodi, Napoleon leads his army into the city of Milan.

They are welcomed by cheering crowds – though in reality, Italians are deeply

divided in their attitudes towards the French.

After Lodi, French soldiers have a new nickname for their general - ‘le petit

caporal’, the little corporal. It’s a term of affection, because he get his hands dirty,

even aiming the guns himself - the job of an artillery corporal.

In just a month, Napoleon has transformed a war-weary, dishevelled and demoralised army

into a victorious fighting force, brimming with esprit de corps and eager for further conquests.

While he, in his first campaign, has demonstrated extraordinary

energy… mastery of detail… brilliant military intuition… above all, indomitable self-belief.

It is this quality that inspires his soldiers to risk their lives… for glory,

for the republic… and for the man they will one day acclaim their emperor.

May 1796. The French Revolutionary Wars have entered their fifth year.

And on what most consider to be a secondary front, there has been a stunning development…

A 26-year-old General of the French Republic,

Napoleon Bonaparte, has waged a lightning campaign across northern Italy… defeating

the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia.. and driving the Austrians across Lombardy.

2,000 Austrian troops remain holed up in Milan’s citadel,

but they cannot prevent his triumphal entry into the city on 15th May.

Now the French general holds court at the Palazzo Serbelloni,

issuing decrees on behalf of the Directory in Paris, while his troops enjoy several days’ rest.

Lombardy is to be reorganised as a French client-state, known as the Lombardic Republic.

Political and economic reforms sweep away the old Austrian

state.. to the delight of Italian intellectuals in cities like Milan.

But the French also demand 20 million francs to help pay for the war… while their troops

requisition vast quantities of food, horses, cattle and boots.

Most inflammatory, are their attacks on the property and dignity of the Catholic church,

which enrage Italian priests and peasants... and are a gift to anti-French propagandists.

On 23rd May, as Napoleon’s troops set off in pursuit of the Austrians…

revolt breaks out in Pavia.

The next day there are riots in Milan.

Napoleon races back to the city, where order is soon restored.

But on the road to Pavia, at Binasco, he encounters a thousand armed rebels.

Colonel Lannes’ grenadiers rout the peasants, killing a hundred, and burning the village.

“A terrible example, which will be effective,” Napoleon writes.

Pavia is retaken the next day with little opposition.

A score of ringleaders, including several priests, are shot.

Hundreds of hostages are taken from prominent local families, to ensure future co-operation.

Napoleon resumes his advance east, his army now organised

into four divisions – Kilmaine’s Advance Guard.. Augereau.. Masséna.. and Sérurier.

General Beaulieu’s Austrian army holds the line of the Mincio River,

with Lake Garda on his right, and the great fortress of Mantua on his left.

This, together with the fortresses at Peschiera.. Verona.. and Legnago.. forms

the famous ‘Quadrilateral’ – four bastions that cement Austria’s grip on northern Italy.

But once more, Beaulieu can’t get a read on Napoleon’s movements. He scatters his troops,

trying to defend four potential crossing points,

and is further distracted by fake preparations to cross Lake Garda by boat.

In fact, Napoleon has decided to cross the Mincio at Borghetto… and when Kilmaine’s Advance Guard

arrives, they find the bridge defended by a single battalion of infantry, and handful of hussars.

The Austrians are soon driven back… but a sudden

counterattack nearly bags General Bonaparte himself.

A possibly dramatised account has him hopping over fences with one boot on to evade the hussars.

This lucky escape leads to the formation

of an elite cavalry detachment to act as Napoleon’s personal escort.

They are named the Compagnie des Guides à Cheval; their commander

is a young cavalry captain named Jean-Baptiste Bessières.

In time, this unit will become the famous Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard,

the Emperor’s ever-present bodyguard on campaign.

Taken by surprise by the crossing at Borghetto,

Beaulieu begins a withdrawal to a new defensive line in the Adige Valley.

However at Mantua, he leaves behind a reinforced garrison,

well-supplied, and ready to withstand a siege of at least two months.

Napoleon cannot bypass Mantua – its garrison is too powerful.

But the fortress-city will be a tough nut to crack – its old

walls surrounded on three sides by a lake, and on the other,

by malarial marshland. “The most unhealthy place in Italy,” Napoleon tells the Directory.

His biggest problem is his lack of heavy, siege artillery. Most of these

guns are in Milan, bombarding the Austrians still holed up in the citadel.

More guns were supposed to arrive by sea, but have been intercepted by British warships,

commanded by a certain Commodore Horatio Nelson.

Since April, Napoleon has launched three successful offensives,

marched more than 200 miles, and won ten battles.

But finally, outside the walls of Mantua, he is brought to a halt.

And the demands on his limited force are growing.

He must maintain the siege of Mantua, even though its guns outnumber his own,

and no direct assault can be made.

He must protect his lines of communication back to

France.. and guard against further revolt in Lombardy.

And he must be ready to face the Austrians,

who are receiving reinforcements from Germany, and will soon counter-attack.

To add to his problems, the French Directory demands that he lead an

expedition to central and southern Italy.

He’s to threaten military occupation,

unless these states cough up huge sums to help fund the French war effort.

Napoleon vehemently opposes the idea. Marching troops

the length of Italy in high summer, he warns, will end in ‘sickness and death.’

Fortunately, strong words alone persuade Naples to sign an armistice...

And in the end, Napoleon doesn’t even have to go as far as Rome.

The French march through the Duchy of Modena, the Papal States, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany,

raising more than 40 million francs in tribute from states that are powerless to resist.

Napoleon dines in Florence with the Grand Duke before returning to Milan. There he is reunited

with his wife Josephine, who’s arrived from Paris, discreetly accompanied by her new lover.

Napoleon does not linger in Milan.

Its citadel has finally fallen, freeing up his siege guns. His

troops have seized another 150 guns from the forts of central Italy.

Napoleon can now make serious plans to take Mantua.

And he has no time to lose.

In the Tyrol, the reinforced Austrian army is beginning to stir, under a new commander.

Beaulieu is gone. Now 72-year-old Field Marshal Count von Wurmser is in command, a courageous

cavalryman, vigorous beyond his years - and determined to avenge Austrian defeats in Italy.

Since crossing the Mincio, Napoleon has reorganised and redeployed his forces.

General Masséna’s division is near Rivoli, watching the road to the Tyrol.

Two of his brigades, under General Sauret, are at Salò, watching the western side of Lake Garda.

General Despinois’ division is in support at Peschiera.

General Augereau’s division is around Legnago, watching the eastern approaches...

While Kilmaine’s cavalry mounts patrols.

General Sérurier’s division carries out the siege of Mantua itself.

But Napoleon’s hopes for a rapid conclusion to the siege are in vain.

The Austrian garrison conducts a skilful and active defence,

raiding French entrenchments and seizing supplies.

Murat - recently promoted to Brigadier General - plans to lead a group of men

in Austrian uniform across the lake at night, to take the guards by surprise.

But the operation’s abandoned when the water level suddenly drops.

The French step up their bombardment of the city,

firing more than a thousand cannonballs and mortar shells in one 6-hour period.

Mantua is being battered to pieces, but its walls are not yet breached.

Napoleon is out of time.

Field Marshal Wurmser is finally marching to Mantua’s aid.

He has divided his army into four columns -

Two central columns are advancing down the Adige valley, directly towards Mantua.

Another column to the east is making a wide flanking march…

While a fourth column under General Quosdanovich advances down the western shore of Lake Garda,

planning to seize Brescia, and cut Napoleon’s line of retreat.

Masséna comes under heavy attack,

and severely outnumbered, abandons Rivoli and begins a fighting retreat.

As soon as the news reaches Napoleon, he races to Castelnuovo, ordering Augereau,

Despinois and Kilmaine to join him as fast as possible.

But suddenly, it is Quosdanovich’s column that’s emerging as the greatest threat.

General Sauret’s troops at Salò are heavily outnumbered. They put

up a stiff resistance, but are forced to withdraw.

The next day, Austrian troops surprise the French at Brescia. They take the town,

as well as an army hospital containing 2,000 French sick and wounded.

Even Napoleon’s wife Josephine, en route to Brescia, is nearly captured in the chaos.

Wurmser has wrongfooted Napoleon.

Already outnumbered, he’s lost 5,000 casualties;

his left flank is in tatters, and there’s a real possibility he may be encircled.

It’s the greatest crisis he has faced as an army

commander – and will force him to make an agonising decision.

On 31st July, after two months of blood, sweat and sacrifice,

General Sérurier is ordered to abandon the siege of Mantua.

He is to send two of his brigades to reinforce Masséna and Augereau,

and withdraw with the rest of his troops to guard the army’s line of retreat.

179 guns, plus ammunition and supplies which cannot be moved,

are to be buried, or tipped into the marshes.

Napoleon needs every man he can get. Because in the midst of the crisis,

he has spotted an opportunity.

Quosdanovich’s advance has caught him off guard.

But Lake Garda separates him from the rest of the Austrian army.

Napoleon will concentrate his forces against Quosdanovich,

beat him in battle, then pivot again, to take on Wurmser.

The French divisions are soon on the move.

Quosdanovich’s troops reach Lonato, but here they encounter Masséna’s vanguard.

The Austrians come under heavy attack,

and with French reinforcements arriving, they have to pull back.

The next day the French retake Brescia, along with most of their supplies, sick and wounded.

Then Napoleon catches a lucky break.

Wurmser has been on Masséna’s heels, harrying his rearguard as far as Peschiera.

But now he receives reports there are French forces massing between him and Mantua.

Mantua is his priority, so he swings south – away

from Quosdanovich – towards a city Napoleon has already abandoned.

By the time Wurmser realises his error, it’s too late.

He has gifted Napoleon 24 crucial hours – a blunder for which he will pay dearly.

3rd August sees confused fighting west of Lake Garda.

One French brigade slips through the wooded ravines unnoticed,

straight into Salò, causing havoc behind the Austrian lines.

But the Austrians repel three attacks on Gavardo – and all seems to be going well,

until their own advance meets Masséna’s division at Lonato.

Masséna’s counter-attack is led by the 32nd Demi-Brigade,

which is becoming known as one of the Army of Italy’s most feared units.

“Bayonets only,” Napoleon calls out, “and you, 32nd, maintain your glorious reputation.”

The lead Austrian brigade is routed.

Colonel Junot, though wounded six times, accepts their commander’s surrender.

Quosdanovich’s force has been mauled.

Fearing for the rest of his command, and with no word from Wurmser,

he decides he must march back around Lake Garda, to rejoin the army.

The same day, 15 miles to the south, General Augereau’s division fights an aggressive rearguard

action near Castiglione - keeping Wurmser at bay, while Napoleon deals with Quosdanovich.

Augereau begins with a bold attack on General Lipthay’s vanguard,

driving it back to high ground near Solferino.

But here, Lipthay receives steady reinforcements, as the rest of the Austrian army begins to arrive.

Augereau keeps up the pressure, preventing an Austrian advance.

And though there’s a late scare when enemy cavalry sweep around his left flank,

they are unsupported, and soon pull back.

For Augereau and his men, it is a long day of heroic action against

a superior force - one which Napoleon will never forget.

12 years later, as Emperor, he will make Augereau Duke of Castiglione,

and always remind his critics, ‘he saved us that day’.

Nevertheless, by nightfall, Augereau’s division is at breaking point.

“Our soldiers are exhausted from fatigue and hunger. If you don’t

send me reinforcements, I won’t be able to hold out.”

Next morning, French troops renew the attack on Quosdanovich,

and quickly discover he’s beating a hasty retreat.

A major disaster is narrowly avoided,

when three lost Austrian battalions stumble into Napoleon’s headquarters at Lonato.

They call on the general to surrender.

Napoleon responds by loudly ordering his grenadiers and artillery into position,

then demands that the Austrians surrender to him, or be put to the sword.

It’s a bold bluff – few of his troops are anywhere near – but

the Austrians meekly lay down their arms.

As Napoleon swings his army round to take on Wurmser, the Austrian must decide whether

to stand his ground, or fall back to a stronger line behind the Mincio River.

He chooses to stay put. By engaging Napoleon, he hopes to buy time for

Quosdanovich to regroup and resume his advance, and for Mantua to be resupplied.

His reasoning is sound, but his intelligence is out of date...

and he’s underestimated the speed at which Napoleon’s forces will move.

At dawn on 5th August, the Austrian army is 4 miles east of Castiglione,

formed up in two lines - its northern flank anchored on the village of Solferino..

its southern flank, on a well-fortified redoubt at Monte Medolano.

Napoleon faces him with Massena’s division in the north,

Augereau’s division in the centre, and Kilmaine’s cavalry in the south.

He’s also formed an elite unit of grenadiers and cavalry, to be held back for the decisive moment.

Napoleon doesn’t seem to have much of an advantage.

But he has 10,000 more troops converging rapidly on the battlefield.

5,000 under General Despinois, marching from Brescia…

5,000 more under General Fiorella, coming from the south.

To buy time for these reinforcements to arrive, and to lure Wurmser out of position,

Napoleon orders Masséna and Augereau to attack.

There is a short exchange of fire.

Then the French begin a feigned retreat.

The Austrians take the bait - some units advancing off the high ground...

while Wurmser extends his right wing, looking to outflank Masséna’s division.

Around 9am, the sound of gunfire from the south alerts both sides

to Fiorella’s arrival, behind the Austrian left flank.

Napoleon immediately orders Augereau and Masséna to attack again, in earnest.

Despinois’ troops arrive to join the assault.

But Napoleon has sprung his trap too early.

Wurmser is not yet fully committed, and reacts swiftly. He organises a

new line to fend off Fiorella, and hurriedly recalls his right wing.

But he cannot save the redoubt at Monte Medolano.

Napoleon’s aide-de-camp, Major Marmont, leads forward a battery to blast the position.

His guns open a devastating cannonade, clearing the way for an attack. Around 10 am, the reserve

grenadiers charge forward with bayonets fixed, sweeping the Austrians off the hill.

Meanwhile to the north, the 4th and 5th Demi-Brigades surge onto

the Solferino heights, and seize the redoubt before Pozzo Catena.

Carried forward by their momentum, they storm the Solferino tower and village beyond,

the shaken enemy falling back in disarray.

The Austrians are hard-pressed along the line,

and now French cavalry and Fiorella’s troops threaten to cut off their retreat.

While Napoleon is active, energised, urging troops forward - Wurmser seems to go into shock.

A French émigré serving with him recalled, “He watched without seeing anything, saying anything,

hearing anything. This brave old man, his head covered with white hair, did not think anymore.”

Finally, Wurmser orders a general retreat, back across the Mincio river,

covered by their cavalry, and some late Austrian reinforcements.

The French pursuit quickly peters out.

After a week of forced marches in stifling heat,

with little to eat or drink, Napoleon’s men are close to collapse.

But their general is content with what they have achieved.

Wurmser’s army finds temporary refuge behind the Mincio River.

But Napoleon immediately resumes the attack. Masséna is sent north,

to relieve the French garrison at Peschiera, and threaten Wurmser’s line of retreat.

The Austrian general has had enough.

After ensuring the garrison of Mantua is fully resupplied and reinforced,

he begins his withdrawal to the Tyrol, to regroup, and rethink.

The French nip at his heels all the way.

Napoleon has just endured his toughest challenge yet as an army commander.

And though initially wrongfooted by his adversary, he’s displayed brilliant

flexibility, and his usual energy, to weather the crisis, and then triumph.

But Mantua remains the key to Italy. And while it stands unconquered,

the Austrians will do everything in their power to save it.

Wurmser will be back... and when he returns, he’ll find himself

on a collision course with Napoleon.. as he launches his own attack... on Austria itself.

August 1796.

The war between France’s infant republic and the coalition seems to be tipping in France’s favour.

In the Vendée, General Hoche has brought the three-year royalist

revolt to an end. This appalling civil war has cost an estimated 165,000 lives,

and is the bloodiest chapter of the French Revolution.

Bourbon Spain allies with France – they will

combine forces against their common enemy, Great Britain.

In Germany, the armies of General Jourdan.. and

General Moreau.. have crossed the Rhine, and are advancing on Vienna.

While in Italy, Napoleon’s stunning victory at Castiglione has sent the

Austrians scurrying back to the Tyrol.

Napoleon can now resume his siege of Mantua, the ‘key to Italy’.

But he’ll have to start over…. The Austrians have used the interlude

to drag away his heavy guns, and demolish his siege works.

In summer, the pestilential marshes that surround the city are lethal.

The Austrian garrison has been decimated by disease - mostly malaria.

General Sérurier, commanding the French siege, also contracts the disease. He

returns to France to recover, and is replaced by General Sahuguet.

Sickness and a shortage of equipment once more plague the French army in Italy.

Even the heroic General Masséna asks to be replaced, citing ill health and exhaustion.

Napoleon rejects his request.

Despite these problems, the Directory in Paris orders Napoleon to attack,

as part of a grand strategic offensive against Austria.

He is to breakthrough to Innsbruck.. join forces with Moreau’s Army of the

Rhine.. then together, invade Austria, and force Emperor Francis to sue for peace.

Napoleon faces an enemy of roughly equal size.

So he plans to use speed, and concentration of force,

to fall upon Austrian troops in the Adige Valley, and clear the path northwards.

His opponent, Austrian Field Marshal von Wurmser, is under immense pressure to relieve Mantua.

His staff believe that recent fighting has left the French army shattered,

and incapable of offensive operations.

So the Austrians plan to make their own advance.

Rather than try to force his way past French troops in the Adige valley,

Wurmser will keep Davidovich in a defensive role… while he leads a

wide outflanking march.. via the Brenta valley and Bassano.. to reach Mantua from the east.

There, he will link up with its garrison.

And when Napoleon comes south to face him, he will be caught between two Austrian armies.

The Austrians begin their advance on 1st September.

French forces begin their advance the following day.

Masséna pushes up the Adige valley, with Augereau taking a tougher, mountainous route on his right.

General Vaubois marches around Lake Garda to join them, with one brigade crossing by boat.

The forward Austrian outposts are driven in.

And by the 4th, three French divisions are

converging on Davidovich’s heavily outnumbered force, near Rovereto.

General Victor leads the main attack straight up the road, driving back the enemy centre.

Meanwhile French light infantry swarm up the sides of the valley to outflank the enemy.

It’s a tactic the French will use again and again,

to force the Austrians out of strong positions in the narrow passes.

The Austrians are driven up the valley, towards Davidovich’s main camp at Calliano.

As Napoleon remarks, this position should have been impregnable – sheer mountains,

either side of a valley floor that’s just a few hundred yards wide.

A small castle and wall add to the formidable natural defences.

But its defence has been left to a single,

shaken Austrian regiment, which is given no time to prepare.

When the French hit them with speed and numbers, they give way.

Masséna’s troops breakthrough to the main Austrian camp,

where soldiers – expecting a much longer respite – are preparing dinner.

The arrival of the French sparks chaos and confusion.

The Austrian escape route is immediately jammed with fleeing troops, wagons and guns.

The French round up around 3,000 prisoners, alongside 25 guns and 7 standards.

Napoleon had thought that he faced the whole Austrian army around Trento.

But now, speaking with prisoners and locals, he learns that Wurmser and

half his army have set off down the Brenta valley – destination unknown.

With typical speed and decisiveness,

Napoleon tears up the plan to join Moreau at Innsbruck.. and orders a pursuit.

If he can catch and destroy Wurmser before he reaches safety, the war in Italy will be won.

When Wurmser receives news of the fiasco at Calliano, his troops are already strung

out along the Brenta valley, with his vanguard approaching Vicenza.

There is nothing to gain by turning back.

He orders Davidovich to hold the passes north – assuming they are

Napoleon’s objective – and pushes on to Mantua.

But Napoleon is not going north.

He orders Vaubois to pursue Davidovich and keep him blocked in.. while Augereau’s division leads

the rest of the army down the narrow, funnel-like Brenta valley, in pursuit of the Austrians.

The Army of Italy is brimming with confidence and momentum,

and marches much faster than the Austrians.

A small force at Levico offers token resistance, before it’s bundled down the Brenta valley.

The next day, French light infantry rout a 3,000 strong Austrian rearguard at Primolano,

taking most of them prisoner.

Wurmser decides to make another stand at Bassano, where the valley opens into flat plains.

With Colonel Lannes leading the charge,

the Austrians are driven back, then chased into town by Murat’s cavalry.

Amid panic, chaos and blocked roads, the French take another 2,000 prisoners,

including an Austrian general, and 30 guns.

Wurmser is in disarray - down to 12,000 men, outnumbered two-to-one,

with part of his force retreating in the wrong direction towards Trieste.

His only hope is to reach Mantua.

The two armies are in a footrace - but for the first time in the campaign,

Austrian soldiers outmarch their exhausted French counterparts.

Wurmser leaves a small garrison at the fortress of Legnago, to slow Augereau’s pursuit.

Forging ahead, Masséna manages to block the Austrians’ path at Cerea.

But General Ott makes a determined attack and clears the road,

taking 700 French prisoners and seven guns. It is a rare defeat for Masséna.

With the help of a local informant, Wurmser then finds an intact, unguarded

bridge across the Tione River, and reaches the outskirts of Mantua on 13th September.

His army has been saved from destruction, by the skin of its teeth.

Napoleon has failed to prevent Wurmser reaching Mantua.

But he knows that if he can bottle him up inside the city,

it will put intolerable strain on its supplies.

For that reason, Wurmser wants to keep his army outside the city walls,

free to manoeuvre, and crucially, forage for supplies in the surrounding country.

The next morning, as Augereau accepts the surrender of the Austrian garrison at Legnago,

Masséna tries a surprise attack at Due Castelli.

But it’s overambitious. His men have not had time to recover from their long march,

and the Austrians fight bravely.

The following day, Napoleon launches a much larger, co-ordinated attack.

Sahuguet’s division advances on the right. His troops are soon in heavy

fighting with Ott’s brigade around the Villa La Favorita.

Augereau’s division, under temporary command of General Bon, advances along the Mincio

River, trying to turn the Austrian right flank.

When Wurmser sends reserves from his centre to strengthen both flanks…

Masséna’s concealed division launches its attack.

Victor and Rampon lead the way with their veteran demi-brigades.

Austrian cavalry hurl themselves at the French but are beaten off.

Heavy fighting rages on the outskirts of Mantua for much of the afternoon.

Finally, Wurmser’s centre begins to crumble, and the French take San Giorgio.

Much of the Austrian right wing is cut off. Many are forced to surrender,

while others flee into the lake.

With the Austrian line shattered,

Wurmser orders his men to fall back.. to the safety of Mantua’s citadel.

The troops that were to have rescued Mantua.. are now trapped alongside its garrison.

By early October, the French have cut off the city, and resumed their siege.

Conditions inside Mantua deteriorate rapidly. Disease, wounds and malnutrition

kill – on average - nearly 100 Austrian soldiers every day... for six weeks.

Civilians are reduced to eating rats and horses.

Napoleon, meanwhile, returns to Milan, sending his aide-de-camp Major Marmont to Paris,

to present 22 captured Austrian standards to the Directory.

But elsewhere, the war has not been going so well for France.

Archduke Charles, younger brother of the Emperor Francis,

has defeated General Jourdan’s army twice in two weeks.

It, and General Moreau’s Army of the Rhine, are forced to retreat back to the frontier.

These setbacks mean Napoleon will get very few of the reinforcements he’s so urgently requested.

He and his men are exhausted. Many of them are sick.

They must contain an enormous and increasingly desperate garrison in Mantua...

With the certain knowledge that the Austrians will try again soon to save the city.

And there are diplomatic concerns which also trouble Napoleon.

In Rome, the Pope stirs animosity against the French,

citing their treatment of the Catholic church in the territories they administer.

These now include the Cispadane Republic, formed in part from

the Duchy of Modena – which Napoleon has abolished for colluding with the enemy.

There is also the lingering threat that Naples

may re-join the war at a critical moment, to stab him in the back.

So to secure his southern flank, Napoleon concludes a comprehensive

peace treaty with Naples, without bothering to consult the Directory.

Its actions like this that feed the whispers in Paris – this popular,

young general’s ambition seems limitless… might he not one day prove a dangerous political player?

But such talk will be moot, if Napoleon fails in Italy.

That autumn, as Austrian troops march once more to the relief of Mantua,

he will face his most skilled opponent yet – Feldzeugmeister

József Alvinczi – the first man to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte in battle.

October 1796.

Six months have passed since General Napoleon

Bonaparte took command of the French Army of Italy.

In that time, he’s led a series of brilliant operations against

the Austrians, and won a string of battles.

Now he appears close to final victory.

He’s driven Austrian field forces off the plains of Northern Italy, back towards the Alps…

While his troops have the great fortress-city of Mantua – the ‘key to Italy’ – under close siege.

Mantua’s oversized Austrian garrison is nearing starvation, and riddled with disease.

Napoleon appeals to its commander, Field Marshal von Wurmser,

to surrender. “The brave should be facing danger, not swamp plague!” he gibes.

But Wurmser is a tough old veteran. He will not yield while any glimmer of hope remains.

And he knows that to the north.. Austria is gathering fresh troops to march to his aid.

True, many are Grenz battalions – a type of Hapsburg frontier militia,

poorly drilled and short of officers.

But they help raise the strength of the Austrian field army to 44,000.

And they have a new general to lead them – Feldzeugmeister,

or Lieutenant-General, József Alvinczi.

The 61-year-old Hungarian was once military tutor to Emperor Francis himself,

and is regarded as diligent, sharp, and brave.

He and his staff draw up plans for a fresh offensive to rescue Wurmser and Mantua.

Alvinczi and Quosdanovich will lead the main column, 26,000 strong,

from Friuli to Bassano, then onwards to Mantua.

Davidovich’s corps, reinforced to 18,000, will retake Trento,

and push south through the Adige valley.

The two forces will link up at the earliest opportunity.

Meanwhile Wurmser, who can muster just 12,000 fit men from the Mantua

garrison - will launch powerful sorties to pin down as many French units as possible.

Napoleon, by contrast, has received very few reinforcements from France. His weary divisions

are suffering from shortages and sickness – and will be outnumbered on every front.

Alvinczi begins his advance on 22nd October.

The following day, the heavens open – drenching troops, swelling rivers and reducing roads to mud.

For the time being, Napoleon is content to observe the enemy struggle forward in

such conditions, knowing the effort will exhaust his infantry and disrupt supplies.

On 2nd November, fighting breaks out north of Trento,

where Napoleon has ordered Vaubois to attack.

He wants to keep Davidovich bottled up, but Vaubois is

heavily outnumbered, and his attack fails.

Vaubois begins pulling back to Calliano… while Masséna

gives up Bassano, and withdraws towards Vicenza.

But now Alvinczi’s advance becomes strung out,

slowed by the heavy rain, and poor fitness of his recruits.

And it is against Napoleon’s nature to remain passive for so long.

As the Austrians cross the Brenta, he orders Masséna to attack General

Lipthay’s division at Fontaniva.. while Augereau attacks Hohenzollern at Bassano.

The French launch dozens of separate assaults. But for all their poor march discipline,

the Austrian recruits stand their ground, and fight hard.

With around 3,000 casualties on each side, the Second Battle of Bassano

is the bloodiest day’s fighting so far in the Italian campaign – and a failure for Napoleon.

Hours later, he receives dire news from Vaubois.

During heavy fighting at Calliano,

some Croatian troops get behind the French line, triggering panic, and a rout.

Vaubois loses nearly half his division killed,

wounded or missing, before he can regroup at Rivoli.

The French are falling back on all fronts.

And unless Napoleon can conjure something remarkable,

he seems destined to suffer a major strategic defeat.

Napoleon’s position is perilous. But his enemies’ cautious pursuit affords him some respite.

Four whole days pass while Alvinczi and Davidovich co-ordinate their next moves. It’s

not a delay Napoleon would have tolerated, if the shoe had been on the other foot.

When the Austrians finally advance, it’s bungled:

Hohenzollern’s vanguard approaches Verona to investigate reports of a French retreat.

This isolated division is too tempting for Napoleon to ignore.

He orders Augereau and Masséna to attack.

They inflict 400 casualties. But Hohenzollern escapes to a ridge near Caldiero.

The next day, Napoleon orders renewed attacks.

But conditions are atrocious.

The French struggle uphill into driving rain and hail, their boots slipping in the mud,

under fire from Austrians dug-in on the ridgetop.

Around noon, Colonel Dupuy’s 32nd Demi-Brigade finally gets onto the ridge.

It looks like the French may be able to lever the Austrians out of their position.

But then, the Austrian army begins to arrive in force,

to support Hohenzollern’s hard-pressed division.

The French are in danger of being outflanked on both wings.

They take up new defensive positions, and hold the line until darkness...

when Napoleon cuts his losses, and orders a retreat to Verona.

It has been an unequivocal French defeat – Napoleon’s first in battle.

The following day, he writes furiously to the Directory in Paris.

He has no doubt that they are to blame for his defeat,

for repeatedly failing to send reinforcements:

“We may be on the verge of losing Italy. None of the expected help has arrived…

The Army of Italy, reduced to a handful of men, is worn out…

The heroes of Lodi, Millesimo, Castiglione and Bassano have

died for their country or are in the hospitals. The men have nothing left

but their reputation and their pride…We are abandoned in the depths of Italy.”

But despite his apparent despair, Napoleon has already devised a plan to strike back – a

breathtakingly bold move, that will spawn one of the greatest of Napoleonic legends.

With the Austrians converging on Verona … Napoleon decides

to risk everything on a daring, surprise attack.

Leaving Macquard to cover Verona, he will circle south with the rest of the army.. cross the Adige

River.. and swing north, threatening to cut Alvinczi’s lines of communication,

and capture his artillery, baggage and supplies.

Such losses will force Alvinczi to abandon his advance.

Marching overnight, Augereau and Masséna arrive undetected at Ronco.

Augereau’s men cross the Adige on a pontoon bridge, and begin moving north.

But with marshland on all sides, they have to stick to the narrow,

raised causeway, just 20 yards wide...

And when they reach Arcole, where they must cross the bridge to continue north,

they find it held by two Croatian battalions.

Horribly exposed on the causeway,

and under heavy fire, the French troops take cover behind its reverse slope.

Reinforcements are sent up,

but they too are pinned down by the weight of fire from the far bank.

Colonel Lannes had discharged himself from hospital that morning in order

not to miss the battle. He now attempts to lead a charge, but is hit in the leg.

The fiery Augereau refuses to accept defeat, and orders another attack. But his men are

exhausted and demoralised, with three generals wounded.

The attack at Arcole has stalled.

When Alvinczi hears gunfire from the south, he assumes the French are making a feint,

to divert him from his own planned attack on Verona.

But then comes alarming news that the French have crossed the Adige in force,

and are behind his left flank.

He sends two brigades to attack the

French bridgehead.. and diverts Mittrovsky to reinforce Arcole.

Masséna’s division, moving northwest to protect the flank of the advance,

runs straight into the Austrians at Bionde.

At first the Austrians have the better of it, but a disastrous friendly fire incident

triggers panic… and Masséna drives the Austrians back up the causeway.

Napoleon is increasingly concerned by the holdup at Arcole.

If they cannot break through, Alvinczi will have ample time to redeploy, and prevent any advance.

He now orders General Guieu to take two regiments, cross the Adige at Albaredo,

and lead them up the eastern bank of the Alpone river, to hit Arcole from the south.

He himself rides to the bridge, to try to get the attack moving.

He finds hundreds of French troops sheltering behind the causeway,

unwilling to face the Austrian fire.

General Augereau grabs a standard and begins

to advance. This highly romanticised depiction was painted two years later.

“Grenadiers!” he cries, “Come and seek your colour!”

In reality, none had the courage to follow him.

Then the commander of the Army of Italy himself draws his sabre,

picks up a standard, and runs forward.

There is withering fire all around. Several men

fall wounded. His aide-de-camp Colonel Muiron is killed.

Another aide-de-camp, a Polish officer named Sulkowski, recalls:

“The soldiers saw him... and none of them imitated

him. I was witness to this extraordinary cowardice, and I cannot conceive it.”

With the French infantry refusing to follow their officers,

the assault on the bridge ends in abject failure.

A well-timed Austrian counter-attack drives them back down the causeway.

In the rout, Napoleon’s horse loses its footing. He tumbles into the swamp,

and has to be hauled out by his aides.

That evening, General Guieu launches his attack on Arcole from the south.

The defences are less formidable on this side, and his men fight their way into the village.

Arcole, at last, has fallen.

But that night, Guieu’s men are ordered to pull back…

Napoleon.. is preparing to retreat.

If, as he expects, Davidovich has continued his advance down the Adige Valley,

Napoleon must withdraw now, or face encirclement.

His bold manoeuvre appears to have failed.

Then at 4am, Napoleon receives a report from Rivoli that changes everything.

Not only does Vaubois still hold the town – he hasn’t even been attacked yet.

Napoleon’s line of retreat remains secure - for at least a few days more.

It’s all the reassurance he needs. He immediately cancels his retreat, and issues orders to attack.

Napoleon has lost the element of surprise.

And Alvinczi is now planning his own counter-attack.

Overnight, his troops edge forward - Provera to Belfiore

di Porcile.. Mittrovsky back into Arcole..

Both armies are on the move before dawn.

Masséna sends skirmishers into the marshland. When the Austrians arrive,

bunched up on the causeway, they make easy targets.

After a sharp fight, in which an Austrian general is killed,

Masséna’s men are driving the enemy before them.

Augereau, however, cannot get close to Arcole. The causeway

is still swept by Austrian musket-fire and canister from across the Alpone.

Napoleon orders troops to cross downstream at

Albaredo – but the Austrians now have two battalions guarding the crossing point.

French attempts to float or swim across the river come to naught.

Day two of the battle ends in stalemate.

Many soldiers have to camp amid the marshes, and get what food and rest they can.

Napoleon will try once more to break through.. but he is running out of time.

Davidovich, who by now has received several urgent requests from Alvinczi to advance,

finally attacks on 17th November.

Vaubois’ outgunned division breaks. The Austrians take Rivoli and 1,000 prisoners,

and nearly capture Vaubois himself.

With Davidovich on the move at last, Napoleon must force a decision at Arcole, or retreat.

The bridge at Arcole has proved too tough to crack.

So Napoleon switches tactics.

Augereau’s division will cross the Alpone, and attack Arcole from the south in force…

A column is sent 10 miles south to cross at Legnago,

then race back up the eastern bank to support him.

Masséna will advance up the causeway in support.. while also protecting the left flank.

That night, the French assemble a pontoon bridge over the Alpone.

Augereau’s division begins crossing before dawn.

But at sunrise, Austrian gunners in Albaredo spot the bridge,

and score a hit, knocking it out of action.

Only the 51st demi-brigade is across – though it gamely begins to advance on Arcole.

Masséna’s advance is also hamstrung by a broken pontoon bridge.

To add to the crisis, the Austrians launch an attack on the fragile French bridgehead.

Napoleon gathers every available gun to blast the Austrians,

who fall back under a withering barrage.

The bridges are quickly repaired.

But as the French advance, they encounter stubborn opposition on both sides of the Alpone.

A bloody see-saw battle surges back and forth along the causeways. Neither

side can deploy its troops, nor gain an advantage.

Around 3pm, the French column from Legnago arrives, threatening to turn the Austrian flank.

Just as Arcole seems about to fall,

the Austrians launch a ferocious counterattack across the bridge.

Brigadier General Robert is killed - his troops fall back in disarray.

The panic is contagious. Augereau’s men lose their nerve, and fall back to the bridge.

The moment of crisis has arrived.

But while the enemy has just used his last reserves, Napoleon can

call on Masséna’s unengaged troops, including the elite 32nd Demi-Brigade.

Their sudden counter-attack turns the tide.

Masséna’s men sweep up the causeway, taking scores of prisoners,

as Augereau’s division resumes its advance.

As they approach Arcole, Napoleon arranges a small ‘ruse de guerre’: 25 of his elite

escort sweep in from the east, blowing bugles to feign a mass cavalry charge.

In the evening light, it’s enough to scare the remaining garrison into abandoning the village.

As the French continue their advance, Alvinczi orders his exhausted, demoralised

army to retreat east, to Montebello, to protect its lines of communication.

The three-day battle of Arcole has been a messy, bloody affair, with no great tactical flourishes.

Napoleon’s margin of victory is narrow, and a third of his army are

casualties. But he has done enough, for now.

Alvinczi may be withdrawing – but Davidovich remains a threat.

The next day, Napoleon sets off at his customary pace,

with Masséna’s division, to reinforce Vaubois.

Augereau takes a different route, to threaten the Austrians’ line of retreat.

The confusion that follows between Alvinczi and Davidovich verges on farce.

Alvinczi writes to his corps commander, informing him that he

will support him by resuming his advance.

But Davidovich, having heard of the defeat

at Arcole, and now directly menaced by Napoleon, is already retreating.

On receiving Alvinczi’s letter, however, he tries to turn his army around,

leading to such chaos that he has to immediately countermand that order, and resume his retreat.

The end result is that both Austrian armies are soon withdrawing.

And with exquisitely poor timing,

gallant old Wurmser choses this moment to launch his supporting attack from Mantua.

He does at least secure some much-needed supplies.. at a cost of 800 casualties.

It has been a bruising campaign for Napoleon.

By some estimates he has lost more men than the Austrians.

He has suffered his first defeat in battle, and won a costly, messy victory at Arcole.

But.. he has beaten the odds, and thrown back the enemy.

What’s more, his heroic conduct at the bridge at Arcole will soon take on a life of its own.

Artists and pamphleteers turn a slightly embellished version of

events… into a sensational piece of personal PR, that captivates France.

With Napoleon’s active encouragement, the world is witnessing the birth of ‘the Napoleonic legend’…

a powerful force, that will inspire loyalty and devotion for many years to come.

For now, both armies settle into winter quarters,

as December brings bitter cold and heavy snow to northern Italy.

In Mantua, the Austrian garrison is near its limit. Starvation

beckons… though Wurmser is determined to hold out to the last.

The Austrians will have one last chance to save the city – a final offensive,

to decide the outcome of the war in Italy.

January, 1797.

A new year… but familiar problems for 27-year-old General Bonaparte,

waging war against the Austrians in Northern Italy.

He has the great fortress-city of Mantua under siege, and after a narrow victory at Arcole,

he’s once again driven back the Austrian armies trying to march to its aid.

But the French Army of Italy is in a ragged state. Troops have not been paid for weeks;

their uniforms are disintegrating, their shoes are broken, and above all, they are hungry.

One of Napoleon’s major concerns is the wretched state of medical care for his men.

“...the hospitals lack everything, our wounded are lying on the floors,

and in the most horrible state of destitution.”

It’s not just a question of saving lives, and getting wounded men back to their units.

Medical care affects morale, as troops going into combat want to know that if

the worst happens, they’ll be looked after.

Conditions are much worse for the Austrian garrison of Mantua,

commanded by Field Marshal Wurmser.

In four months of siege, 9,000 soldiers have died from disease,

wounds or the effects of malnutrition. Survivors live off horsemeat; civilians off rats and dogs.

Even these miserable rations will run out by 27th January – just a few weeks away.

The clock is ticking. The Austrians must relieve Mantua by that date,

or lose the city... and with it, the war in Italy.

Napoleon, having received just 7,000 reinforcements,

prepares to meet Alvinczi’s advance.

He will not only be outnumbered - he doesn’t know where his enemy will strike.

And Napoleon must hold one division back to cover Wurmer’s garrison. It’s commanded

once more by General Sérurier, recovered from his long illness.

Augereau’s division watches the Adige.. while Masséna guards Verona.

The northern division has a new commander - Napoleon has sacked

Vaubois for his poor performance, and put in his place, General Barthélemy Joubert.

He is a hard-working, brave, and exceptionally modest commander,

and like Napoleon, just 27 years old.

General Rey is in reserve, south of Lake Garda.

General Alvinczi has received 14,000 reinforcements,

and orders to relieve Mantua as soon as possible.

He is eager to march. But heavy snow, and the late arrival of equipment and supplies,

delays his advance until 7th January.

The first columns on the move are Provera and Bajalich. But their offensive is merely

a diversion, intended to draw Napoleon’s attention away from the main threat,

which will be coming down the Adige Valley.

Alvinczi has divided this force into six columns. Their mission is

to envelop and destroy Joubert’s division at Rivoli, and clear the path to Mantua.

But Rivoli is a strong defensive position - they must hit it hard

and fast, before the French can respond.

Napoleon, assuming any Austrian advance is still weeks away, has travelled to the Papal States,

with a column of troops commanded by Colonel Lannes. They intend to

put a little pressure on the Pope, who continues to stir opposition to France.

However, as soon as he receives reports of enemy movement,

Napoleon races back to his headquarters at Roverbella.

By now, Alvinczi’s forces have also begun to advance…

but serious planning failures quickly emerge.

Lusignan’s First Column, on the right flank of the advance,

has orders to cross the slopes of Monte Baldo, and attack Joubert from the rear.

It’s soon clear that these orders are wildly optimistic – dreamed

up by staff officers who’d not seen the terrain.

The peak of Monte Baldo is more than 7,000 feet high. Its slopes are covered in deep snow and

ice. The paths are treacherous, even more so after dark, and there is no firewood for making camp.

Only by taking a wide detour can Lusignan make any progress at all,

whilst losing 200 men to exhaustion and exposure.

Meanwhile, the Second and Third Austrian columns reach the French outpost at Ferrara.

An initial attack is repulsed, and following their orders,

they wait for Lusignan’s column to appear before launching a second attack.

However Lusignan’s column is not yet in sight.

Alvinczi’s plan relies on swift, bold action.. but just 48 hours in, it’s falling apart.

At Roverbella, Napoleon ponders the incoming reports.

He knows that Joubert’s forward outpost is under attack at Ferrara...

That Masséna has repulsed an Austrian attack on Verona...

And Augereau faces a sizeable Austrian force near Legnago, poised to cross the Adige.

Is Alvinczi using the same tactics as before – making his attack from the east?

Then a second report arrives from Joubert.

His scouts have detected an enemy column marching around his flank.

He has no doubt that he faces a major Austrian attack,

and has begun withdrawing his forces to Rivoli.

“The report I have given you is exact,” he tells his chief,

“Be assured, the enemy will make every effort to throw me onto the blockade of Mantua…”

‘The enemy’s plan has been unmasked’, Napoleon announces - and issues a flurry of orders.

Masséna is to march immediately to reinforce Joubert…

Augereau is to send him cavalry and guns, while the rest of his division keeps watch on Provera…

Rey is to move up to Castelnuovo...

Sérurier is to be on high alert, for an attempted break out by the Mantua garrison...

While Joubert, the youngest and least experienced of Napoleon’s divisional

commanders, is instructed to hold Rivoli at any cost.. and assured that help is on the way.

After giving the Austrians a bloody nose at Ferrara,

Joubert has extricated his troops overnight, and taken up a defensive position around Rivoli.

Napoleon arrives around midnight,

and immediately sets out with Joubert to inspect the enemy’s positions.

“The weather had cleared, and the moonlight was superb. I climbed the

different heights and observed the lines of enemy fires. They filled

the country between the Adige and Lake Garda, and the atmosphere was ablaze

with them. One could easily distinguish five camps, each composed of a column.”

Until reinforcements arrive, Napoleon has just

Joubert’s division - 10,000 men - to hold off 24,000 Austrians.

But Alvinczi will help to even the odds, by ordering Lusignan’s First Column to

attempt a wide outflanking march, to cut off the French line of retreat.

And Napoleon decides the main road to Rivoli, which passes through a steep defile known

as the Pontare, can be held by a single regiment, supported by entrenched cannon.

This leaves more manageable odds of 9,000 against 12,000 in the centre.

But Napoleon wants to push out his defensive line,

to hold the slopes that mark the edge of the Rivoli plateau.

At 4am, General Vial’s light infantry brigade advances through the darkness.

They drive back the Austrian outposts, and take the San Marco chapel.

They’re followed on their left by the rest of Joubert’s division.

But the French push too far – skirmishes break out along the line,

with heavy fighting on the heights of San Marco.

Napoleon had not wanted to start the battle so early, but the combat escalates.

At dawn, the Austrians attack the plateau in force.

The French 85th demi-brigade is outflanked and routed by Lipthay’s Second Column.

The 29th Light, on its right,

is forced to retreat, and it looks like the French line is crumbling.

But the 14th, on their right, fights tenaciously.

It’s an intense infantry battle across broken ground - vineyards

and walled gardens – with sudden charges, hurried withdrawals, and counter charges.

When the Austrians overrun a French battery,

an officer demands, “Fourteenth! Will you let them take your guns?”

His troops mount a ferocious charge that routs the Austrians, and reclaims the battery.

By 9am, Masséna’s troops have begun to arrive.

They take up position on Joubert’s left - the buckled French line is stabilised.

But so far, the French have only faced half of Alvinczi’s six columns.

One by one, the others now join the action.

Vukassovich’s Sixth Column is on the far side of the Adige River… but its

guns cause havoc among French troops holding the Pontare.

Under this covering fire, Reuss’s Fifth Column charges up the narrow road,

and in fierce fighting, storms the French entrenchments.

This advance threatens the entire French right wing with encirclement, and a retreat begins.

Moments later, gunfire to the southwest reveals

Lusignan’s First Column has reached Affi, poised to cut off their escape.

The French situation is desperate. They are outnumbered, surrounded, and under heavy attack.

Napoleon’s staff look anxiously to

their commander… wondering what miracle can save the army now.

Sensing victory, General Alvinczi and his staff ride forward to urge his infantry on.

Napoleon.. remains calm. He knows Alvinczi’s centre columns are near

exhaustion. And that they have no cavalry and little artillery support.

He identifies Reuss’s column as the most immediate threat,

and orders Joubert to send every man and gun he can spare for a counterattack.

General Leclerc, and a 21-year-old Captain Lasalle then charge with

the entire French cavalry – just a few hundred horsemen.

Under this onslaught, the lead Austrian troops are driven back into the gorge.

Here they collide with the rest of the column coming up,

cavalry and infantry jammed together, some pushing forward, others trying to escape.

Joubert’s men pour fire down on them from the overlooking ridge.

The final straw is the devastating explosion of an ammunition wagon.

Austrian morale breaks. The survivors flood back down the road, to safety.

Napoleon now turns his full attention to the centre, where

the exhausted Austrian columns have become spread out and disordered.

The sudden appearance of French cavalry – supported by infantry and

guns - sparks panic… and a mass rout.

Alvinczi – who must have thought himself on the cusp of victory moments before – must

join in an undignified race to the rear, spreading further alarm among his men.

By 1pm, the bulk of the Austrian army is in

headlong retreat… leaving Lusignan’s First Column.. in an awkward position.

Completely isolated, he begins a fighting withdrawal… but the

arrival of General Rey’s brigade in his rear triggers a rout.

Fewer than half of his 4,000 men escape.

Through tenacity, courage and good fortune,

the Army of Italy has turned a grim situation into an astonishing triumph.

French casualties are modest. Austrian losses are devastating.

Over the next few days, five thousand more Austrians are captured,

as they struggle back through the mountain passes.

Napoleon will not be there to see it. He’s received news that Provera

has crossed the Adige, and is marching on Mantua.

It is a chance for him to strike one more

blow against the enemy – and to seal the fate of Mantua.

Leaving Joubert in command at Rivoli, with orders to renew the attack at dawn,

Napoleon races south with Masséna’s division.

Provera has no clue of the disaster that’s

engulfed Alvinczi’s army. Nor that the wolves now gather for him…

He pushes on to Mantua, shadowed by Augereau, who snaps up his rearguard – 2,000 men taken prisoner.

With just 7,000 left, Provera’s only hope is to break through the French siege lines.

First, he tries to attack San Giorgio. Formidable French

defences and a powerful cannonade stop him cold.

The next day, he launches a coordinated attack with Wurmser against French forces at La Favorita.

But Napoleon has now arrived with Masséna’s division from the north.

Wurmser’s weak, starving men are forced back into the Citadel… while a determined

charge by the 57th demi-brigade smashes into Provera’s flank.

With Augereau approaching from the east,

Provera faces impossible odds.. and surrenders with his entire force.

Wurmser’s last hope of rescue has been crushed.

He puts off the inevitable for two agonising weeks… Until,

with all food exhausted, he finally accepts terms for Mantua’s surrender on 2nd February.

He and an escort will return to Austria. His 16,000 remaining troops become prisoners.

Austrian losses in the campaign reach a staggering 44,000 men.

After 8 months, the siege of Mantua is over… A victory that

will soon be celebrated on the streets of Paris.

But it is General Sérurier, not Napoleon, who takes the formal Austrian surrender.

His commander-in-chief has already departed, to take on his next opponent – the Pope.

From Rome, Pope Pius the Sixth has once more been agitating against the French.

And so Napoleon marches south with 9,000 men to explain the new realities of power in Italy.

At Faenza, General Victor’s division sweeps aside Papal forces, and Ancona is taken without a fight.

The subsequent Treaty of Tolentino forces the Pope to give up Romagna,

as well as 30 million francs and 100 works of art.

Belatedly, Napoleon’s victories persuade the Directory to back him in force.

French armies stuck on the Rhine are ordered to send him reinforcements.

Their 34 year old commander - another rising star of the French army - is congratulated

on his brilliant winter crossing of the Alps. His name is General Jean Bernadotte.

On 10th March, with 70,000 confident,

seasoned troops under his command, Napoleon goes on the offensive.

He sends Joubert to invade the Tyrol… Masséna to advance up the Piave valley…

while he leads the bulk of the army on the most direct road to Vienna.

The enemy is scattered and demoralised.

Even the appointment of a new commander, the Emperor’s own brother Archduke Charles,

fails to restore morale. Charles is regarded as a military prodigy – he’s

two years younger than Napoleon, and has defeated the armies of both General

Jourdan and Moreau in Germany. But he does not have enough troops, or time.

He fights a delaying action at the Tagliamento River – but it ends in disaster,

when Bernadotte surrounds and captures 2,000 Austrians, 10 guns and 8 standards.

The French pursuit continues, with Masséna covering Napoleon’s northern flank.

He arrives at Tarvis in time to block the Austrians’ retreat.

In three days’ fighting, the French take another 3,000 prisoners.

Napoleon’s troops outmarch and outfight the Austrians at every turn.

But his situation is more precarious than it seems. The other French armies are only just

crossing the Rhine.. while his own supply lines are now over-extended and vulnerable.

Rather than withdraw, Napoleon continues to advance,

while proposing to Archduke Charles that they open peace negotiations.

The Austrians accept.

Two days later, both sides agree an armistice, and peace talks begin at Leoben.

After five years of conflict, Napoleon’s dazzling

advance into Austria has brought the War of the First Coalition to an end...

So ends Napoleon’s first campaign – almost exactly a year after it began,

380 miles away, on the shores of the Mediterranean.

Negotiations at Leoben become the basis for the Treaty of Campo Formio, signed five months later.

The Austrian Netherlands, roughly modern Belgium, formally pass to France.

The Venetian Republic, invaded and systematically looted by Napoleon’s

troops, is divided between France and Austria.

So ends the 1,200 year history of the Serene Republic of Venice. The

famous Horses of St.Mark are among its many treasures despatched to the Louvre in Paris,

to join its rapidly-expanding Italian collection.

The French part of Venice joins its other Italian client-states, to form a new Cisalpine Republic.

The author of its constitution… Napoleon Bonaparte.

It’s an illustration of how far the 27-year-old general has come in just a year.

Having waged one of the most brilliant military campaigns in history – many

would say his best – he now dictates terms to kings and popes, summons new states into being,

and nurtures his status as the most celebrated military commander in Europe.

He has achieved all this thanks to formidable intelligence, relentless hard work and inspiring

leadership, which he has used to forge a unique bond of trust with his men.

He’s had luck, too, along the way. And been ably served by a group of

brilliant officers – many of whom will be with him for years to come.

For Napoleon still has many extraordinary things to achieve.

His Italian campaign is just the first chapter.. in one of the most astonishing lives in history.

May 1798.

A massive French invasion force sails across the Mediterranean.

55,000 men, aboard more than 300 ships, escorted by 13 ships-of-the-line.

Aboard the most powerful of these - the 120-gun L’Orient - sails General Napoleon Bonaparte.

France’s celebrated hero of the war in Italy has received new orders from his government.

He is to lead an expeditionary force east,

to Egypt… the wealthiest province of the Ottoman Empire...

and to all educated Europeans, an ancient land of mystery and wonder.

After six years of war in Europe,

the French Republic faces one last remaining enemy – Great Britain.

The conquest of Egypt will strike a powerful blow against the British, disrupting their trade in

the Eastern Mediterranean, and threatening their connections to India and the east.

These profitable trade networks help fuel the British war effort.

What’s more, it will extend France’s revolutionary, civilizing mission to

the people of Egypt, liberating them from superstition and feudalism.

France’s corrupt and avaricious government,

the Directory, sees two further benefits from the campaign…

The opportunity to acquire tremendous riches…

And to get the alarmingly popular and ambitious General Bonaparte far away

from Paris – where plots and coups are never far from anyone’s mind.

Napoleon is thrilled by the expedition, which he has done much to promote and organize himself.

It is a chance to win fresh glory,

and to walk in the footsteps of his heroes – Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great.

Like Alexander, Napoleon even has fanciful notions

of marching on to India, to attack the British there.

“Europe is a molehill” he had told his secretary, Bourrienne.

“We must set off for the Orient; that is where all the greatest glory has been achieved.”

But the Mediterranean is dangerous water for the French.

While the Republic’s armies have won great victories on land, Britain has cemented its

status as the dominant naval power of the age – with decisive victories over French allies:

the Spanish, at Cape Saint Vincent, and the Dutch, at Camperdown.

Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson and his squadron of

14 ships-of-the-line now prowl the Mediterranean.

Nelson knows a large French fleet has just left Toulon,

but does not know its destination, which remains a closely-guarded secret.

Undetected, the French expedition sails south along the Italian coast.

On 9th June, it arrives off Malta.

The island is ruled by the Knights of

Saint John – a religious military order dating back to the Crusades.

But the French have decided that they want it for a naval base,

and a thorn in the side of the British.

In 1565, the Knights had famously held out against a vast Ottoman army for three months.

Now, despised by the locals, divided amongst themselves,

the Knights surrender to Napoleon in just two days.

During his six days in Malta, Napoleon overhauls its archaic government,

establishes schools, abolishes slavery, and requisitions money and supplies.

Then he sails for Egypt, leaving General Vaubois and a 5,000 strong garrison to hold the island.

But where.. is the Royal Navy?

Back in May, Nelson’s squadron had been dispersed by gales.

He has now regrouped, correctly guessed Napoleon’s destination, and is racing to intercept.

If he can catch the French, British seamanship

and gunnery all but guarantee the destruction of Napoleon’s fleet.

Then a lucky break for the French.

On the night of the 22nd, Nelson’s squadron passes within a few miles of the French fleet…

but thanks to heavy fog and darkness, neither side is even aware of the other’s presence.

The British squadron sails on to Alexandria.. where they find no sign of the French.

An exasperated Nelson waits 24 hours, before heading north to continue his search.

Just hours later, the first of Napoleon’s ships arrive off Alexandria.

Napoleon, aware that British warships are in the area, wants to disembark as quickly as possible.

5,000 French infantry go ashore at night,

storm Alexandria the next morning, and quickly overpower its garrison.

The rest of the French army lands safely.

Napoleon has brought 38,000 troops to Egypt, mostly veterans of the Army of Italy.

The five infantry divisions are commanded by Generals Bon, Desaix, Kléber, Menou, and Reynier.

The single cavalry division is led by the towering figure of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas.

He is France’s first black general - born in what’s now Haiti, to a French aristocrat

and enslaved African woman. He has already won fame for his actions

in Italy, where the Austrians had nicknamed him ‘the Black Devil’.

There are more familiar faces from Italy – Napoleon’s chief-of-staff,

the indefatigable General Berthier;

and brigade commanders, generals Murat, Lannes, and Marmont.

The army is also accompanied by 167 scientists, scholars,

artists and assorted experts, even a hot air balloonist. Collectively they are known

as the “Savants”, and have come to study Egypt’s historical and natural wonders.

But they, and Napoleon, find Alexandria a bitter disappointment.

The fabled city of antiquity, founded by Alexander himself,

has been reduced by centuries of earthquakes and neglect to a ramshackle town of 6,000 inhabitants.

Egypt is nominally ruled by the Ottoman Empire.

In reality, power lies with local Mamluk warlords. Two in particular: Murad Bey, and Ibrahim Bey.

Mamluks were originally slave soldiers who once served the Islamic Caliphate.

Superb horsemen and fearless warriors, they now rule Egypt with an iron fist,

expropriating its wealth, and leaving its peasants in poverty.

To most Egyptians, they are despised, foreign overlords – a situation that Napoleon hopes

to exploit with clever propaganda. To the people of Egypt, he proclaims, “I am come

to restore your rights, and punish usurpers. I reverence God, his Prophet and the Koran.”

Meanwhile Murad and Ibrahim summon Mamluk warlords to the al-Azhar

Mosque in Cairo. Here, they agree to gather an army to crush the invaders.

Napoleon believes his best option is to strike quickly.

Less than a day after his troops finish landing, he begins his advance on Cairo.

But he misjudges the blistering climate, and the barren, windswept landscape.

He forces the pace, even after his men run out of water, and are consumed by

thirst. Hundreds collapse and die. A few kill themselves to escape the suffering.

Bedouin horsemen circle the French like vultures.

Stragglers that fall into their hands are robbed, tortured and killed.

Even old comrades like Lannes and Murat are

involved in heated conversations about Napoleon’s decision-making.

The army takes four days to cover the 45 miles to Damanhur, where mercifully,

they are able to rest, drink and trade for food.

It's not a moment too soon.

News arrives that a large force of Mamluks under Murad Bey is approaching from the southeast.

The French advance to meet them at Shubra Khit, on the banks of the Nile.

As 4,000 Mamluk horsemen come into view, the French marvel at their brightly colored outfits,

embellished with gold and jewels.. and their many, ornate weapons,

including pistols, swords, daggers, and lances.

Murad boasts that he will sever Frenchmen’s heads like slicing watermelons in a field.

But for all their bravado and panache,

the Mamluks have neither the discipline nor tactics to face a trained, modern army.

When Napoleon forms his troops into giant squares, the Mamluk cavalry can

only circle impotently, unable to break through the walls of French bayonets.

Scores are shot from the saddle. After two hours, the Mamluks call off their attack, and retreat.

They have suffered around a thousand casualties. The French have scarcely lost a man.

The victory is a much-needed morale boost for Napoleon’s men after the hardships of the desert.

The Mamluks fall back to Embaba, a small town on the banks of the Nile,

across the river from Cairo.

Here, within sight of Egypt’s fabled Pyramids nine miles to the south,

they will face the invader.. with their full force.

On the sweltering afternoon of 21st July, Napoleon’s forces approach Embaba.

He has 25,000 men, organized into five giant, divisional squares,

with cavalry and baggage inside, and cannon at every corner.

Murad, with characteristic boldness,

has crossed to the west bank of the Nile, leaving Ibrahim behind.

Their forces total many thousands, but sources disagree wildly on just how many.

His elite Mamluk cavalry – 6,000 strong - are deployed between the small village

of Biktil and the well-fortified town of Embaba.. which is garrisoned by a mix of

Ottoman infantry, and peasant militia.

Napoleon’s plan is simple - to drive

through the enemy center, and crush their right flank against the river.

At 3:30 pm, Desaix and Reynier’s divisions begin their advance.

But as they move across the broken ground, their formation becomes disordered.

Murad spots his chance, and unleashes his cavalry.

The Mamluks thunder forward at lightning speed.

Desaix and Reynier react just in time, and close ranks.

The French hold their fire until the last moment, then unleash a devastating volley.

Horses and riders are sent tumbling.

The survivors have no way to get to grips with the enemy,

who continue pouring deadly fire into their midst.

The Mamluks wheel back to regroup, but more charges meet the same result.

Many Mamluks simply give up and flee the field.

Napoleon orders the divisions of Bon and Vial to move forward.

Once more the Mamluk cavalry charge. Once more the

wave of horsemen shatters on French musketry and bayonets.

With the enemy cavalry broken, Bon and Vial’s men pour into Embaba.

It is a slaughter. Those who are not killed flee into the Nile, where hundreds drown.

Murad Bey escapes with the remnants of his cavalry to Giza,

from where he will withdraw to southern Egypt.

Ibrahim Bey watches the calamity unfold across the river, then withdraws with his men back to Cairo.

It is a crushing, one-sided victory that takes just two hours.

The Mamluks suffer more than 5,000 casualties,

with heavy losses among their elite cavalry and leadership.

French losses are less than 300, mostly wounded.

Napoleon, with his usual flair for PR, decides this great victory will be known

as the Battle of the Pyramids.. just in sight, to the south.

On 24th July, Napoleon enters Cairo.

Parts of the city are abandoned and in ashes,

after being torched by the Mamluks in their frantic withdrawal.

Napoleon observes “It would be difficult to find a richer land and a more wretched,

ignorant, and brutish people.”

Nonetheless, Cairo is the heart of Egypt, a city of 600,000 inhabitants... and is in French hands.

With the Mamluks scattered and on the run,

Napoleon’s dream of eastern conquest seems about to be realized.

Just eight days later, the dream is shattered.

At sea, Nelson and the British Mediterranean squadron have not

given up their hunt for the French fleet.

Finally, on the afternoon of 1st August, Nelson finds the French, sheltering in Aboukir Bay.

With 14 ships of the line against 13, he decides to attack that evening.

The British win a complete and stunning victory.

The giant French flagship, L’Orient, is destroyed in a massive explosion.

By the time it's over, the British have destroyed or

captured 11 French ships-of-the-line, and taken more than 3,000 prisoners.

With no fleet, Napoleon is stranded in Egypt.

What’s more, most of his army’s cash has gone down with L'Orient.

But Napoleon does not despair. If anything, he is invigorated by the crisis.

His options are now simple. He and his army must

support themselves in this foreign land, or perish.

While General Desaix is sent south in pursuit of Murad Bey,

Napoleon sets about reforming the administration of Egypt.

The old feudal system is abolished. A postal service and hospitals are set up,

and a new tax system introduced.

Napoleon establishes the ‘Institute of Egypt’ for scientific and scholarly research.

He shows great interest in and respect for Islam, funding the construction of mosques,

and encouraging the observance of religious festivals.

Such engagement later leads to rumours that Napoleon actually

converted to Islam. But it is merely a tactic, to curry local favour.

Napoleon also grapples with news that his wife Josephine has resumed her affair with an ex-lover.

It is, he’s told, common knowledge amongst Paris society.

He consoles himself with affairs of his own... including one with an officer’s wife.

All the while, French efforts to win over the local population.. are failing.

Most Egyptians see only foreign occupiers and infidels.

The situation is already at boiling point. Minor revolts break out across the Nile Delta,

which are brutally suppressed by the French.

Then in September, from Constantinople,

Sultan Selim the Third declares a holy war against the French.

Now, the situation in Egypt is about to explode.

Cairo. 21st October, 1798.

General Dupuy, Cairo’s military governor, is called out to break up a disturbance.

He finds the locals erecting barricades, is set upon, and killed.

Soon, the whole city is up in arms.

The French fight back with ruthless discipline, and crush the revolt.

Some 300 French soldiers are killed, alongside several thousand Egyptians.

Napoleon ostentatiously pardons the ringleaders…

while quietly telling Berthier that every rioter caught with a

weapon is to be beheaded, and thrown into the Nile.

The French have bloodily reasserted control in Cairo.

But it is clear Napoleon will never win the hearts and minds of the Egyptians.

The next few months see the French languish in Cairo.

There is limited communication with France, much homesickness,

and a dwindling supply of stores, ammunition and wine.

There is also an outbreak of bubonic plague, which torments the army, and further thins its ranks.

The only action is in the south, where General Desaix’s column,

2,800 men, pursue Murad Bey deep into Upper Egypt.

In this epic chase, one officer distinguishes himself – a 28-year-old cavalry brigadier,

named Louis-Nicolas Davout.

On 22nd January 1799, he and Desaix inflict a serious defeat on Murad Bey,

scattering his remaining forces.

Murad himself escapes, and remains at large.

But such military victories do little to change the outlook for Napoleon’s expedition.

They remain 1,600 miles from France, with no prospect of reinforcements, or getting home.

Napoleon briefly puts his hopes in a diplomatic solution.

France’s foreign minister – the brilliant, urbane and slippery

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand - had been an early supporter of the Egyptian expedition.

He’s assured Napoleon that he will personally travel to Constantinople,

to smooth relations with the Sultan, and win Egypt for France.

But Talleyrand never leaves Paris.

The Sultan remains furious at France’s attack on his Egyptian province.

There is to be no negotiation, and no compromise. Orders have gone out to every

corner of the Ottoman Empire, to raise troops, to drive out the French invader.

Napoleon’s position looks more desperate than it’s ever been – his troops cut off,

disease-ridden, in the midst of a hostile population…

He will respond in the way that seems obvious to him,

as it would to his hero Alexander – he will attack.

The forces gathering in Syria, rumoured to be 50,000 strong, pose the greatest threat.

So they will be his first target.

On 10th February, Napoleon leads a force of just 13,000 men into

the Sinai Desert, bound for the Holy Land.

It’s all the men he can spare, with so many needed to hold down Egypt.

Nevertheless, it’s a highly-motivated, experienced and well-led force - organized

into four infantry divisions, and a cavalry brigade, commanded by Murat.

For Napoleon, speed and surprise are imperative – but things start to go wrong very quickly.

The French are again poorly prepared for the harsh

conditions and heat of the desert. Water is scarce. Food runs short.

At el-Arish, they unexpectedly find the town garrisoned by 3,000 Ottoman soldiers.

The siege holds Napoleon up for 11 days, and costs 400 casualties, both of which he can ill afford.

The garrison’s surrender is secured only with generous terms: they are disarmed but

allowed to leave, after swearing an oath not to take up arms against the French for a year.

The French army continues into Palestine - its fertile plains

and fruit trees a relief after the desert.

On 24th February, the French occupy Gaza,

where they are delighted to find large stores of food and ammunition, abandoned by the Ottomans.

Napoleon’s next objective is the port-city of Jaffa, held by 5,000 Ottoman soldiers.

His field guns blast away at its stone walls, until finally, a breach is made.

But when Napoleon sends a messenger to invite surrender, to spare both sides the horrors

of an assault – the Ottomans cut off his head, and display it from the city walls.

Enraged French soldiers storm the breach, and overwhelm the defenders.

Then they flood into the city, embarking on a killing spree that lasts 24 hours.

“The sights were terrible,” wrote one French witness, “the sound of shots, the shrieks of women

and fathers… piles of bodies, the smell of blood… the shouts of victors quarrelling about loot.”

The butchery is indiscriminate – women and children are slaughtered,

alongside 2,000 Ottoman soldiers.

The next day, order is gradually restored. But more horrors are to come.

In the aftermath of the sack of Jaffa,

Napoleon finds himself with 3,000 Ottoman prisoners, who have been promised their lives.

But with his troops and supplies already stretched thin, he is reluctant to spare any,

to guard or feed these unwanted captives.

Besides, some are from the garrison of el-Arish, and have broken their oath not

to take up arms against the French. And they beheaded his messenger...

After conferring with his officers, Napoleon gives the order to execute the prisoners.

Over three days, the French lead the prisoners in batches to the beach, and slaughter them.

Some are shot. Some are simply driven into the sea. And by the third day,

French troops are ordered to use bayonets, to save their ammunition.

It is an atrocity that Napoleon will defend for the rest of his life.

“I had no choice,” he insists, many years later.

But the massacres provide easy propaganda for his enemies, while if the intention

was to terrify his enemies, it seems only to have encouraged them to fight harder.

As if by divine judgement, within days, hundreds of French soldiers fall sick with bubonic plague.

Napoleon shows considerable bravery,

visiting the sick in hospital – an act later celebrated by his own propaganda machine.

Napoleon now heads towards his main objective – Acre.

The ancient port-city, famed for its role in the Crusades,

is now the seat of the local Ottoman governor.

He is Ahmed Pasha al-Djezzar - known as ‘The Butcher’. For 25 years, he has ruled Syria

with an iron fist, and is notorious for his imaginative tortures, and executions.

He has ignored Napoleon’s invitation to surrender.

And what’s more, unknown to Napoleon, two British ships-of-the-line have arrived to support him.

Napoleon arrives at Mount Carmel - 12 miles south of Acre – just in time

to see the British capture a coastal convoy, carrying his vital siege guns.

Their loss is a massive blow to his hopes for a quick siege.

On 18th March, the French arrive outside Acre’s walls, and start to dig in.

Without their siege guns, the city’s defences are a major challenge.

Acre bristles with 250 guns, is surrounded on three sides by the sea,

and on the other, by walls that are 8 feet thick.

The British control the sea, ensuring easy resupply, and have landed marines,

naval gun crews - and now Napoleon’s own siege guns - to bolster the defences.

The British commander, Commodore Sir Sidney Smith, is energetic and full of ideas. While a French

emigré, Antoine de Phélippeaux, a former classmate of Napoleon’s, provides expert siege advice.

Ten days after their arrival, the French bombardment begins.

Napoleon’s field guns smash a small breach in the walls, but are then

overwhelmed by counterfire. 40 gunners are killed, and all but three guns disabled.

Napoleon sends in his infantry, with scaling ladders.

A hidden moat breaks up their assault,

while defenders blast them with muskets, and hurl down rocks.

The French hurriedly fall back in disorder.

Any man left behind is likely to be decapitated – ‘the Butcher’ has

offered a reward for every French head he is brought.

The French then repel an Ottoman sortie, inflicting heavy losses.

The siege of Acre enters a stalemate. Napoleon will wait for heavier guns to

arrive from Alexandria, before he risks another assault.

But then, alarming news arrives to disrupt this plan.

The Ottoman army gathering to the north - 40,000 strong - is on the move.

Napoleon can spare just 4,000 men to face them. The odds seem insane, but Napoleon trusts in the

training and experience of his troops, and particularly, the quality of his officers.

Unsure of the enemy’s line of advance, he divides his force.

On 8th April, at Nazareth,

Junot locates and scatters an enemy cavalry force ten times his number.

Three days later, Kléber defeats 5,000 at Cana…

while Murat surprises another force north of Lake Galilee.

On the 15th, General Kléber receives word that the main enemy force has swung round

to the south, and is camped near Mount Hamoreh – 8 miles from Mount Tabor.

Seeking glory, Kléber advances with just his own division, intending to surprise the enemy at dawn.

But he misjudges the march - when the sun rises,

he’s exposed on open ground, his 1,500 men facing 35,000.

Kléber’s division forms square,

and under a scorching sun, holds the enemy at bay for 10 hours.

But they are running low on ammunition, and desperate for reinforcements.

Napoleon, meanwhile, is racing towards them with 2,500 men.

He arrives just in time – attacking the Ottoman army from behind,

taking them completely by surprise.

Most of their forces are a peasant militia, and seized by panic, they flee in all directions.

Kléber joins the attack. The Ottoman army disintegrates.

At a cost of fewer than 300 casualties,

Napoleon has destroyed the enemy relief force, and secured control of Palestine.

The fall of Acre must now surely follow…

But at Acre, the situation is deteriorating for the French.

Without control of the sea,

they can do nothing to prevent supplies and reinforcements entering the city…

While their own ammunition stocks are so low, men are sent to find

spent cannonballs, to fire back at the city.

Most alarmingly, plague breaks out in the French camp, with around 20 new cases every day.

Then, suddenly, a chance to end the siege: on 24th April,

the French explode a mine under one of Acre’s towers, causing serious damage.

Napoleon orders an immediate assault.

Hundreds of grenadiers charge forward, but once more they

come under torrential fire, and have to fall back.

The clock is ticking for Napoleon.

Surely it won’t be long before the Ottoman army assembled at Rhodes makes its move.

And he fears having to recross the Sinai Desert in high summer, when the heat will be lethal.

Finally, on 7th May, Napoleon’s replacement siege artillery arrives.

Not wasting a moment, the French heavy guns open fire next morning.

Large sections of the city’s crumbling walls are brought down.

French troops attack at multiple points. Some fight their way into the city. But

counterattacks by British marines and Turkish troops throw them back.

General Lannes is wounded in the neck, and has to be dragged to safety,

narrowly escaping the Pasha’s head-choppers.

On 10th May, Napoleon calls on Kléber’s grenadiers to make a final attempt on the city.

‘Nothing could be more beautiful than Kléber on the day of battle’,

remarks Napoleon, as the general leads his division forward, with unflinching courage.

General Bon advances with his troops, in support. He is mortally wounded in the fighting.

For all the French heroism and courage on display,

the firepower, ferocity and skill of their enemy proves insurmountable.

Napoleon, observing the attack from a forward battery, is knocked off his feet by a near miss.

Finally, he accepts his men have done all that can be asked.

The attempt to take Acre… has failed.

Acre is Napoleon’s first major military defeat.

The 4-month campaign will cost him 4,500 casualties,

more than a third of his army’s fighting strength.

Nevertheless, Napoleon has succeeded in his main objective – neutralising the threat from Syria.

On 20th May, his army begins the 300-mile march back to Egypt.

En route, at Jaffa, Napoleon orders that around fifty of his men, riddled with plague

and unable to march, be put out of their suffering, with an overdose of laudanum.

They are mercy-killings – the victims would have suffered worse at the hands of the

enemy – but the decision is still controversial.

The French retreat continues into the desert.

The heat is overpowering, and water in short supply. Morale is at rock bottom.

Finally, after 25 days of marching, the army reaches Cairo on the 14th of June.

Their return is marked by triumphal parades and celebrations across the city,

organised... by Napoleon. He is determined that

his campaign be seen as a stunning success, in Cairo, and in France.

The men have just a few weeks to rest.

On 15th July, news arrives that the long-awaited Ottoman invasion has begun, at Aboukir.

There is no time to lose. Napoleon must

hit the enemy immediately, before he can break out into the Nile Delta.

With most of the Cairo garrison, Murat’s cavalry,

and Kléber’s division -10,000 men in all - he races towards Aboukir.

The experienced Ottoman commander – Said Mustafa Pasha – has 9,000 men,

entrenched in two defensive lines, guarding the fortress of Aboukir.

His plan is to force the French to attack his strong defences.

Napoleon is thrilled to learn this. The enemy has nowhere to run.

At dawn on 25th July, he orders an all-out attack.

The first Ottoman defensive line had not been completed… and is overrun in minutes.

French cavalry sweep around to cut off the Ottoman right flank.

Hemmed in against the sea, the defenders panic and

flee into the water, hoping to reach the ships offshore. Thousands drown.

With Destang’s division advancing on the left, Lannes in the centre and Murat’s cavalry

on the right, the French now advance against the second Ottoman line.

Anchored by several redoubts, it resists the first assault. But when the French fall back,

overeager Turkish soldiers leave their entrenchments to pursue them.

Murat seizes the moment, and charges forward with his cavalry.

The second line is overrun.

Murat pushes on to the Ottoman camp, and despite a gunshot wound to the face,

captures Mustafa Pasha at the point of his sword.

By 1pm, the Turkish army has ceased to exist.

Just 5,000 survivors remain, holed up in the fortress. They surrender 8 days later,

on 2nd August - one year to the day after the destruction of Napoleon’s fleet.

The Battle of Aboukir is a great victory for Napoleon,

and does much to repair his reputation after defeat at Acre.

But news now reaches him of developments in Europe. And for France, the news is not good.

A new Second Coalition has been formed against France, led by Britain, Russia and Austria.

Their armies have won a series of battles against the French – reversing almost all

Napoleon’s gains in Italy – and now threaten the Republic with invasion.

It is no time for France’s best general to be far from home, unable to influence events.

La Patrie is in danger. Napoleon’s next move is not in doubt.

On the evening of 23rd August, Napoleon quietly boards a frigate near Alexandria,

with a small entourage, including Berthier, Marmont, Lannes, and Murat.. and sails for France.

To his army, he leaves only a short proclamation.

"The news from Europe had determined me to proceed to France. I leave the command of

the army to General Kléber. The army shall hear from me forthwith; at present I can

say no more. It costs me much pain to quit troops to whom I am so strongly attached.”

General Kléber is not amused by his sudden promotion.

“He’s deserted us with his breeches full of merde,” he declares,

“When we get back to Europe, we’ll rub his face in it.”

But Kléber will never return to Europe. The following summer,

he is stabbed to death in Cairo by a young Muslim radical.

The remnants of the French army in Egypt surrender to the British in 1801,

following defeat at the Battle of Alexandria.

They are later repatriated by the British navy, under the terms of a peace treaty.

Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt was a costly failure for France.

Its aims, which had always been vague and opportunistic, became impossible

following the destruction of the French fleet at Aboukir.

And though it has lived long in popular imagination - for every dashing act of heroism,

or romantic legend, there was a moment of immense brutality, and terrible suffering.

The expedition did have one positive legacy.

Shortly before he left for France, Napoleon was invited to inspect a stone slab that his

troops had pulled from the rubble, while building a fort near the town of Rosetta.

Dating to the second century BC, the slab was inscribed with a royal decree. Uniquely,

the same text appeared in Demotic, Ancient Greek.. and Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The French had to hand it over to the British under the terms of their surrender,

which is why the ‘Rosetta Stone’ now sits in the British Museum.

Two decades after its rediscovery, the Stone proved the key to unlocking the

lost language of Egyptian hieroglyphs – and revolutionizing the study of Ancient Egypt.

This and other discoveries by the French ‘Savants’ spawned an entirely new discipline – Egyptology

– the study of Egypt’s distant past, that continues to fascinate and amaze us to this day.

Napoleon’s voyage across the Mediterranean

takes 41 days – and involves some close shaves with the Royal Navy.

But his destiny was not to be thwarted a second time.

En route, he makes his last visit to Corsica, and the town of his birth...

Before setting off for France… to take the next step in his astonishing rise to power.

October 1799.

After 500 days campaigning in Egypt and Syria,

Napoleon has returned to France... and with a small entourage, he travels north to Paris.

Everywhere he goes, he is greeted by crowds,

embraced by dignitaries, and feted as a conquering hero.

But such celebrations cannot hide that France is a country in crisis, and despair.

Banditry is so rife that Napoleon’s own luggage is stolen en route.

Prices are soaring. So too are taxes. Trade has been decimated

by years of war and blockade. There is conscription, censorship, and corruption.

Abroad, France once more faces a powerful coalition of enemies. And though General

Masséna’s brilliant victory at Zurich has won respite, France is not safe yet.

But in Bonaparte, many see a saviour for the country.

Thanks to his own propaganda, everyone has heard of his brilliant victories

in Italy and Egypt. His name is celebrated in newspapers and plays.

The air rings with cries of ‘Hurrah for Bonaparte! He will save the country!’

Not everyone is thrilled by the general’s return.

At the very top of French government, some wonder if Bonaparte should not be court

martialled for abandoning his army in Egypt – and now, flouting France’s quarantine laws!

However, Napoleon does now have a letter from the Directory ordering

his return to France – though he acted before receiving it.

There’s also concern that a move against such a hugely popular general could easily backfire.

For his part, Napoleon regards the government with contempt,

a sentiment he’s happy to share in private.

Over breakfast, he tells General Thiébault:

“These men are bringing France down to the level of their own blundering. They are degrading her...

Well, what can generals expect from this government of lawyers.”

To Napoleon, it’s self-evident that he would do a

better job, given all his glorious achievements in Italy and Egypt.

Since 1795, France has been ruled by ‘The Directory’,

a five-man executive whose members hold power for five years.

In 1799, its members are…

Paul Barras – Napoleon’s first patron, infamously corrupt and dissolute, but a shrewd political

operator. He has been a permanent member of the Directory since its formation.

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès – a former priest, who wrote the Revolution’s

most famous political pamphlet. Now regarded as the leading political thinker in France.

Then three staunch republicans,

appointed to the Directory just four months ago, under outside pressure:

Louis Gohier – a veteran Jacobin, and former minister in the National Convention.

Jean-Francois Moulin – a Jacobin general, who had commanded in the bloody war in the Vendée.

And Pierre Roger-Ducos – a more moderate figure, and ally of Sieyès.

The other major element of government,

the legislature, is comprised of the ‘Council of 500’, who draft laws…

And the ‘Council of Elders’, who approve them.

Members of both councils dress in extravagant costumes... inspired by their great model,

to which they refer constantly, the ancient Republic of Rome.

This government – the Directory in particular - is now widely regarded as corrupt, ineffective, and

unfit to survive. And powerful men on the inside will play a leading role in its destruction.

On his return to Paris, Napoleon takes up residence in the home of the Beauharnais family,

on rue de la Victoire – which has been renamed in his own honour.

Given the unsettled political climate,

he faces an uncertain and potentially dangerous few months in the capital.

One man he can count on as a valuable guide – his younger brother,

Lucien. He serves in the Council of 500 as the deputy for Corsica,

and has recently been elected its President. As such, he will be a key player in the weeks ahead.

But first, comes a stormy reunion with his wife,

Josephine.. which quickly gives way to a passionate rapprochement.

Both have been guilty of infidelities. But Napoleon is clearly still in love,

and his earlier talk of divorce is quietly forgotten.

Henceforth Josephine will prove a faithful wife,

and through her social connections, an important political ally.

Paris is awash with talk of plots and conspiracies:

Rumours of threats from the Left: ex-Jacobins, who oversaw the bloody days of the Terror - and

from the Right: secret royalists who want to turn back the clock.

And there are those who seek a third option…

Soon after his arrival in Paris, Napoleon receives

a visit from France’s ex-foreign minister, Maurice de Talleyrand.

Talleyrand – a keen observer of which way

the political wind was blowing - had resigned from the government in July.

Having worked with Napoleon in planning the Egyptian expedition,

he now proposes they collaborate on another plan – to replace the government of France.

Napoleon, disgusted by the current regime, immediately welcomes the idea.

Talleyrand then reveals that a member of the Directory itself is working

to bring down the regime: Sieyès.

The country’s leading political thinker has decided that the Directory must be

cast aside, and that France must have a new constitution... which he intends to write.

He plans to sweep away the chaotic, unruly legislature, and its weak, ineffectual executive.

To save the Republic, radical reforms are needed, and an entirely new form of government.

Sieyès already has the support of another Director, Roger-Ducos.. and

the President of the Council of Elders, Louis-Nicolas Lemercier.

He even has the support of the President of the Council of 500 - Lucien Bonaparte.

Minister of Police Joseph Fouché, who has eyes and ears across Paris,

is also aware of their conspiracy, but has agreed not to intervene.

Now Sieyès seeks a ‘Sword’, as he puts it: a military figurehead to keep the army on side,

and be ‘wielded’ at the decisive moment... and then ‘sheathed’ afterwards.

But such a man is proving difficult to find.

Sieyès’ first choice had been General Joubert – Napoleon’s talented subordinate at Rivoli.

But he’d been killed earlier that year - shot dead at the Battle of Novi, in northern Italy.

General Macdonald is sounded out, but is too much the honest republican for such skulduggery.

General Moreau, who has led the Army of the Rhine with great success, declines the role.

In a moment he will later regret, he recommends Bonaparte. “There’s

your man. He will make a better job of your coup d’état than I could.”

Sieyès does not like Napoleon. His ambition is too obvious.

It is Talleyrand who persuades Sieyès that they have found their ‘sword.’

On 23rd October, Napoleon and Sieyès meet for the first time.

They agree that the Republic is in grave peril – from enemies

within and without - and that the Directory cannot meet the challenge.

Within a week, they agree to launch a coup to overthrow the government of France.

The conspirators plan their coup for 7th November – 16th Brumaire,

according to France’s Revolutionary calendar – the month of fog.

It’s a risky operation that will take 2 days, during which any number of things could go wrong.

Many of the plotters take precautions. Sieyès carries

a briefcase stuffed with cash for a quick getaway.

Fouché, the Minister of Police, has drafted orders for Napoleon’s arrest,

in case he needs to switch sides.

Napoleon sleeps with two loaded pistols by his bed.

At the last minute, there’s a 48-hour postponement.

So instead, that night, Bonaparte dines at General Bernadotte’s apartment on the rue Cisalpine.

They are joined by Generals Moreau, and Jourdan.

He wants the support of these influential generals for his coup.

Moreau agrees to help. Jourdan promises not to interfere.

But Bernadotte is outraged, and warns Napoleon that he’ll be guillotined. “We’ll

see,” says Napoleon.

9th November - Paris.

In the crisp hours before dawn, Napoleon meets around 60 officers that he’s invited

to his house. He informs them that he’s decided he must act to save the Republic,

and asks for their support. They affirm their loyalty with oaths of allegiance.

The most important man to convince is General Lefebvre,

the no nonsense military commander of Paris.

But Napoleon knows his man. He presents Lefebvre with the sword he wore at the

Battle of the Pyramids, as a mark of his great esteem.. and the general is won

over. “Let’s go throw those bloody lawyers in the river,” he growls.

At 7am, the Council of Elders meets in an unscheduled,

early session at the Tuileries palace. Only Sieyès’s allies have been invited,

so without opposition, they quickly pass two measures:

First - Napoleon is to be given immediate command of the Paris military district,

using the pretext of a non-existent Jacobin plot.

Second – tomorrow, the legislature will move from its usual meeting place in the centre of Paris,

to the Château de Saint-Cloud, 5 miles west outside the city.

This, the plotters tell the council, is for their own safety – the Paris

mob is famed for its unpredictable and violent political interventions.

The move is, of course, to protect the conspirators themselves from such an event.

At 10am, Napoleon arrives at the Tuileries.

He speaks to the Council of Elders, reassures them

that the trusted generals Lefebvre and Berthier are by his side, and concludes:

“We want a republic founded upon true liberty, on civil liberty,

on national representation; we will have it!... I swear it!”

Meanwhile that morning at the Luxembourg Palace, where the five Directors reside...

Sieyès and Roger-Ducos announce their resignation,

and urge Barras, Gohier, and Moulin to follow suit.

Barras decides to take a long bath, and will not

be disturbed. Perhaps he is mulling his options, or waiting for an offer.

When it comes, it is from Talleyrand - the man who perhaps understands him best. With the help of an

enormous bribe, and the reassurance that he will keep all his estates, Barras agrees to resign.

France’s longest-serving Director, and once-formidable powerbroker,

quietly leaves the stage. He is driven to his country house that evening, under military escort.

Gohier and Moulin are not so easily persuaded. And so they

are placed under house arrest by General Moreau.

Their objections are futile. With the resignation of three Directors,

the executive is constitutionally defunct.

The conspirators have what they want - a power vacuum,

to which they will propose a solution, the next day at Château de Saint-Cloud.

It will be a day on which the future of France hinges.

That evening, as Napoleon rides through the Place de la Concorde,

where so many had died under the guillotine – he turns to his secretary.

“Tomorrow,” he says, “either we will sleep at the Luxembourg... or we’ll end up here.”

Napoleon rises at 4am, and rides to Saint-Cloud.

There he meets Murat, newly promoted to General of Division, whose 6,000 troops surround the Château.

Officially, they are there to guard the Council members. But as deputies

arrive for the day’s session, the heavy military presence is impossible to miss.

There are long delays - benches have to be found for the chambers.

Council members have time to mingle, and discuss the many, swirling rumours. This time, the Jacobin

deputies are present, and they’re not happy at being excluded from the previous day’s meeting.

When the Councils finally begin their sessions at 1pm,

the mood is raucous. The sudden resignation of the Directors,

the presence of so many troops, the claims of a Jacobin plot – there is much to discuss.

The plotters had hoped for a quick vote to establish a new

provisional government. But the Presidents of both Councils struggle to take charge.

Hours pass. Napoleon loses patience.

At 4pm, he bursts into the Council of Elders. As he begins to speak, he is heckled and derided.

Napoleon is thrown off balance. He rambles, mutters, then hesitates.

When a deputy interrupts, “What of the Constitution?”, Napoleon flings back,

“The Constitution? You yourselves annihilated it!”

There is uproar. Napoleon continues, demanding action from the Council. Anyone who speaks

against him, he strongly implies, has been paid by the British. To any such deputy,

he warns, “may the lightning of war crush him instantaneously. Remember,

that I walk accompanied by the god of war and by the god of fortune!”

These ill-chosen words seem to confirm the assembly’s very worst suspicions.

By some accounts Napoleon has to be dragged from the chamber by his staff,

shouting “You are scoundrels. I will have you shot if you don’t obey me!”

Napoleon is shaken, but not defeated. Within minutes, he storms down the corridor into the

Council of 500.. where the President, his brother, has lost all semblance of control.

The mood here is of even greater defiance. The deputies have spent the

morning swearing oaths of loyalty to the Constitution. And when Napoleon arrives,

flanked by grenadiers, he receives a torrent of abuse.

“Down with the tyrant!” they cry,

“Outlaw!” “Caesar!” “Cromwell!” – these the names of famous generals turned tyrant.

As the crowd presses in, he is grabbed, jostled, even punched.

Lefebvre and his grenadiers rush in to extricate Napoleon from the scuffle. They haul him

clear, and drag him into the courtyard outside.

Napoleon is rattled and bloodied. He seems unsure what to do.

His old comrade General Augereau, now a Council member,

comes out to see him. “You’re in deep water now,” Augereau tells him.

Napoleon regains his composure. “It was worse at Arcole.”

Nevertheless, the coup totters on the brink of disaster.

If the Council declares Napoleon an outlaw,

it could mean a firing squad, or swift trip to the guillotine.

But the riotous disorder has played into his hands.

He is the military commander of Paris.

When he hears Jacobin deputies are keeping his brother Lucien in the chamber against his will,

grenadiers are sent to bring him out.

Napoleon attempts to rally troops for a decisive intervention.

News of his manhandling by the deputies outrages his old comrades. They are raring to go.

But the Legislative Guard, the 400 troops charged with protecting the Council, are not convinced.

It is Lucien who seizes the moment. He mounts a horse, and announces:

“Citizen soldiers… the great majority of the Council is at

this moment being terrorised by a handful of deputies armed with daggers... these

brigands are doubtless in English pay... I declare to you that these madmen have made

themselves outlaws by their assaults upon the liberty of this Council!”

Then, he draws a sword and points it at Napoleon’s chest:

“I swear that I will stab my own brother to the heart if he ever

makes an assault on the liberty of Frenchmen.”

The doubters are won over. A signal is given. With bayonets fixed,

troops flood into the Council of 500, with General Murat at their head.

“Citizens, you are dissolved,” he shouts... and then to his men,

“Get this damn rabble out of here!”

The deputies scatter. By some accounts they jump out of

windows, leaving their robes and hats strewn across the gardens.

Certainly, the conspirators had hoped to avoid the use of troops. But it had

always been a back-up plan - one that turned out to be desperately needed.

Later that evening, a few deputies are rounded up to form a ‘rump Council of 500’. Joined

by the similarly-cowed Council of Elders, they approve the measures that are suggested to them:

The dissolution of the Directory.

The adjournment of both Councils for four months (though they will never meet again.)

And the appointment of three provisional ‘Consuls’ – a term borrowed from the Roman Republic:

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès.

Pierre Roger-Ducos.

And General Napoleon Bonaparte.

Three years, eight months since he took command of the Army of Italy,

Napoleon has risen to the summit of political power in France.

He will now be one of three men in charge of drafting a new constitution for the Republic.

But through his brilliance,

energy and immense popularity means he will soon overshadow his two colleagues.

Only one man will emerge to rule France.

The First Consul – Napoleon Bonaparte.

And what better way to cement his hold on power,

than a new military campaign... and a return to Italy.

1800.

And France has a new leader: 30-year-old First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte.

Five months have passed since the Brumaire coup

cast France’s Directory into the dustbin of history.

In its aftermath, Napoleon has skilfully outmanoeuvred his co-conspirators.

And in a new constitution – confirmed by a massively rigged referendum – he’s been

confirmed as First Consul... alongside new consuls Cambacérès, and Lebrun.

Napoleon wields enormous executive power – and is eager to use it.

First, he offers an amnesty to royalist rebels in the Vendee,

helping to pacify the region, and freeing up troops.

Then he creates a new national bank,

to restore confidence and growth to France’s dysfunctional economy.

He strengthens the Gendarmerie – the paramilitary police – and orders it to

take ruthless action against bandits, who infest the French countryside.

And he transforms French government,

personally appointing Prefects to govern every French département,

as well as Sub-Prefects, and even the mayors of larger towns.

Each achievement is trumpeted by the few newspapers still allowed

to print... and which are now entirely under state control.

But there is no reason to doubt Napoleon’s immense popularity – and

that his remarkable energy has begun to drag France out of chaos and torpor.

However... his reputation has been forged in war – and with France facing another military

crisis, he must quickly turn the situation around - or his rule could end as suddenly as it began.

France is threatened on two fronts by the armies of Austria, which has 200,000 men in the field.

In Germany, France’s most powerful force – General Moreau’s Army of

the Rhine – is poised to launch a counter-attack.

Moreau is a skilled commander with influential friends,

who had himself turned down an invitation to lead a coup against the Directory.

Napoleon - warily respectful for now - offers advice,

but will leave Moreau to wage his own campaign.

It is in Italy.. that Napoleon identifies the greatest threat... and the greatest opportunity.

Three years ago, Napoleon’s stunning victories had left France dominating northern Italy.

But in 1799, forces of the Second Coalition, led by the great Russian general Alexander Suvorov,

had won a series of crushing victories over the French.

He had then been ordered to Switzerland... but before he

could get there, General Masséna’s victory at Zurich thwarted Coalition

plans to unite their armies... and staved off disaster for France.

The unpredictable Emperor Paul – incensed by British

provocations – had then withdrawn Russia from the Second Coalition.

But nearly 100,000 Austrians remain in northern Italy,

under the aggressive and able leadership of General Melas.

French forces, on the other hand, are scattered, outnumbered and desperately short of supplies.

It’s nothing new for France’s Army of Italy.

But even the arrival of the great General Masséna to take charge barely lifts morale.

It is a fragile position.

But secretly, Napoleon is planning a grand strategic manoeuvre to turn the

tables on the Austrians, and crush Melas’s army.

At Dijon, he has begun to assemble a new ‘Army

of the Reserve’ – under the nominal command of General Berthier.

Veterans and conscripts alike are scraped together from depots,

provinces and garrisons – until a force of 60,000 men has been gathered.

A more cautious strategist may have chosen to reinforce Masséna from the

west – using established supply routes to shore up the front. But

driving the enemy back on his own supply depots is likely to lead to stalemate.

Instead, Napoleon plans to swing south, through the Alps mountains,

and emerge behind General Melas – cutting off his supplies, and his escape.

It is among the most daring strategic plans in history.

But it will depend on secrecy and surprise – a swift and safe passage

through the mountains – and for Masséna to hold the line in Italy as long as he can.

But while Napoleon’s army is still assembling in France, Masséna comes under heavy attack...

On 6th April, General Melas launches an offensive.

While General Ott makes a diversionary attack on Genoa, his main force moves to cut the

coastal road at Savona.. driving a wedge between General Suchet’s forces.. and General Masséna.

The French launch desperate counterattacks to break the encirclement. And General

Soult wins a brilliant local victory over Ott, at Monte Fasce.

But the French are heavily outnumbered.

After two weeks’ hard fighting, Masséna is forced to withdraw into the city of Genoa,

where he is besieged by land and sea.

General Suchet is harried all the way back to the Var River, on the French frontier.

News of the Army of Italy’s defeat disturbs Napoleon.

He is relying on Masséna to fix Melas’s attention.

If Genoa falls before he arrives in Italy, he will be a sitting duck,

trapped between the Austrians and the mountains.

On 6th May, Napoleon travels to Geneva to join the Army of the Reserve,

and order the offensive to begin.

The Alps. 500 miles long, more than 100 miles wide, their highest peaks more than 15,000 feet.

They can be traversed by several well-known mountain passes. But these are narrow winding

trails, vulnerable to avalanches, with no fodder for horses and mules.

It’s a daunting challenge for an army of 50,000, with 40 guns, and hundreds of wagons.

Napoleon has decided the bulk of his forces will

cross at the Great St Bernard Pass - at an elevation of 8,100 feet.

On 15th May, General Lannes and his advance guard begin the climb.

Even in late spring, the mountains are blanketed in deep snow.

To reduce the risk of avalanche, they march at night and early morning.

A strict silence is enforced. The only noise – the howling wind and crunching snow.

The barrel of each cannon weighs around half a ton. General Marmont,

commanding the artillery, comes up with the idea of laying them

in hollowed-out tree trunks, so they can be hauled like sleds.

Lannes’ advance guard snakes up the 8-mile trail. It’s five hours of gruelling,

uphill marching, and at several points the men are close to mutiny.

But they make it. At 8,100 feet, they reach the summit of the pass,

and the St. Bernard Hospice where food and rest has been prepared.

The rest of the army completes the crossing over the next 10 days.

It is a testament to General Berthier’s planning that just five men, and a single cannon, are lost.

Contrary to Napoleonic propaganda, the First Consul made the crossing on a sure-footed mule,

trailing the army... rather than leading it on a charger.

Lannes’ advance guard presses forward into the Aosta valley.

They sweep aside small Austrian outposts … then surprise and

scatter a whole battalion at Châtillon.

But a nasty surprise awaits.. at Fort Bard.

The fort – held by the indomitable Captain

Bernkopf and 400 troops - dominates the pass with its heavy artillery.

Infantry and cavalry can skirt around it by means of a goat path. But artillery

and wagons will be seriously delayed until Fort Bard is taken.

A first assault by French grenadiers fails, with 200 casualties.

The fort remains defiant.

And for Napoleon, the clock is ticking...

In Italy, the French position is increasingly desperate.

On 15th May, the garrison of Savona surrenders.

In Genoa, Masséna conducts a brave and active defence… though in one sortie,

General Soult is badly wounded, and captured.

But now starvation looms. There are already reports of cannibalism.

Napoleon cannot wait for Fort Bard to fall.

The army must push on without its guns and baggage,

and hope to capture supplies from the Austrians.

On 23rd May, Lannes attacks the enemy at Ivrea, taking the town and citadel.

Three days later, he defeats General Hadik near the village of Romano.

The Austrians fall back on Turin.

With 30,000 French troops now pouring into Lombardy, Napoleon has done it.

He has completed one of the most famous marches in history. Italy is wide open,

and the Austrians are scrambling to respond.

Melas quickly grasps the significance of Napoleon’s manoeuvre. He immediately recalls

Elsnitz’s corps from the French frontier, and sends his forces to guard the River Po crossings.

He assumes the French will march to relieve Genoa.

But despite the desperate plight of Masséna and his starving garrison,

Napoleon turns east, towards Milan.

General Vukassovich holds the city, but heavily outnumbered, he retreats towards Mantua.

On 2nd June, Napoleon enters the capital of Lombardy -

but unlike the celebrations of 1796, this time, French troops are received

in cold silence. Locals have not forgotten Napoleon’s brutal crackdowns of the past.

Regardless, in Milan, his army can finally rest, and requisition much-needed supplies.

Three days later, reinforcements arrive from the Army of the Rhine – General Moncey’s division,

which has made its own arduous Alpine crossing, through the Gotthard Pass.

The First Consul is on the cusp of achieving his grand encirclement.

Back in the mountains, Fort Bard finally surrenders. But its stubborn

defence means Napoleon will be short of guns and ammunition in the days ahead.

Then on 8th June, disastrous news arrives.

Napoleon has asked too much of Masséna.

For weeks,

Genoa has been a scene of utter horror – several thousand civilians have starved

to death or died of disease, along with 4,000 French soldiers.

General Masséna, his own health broken, and furious at Napoleon’s failure to relieve him,

negotiates an honourable surrender, which will allow his surviving troops to return to France.

The fall of Genoa frees Ott and 12,000 soldiers to march north, to join Melas.

Napoleon is determined that the Austrians will not now slip past him and escape his trap.

And so he divides his army, to cover all possible routes east.

For once, it is Napoleon’s forces that are overextended.

And it is Lannes’ advance guard that will pay the price.

With 7,000 men, Lannes has secured a bridgehead across the River Po, near Belgiojoso.

On 8th June, he presses forward intending to drive the enemy from the Stradella defile.

But unknown to Lannes, he is on a

collision course with General Ott’s division – marching north from Genoa.

He is about to stumble into a battle, outnumbered two to one.

On the morning of 9th June, Lannes’ advance guard fights a running battle with what it believes to

be an isolated Austrian unit … driving it back towards the walled town of Casteggio.

In fact, it is General Ott’s advance guard.

What rolling hills and tall rye fields hide from view..

is the rest of Ott’s command – 16,000 strong - following up close behind.

Around noon, the French spot Austrian infantry holding a ridge to the south.

Assuming it’s the enemy rearguard, Lannes orders a brigade to swing round and attack.

Meanwhile his cavalry continues to Casteggio.

They scatter the enemy in their path, and break into the town… only to be

surprised and counter-charged by a much larger Austrian cavalry force.

On the heights, the French make steady progress... until 4,000

Austrian reinforcements hove into view.

Soon Lannes’ men are being pulverised by artillery fire.

His force is hard pressed everywhere … and still enemy reinforcements continue to arrive.

But Ott is cautious, and holds back a large reserve. The broken ground leaves him unsure

of enemy strength, and he has orders not to be drawn into a major battle.

At 2pm, Lannes receives his own reinforcements – 6,000 men of General Victor’s division.

Lannes wastes no time.

Victor’s 43rd Line renews the attack on the right. The Austrian line buckles,

falling back to a small stream.

The rest of Victor’s men race towards Casteggio.

Under a hail of cannon fire, their advance

stalls.. but the 6th Light Infantry is able to cross the Coppa River to the north.

Around the same time, French infantry take Casa il Giardiana, splitting the Austrians in two.

Fearing he will be outflanked, General Schellenberg, commanding

the Austrian centre, orders a slow withdrawal.

Seeing this, Lannes sends the 96th Line forward to storm Casteggio.

With his men tired and darkness falling, Ott orders a retreat to Voghera.

The Battle of Montebello, as it becomes known, was a hard-fought soldiers’ battle,

in which French determination triumphed in the face of Austrian numbers and artillery.

As Napoleon inspects the battlefield, he is greeted by an old friend - General

Louis Desaix – who has escaped from Egypt during a temporary armistice.

Just a year older than Napoleon, Desaix is another

of France’s brilliant young generals – who will play a crucial role in the days ahead.

He is immediately given command of two divisions.

Montebello is a glorious victory for Lannes – Napoleon will one day

reward him with the title, ‘Duke of Montebello’.

But the larger picture is unchanged.

Napoleon still desperately seeks his decisive battle – the victory that may end the war

with Austria, and will surely make his position as First Consul unassailable.

Now, Napoleon spreads his forces in a wide

cordon to prevent the escape of General Melas’s Austrian army.

General Chabran and 3,400 men guard the River Po.

General Lapoype, with 3,500 men, is sent to reinforce him.

General Desaix, with 5,000 men, moves south to block the road to Genoa.

This leaves Napoleon with just 22,000 men - advancing west onto the plains of Scrivia.

But the First Consul has been misled by the over-optimistic reports of scouts and spies.

Melas is not planning to retreat. He has concentrated 30,000 veteran

troops around the fortress city of Alessandria.

They are well rested, supplied, and have a great superiority in cavalry

and artillery. And they are preparing to attack.

Oblivious to the looming threat, on 13th June, General Victor

and his two divisions lead the French advance on Alessandria.

In heavy rain, his men drive a small Austrian rearguard from the village of

Marengo… back towards a fortified bridgehead on the Bormida River.

But the French find the crossing heavily defended.

And so, soaked and exhausted, with darkness falling – they halt the pursuit.

Weeks ago, Napoleon had predicted that the decisive battle of the

campaign would be fought on this very ground: the plain east of Alessandria.

But now, he is convinced that Melas will not risk battle.

What he and his men cannot see beyond the Bormida - because they

have lit no camp fires - are 30,000 Austrians, assembled for an assault.

Within hours, Napoleon will discover that his army is fighting for its life.

Dawn, 14th June.

Napoleon’s forces are spread across 8 miles of open country and scattered vineyards.

General Victor’s two divisions are the farthest west - holding Marengo and the main road.

Behind him, General Lannes … and several cavalry regiments.

Napoleon, with the Consular Guard and Monnier’s division, is yet further back.

Melas’s forces are concentrated west of the Bormida, behind the Austrian bridgehead.

His chief of staff - General Anton von Zach - has planned a two-pronged assault.

General Ott’s division will cross the river and advance north to Castel Ceriolo.

Melas, with the bulk of the army, will attack directly up the main road.

On a clear morning, at 8am, the Austrians begin their advance.

French outposts are driven back.

At the Pedrabona Farm, Gardanne’s division comes under heavy bombardment.

He falls back to join the rest of Victor’s troops, which are deploying behind the Fontanone stream.

This narrow, steep-sided waterway runs the length of the battlefield, and is swollen by recent rain.

The only easy crossing is a small wooden bridge at the main road. And on the far bank,

Victor’s men, are shielded by trees and sturdy farmhouses.

As the Austrians approach the Fontanone, they are hit by a hail of musket fire.

Scores go down as they struggle to cross the stream.

General Hadik leads a charge, but falls, mortally wounded.

After several failed attacks, the Austrians fall back with heavy losses.

North of Victor’s position, General Bellegarde’s brigade crosses the Fontanone around 11am.

But General Lannes’ division takes up position on Victor’s flank.

They drive off Bellegarde, and re-establish the line along the stream.

It is now a hot, humid summer’s day – as Austrian attacks continue,

and fighting rages along the Fontanone.

More and more Austrian cannon are pulled up, and begin to pulverise the French line.

Throughout the morning, Melas’s army is hindered by narrow crossing points and marshy ground.

General Zach’s failure to anticipate these bottlenecks has cost several hours.

Nevertheless, by noon, the Austrians have 30,000 men and 92 guns in position.

They still only face Lannes’ and Victor’s tiring divisions - 16,000 men and 16 guns.

The French urgently need reinforcements – but as the Austrians begin their next

attack – Napoleon, and the rest of the army, are nowhere to be seen.

The greatest danger is on the French right, where General Ott’s division has occupied

Castel Ceriolo virtually unopposed, and now threatens Lannes’ flank.

Then, the Austrians find a gap near the French centre,

and rush three battalions across the Fontanone.

Around the same time, 1,500 Austrian dragoons circle around the French left,

but are charged and routed by General Kellerman’s heavy cavalry.

The Austrians do succeed in taking La Stortigliona farm, threatening Victor’s left.

An Austrian cavalry charge over the Marengo bridge is also repulsed by Kellerman.

But the odds are too great.

Some French units are completely out of ammunition. They have just

a handful of cannon, and their line is breaking.

Facing encirclement, Victor’s divisions are the first to give way,

losing 400 men captured in Marengo.

Another 300 French soldiers are left behind in Casa Bianca,

where they hold out stubbornly for several hours.

Covered by the 96th Demi-Brigade, and Kellerman’s watchful cavalry,

Victor’s division retreats half a mile to Spinetta and its surrounding vineyards.

The Austrians pour over the Fontanone.

Lannes pulls back to maintain the French line. The heroes of Montebello are on the brink.

When the Austrian attack began, Napoleon was 7 miles away at his headquarters in Torre Garofoli.

Although he could hear the distant thunder of cannon, he did not grasp its full

significance, and remained focused on blocking the Austrians’ escape.

Only at 11am did reports arrive, to reveal the gravity of the situation.

Napoleon knows there is not a moment to lose.

He scrawls an order to Desaix – who he’s sent to cut off the

Austrian retreat, and is now 4 miles away:

“I had thought to attack the enemy; they have attacked me;

come, in the name of God, if you still can."

He sends the same order to General La Poype.

Then he races to the front with his only reserves - Monnier’s division, and the Consular Guard.

By 3pm, Lannes and Victor have retreated almost a mile.

Austrian cavalry shadow their withdrawal, forcing the French to stay in close formation.

Austrian guns send roundshot crashing through the packed ranks.

Remarkably, the French battalions are still holding.

When Napoleon arrives, he sees the main threat is on the right,

where Ott is poised to turn the French flank.

To counter this, he sends Monnier’s division to Castel Ceriolo, forcing Ott to draw off troops.

But that still leaves General Schellenberg’s 4,000-strong division.

So Napoleon commits his ultimate reserve - 900 men of the elite Consular Guard.

Against the odds, the Guard repels enemy cavalry... and holds its own in a close-range

firefight with Austrian infantry, buying time for the rest of the army to fall back.

Napoleon describes them as his “granite redoubt”. The legend of the Guard is being born.

But they are now isolated, and about to be overwhelmed.

When Austrian dragoons hit their exposed flank and rear, ‘the redoubt’ crumbles.

The Guard is forced to flee. Some surrender. Many are cut down.

By the end of the day, the Guard has suffered more than 50% casualties.

With the retreat of the Guard, Napoleon has no more cards left to play.

The French army retreats steadily through the vineyards,

battered by constant Austrian artillery fire.

Casualties and stragglers mean there are just 6,000 men left holding the French line.

General Melas is satisfied that the French have been beaten.

Having been injured in a fall from his horse, he now hands over command to his Chief of Staff,

General Zach. Then he returns to Alessandria, to draft a report describing his great victory.

But he has underestimated French resilience – and the fickle fortunes of war.

General Louis Desaix. Just 31 years old, brave,

brilliant and modest. Napoleon describes their friendship as one “his heart has for no other.”

That morning, his orders were to lead Boudet’s division - 5,000

strong – across the Scrivia river, to cut off the Austrian escape.

But the recent rain had raised the water level, and delayed his crossing.

When Desaix heard the sound of battle to the north,

he’d halted his men and sent a courier to get news.

Napoleon’s desperate order to return does not reach him until midday.

Immediately, he about-turns his division, and marches to the sound of the guns.

Desaix arrives on the eastern edge of the battlefield at

5pm... to find the French army in full retreat.

Napoleon is at San Giuliano, 5 miles east of Marengo,

where thousands of wounded soldiers are gathered.

The mood is grim, and despondent. But news of Desaix’s arrival spreads like

an electric shock. “Here they are! Here they are!”, the troops exclaim.

Napoleon is rejuvenated. “We have gone back far enough today.” he

tells his troops. “You know that my custom is always to sleep on the field of battle.”

The Austrian army is advancing on all fronts. But they are now scattered and disordered.

And they have diverted forces north, and south, in an attempt to encircle the enemy.

What’s more, General Zach has advanced to lead the

pursuit – handing overall command to General Kaim. Several other Austrian

generals have been wounded – chains of command have become dangerously muddled.

Using Desaix’s fresh troops, Napoleon now prepares a last-ditch counterattack,

with all the supporting forces he can rally.

General Marmont concentrates all the available guns – 18 of them – to blast the Austrians.

Then, with the 9th Light Demi-Brigade in the lead, the attack begins.

The rapid fire of these experienced skirmishers staggers the Austrian advance.

General Zach orders up more artillery, and sends forward his elite grenadiers.

The 9th Light falls back. To the Austrians, it seems the French are retreating once more.

Suddenly, they are blind-sided by the rest of Desaix’s fresh troops,

emerging without warning through the vineyards.

Desaix joins the 9th Light, and leads them forward in a bayonet charge.

At this moment, he is shot through the heart and killed instantly.

Seeing their commander fall, the 9th Light cries “Vengeance!”, and surges forward.

General Kellerman thunders in with 400 heavy cavalry.

They crash into the Austrian left flank.

To add to the chaos, an Austrian ammunition wagon is hit, and detonates in a tremendous explosion.

The combined effect is devastating.

Panic spreads. Morale collapses. In just a few minutes, hundreds

of Austrians lay down their arms, and surrender.

Thousands more flee, spreading terror among troops in the rear.

General Zach, trapped in the rout, is among the 2,000 Austrian prisoners.

In an instant, the entire momentum of the battle has swung 180 degrees.

Thousands of French troops, who’d been retreating moments ago, stop, and join the attack.

As the Austrian centre collapses, General Ott’s division becomes

dangerously exposed. His men soon join the rest of the army in their race to escape.

Later that evening, General Murat adds the coup de grâce, launching a final

French cavalry charge that seals victory, and drives the enemy back to their bridgehead.

The Battle of Marengo was one of the greatest comebacks of the Napoleonic era.

Thoroughly defeated by mid-afternoon, the French are completely victorious by nightfall.

But it has been an exceptionally costly affair. The French lose a

quarter of their army as casualties … the Austrians, more than a third.

Napoleon himself contributed little to the victory.

If not for the skill of his officers, the steadiness of his troops, and above all,

Desaix’s last-minute arrival, he would surely have been defeated.

The taste of victory is soured further

when Napoleon learns that his friend Desaix has been killed.

He tells his secretary, ’Yes, Bourienne, I am satisfied. But Desaix! Ah, what a

triumph this would have been if I could have embraced him tonight on the field of battle!’

Instead, he dines alone... according to legend, on a hastily-improvised

dish of local ingredients... that becomes known as Chicken Marengo.

General Melas, shaken by his unexpected defeat, is unsure how to react.

Some of his officers urge him to continue fighting. Others advise him to escape.

French forces are closing in from all directions.

Hoping to buy time, Melas proposes a ceasefire to bury the dead.

Napoleon refuses, unless Melas is also willing to

discuss terms for the Austrian evacuation of northwest Italy.

With little bargaining leverage, the old Austrian general accepts.

Over the following days, Melas and Berthier negotiate a comprehensive armistice.

In exchange for safe passage back to Austria, Melas agrees to evacuate Piedmont,

Genoa, and Lombardy.

France will once more dominate northern Italy.

Napoleon has achieved his victory and cemented his position as France’s new head of state.

What’s more – the near-miraculous manner of his victory assures him,

more than ever, of his own special destiny. The gods of War and Fortune are with him.

What limit can there be to his accomplishments?

That winter, Moreau inflicts a second crushing defeat on

the Austrians.. at the Battle of Hohenlinden.

Defeated in Italy - and now Germany too - Austria finally sues for peace.

The subsequent Treaty of Lunéville sees the French frontier advance to the River Rhine.

In Italy, French client republics are officially recognised by Austria,

and the following year, France annexes Piedmont.

France is now larger and stronger than at any time since the reign of Charlemagne,

a thousand years ago.

She has just one remaining enemy – Great Britain.

In 1801, British victories at Alexandria...

and Copenhagen... drive home the fact that France cannot challenge Britain at sea, nor abroad.

Britain has seen her continental allies defeated, and Russia is now actually

threatening war. She has no prospect of building another coalition to challenge France on land.

Both sides are exhausted by war.

The result, after months of negotiation – peace! For the first time in Europe in ten years.

How long it will last... nobody is quite sure.

Big thanks to Osprey Publishing, for kind permission to use several

of their images in this video. You’ll find links to some great Osprey titles

on this topic - and other historical campaigns - in our video description.

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