The Road to Rivoli: Napoleon's First Campaign Tapa dura - 2001

Información de la editorial

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