Napoleon fought a series of battles against the Austrians after leading France’s Army of Italy into Lombardy in the spring of 1796. At the age of 26, it was the first time that he had overall command of a campaign. From now on, he began to project an image of a decisive, successful warlord. He did so with an eye to advancing his prospects in the turbulent world of French revolutionary politics.
The invasion of Italy was part of a wider effort to terminate the Austrian threat to the French state. The intention was to force the Habsburg monarchy to divide its forces by mounting a major assault in Germany, with a secondary thrust in Italy. As it turned out, Napoleon’s involvement turned the latter into the more important front.
In the second article of our special feature for this issue, we focus on two key engagements in northern Italy: at Lodi in May 1796 and Arcola six months later. Neither was a wholly decisive engagement. When Napoleon was given command of the Italian campaign, many senior officers doubted his capacity. He lacked experience of command and was physically unimposing. One eye-witness described him as ‘small, skinny, very pale, with big black eyes in sunken cheeks’, his long hair forming ‘spaniels’ ears’.
