A Journal for Western Man-- Issue IV
Part II
G. Stolyarov II
It was then that France, having virtually imprisoned its king and placed him on death row, suddenly found herself facing armed opposition from nearly every nation in Europe. The rag-tag Republican Guard divisions and civilian militia troops became France's only defense against overwhelming numbers of some of the most able fighting men of the time. The victory at Valmy in December helped retain the country's solidarity, but due to the retirement and/or desertion of a majority of higher-ranking commanders (namely Jourdain, who resigned shortly following Valmy, and Lafayette, who fled to Austria, both having done what they did to maintain secure ties between their heads and the remainder of their organisms), the military always hung on the edge of an abyss. In the spring of 1793, an expeditionary force of British, Austrian, Neapolitan, and Spanish troops landed in southern France and occupied the crucial trading port of Toulon, pressing ever further into the mainland. A French corps under the General Carteaux, (a former artist!), was ordered to intercept and neutralize the invasion force. During the siege of Avignon on the way to Toulon, the French artillery commander, General Dommartin, was injured by the British. The task of leading the Republic's cannon was transferred to his second-in-command, the twenty-four-year-old Captain Bonaparte. From the beginning Napoleon's mind concocted an ingenious scheme of events that, if followed, would ensure French triumph. His plan was simple: to obtain a hold of the three elevated hills around the port and place artillery pieces at those key strategic locations. This would instill panic into the Allied ranks and cause the British navy to withdraw from Toulon's harbor due to fear of long-range bombardment from elevated spots. Unfortunately, Carteaux lacked the military experience necessary to recognize the value of artillery and neglected Napoleon's insightful suggestions. In the meantime, the Allies continued to maul the French forces and break out of the encirclement. Captain Bonaparte gathered the courage to report Carteaux's incompetence to the government in Paris, knowing very well that he was at risk of losing his head if events proceeded in the wrong way. However, the representative of the Jacobins, after inspecting the situation, reassigned Carteaux to another location far from the battle. Unfortunately, Napoleon’s bull-headed opposition did not cease to stunt his plans there. Carteaux's successor, the ex-medic Doppet, objected to Napoleon's plan after one assault on the hills claimed the life of one of his adjutants. Doppet was soon relieved of his duties as well. Napoleon was free to carry out his scheme and did so following only several decisive days which terminated the previously stagnant conflict and offset the Allied occupation of southern France. The enemy withdrew their forces as Napoleon had predicted. This was his first major military success, and the French Republic, recognizing an ardent supporter where it suspected so many others of treason, made a celebrity of him in addition to promoting him to the exalted rank of General.
His fame, however, was short-lived. "The overthrow of the Jacobin regime on 9 Thermidor (July 1794) led to Napoleon's imprisonment in Fort Carre on August 9. When no evidence could be found linking him to the British, Napoleon was released after ten days of confinement." (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 307). Nevertheless, due to the new Directory's suspicious behavior toward the advocates of the former Jacobins, at the age of twenty-four Napoleon was forced to surrender his generalship and retire from the military. This, too, was not to last. Due to a lack of able commanders, he was "employed in the defense of the Mediterranean coast throughout the winter of 1794-1795." (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 307). He received numerous assignments throughout the following year, all of which had been cut short as a result of poor health, notably the malaria he had caught in the swamps of southern France. Yet Napoleon was able to reconcile his differences with the Directory on October 5, 1795, when a mob of angry royalists stormed the Tuileries Palace in an attempt to provide for a swift return to the feudal order of pre-revolutionary France. General Paul Barras, the head of the Directory, was caught unprepared for this turn of events. Fortunately, General Bonaparte happened to be present in the city, resting in between his travels. He called upon his comrade, Colonel Joachim Murat, to deploy artillery pieces near the palace while Napoleon's devoted troops fired upon the counterrevolutionaries without second thoughts. This act was viewed heroic by the government of the Republic and by a vast majority of progressively-minded French citizens. The Directory was saved. Napoleon had earned back his place in the public eye. "In gratitude he was appointed commander to the Army of the Interior and instructed to disarm Paris." (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 307).
It was while he disarmed Paris that Napoleon encountered the young nobleman, Eugene de Beauharnais, who begged the General to permit him to retain his dead father's sword, an ancestral heirloom. Knowing that the weapon served a decorative purpose rather than a military one, Napoleon accepted the request. Eugene's mother, Josephine, later visited Napoleon to thank him for this act of generosity. This was their first meeting. They married on March 9, 1796. Josephine was six years Napoleon's senior and mother to two children, Hortense and Eugene, offspring of the Viscount Alexandre de Beauharnais who had been executed during the last days of the Reign of Terror. These children would ascend to wealth and power as a result of their associations with their stepfather (for example, beginning in 1804, Eugene was assigned to act as Napoleon's viceroy in Italy). This marriage was one of the final episodes of this stage of Napoleon's life. "Within a few days Napoleon left his bride behind in Paris and took up his new command at the head of the Army of Italy." (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 308).
What Napoleon encountered in Nice, his new headquarters, was a malnourished, diseased, semi-capable force of untrained conscripts that he would, through years of combat and charisma, mold into the core of his Grande Armée. "Soldiers," he addressed them, "you are insufficiently clothed, malnourished, the government owes you much but is unable to repay you anything. I wish to lead you into the most fertile valleys of the world. Wealthy regions, large cities will be under your power. You will find in those parts honor, glory, and riches." The men were moved by Napoleon's charisma and devotion to his cause. They permitted him to lead them on to accomplish the impossible, cross the Alps into Italy through a narrow ledge that bordered the Mediterranean. As a result on Napoleon's calculated risk-taking, none of the British vessels that patrolled the area were able to detect the passage. On April 10, 1796, the French dealt a surprising blow to a far superior Austrian force at Montenotte with practically no casualties on their part. It was then that the soldiers realized that Napoleon was capable of fulfilling his ambitious promises and thus increased their admiration of him and their willingness to follow his lead. As Napoleon himself would later reminisce, "We began at Montenotte." The French forces drove on into Northern Italy, decimating their first opposition with little resistance as a result of the element of surprise being on their side. Napoleon's strategy, summarized by his statement, "You must never surrender your initiative to the enemy," was the key factor in these early victories. By the time the Austrians ordered the substantial armies of Alvintzi and Wurmser to enter Italy, Napoleon's army had already occupied the northern region of Piedmont. The first major battle of the campaign occurred at Lodi over a crucial bridge leading to the city of Milan. A decisive assault by the French grenadiers at the Austrian artillery managed to break the enemy defense and give Napoleon the edge crucial for his victory. During the summer of 1796, the army of Wurmser had finally entered into action and recaptured the fortress of Mantua from the French. However, as a result of victories in the region, Napoleon was able to cut Wurmser's supply lines and trap him within the fortress. Austrians led by General Alvintzi attempted to lift the siege by breaking the French encirclement. However, as a result of skillful maneuvering and obtaining terrain advantages (particularly from the swamp land in the area) the outnumbered French managed to defeat the Austrians at Castiglione, Arcole, and Rivoli. The most noted is the battle of Arcole, where circumstances had played out to create a similar situation to that of Lodi, i.e. the battle concentrating itself upon one crucial bridge. In this case, however, Napoleon personally led the decisive assault, coming within a hair of losing his own life. Only a mortally wounded officer saved him by throwing himself at General Bonaparte and intercepting a potentially lethal bullet with his own body. Already the twenty-seven-year-old warrior had been able to win such admiration that, in the eyes of his followers, surpassed their own lives. Both Alvintzi and Wurmser were forced to surrender. "Finally, in the spring of 1797, Napoleon advanced on Vienna and forced the Austrians to sign the Treaty of Campoformio (October 17, 1797). This treaty gave France the territory west of the Rhine and control of Italy." (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 308). "Napoleon made the rich lands that he conquered feed, house, and pay the soldiers. Plus he made the people send millions of francs to France that helped the poor economy tremendously." ("A Paper on Napoleon," Norfolk Academy, VA. 2).