Why read The Road to Rivoli?

Book cover of The Road to Rivoli: Napoleon's First Campaign

Book description

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…

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Road to Rivoli as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Gareth Williams

Author

This is a detailed and meticulously researched book focusing on Bonaparte’s first independent command. The Army of Italy is little more than an afterthought but he forges his rag-tag troops into a force that expels the Austrians from most of northern Italy. I loved the eye-witness accounts and the author’s ability to evaluate events such as those at the bridge over the Arcole. It became part of the Napoleonic legend, immortalised in Gros’ painting, that the young general was in the thick of the fighting but this has been denounced as blatant propaganda. We learn from Boycott-Brown that both things…

From Gareth's list on getting inside Napoleon Bonaparte’s head.