I just got your message telling me you still wouldn't come... Ah, I didn't think I'd be in so much pain, so much pain... I give you a million kisses, kisses forever... I feel your lips, your heart, the fire that burns me... I kiss your heart, and then down, and down again.
It was the first and only time in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte that he had fallen madly in love, enduring jealousy and ignorance.
It wasn't just the opera and social gatherings in Paris that she couldn't give up. Milan was also an important civilized city. The castle that Duke Strabello had arranged for Napoleon to stay in was spacious and comfortable, with many servants. At the same time, as the nerve center of the French occupation army, it was often crowded and bustling. However, she had no choice but to go when Ballas forced her to meet her husband. She left as if she were going to go through fire and water instead of enjoying the glory and wealth of Italy. One of her friends recalled.
At the end of June, Joseph finally arrived in Milan, accompanied by Lieutenant Charles. After about four months of marriage with her husband, she was finally going to spend the third day of marriage with him. If the joy of reunion after a long separation was incomparable to him, then he had to break up with her for a few days because he was in the army. "I'm sick of this place," she wrote to Tarion."My husband doesn't just love me, he absolutely worships me." I think he's going crazy!
In fact, Napoleon's suspicion of Joseph was not a wild delusion. However, Joseph did not reconcile with Ballas, but had an affair with Lieutenant Charles, who was nine years younger than her. She met with Lieutenant Charles every day, and no one dared to mention it to Napoleon (for the next two years). Indeed, Napoleon's passion for her was stronger than ever. My happiness, he wrote to her, is to be close to you. Night after night, my love! Oh, but you must have some flaw in your personality... Tell me! He actually didn't know what he was asking about.
Not to mention how dissolute Joseph was, the war continued. At the end of June, the young and promising Wilmser led 25,000 elite troops from the Rhine to replace the old and weak Bollier. With a total of 50,000 soldiers, Wilmse had ordered the destruction of the French army and the expulsion of the invaders from Italy. Wilmse, who kept his word, came from the two sides of Lake Garda in the north. Massena was caught off guard for the second time, and on July 29th, he abandoned the military town of Verona and fled. At the same time, 18,000 Austrian troops captured Salo on the west bank of Lake Garda and continued south until August 1, when they were intercepted by Augero at Brisina. At this time, Napoleon led all the remaining troops, including the entire Seruriya Division, to continue the siege of Mantua.
Once we are defeated, I must take serious measures. At the end of July, Napoleon revealed to Bertier that the enemy had broken through our front in three ways and cut off our contact with Milan and Verona. Then came the news of the fall of Verona, Salo, Rivoli, and Corona. In order to prevent the French army from completely collapsing, Napoleon had to stop Wilmse's troops from surrounding them.
On August 5, Napoleon brought 25,000 men of the Seruriers Division to the high ground overlooking Castiglien (Seruriers had returned to France due to malaria). They launched a surprise attack on the enemy. After a night of rapid marching, Massena and Augero unexpectedly forced Wilmse back to the line of the Minco River. Once again, Napoleon's forced march paid off. In order to preserve his monument, he recaptured Verona on the night of August 7th. Before Wilmse could gain a firm foothold, he retreated. Verona, Ronalto, and Castiglion were back in Napoleon's hands.
Both sides paid a high price in the battle for the plains. The French suffered 10,000 casualties, while the Austrian suffered 17,000. Countless civilians were killed or injured, and countless houses and buildings were destroyed, as well as countless women who were raped. Napoleon knew that not only was the outcome of the battle uncertain, but his own career was also uncertain. He ran on the battlefield all day and exhausted five warhorses in three days. At this time, the exhausted and defeated Wilmse retreated to Bassano, while Napoleon reorganized his troops in Verona. There, in order to restore the morale of the French army and show his determination to win in front of the hostile Italian people, Napoleon held his first military parade since entering Italy. Another group of the Austrian army, which had retreated to the north, was pursued by Massena and Vaubois. On September 4, 25,000 of them were utterly defeated at Roverreto. Two days later, Napoleon ordered the forced march to Bassano, where Lana and Murat's divisions won another major victory on September 8.
Now that Wilmse was moving towards Mantua, Napoleon had cut off contact between the Austrian army and their strongest fortress, Trieste. Nevertheless, Napoleon was unable to prevent Wilmse's army from defeating Massena at Castrelo and safely reaching Mantua on September 12. Wilmse and his 23,000 garrison held the city in Mantua and lured Napoleon to move south, thwarting his plan to march through the Danube into Vienna after joining forces with the French armies of Rhine and Moselle. On September 19, the army was violently attacked by Archduke Charles, but at this time, the French army posed a threat to the Hapsburgs.
At this time, malaria and typhoid fever were prevalent in the two military camps. 14,000 of Napoleon's soldiers had lost their combat effectiveness, leaving only 9,000 soldiers to continue besieging Mantua and another 8,000 to fight.
Nevertheless, after capturing Modena, Napoleon thought of a brilliant plan. Since the treaty with Napoli was signed on October 10th, the army of Napoli could not support the pope. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Napoleon established three temporary reunions, including the Inner Alps Republic. He began to consider the problem of gradually consolidating the occupied territories in northern Italy.
What the French didn't know was that the 50-year-old commander of the Austrian army, Alvinzi, led 46,000 troops from the north to support Wilmser. Together with the existing 18,000 Austrian troops, they attacked Verona. If they launched an attack in the north, and Wilmse held back the main force of the French army in Mantua, then Napoleon would be in a situation of fighting alone.
The Austrian army attacked Trento on November 4, causing a small French force to flee south. Although Arvinzi's army also suffered heavy casualties, Massena was unable to stop the 29,000 Austrian troops from continuing to attack Vicenzia. All of Napoleon's military plans had been slaughtered. Under such circumstances, Napoleon formulated a fourth battle plan. He would defeat the Austrian army around Lake Garda one by one (coincidentally, Alvinzi also made the exact same battle plan against the French army). On November 11th, Napoleon led 14,000 troops from Verona in the rain. When they arrived at Daccalediero, they found that it had been occupied by Alvenzi. The next day, Massena's attack failed in the heavy rain, and the main force of the French cavalry was captured. Although the Alvinzi Division suffered heavy casualties, they successfully repelled Napoleon. The remaining problem was not only Tyrol, but also the entire territory between the Trento and the Adege River. With only 13,000 men left, Napoleon had to retreat to Verona. "We cannot afford to be hit again," he admitted later."The battle of Calediero and the defeat in Tyrol have greatly demoralized the army....[In addition] a large number of soldiers have been wounded two or three times in various battles." As a result, their morale dropped to the lowest point.
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