172j ANNUAL REGISTER, ISOO. 



tion of military affairs at the end of 

 the preceding campaign, so singu- 

 larly complicated and extensive, of 



1799- 



The principal operations of that 

 campaign were closed with the sur- 

 render of Coni by the French, on 

 the third of December. The affairs 

 of Austria, in Italy, at this epoch, 

 wore a very favourable aspect. The 

 road to victory, as formerly observed, 

 had been opened by general Kray, 

 at Legnano and Magiian, and the 

 field-marshal Suwarrow had im- 

 proved those advantages with all 

 the decision, energy, and genius of 

 his character ; in so much, that, at 

 the end of 1799j the French pos- 

 sessed nothing in Italy but the city 

 and small republic of Venice. All 

 the passes of the mountains that di- 

 vide France from Italy were in the 

 hands of the Austrians. 



On the other hand, the French 

 were in possession of the whole left 

 bank of the Rhine, from its source 

 to where it falls, by divided streams, 

 into the ocean : that is to say, from 

 Switzerland to Holland, both inclu- 

 sive. 



General Melas having demolish- 

 ed the works constructed for the 

 siege of Coni, and left a garrison 

 there, proceeded to established can- 

 tonments of his advanced posts in 

 the openings and passes of the Pied- 

 montese and maritime Alps. He 

 then distributed the rest of his army 

 in winter quarters throughout Pied- 

 mont and Lombardy, fixing his 

 head-quarters at Turin. Cham- 



pionet, retreating to his defensive 

 posts in the maritime Alps, sta- 

 tioned the principal part of his 

 troops between Savona and Genoa, 

 the ordinary asylumof the republi- 

 cans, after their defeat. In the be- 

 giiming of December he quitted the 

 command which he had neither 

 held with much reputation, nor 

 with much success.* Itwouldnot^ i 

 however, be just to appreciate his ' 

 talents by the result of the three 

 last months of the campaign which 

 he conducted : for his army was 

 left in such total want of money, 

 of provision, of clothing, and of 

 all camp and military equipage, that 

 he was, in fact, of necessity, less i 

 taken up with fighting, than with * 

 providing for the existence of his 

 troops, with preventing and ap- 

 jjeasing the discontents of his sol- 

 diers, with repressing the excesses 

 to which soldiers, almost dying of 

 hunger, and accustomed to pillage, 

 gave themselves up, and with pro- 

 tecting them from tlie just ven- 

 geance of the inhabitants of the 

 country. 



The situation of the French army, 

 quartered in the territories of Ge- 

 noa, was still more disastrous. The 

 vessels of the allies constantly cruiz- 

 ingon the coasts of Genoa, prevented 

 or intercepted all supplies of foreign 

 grain, which is at all times ncccs- 

 saryfor the maintenanceof that conn- 

 try; and which was become much 

 more so from the additional number 

 of mouths. The scarcity of grain 

 was at different times so excessive. 



• This general, in. his way back to France, fell sick, at Nice, and died, on the 

 ninth of January, at Antibes, of an epidemic fever, which broke out about tli" fiid of 

 the campaign, and laade great ravages in the left divisions of his army. !ind also 

 carried ofl' a great number of the inhabitants of the frontier towns in Provence, 

 Dauijhine, and Franche Comie. Championet was the son of an innkeeper at Gre- 

 noble. The principal service which he did the republic was in the war at Naples: the 

 success of which has been attributed to general JMacdonaki; who served under him. 



