£20 
FRANCE: 
thorifed to levy military contributions in the territory oc¬ 
cupied by them. He agreed to erect no works in future 
on the fide of France, to demolith the fortreffes of Bru¬ 
nette and Sufa. 
In the mean time the republican army advanced towards 
the Po. Beaulieu was deceived by the article in the ar- 
miftice w>hich ftipulated, that the French fhould be al¬ 
lowed to crofs that river at Valentia, and made all his 
preparations for refiftance in that quarter. Bonaparte la¬ 
boured by every means to confirm this error ; and while 
the Aultrian general waited for him near Valentia, he ad¬ 
vanced haftily into Lombardy, and had proceeded fixty 
miles to Placentia, where he arrived on the 7th of May, 
before the diredlion of his march w-as known. He imme¬ 
diately effefted his paflage without difficulty, there being 
only a fmall party of Aultrian cavalry accidentally on the 
oppofite bank, and they fled at his approach. Beaulieu 
in the mean while had fent, when too late, a body of 
6000 infantry and 2000 cavalry, to prevent the French 
from palling the river ; but Bonaparte, now cn the fame 
fide of the river with themfelves, met and defeated them 
on the 8th, at the village of Fombio. Another party of 
5000 imperialifts, advancing to the afliltance of thofe at 
Fombio, was met at Codogno, and repul fed by Laharpe ; 
but this officer was killed on the occafion. On the 9th 
Bonaparte grained an armillice to the duke of Parma, on 
condition of his paying a contribution £>f 2,000,000 of 
French money, (87,5001.) and delivering 10,000 quintals 
of wheat, 5000 quintals of oats, and 2000 oxen, for the 
ufe of the'army. This prince alfo agreed to deliver up 
twenty of his hell paintings, to be chofen by the French. 
Similar ftipulations were ordered to be inferted in every 
future treaty ; by which means the moll valuable cu- 
riofities of Italy were to be transferred to the French 
capital. 
Beaulieu, now driven from the Po, eroded the Adda, 
leaving fome troops to.defend the approaches to Lodi. 
The advanced guard of the French attacked thefe on the 
rot'n, and drove them into the town ; which was entered 
in fuch clofe purfuit, that the imperialifts had not time 
to breakdown the bridge over the Adda. At the other 
end of the bridge the imperial army was drawn up, and 
thirty pieces of cannon defended the paflage. The 
French generals, after a confultation, agreed that it could 
not be forced. But Bonaparte having demanded of his 
grenadiers if they were willing to make the attempt, 
they applauded the propofal, and he formed them into a 
clofe column. Taking inffant advantage of a cloud of 
fmoke which iffued from the cannon, they ruflied along 
the bridge, about one hundred yards in length, and reach¬ 
ed the middle of it before they were difeovered. Here a 
general difeharge from the Auftrians at once deftroyed 
teven hundred of the French. The grenadier column 
hefitated, and the carnage became terrible ; but Maflena, 
Berthier, Dallemagne, Cervoni, Lafnes, Dupat, and other 
officers, flying to its fupport, they urged on the foldiers, 
and prelflng forward, broke into the ranks of the imperial 
army, which immediately gave way, and fled in all di- 
veftions. Tiiis exploit has been much celebrated; and 
it had the effedt of producing a great portion of national 
exultation. 
Beaulieu, being obliged to retire up the Adda, recalled 
thofe troops which he had placed on the Ticino and at 
Milan, which city he evacuated, leaving only eighteen 
hundred men in the citadel ; four thoufand French, under 
Maflena, took pofleflion, and on the following day, May 
12, Bonaparte made his triumphal entry. He impofed 
cn Lombardy, as the price of their liberty, a contribu¬ 
tion of twenty millions of livres (875,0001.), and ob¬ 
tained from the duke of Modena half that film, and 
twenty valuable pictures, for a fuipenfion of arms. 
Too weak to difpute any longer the pofleflion of the 
Milanefe, general Beaulieu thought only of covering 
Mantua, and keeping up his communication with Ger¬ 
many, for which purpofe he took a good pofitionon the 
Mincio ; hut Bonaparte having forced the paffageof that 
river near Borghetto, and marched a column of his army 
towards Pefchiera and Caftelnuovo, with the intention of 
cutting him off from the road to Verona and Trente, the 
Auftrian general was obliged to give up all communica¬ 
tion with Mantua, and retreat towards the Adige. Man¬ 
tua was abundantly fupplied with provifions, and M. de 
Beaulieu, after placing in it a garrifonof twelve thoufand 
men, had only fourteen thoufand left, at the head of whom 
he effected a judicious retreat, traveling the dates of 
Venice, and gaining the narrow paffes of the Tyrol,where 
he made every difpofition for a mafterly defence. 
The French, thus become matters of Italy, fpread 
themfelves in every direction. Terror and difmay went be¬ 
fore them, and produced applications foran armifticefrom 
the king of Naples,and tire pope. The territoriesof Naples 
being far from the feene of action, were not fubjefted to. 
a contribution ; nothing more was required but a fepara- 
tion of the troops of that country from thofe of the em¬ 
peror. The pope, on the contrary, being within the 
grafp of the republicans, Bonaparte took from him Bo¬ 
logna, Ferrara, and fort Urbino, and the pontiff was pro- 
mifed further forbearance, on yielding to the French 
thofe places, and the citadel of Ancona, and on paying 
twenty-one millions of livres, (918,750!.) a hundred 
paintings and two hundred of the mod valuable manu- 
fcripts from the public library of Rome. 
From the towns thus acquired the French obtained fuf- 
ficient artillery and (tores for the fiege of Mantua ; and, 
not content with the fpoils of Rome, they plundered 
Milan, Pavia, Parma, and Piacenza, of their choiceft 
works. During thefe tranfadlions, the French made 
themfelves matters of the caftle of Milan, which furren- 
dered on the 29th of June. 
From the territories of the pope, Bonaparte advanced 
to Leghorn, in the neutral (late of Tufcany, under pre¬ 
tence of driving out the Englilh, and confifcating their 
property. By means of unufual (peed and activity, the 
tafk afligned to Bonaparte was completed by the time the 
campaign upon the Rhine was begun. Mantua was (till 
indeed in the hands of the imperialifts; but it was block¬ 
aded, and all Italy was fubmifiive to the mandates of 
France. 
At the commencement of the French invafion of Ger¬ 
many, marefchal Wurmfer was fent into Italy to replace 
Beaulieu, who was removed from his command. On his 
arrival, he collected the wrecks of file Auftrian army, 
and prepared, till he fhould receive reinforcements, to 
confine the French within as narrow limits as poffible, by 
lines drawn from the lake of Garda to the river Adige. 
At the end of June, however, thefe lines were attacked 
and carried by Maffena’s- divifion, which induced Wurm- 
. fer to ayoid farther exertion till he fhould receive a more 
adequate force. The firft part of the month of July was 
fpent by Bonaparte in prefting the fiege of Mantua, which 
before the clofe of that month he expected to capture. 
In this, however, he was deceived. Twenty thoufand 
Auftrian troops had been fent from the Rhine; and 
other reinforcements were marching towards Italy ; fo 
that Bonaparte, inftead of being able to take Mantua 9 
had to defend himfelf againft the force of a fuperior ar¬ 
my, that approached to raife the fiege, asid even threaten¬ 
ed to drive him out of Italy. . 
Wurmfer’s troops defeended from the Tyrol in two di- 
viftons. One half proceeded along the eaft fide of the 
lake of Garda, and the other came by the weft to cut off 
the retreat of the French, who w ere thus enclofed by the 
Auftrians. On the 29th of July, Maflena was driven 
from the ftrong poft of La Corona, on the eaft of the iake, 
while, at the fame time, 15,000 Auftrians drove the 
French from Salo, and afterwards took Brefcia ? with all 
the magazines and hofpitals of Bonaparte’s army. There 
was a fatal error, however, in the general plan of opera¬ 
tions formed by the imperialifts. Their army united was 
an overmatch for the French ; but they had voluntarily 
divided 
