, for while the Austrians had won victories in Italy and freed
that country from French control, for which they substituted their own,
a French general named Massena had won a victory in Switzerland that
had shaken the grip of his enemies. It was necessary, however, that
Italy be invaded a second time. And this time Napoleon made his plans
to cross the Alps as Hannibal had done two thousand years before.

With his supplies on pack mules, with cannon wheels carried by his
soldiers and the men themselves drawing the cannon on rude sleds
improvised from tree trunks, the indomitable commander crossed the
mighty mountain range that stood in his way, and suddenly appeared on
the Italian plains in a part of the country where the Austrians had not
dreamed that he would arrive. Before they were able to collect and
rearrange their forces, Napoleon struck and defeated them in the battle
of Marengo, where his men fought against odds of three to one. Other
battles followed, and French generals invaded Austria. There remained
nothing for the Austrians to do but sue for peace. England soon
followed her example and France was at peace with the world.

Then Napoleon busied himself with internal matters and set about
reorganizing the French Government and framing a code of laws that
might be used thereafter by the country that he had made his own. This
was called the "Code Napoleon" and it is largely used to-day in France,
for Napoleon's genius as a lawmaker and a ruler was almost as great as
his power of generalship. He did not know such a word as failure but
succeeded in everything he put his hand to. While whole libraries have
been written about him there seem to be three main reasons for his
gigantic successes. The first is that he was a natural genius, with far
superior mental power to any other man of his time; the second is that
he had wonderful ability to work hard, and the third is that he knew
how to draw to himself the loyalty and affection of the ablest men of
his day and make their achievements further stepping stones to his own
successes. He had studied his trade of soldiering since he was old
enough to talk. He had worked at it constantly and toiled so
incessantly that he seldom slept more than three or four hours a night.
Moreover, in the troubled times in which Napoleon appeared on the
international stage, France was ripe for just such leadership and
indomitable will power as he was able to supply. Fortune favored his
e