ature of which Rousseau was the
herald and Bonaparte the militant exponent.

The Austro-Sardinian forces were now occupying the pass which
separates the Apennines from the Maritime Alps north of the town of
Savona. They were accordingly near the headwaters of the Bormida and
the Tanaro, two of the chief affluents of the River Po: and roads
following those river valleys led, the one north-east, in the
direction of Milan, the other north-west towards Turin, the Sardinian
capital. A wedge of mountainous country separated these roads as they
diverged from the neighbourhood of Montenotte. Here obviously was the
vulnerable point of the Austro-Sardinian position. Here therefore
Bonaparte purposed to deliver his first strokes, foreseeing that,
should he sever the allies, he would have in his favour every
advantage both political and topographical.

All this was possible to a commander who could overcome the initial
difficulties. But these difficulties were enormous. The position of
the French Army of Italy in March, 1796, was precarious. Its
detachments, echelonned near the coast from Savona to Loano, and
thence to Nice, or inland to the Col di Tende, comprised in all
42,000 men, as against the Austro-Sardinian forces amounting to
52,000 men.[36] Moreover, the allies occupied strong positions on the
northern slopes of the Maritime Alps and Apennines, and, holding the
inner and therefore shorter curve, they could by a dextrous
concentration have pushed their more widely scattered opponents on to
the shore, where the republicans would have been harassed by the guns
of the British cruisers. Finally, Bonaparte's troops were badly
equipped, worse clad, and were not paid at all. On his arrival at Nice
at the close of March, the young commander had to disband one
battalion for mutinous conduct.[37] For a brief space it seemed
doubtful how the army would receive this slim, delicate-looking youth,
known hitherto only as a skilful artillerist at Toulon and in the
streets of Paris. But he speedily gained the respect and confidence of
the rank and file, not only by stern punishment of the mutineers, but
by raising money from a local banker, so as to make good some of the
long arrears of pay. Other grievances he rectified by prompt
reorganization of the commissariat and kindred departments. But, above
all, by his burning words he thrilled them: "Soldiers, you are half
starved and half naked. The Government owes you much, but can do
nothi