French Napoleonic Conquest of Italy 1796 Hand drawn and coloured map and plan of the River Adda at “La Grotta” and the castle of Maccastorna in Lombardy, and drawn up during the French invasion in the campaign leading to the battles of Fombio and Lodi. Measuring 21” by 10”. As compiled by or at least signed off by Louis-Alexandre Berthier, who was then a Major General in l’armee d’italia, and Napoleon’s Chief of Staff, bearing his signature and title in ink, and also bearing the official stamp of “de l’arm d’Italie”. A fascinating historical map to an important period in French and Italian history.
Condition: colouring good, some time folded and with minor creasing, evidence of having been pinned to a wall at some stage, overall Good Condition.
Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), 1st Prince of Wagram, Sovereign Prince of Neuchâtel, was a Marshal of the Empire doubling as Minister of War and chief of staff to Napoleon. Born into a military family, he served in the French Army and survived suspicion of monarchism during the Reign of Terror, before a rapid rise in the ranks during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although a key supporter of the coup against the Directory that gave Napoleon supreme power, and present for his greatest victories, Berthier strongly opposed the progressive stretching of lines of communication during the Russian campaign. Allowed to retire by the restored Bourbon regime, he died of unnatural causes shortly before the Battle of Waterloo. Berthier's reputation as a superb operational organiser remains strong among current historians
