The documents are two proclamations given by General Napoleon Bonapart to the Army of Italy in 1796, the first year of Napoleon’s First Italian campaign (1796-1797). The first proclamation, dated March 27, 2 days after Napoleon’s arrival at the army’s headquarters, was relatively short, but it precisely addressed the most significant issues of the soldiers. After being appointed commander of the Army of Italy (one of three French armies (the Army of Sambre and Meuse, the Army of the Rhine and Moselle, and the Army of Italy) supposed to strike Austria), General Bonapart faced the real state of his troops. The Army of Italy experienced greater hardships than the other two armies. It lacked proper supplies, and weapons and uniforms were in disrepair. Soldiers had not received payment, and overall morale was low. In such circumstances, General Bonapart had to find a way to raise the spirit of his men and, not less importantly, strengthen his authority as commander. Thus, in the proclamation of March 27, Napoleon begins by pointing out the horrendous state of the French troops and the government’s indifference to them. Napoleon promises his men to improve their material conditions by leading them to the “most fertile plains in the world,” but in an epic tone, he also claims that under his command, they will achieve glory and honor on the battlefield. The text is clearly marked by striking confidence and audacity unexpected from a young general.
However, the well-known text of this proclamation is fictitious. This text was composed later by Napoleon in exile in Saint Helena when the former emperor dictated his memoirs. Still, according to Jean Tulard, Napoleon could have possibly read out to certain units a proclamation or proclamations of a similar character.
The Proclamation of April 26 was read out to Bonapart’s troops after a series of brilliant victories in the battles of Montenotte, Cosseria, Dego, and Mondovi. At the beginning of the proclamation, Napoleon profoundly reminds his soldiers of their recent victories to further raise their spirits and encourage them to secure new victories. Besides that, he recalls successful French military campaigns of 1793 and 1794 to create a continuity with previous revolutionary wars. Moreover, Napoleon emphasizes that despite the unfortunate state of his troops (in comparison to the enemy and the other French armies), they managed to cover themselves with glory. The proclamation largely appeals to soldiers’ pride and duty before la Patrie (The Fatherland). In the last paragraphs, Napoleon addresses the issue of the Italian inhabitants and states that honorable French soldiers are obliged to treat the locals well. Those who resolve to pillage will receive the death penalty. The good treatment of Italians was important since, according to Napoleon, French troops were supposed to come to Italy not as conquerors but as liberators to free Italians from the authority of the tyrants. In this statement, there is a visible continuity of the revolutionary views on waging wars against tyrannical monarchies to liberate other peoples.
These texts present a great example of Napoleonic propaganda. It is safe to call Napoleon one of the greatest propagandists of his time. He masterfully exploited the means of propaganda at his disposal and was fully conscious of the effect his words could bring. During the Italian campaign of 1796-1797, General Bonapart made sure to disproportionately fill the French press with the news of his army’s conduct, emphasizing (and often exaggerating) the crucial role of his victories. In a similar manner, he reported to the Directory. Proclamations to the army were equally crucial tools of propaganda. Understanding their influence on the morale, Napoleon issued proclamations more often than other generals. He often addressed his soldiers in a familial tone and used emotional language. However, Napoleon also knew when to change his tone in his epic proclamations, appealing to soldiers’ honor, virtues, and duty, reminding them of their past victories, and encouraging them to win more battles.
The two proclamations can be a good case study of the effect of wartime propaganda in the military, demonstrating the role of well-thought propaganda in elevating the army’s spirit in desperate conditions that can be regarded as uncertainty of a kind. Napoleon’s proclamations to the military can be studied together with the revolutionary and Napoleonic propaganda aimed at civilians to compare the two spheres and their interaction. In terms of discourse, the proclamation can be analyzed as an example of elements of the revolutionary discourse (references to past campaigns, the notion of Patrie, the discourse of liberation from tyrants) being part of the early Napoleonic propaganda. Finally, Napoleon’s proclamations to the army demonstrate the formation of the identity of French soldiers in a time of uncertainty.
Bonaparte’s Proclamations to the Army of Italy (1796)
[March 27, 1796]
Soldiers, you are naked, ill fed! The Government owes you much; it can give you nothing. Your patience, the courage you display in the midst of these rocks, are admirable; but they procure you no glory, no fame is reflected upon you. I seek to lead you into the most fertile plains in the world. Rich provinces, great cities will be in your power. There you will find honor, glory, and riches.
[April 26, 1796]
In a fortnight you have won six victories, taken twenty-one standards, fifty-five pieces of artillery, several strong positions, and conquered the richest part of Piedmont; you have captured 15,000 prisoners and killed or wounded more than 10,000 men.
Heretofore you fought for sterile rocks, made famous by your prowess, but useless to the Patrie; today, by your accomplishments you equal the armies of Holland and Rhine. Destitute of everything, you have supplied everything. You have won battles without cannon, crossed rivers without bridges, made forced marches without shoes, camped without brandy and often without bread. Soldiers of liberty, only republican phalanxes could have endured what you have endured. Soldiers, you have our thanks! The grateful Patrie will owe its prosperity to you; and if, as conquerors of Toulon, you foreshadowed the immortal campaign of 1794, your present victories presage a still greater one.
The two armies which but recently attacked you with audacity are fleeing before you in terror; the wicked men who laughed at your misery and rejoiced at the thought of the triumphs of your enemies are confounded and trembling.
But, soldiers, as yet you have done nothing compared with what remains to be done
…Undoubtedly the greatest obstacles have been overcome; but you still have battles to fight, cities to capture, rivers to cross. Is there one among you whose courage is abating?… No,… All of you are consumed with a desire to extend the glory of the French people; all of you long to humiliate those arrogant kings who dare to contemplate placing us in fetters; all of you desire to dictate a glorious peace, one which will indemnify the Patrie for the immense sacrifices it has made; all of you wish to be able to say with pride as you return to your villages, “I was with the victorious army of Italy!”
Friends, I promise you this conquest; but there is one condition you must swear to fulfill to respect the people whom you liberate, to repress the horrible pillaging committed by scoundrels incited by our enemies. Otherwise you would not be the liberators of the people; you would be their scourge;… Plunderers will be shot without mercy; already, several have been…
Peoples of Italy, the French army comes to break your chains; the French people is the friend of all peoples; approach it with confidence; your property, your religion, and your customs will be respected.
We are waging war as generous enemies, and we wish only to crush the tyrants who enslave you.
Author of the reflection: Oksana Volovodiuk, IUFU Student
Reviewing and editing: Tetiana Zemliakova
Source: “Bonaparte’s Proclamations to the Army of Italy (1796).” In A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution, edited by John Hall Stewart, 672–73. New York: Macmillan, 1951.
