1841 Jomini Map of Northern Italy Lake Garda (French Revolutionary Wars)

This is an 1839 Antoine Henri Jomini map of northern Italy in the vicinity of Lake Garda during the French Revolutionary Wars. Highlighting events during 1796 - 1797, this map focuses on the siege of Mantua (1796 - 1797) and the four Austrian relief attempts.

A Closer Look

Depicting northern Italy from north of Trento to Mellara and Rovigo and from Brescia to Padua, cities, towns, and villages throughout are labeled. Lake Garda appears on the left not far from the fold-out extension along the left side. Hand colored bars represent French and Austrian troops, with colors representing divisions during the four relief campaigns. A key in the upper left provides explains the notations and identifies the relief attempt they correspond with. All four attempts are identified using the last battle of each one (Castiglione, Bassano, Arcole, and Rivoli).

The Siege of Mantua

The siege of Mantua (July 4, 1796 - February 2, 1797) was part of the 1796 - 1797 Italian Campaign during the War of the First Coalition (1792 - 1797). Napoleon Bonaparte, then a relatively unknown upstart in the French army, was appointed commander in chief of the Italian Army on March 2, 1796. His appointment was seen as a political move by the Directors of the First Republic, but he proved himself to be an extraordinary commander. He quickly defeated Piedmont and knocked them out of the war. Then, after a back-and-forth campaign against the Austrians, he besieged an Austrian force in Mantua. The Austrians launched four relief attempts of their besieged comrades, but each time Bonaparte and his army defeated them, eventually leading to the surrender of the Austrian army in Mantua on February 2. Then, Bonaparte launched an invasion of Austria in March, which forced Austria's complete surrender, ending the War of the First Coalition.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by J.B. Bielaerds for publication in General Antoine Henri Jomini's Atlas pour the Traité des Grandes Opérations Militaires as plate 23 and published by J.B. Petit in Brussels in 1839. We note two cataloged examples of the separate map, which are part of the collections at the Newberry Library and the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. The atlas is cataloged as being part of 10 institutional collections. Both are rare on the private market. Jomini published several editions of his Traité des Grandes Opérations Militaires, some of which were accompanied by atlases. As far as we can tell, the only edition that included the present map is the 1839 edition.