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1796. January. February. March. Three months in which the British take Ceylon thanks to some daring – or perhaps that should be dairy-ing – exploits… Napoleon Bonaparte takes command of the Army of Italy… And the new French government, the Directory, struggles to find its way. This is episode 17 of the Napoleonic Quarterly – covering three months in which it feels like the (E)dam is about to break over this conflict.

[15:54] - Military historian and author Philip Ball describes the British capture of Ceylon's Trincomalee and Colombo, which is unexpectedly aided by the unorthodox use of dairy products. 

[36:01] - Professor Biancamaria Fontana of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland discusses and deliberates on the dynamics and dilemmas of the Directory, the five-man executive now taking over the reins of the Revolution.

[53:04] - Rafe Blaufarb, Professor of History at Florida State University, sizes up the state of the French military machine as Napoleon Bonaparte takes command of the Army of Italy.

Plus Professor Emeritus Charles Esdaile of the University of Liverpool and Professor Alexander Mikaberidze of Louisiana State University-Shreveport lock horns over British imperialism and the merits of "all this liberty, equality and stupidity nonsense", providing their expert analysis and opinions throughout.