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1796. July… August… September… Three months in which Napoleon Bonaparte’s north Italian army runs rings around the Austrians… On the Rhine the French commanders simply can’t get their act together… And in Paris the Directory looks on, uncertainly, as their young general’s star continues to rise. This is episode   19 of the Napoleonic Quarterly – covering three months in which Bonaparte proves that the best form of defence, strategic or otherwise, is attack.

[12:45] - Rick Schneid on Bonaparte's escape from the trap set by the Austrian general Wurmser

[28:53] - Jordan Hayworth on Moreau and Jourdan's clashes with Archduke Charles on the Rhine

[52:31] - Biancamaria Fontana on the worries, insecurities and general wobbliness of the Directory government in Paris

Plus Charles Esdaile and Alexander Mikaberidze offer their analysis of the political situation throughout, including in north Italy, south Germany and Spain.