Soldiers of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy

About this book

For Napoleon to create an Italian army, it was necessary to foster Italian nationalism, encouraging Italians to perceive themselves as citizens of a greater Italy and not as subjects of the former city-states, such as Milan or Venice. Conscription brought more than 200,000 Italians, roughly 3 percent of the entire population, into the kingdom's army. The army was representative of every sector of north Italian society, and the military administration became a significant part of the state. In the kingdom of Italy, Napoleon created a national army in the modern sense of the term. Frederick C. Schneid explores the relationship between the army, the state, and Italian nationalism and also examines the social composition of the army's officers and soldiers as well as its performance on campaign. The book concludes with an assessment of the legacy of the Napoleonic era in Italy.