Forty-Four Months in the Alps

The French Revolution threw Europe into chaos and forced the armies of the rest of Europe into crisis. Forty-Four Months in the Alps describes how the Piedmontese army reorganized to resist the tricolour tide that spread across the continent. Richly illustrated with 24 full-colour pages of contemporary artwork and new works by Emanuele Manfredi showing uniforms, flags, and weapons. Forty-Four Months in the Alps is divided into three parts. Chapter 1 describes the difficult political situation of Victor Amadeus III of Savoy who was too closely related to Bourbon France, the inadequacy of an army that had last fired a shot in 1748, and the poor support provided by their Austrian allies. Chapter 2, drawing on Turin's archives, details how the army had to be reorganised to fight in the winter of 1793. To defend the length of the Alps between the County of Nice and the Aosta Valley with a small army was a difficult task. The Turin muster rolls provide valuable information on the units and the men who struggled against the odds. The Piedmontese units, uniforms, flags and weaponry are described and illustrated in detail. The third part, made up of Chapters 3-7, describes, year by year, the course of the war between 1792 and 1796 and suggests which sources to consult to delve into the individual episodes of the war. AUTHOR: Enrico Ricchiardi from Turin, specialises in the history of the Piedmontese army, its flags and uniforms included. He is the author of numerous works and has compiled the historical part of the catalogue cards of the flag collections of the Royal Armoury and the National Artillery Museum of Turin. His exploration of muster rolls allowed him to publish the history of the military musicians of the Piedmontese army from 1680 to 1861 and of the Kingdom of Italy up to 1870. 8 b/w illustrations, 53 colour illustrations, 8 b/w maps, 9 tables