it. Some of the French on the castle walls were also hit by cannon fire. Shortly before a new assault on the castle a band of French soldiers came out with a white flag as if under truce. Captain Rubbi advanced towards them to negotiate, but the French party then unmasked a cannon and began to fire it, killing Rubbi's soldiers and 30 Veronese. This unleashed all hell around the castello, whilst the timings of the revolt were rung out from torre dei Lamberti, which the French unsuccessfully tried to demolish with cannon fire. Many peasant volunteers began arriving from the countryside, armed with pitchforks, bastoni and small-arms. Of their resolution, Alberghini writes that "it appeared on the faces of all the desire to die for the Fatherland and of themselves to risk all. The peasants of Vallagarina succeeded in attacking and capturing the church next to Rivoli Veronese, while the mountain-dwellers of Lessinia attacked forte San Felice and castel San Pietro from the north. In the meantime conte Miniscalchi controlled the lake Garda defence-line, Bevilacqua the line at Legnago, and Allegri the San Bonifacio line: Verona's borders were thus all guarded and - for the moment - calm. The Austrian colonel Adam Adalbert von Neipperg arrived in the city with a band of soldiers, and informed Balland of the treaty of Leoben Bonaparte had negotiated between the French Republic and the Austrian Empire, while the population rejoiced, thinking he was bringing aid to Verona: thus the rebels lost their precious support from Austrian troops. Between intermittent truces, Verona was systematically bombarded from the strongholds and its population continued to fight around the strongholds and attempt to capture them. 19 April On 19 April Bevilacqua was defeated by French troops at Legnago, whilst Miniscalchi was blockaded at Bardolino, leaving only Maffei outside Verona, at Valeggio, who decided to withdraw to Sommacampagna with his 900 infantry and 250 cavalry, so as not to be cut off by the French advance guard: arriving at Sommacampagna left his command to Ferro and returned to Verona in search of orders. The same day Emilei arrived back from Venice, without the help they had hoped for, while at Vicenza the two representatives were persuaded by Erizzo to return and resume negotiations with Balland: the general replied that he and his men would have left the town if the population had been disarmed but that, after