column of soldiers (partly French, partly local Jacobins) left for Brescia. Its podestà, Giovanni Alvise Mocenigo, wished to attack this hostile column but was stopped from doing so by Battaia, who was still worried about the eventual use of force. Two days later 200 men entered Brescia and, with the aid of Brescian Jacobins, put down what little resistance was offered. Their first act after gaining the city was to hunt down Battaia, who had fled to Verona. Although lacking the support of the population, with French help the Jacobins succeeded in democratising the countryside and (on 28 March) the town of Crema. The Veronese revolts and campaign The provveditore Battaia arrived at Verona on 22 March, and immediately called a meeting of the council, which included several other military leaders (the conte Pompei, Ernesto Bevilacqua, Antonio Maffei, Marcantonio Miniscalchi, Ignazio Giusti, Francesco Emilei and Alessandro Ottolini). During the council, Maffei, Ottolini and Emilei tried to convince the other members of the importance of reconquering the territory they had lost and that at that moment this was the most important thing for the defence of the Veronese nation, against the Jacobin members' objections. Battaia urged caution, but conte Emilei noted that passive resistance had already lost them Brescia, and that Verona's citizens were ready to take up arms against the Jacobin Lombards. Battaia, realising that many of those present were of Emilei's opinion, changed his mind and so it was unanimously decided to provide for the defence of Verona's borders, nominally against the local Jacobins but in effect also to prevent Napoleon's own force returning into Italy. Action was immediately taken: Miniscalchi was put in command of the long defence-line at Garda, and Bevilacqua of the line between Villafranca di Verona and the border with Ferrara, with Maffei positioned between these two lines. Meanwhile, conte Augusto Verità had returned to Verona. Always enjoying good relations with the French, he proposed to get an assurance of French neutrality before the Veronese forces clashed with the Jacobins. Writing to the commander of the French troops at Verona, general Antoine Balland, he stated: The substance of the letter was a request for authorisation to defend Verona's boundaries against aggressors, which the French general was forced to consent to, since if he did not the only way they could officialice their arrival would be through Venice's authority over her territories. Bonaparte agreed with Balland's