decision, and informed the Venetian senate that French troops would not intervene and that he was hurt by how much success they had had at Bergamo and Brescia. Balland's response to the letter aroused Verona's inhabitants to great enthusiasm for defending their own territory. Initially the military leaders were instructed to defend Verona's borders with practically no men, although the cernide was able to offer 6,000 men, and many volunteers arrived, especially from Valpolicella. On 23 March news reached Verona that 500 Jacobin soldiers headed for Peschiera del Garda or Valeggio sul Mincio had set out from Brescia - the officials and troops rushed to take up their positions. Miniscalchi went to Colà, a small village above the hills of Lazise, Giusti to Povegliano Veronese, Bevilacqua to Cerea, and Maffei to Valeggio. From Valeggio Maffei could see that the enemy troops were still not in sight, and was thus had time to put his own troops in better order. 24 fanti coming from Brescia also joined his force, as well as 40 Croatian cavalrymen and 2 cannons coming from Verona. On 27 March he decided to send off a scouting party, whilst at Castelnuovo del Garda 1,500 volunteers gathered. News of the Veronese troop movements arrived at the Bermagascene valleys, where several anti-French revolts were breaking out. On 29 March the whole Bergamasque mountainous zone rose in revolt, in such great numbers that its leaders decided to march on Bergamo. Around the same time the population of Salò rose up, urged to resistance by Battaia, who assured them by letter that he would send them munitions and 80 dragoons. The letter roused the population's enthusiasm, and they succeeded in raising the Leone di San Marco flag and forcing the Jacobins to flee the city. A short time later the inhabitants of Maderno, Toscolano and Teglie also rose up. 1,000 men - Lombard Jacobins, Polish soldiers and French soldiers - that had gathered at Brescia were invited to Salò. These men met the insurgents at Villanuova, not far from the little town of Garda, but they lacked ammunition and had to quickly retreat into Salò itself. A second encounter saw a victory by the inhabitants of Salò, thanks to an attack on the three sides of the mountain range of the val Sabbia: among the enemy troops, 66 were killed and several taken prisoner, including several Jacobin leaders. Battaia, as he