Dismayed by the incapacity shown by his general officers in 1792, King Victor Amadeus III begged Habsburg Austria to send his army a supreme commander and his ally sent Joseph Nikolaus De Vins on 21 December. Despite this, the Austrian government suspected Victor Amadeus of desiring a separate peace with France. In fact, the French tried to diplomatically drive a wedge between Sardinia and Austria, but the execution of King Louis XVI by guillotine on 21 January 1793 caused Victor Amadeus to rebuff France. In the spring, the defenses of Sardinia were organized from north to south as follows. The Duke of Montferrat held the Little St Bernard Pass which protected the Aosta Valley. The Marquis of Cordon (or Gordon) covered the Susa Valley with 14 battalions. His headquarters were at Susa and a 16-gun fort overlooked the Mont Cenis Pass. Giovanni Marchese di Provera guarded the Agnel Pass near Monte Viso. Leopold Lorenz Bartholomaus von Strassoldo shielded the Stura di Demonte Valley with 12 battalions posted near Demonte. Farthest south, Charles-François Thaon, Count of Saint-André employed 10,000 to 12,000 soldiers to defend Saorgio and pose a threat to Nice.