Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Original manuscript ink and water colour map relating to the French Conquest of Italy in 1796, titled on the reverse in ink, ‘Plan de Cassano sur l’Adda’, the hand illustrated map itself titled, ‘Plan von Cassan’ and bearing the signature of Napoleon’s Chief of Staff, Louis-Alexandre Berthier, with his stamp and ink title, ‘Etat major Genéral de l’armée d’Italie’, 49 by 32cm., minor wear at folds, generally in good condition £500-600

Louis-Alexandre Berthier (1753-1815) was Napoleon's Chief of Staff from the start of his first Italian campaign in 1796 until his first abdication in 1814. The operational efficiency of the Grande Armée owed much to his considerable administrative and organisational skills.

Cassano d’Adda is a town in the province of Milan, Lombardy. It was a key position at the time of Napoleon’s brilliant campaign in 1796, owing to its strategic position at the crossing of the Adda river.