Wicked (49 page)

April 30 was a day of some emotional excitement, as this was the day when Bonaparte's arrival was expected to raise the siege. But it was a false hope. That evening General Ott and Admiral Keith, realizing that the garrison must be at its last gasp, despatched Count St. Ju
l
ien under a flag of truce to the French outposts at the mouth of the Polceveta, repeating their previous offer of an honorable capitulation. But Massena still temporized, for he felt that Bonaparte must now be threatening the Austrian rear and in a day or two would relieve Genoa. On the thirty-first a number of his troops began deserting to the enemy lines and the civilian population was getting out of control. Hundreds were dying daily of typhus and starvation.

On June 1 Massena sent Colonel Andrieux to Ott's forward headquarters to discuss terms for the exchange of prisoners.

On
-t
he morning of June 2 the three armistice delegates met and discussed the ter
m
s
of the capitulation. Matters were not eased by the arrival of Massena's private secretary with a message saying Massena would refuse to sign any document that contained the word "capitulation." No agreement was reached before nightfall. The conference was renewed at noon on the third and continued for eight hours. The British naval representative proved the most stubborn, for he insisted unyieldingly that all French vessels in the harbor must be handed over as prizes. That morning Massena was informed by his chief commissary that only one more day's ration of food remained in the depots.

The three principals at last met at 9:30 A.
M
. on June 4 to settle the final terms and sign the convention. It was finally agreed that 8,
11
0 French soldiers (all who were capable of marching) should leave Genoa by road for the French frontier with all their arms, artillery, and baggage, while the British navy would transport the remainder of the garrison to Antibes. Admiral Keith was still obdurate about the French vessels in the harbor, insisting that naval prize law was enshrined in the British constitution and that he could not concede anything without reference to London. Massena's grim face relaxed for the first time. "My Lord," he said, "after taking all our big ships from us, you might at least leave us the little ones." Keith graciously replied, "Really, General, one can refuse you nothing."

The convention was signed at 7 P.M.

As the conference ended, the admiral seized Massena's hand and said, "General, if only England and France could get together, they would rule the world." Massena with a withering look replied, "France will be enough."

Massena's dogged resistance at Genoa contributed materially to the success of Bonaparte's Reserve Army, which was now pouring into Italy through the Alpine passes and had already occupied Milan. On June 15, the day after the battle of Marengo, when the campaign in Italy was over, the Austrian chief of staff said to Berthier as he signed the Armistice of Alessandria, "You won the battle, not in front of Alessandria, but in front of Genoa."

15. See page 270. Very few of Napoleon's officers were models of conjugal fidelity when on campaign. Many took mistresses with them. This behavior was normal practice among the military leaders of the Revolution and Consulate and Napoleon's attitude in the matter was as self-indulgent as his officers'. In commenting on Murat's conduct during the Marengo campaign, he said, "What faults Murat committed in order to set up his headquarters in ch
a
teaux where there were women! He needed one every day, so I have always allowed my generals to take a strumpet along with them in order to avoid this trouble."