Jean-Étienne Championnet

Jean-Étienne Championnet was a French Revolutionary general who commanded campaigns in Italy and became commander of the French Army of Italy in 1798.

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Battle of Civita Castellana: A French victory over Neapolitan forces fought near Civita Castellana in December 1798. Championnet led the French forces whose victory opened the route to Naples.
Army of Italy: A French Revolutionary army that fought Austrian and Italian forces in northern Italy. Championnet took command of this army during the 1798 campaign.
Napoleon Bonaparte: A French military and political leader who became emperor of the French in 1804. Napoleon’s earlier Italian campaigns created the military context in which Championnet later served.
Sanfedismo: A popular royalist movement in southern Italy that fought French occupation and the Parthenopean Republic in 1799. Its uprising helped defeat the political order Championnet had helped establish.
French invasion of Naples (1798–1799): The French campaign that overthrew the Kingdom of Naples and established the Parthenopean Republic. Championnet commanded the invasion and helped establish the short-lived republic.
French Directory: The five-member executive government that ruled France from 1795 to 1799. The Directory directed the Italian campaigns and appointed Championnet to command.
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies: The Bourbon king of Naples and Sicily who ruled during the French invasion of 1798. Ferdinand’s court fled Naples as Championnet’s army advanced.
Cardinal Ruffo: A Neapolitan cardinal who organized the royalist Army of the Holy Faith against the Parthenopean Republic. Ruffo’s campaign reversed the French-backed settlement created after Championnet’s conquest.
Parthenopean Republic: A French-supported republic in Naples that existed from 1799 until the restoration of Bourbon rule. Its creation in 1799 followed Championnet’s conquest of Naples.
Naples: The largest city in southern Italy and the capital of the Kingdom of Naples during the French invasion of 1798. Capturing Naples was the central objective of Championnet’s southern campaign.