At the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars, most of the important early campaigning occurred on the French frontiers with Germany and the Netherlands. However it was inevitable that fighting would also take place on the Franco-Italian frontier, due to the presence there of France's enemies – most notably the Austro-Hungarians, whose emperor was a driving force behind the first coalition which sought to reverse the effects of the French Revolution. Philip Haythornthwaite examines Napoleon's campaigns in Italy, and the uniforms of his soldiers, in a volume containing numerous illustrations, including eight full page colour plates by Richard Hook.