Rome. Roman Republic. French warships drop anchor off Civitavecchia. 7,000 elite men, the best of the French army, disembark, led by General Oudinot, with the mission of “liberating” Rome. On paper, the republicans have 14,000 volunteers, but they are scattered from Bologna to Ancona, all the way down to the border with the Bourbon Kingdom. In Rome, there are university units, 600 riflemen under Luciano Manara, and Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Italian Legion.
