French connections

Napoleon's exploits won the attention of friends in high places. The commissioner to the army wrote a letter praising his young general.

The recipient of that letter was the commissioner's brother, Maximilien Robespierre, the man now in effective control of France and orchestrating the terror which had gripped the country. As tens of thousands died at the guillotine, Napoleon's career went from strength to strength. In February he was appointed inspector of artillery in the Army of the Alps. Robespierre's downfall halted Napoleon's upward climb, but it wouldn't be long before he again proved his services invaluable.