Episode 3 of 3
Separation during the Italian campaign
- When
- March – July 1796
- Where
- Paris, where Joséphine remained before travelling to Milan
Napoleon departed for Italy after the wedding; Joséphine, left in Paris, began an affair with Hippolyte Charles in 1796.
Soon after the marriage Napoleon left for the Italian campaign, writing passionate letters from Italy and urging Joséphine to join him in Milan after he occupied the city on 10 May 1796. Left behind in Paris, she began an affair with Hussar lieutenant Hippolyte Charles. Under pressure she finally travelled to Italy, arriving in Milan on 10 July 1796, with Hippolyte in her entourage.
Sources
- Joséphine de Beauharnais Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.