Premium feature
Hunter CoPilot
Premium feature
Hunter CoPilot
Premium feature
Hunter CoPilot
 HISTORY Napoleon Bonaparte received the appointment as commander of the Army of Italy in March 1796. Despite the initial skepticism of soldiers and generals, who considered him inexperienced and politically compromised, Bonaparte immediately impressed his men with his authority and energy. The French sought, through the Apennine passes, to invade the territory of the Savoy State and clashed in the Savona hills with the Austro-Piedmontese army. The first battle was that of Monte Negino (11–12 April 1796), fought near the locality of Naso di Gatto during the first Italian campaign. It was the first clash with Napoleon in command and marked the beginning of his rise, destined to end with the defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. The victory was decisive: it prevented the Austrians from reaching Savona and its port and allowed the French to continue their advance. The second clash took place at Cosseria (13–14 April 1796): the Austro-Piedmontese troops, barricaded in the castle, put up strong resistance, but the French managed to prevail. Most of the troops inside the fort were Piedmontese under the command of Filippo Del Carretto di Camerano. In response to a request for surrender by the French, it is said that Del Carretto replied: “Know that you are dealing with the Piedmontese grenadiers, who never surrender!” In the subsequent assault he was mortally struck by a rifle bullet. In the surrender to the Austro-Piedmontese troops, however, the honors of war were granted for the valor shown during that combat. The battle had particular importance because it helped divide the allied armies, favoring the subsequent victories of the army from beyond the Alps. The third clash took place at Dego (14–15 April 1796). Bonaparte initially obtained victory, but an Austrian counterattack caught the French by surprise. Napoleon nevertheless managed to restore the situation and the subsequent final victory consolidated the separation between the enemy armies and opened the way toward the Po Valley. The fighting continued in the direction of Piedmont, with the battles of Ceva, San Michele Mondovì, Bricchetto up to the armistice of Cherasco on 28 April 1796. "Vive Bonaparte!" (Long live Bonaparte!) As the Italian campaign (1796-1797) progressed, the loyalty of the soldiers became increasingly tied to the figure of the young general, who promised them glory and riches. AWARD The award will run from 1° April to 29 June and each month will be dedicated to one of the three battles with a different QSL in each period: April – Battle of Monte Negino (Montenotte) May - Battle of Cosseria (Millesimo) June – Battle of Dego Operators will transmit with the callsign II1NAP and will also be on air from the A.R.I. Section of Savona for all 90 days and, moreover, to celebrate the anniversary, we will activate for the first time the symbolic places of these historical events. On 12 April a radio station will transmit right from the summit of Monte Negino where the French redoubt (trench) was located, preventing the Austrians from advancing. On 17 May the radio activity will move to Cosseria near the site of the second battle. Finally, on 14 June the radio station will be located at Dego in the places of the last clash. In case of bad weather the various outdoor radio activities will be postponed to dates to be defined. Consult the facebook page A.R.I. Sezione di Savona O.D.V. - IQ1SV to stay updated on II1NAP activity and discover the dates on which we will be on air from these historic sites. Award duration: 90 days. It will start on 1° April 2026 at 00:00 UTC and will end on 29 June 2026 at 23.59 UTC. Bands: 80, 60, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10, 6 and 2 meters. Modes: SSB, CW, FT8, FT4, FT2, RTTY and PSK. The special callsign II1NAP may be worked, for every band or mode, once per day. Any duplicates will be in the log but automatically discarded by the system for the purpose of counting the points to be assigned. Points awarded: each QSO completed and validated by the Hamaward platform will be worth: 1 point: if made in FT8, FT4 and FT2 2 points: if made in RTTY and PSK 3 points: if made in SSB 5 points: if made in CW The Award is granted in five classes, upon reaching the following scores: Class “Caporal”: 10 points Class “Lieutenant”: 20 points Class “Capitaine”: 30 points Class “General”: 40 points Class “Napoleon”: 50 points Class “Lègion d'honneur”: 100 points Class “Premier Consul”: 200 points Class “Empereur”: 350 points SPECIAL PRIZE 1° PLACE - HUNTERS The station that obtains the highest score at the end of the award will receive a special prize: AN ORIGINAL BUTTON FROM THE UNIFORM OF A NAPOLEONIC SOLDIER OF 1796. The management of the II1NAP 230° anniversary Savonese Napoleonic Battles award will be entirely handled by the HAMAWARD platform both with regard to the awarding of points, QSLs and Awards. Award and electronic QSLs: they may be downloaded from the Hamaward platform. The Award is free of charge and consists of a PDF file. No paper version is provided. It may be downloaded at the end of the event. Electronic QSLs may be downloaded at any time. It is not necessary to send logs, since the recording of QSOs is handled automatically by Hamaward. NO CONTACT CONFIRMATIONS WILL BE SENT via paper QSL, E-QSL, MAIL-QSL, LOTW or other digital forms. We look forward to meeting you on air to share together this fascinating journey through history, contact after contact, from the Savona hills to your stations all over the world. A.R.I. Savona O.D.V. |