This myth also originated from Napoleon himself. Paintings that showed Napoleon with a flag on the bridge perpetuated the myth. The fact that the attempted crossing failed was ignored. The myth arose because Napoleon later presented the battle in a way that suggested he had successfully charged the bridge. During the retreat, Napoleon fell into a swamp behind the dyke and his men had to drag him to safety. A number of the officers around Napoleon were hit, some fatally.
Napoleon then seized a flag and tried to lead the men across the bridge, but he didn’t even make it to the bridgehead. Some courageous men followed him, but after several were killed, the attack faltered, and Augereau had to withdraw. General Pierre-François Augereau seized the lead battalion’s flag and advanced towards the enemy. Rather than advance, the frightened French troops took cover behind a dyke. Austrian cannon were placed in such a way that they could fire on anyone approaching the bridge. In the November 1796 battle to take the Italian village of Arcole (Arcola) from the Austrians, French forces under Napoleon had to cross a small wooden bridge across the River Alpone. It’s a myth that Napoleon crossed the bridge. Napoleon leading his troops over the bridge of Arcole by Horace Vernet, 1826.
