Austria was proving unable to defend its possessions in northern Italy, despite the subsidies the British government was paying to support the Austrian army.

Britain, unable to deploy major forces on the European continent, used its commercial power to bolster the land armies of allies like Austria and Spain against the French for over a decade.

Nelson gives him the command of the cutter Kathleen sending him to rescue the crew of the frigate HMS Belette which had run aground and was under fire from Napoleon's troops.

British: French: The New York Times praised Ramage as "A grand tale written with panache, glitter and awesome authority".

[3][full citation needed] 'A splendid battlescape, a running adventure ashore...a good story' Evening Standard[citation needed] In response to the novel, Orville Prescott wrote that "Dudley Pope has kept his story scudding along before a fine wind," and "Therewith predict that Lieut.

Nicholas Ramage, commander of His Majesty's cutter Kathleen, will enjoy a highly successful career and survive some of the most perilous adventures experienced by any British naval officer in the entire history of the Napoleonic Wars.