In February 1801, the residents of Frejus were stunned by the arrival of a foreign fleet flying Roman colors, fearing an invasion until the disembarking troops revealed themselves to be the lost Army of the Near East led by Gaspard Lefebvre. The general's return sparked a mania of adulation among the populace, who viewed him as a saint and savior, oblivious to the strategic failure of his Egyptian campaign. While the public celebrated, Lefebvre was privately tormented by guilt over the thousands of men lost in the desert for a geopolitical gamble that ultimately failed. Unbeknownst to the cheering crowds, the Council in Paris had declared him a traitor; shortly after settling into a hotel, Lefebvre and his generals were violently arrested by government officers, stripped of their command, and thrown into prison while the government deliberated their fate.

The Council was divided on how to handle the rogue general, with radicals calling for his execution and moderates fearing the public backlash. Armand Marceau intervened, convincing the swing vote, Lucien Carnot, that killing a popular hero who had essentially gone to war for a romantic token would destroy the Republic's legitimacy. Consequently, Lefebvre was spared execution but kept in squalid confinement, where his health deteriorated rapidly. Public outrage reached a boiling point in April when rumors of his mistreatment sparked near-riots at the Luxembourg Palace. Fearing a full-scale insurrection, the Council capitulated, releasing Lefebvre into house arrest at Elsie Dupont’s estate in Wallonia. There, he finally presented Elsie with the ancient ceramic mug he had traveled to Egypt to retrieve, settling into a restless confinement where he was insulated from the military he loved.

Peace in Europe shattered in June 1802 when Austria, seeking revenge and funded by Britain, formed the Second Coalition. They were joined by Russia, which agreed to fight France but remained neutral toward France’s ally, Eastern Rome, to avoid conflict with a fellow Orthodox power. The coalition launched a massive invasion of northern Italy, where the incompetent French General De Castelnau led the Army of Savoy into a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Asti. His ill-advised bayonet charge against a superior Austro-Russian force resulted in the annihilation of his army and the loss of Savoy, allowing the invaders to push toward the French border.

The situation worsened in 1803 as the Coalition armies advanced into southern France. The Council replaced De Castelnau with General De Villeroy, who attempted a trap at Carnoules but was outmaneuvered and crushed by the combined forces of Austrian General von Thalheim and Russian General Orlovsky. The defeat was absolute; the French army in the south ceased to exist, and major cities like Marseille and Lyon fell to the invaders. With the Republic facing imminent destruction and the government paralyzed by incompetence, Lefebvre’s former generals begged him to intervene. Initially hesitant to commit treason again, Gaspard was convinced by Elsie that the law mattered little if France ceased to exist. He defied his house arrest, raised a volunteer army of 45,000 veterans and recruits, and marched south to confront the enemy.