Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"A key battle in the first French campaign in Italy against Austria, Rivoli demonstrated Napoleon's brilliance in his first campaign, established his genius for war, and led to French occupation of northern Italy. . . . With France having spent most of the previous few years on the defensive, the Directory, the French governing body, decided to change tactics and operate on the offensive. They sent Napoleon Bonaparte, a rising star in the new French army, to take command against Austrian forces fighting in northern Italy." [Davis: 100 Decisive Battles, p. 269]