Repeated military defeats shook the public's faith in the French Directory. The Coup of 30 Prairial VII occurred on 18 June which pushed Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès and Paul Barras into leading roles and elevated Jean Baptiste Bernadotte to the post of Minister of War. There were two major forces in Italy, the 19,000-strong "Army of the Alps" under Jean Étienne Championnet and 40,713 men of the "Army of Italy". The French government placed its hopes on Barthélemy Catherine Joubert to retrieve the situation as the new commander of the "Army of Italy". Not only was Joubert a talented general, but he was believed to be lacking political ambitions and thus not a threat to the government. When Joubert arrived in the theater on 4 August, Moreau gracefully stepped aside and offered his assistance.