By 1796, the Republic of Venice could no longer defend itself. Though the Republic still possessed a fleet of 13 ships of the line, only a handful were ready for sea, and the army consisted of only a few brigades of mainly Dalmatian mercenaries. In spring 1796 Piedmont fell and the Austrians were beaten from Montenotte to Lodi. The army under Napoleon crossed the frontiers of neutral Venice in pursuit of the enemy. By the end of the year the French troops were occupying the Venetian state up to the Adige; Vicenza, Cadore and Friuli were held by the Austrians. With the campaigns of the next year, Napoleon aimed for Austrian possessions across the Alps. In the preliminaries to the Peace of Leoben, the terms of which remained secret, the Austrians were to take the Venetian possessions as the price of peace (18 April 1797).