 Even so, Austria was aware that the French were trying to negotiate a peace with the Sardinians, and the Austrians did not fully trust their ally.The execution of King Louis XVI of France on 21 January 1793 appalled the other crowned heads of Europe and further isolated France.On 28 February 1793, 12,000 French troops under Lieutenant General Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duke of Biron battled with 7,000 Sardinian soldiers under Charles-François Thaon, Count of Saint-André at Levens.