I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1201 The Great Victory in Udine

1798 8 Month 28 Day.

Vipava, a small town on the southwestern border of Austria.

Beneath a verdant linden tree stood a small wooden table. Archduke Charles, adorned with three medals, sat ramrod straight at the table, his quill pen writing in his field log: Continue pre-battle rest. The French, too, had not undergone any training or mobilization. A mundane and boring day…

As he finished writing the last word, he suddenly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats coming from the east, and a smile immediately appeared on his serious face.

The officer who arrived was a major.

He raised his hat to Archduke Karl in a salute, then handed him a document. Just as he was about to speak, the latter interrupted, "A formal declaration of war?"

“Yes, Your Highness,” the major said, standing at attention. “This morning at nine o’clock, His Majesty the Emperor signed the declaration of war.”

"Please address me as Commander. Where are the logistical supplies I requested?"

"They have all been delivered to Klagenfurt Fortress, Commander."

“Very good.” Archduke Karl stood up and announced loudly to the messenger, “Order the entire army to cross the Socha River tomorrow morning.”

"Colonel Milius first cleared the towns surrounding Udine."

"Order General Wilmze to capture Tormezo as quickly as possible..."

The Socha River is a small river on the border between Austria and Venice. In fact, at this time, more than 5 Austrian soldiers had already quietly built positions on the west bank of the river, ready to support the main force at any time.

Meanwhile, Wilmzee led 15,000 Austrian troops to garrison the town of Zaga, located on the northern side of the Julian Mountains. There was a valley there that led to the north of Venice.

According to Archduke Charles's plan, his main force would draw the French army's attention to Udine, allowing Wilmze's surprise force to penetrate deep into Treviso, the heart of Venetian territory. Afterward, he could choose to attack Udine from the west, or continue westward to control Verona.

Archduke Karl suddenly recalled his own humiliating retreat from Verona years ago, and involuntarily gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

Last time, he was dragged down by Alvinzi's foolish command. But this time, having been appointed commander-in-chief, he will surely wash away the humiliation inflicted by the French!
The next morning, hundreds of thousands of Austrian troops began their massive crossing of the river.

Under Archduke Karl's meticulous command, hundreds of cannons were positioned in optimal locations to provide crossfire cover for the soldiers crossing the river. The legions crossed the pontoon bridges in an orderly manner and then immediately deployed into defensive formations.

However, until two days later, when Archduke Charles's main force had entered Udine, the French did not attempt any resistance, except to send cavalry to check on the situation.

Archduke Karl looked through his telescope at the tranquil Po River plain and said to his staff officer Raditzky, “The French have missed their best opportunity.”

"If Napoleon were here, we probably wouldn't be having such an easy time."

Radecki smiled and added, "It's a pity he was exiled. That was a really foolish decision."

Grand Duke Karl nodded slightly and then ordered, "Order both flanks to advance simultaneously, and have the cavalry expand their reconnaissance range."

"Also, inform me of the progress of the Wilmze Legion as soon as possible..."

Before he could finish speaking, a messenger rushed over, stood at attention, and said, "Commander, the Milius Legion has captured Ceviniano."

"General Wilmze encountered some resistance in Tormezo. He said that he should be able to take it by tomorrow afternoon."

Archduke Charles tried to maintain a serious expression, but excitedly slapped his palm with the handle of his riding crop. Ceviniano and Tormeszo were located on the north and south sides of Udine respectively, meaning the Austrian army had already formed a siege of Udine without firing a shot.

He then turned and walked toward the tent: "Lieutenant Colonel Radetzky, immediately convene a meeting of all senior officers!"

On September 5, 70,000 Austrian vanguard troops launched an attack on Udine.

Meanwhile, Milius's army moved westward toward Udine in an attempt to cut off the French army's retreat.

More than 40 cannons roared at the French defenses outside the city, but the French artillery's counterattack seemed weak and ineffective.

The bombardment lasted for a full day. The following day, Austrian infantry lines launched a simultaneous attack on the French army from three directions.

The Austrian army's new weapon, the "Wind Gun," proved incredibly powerful, with a terrifying rate of fire of one shot every 1.5 seconds, which almost instantly shattered the will of the French infantry.

The French frontal defenses on the east flank collapsed first, followed by the right flank, then the left flank...

On a high tower outside Udine, Colonel Victor put away his binoculars and complained to his staff officer beside him, "They were fighting so well, why did they suddenly stop?"

The latter, still holding his binoculars, said, “They’re refilling the guns, Commander. They’ll run out of gas after 60 shots. It will take at least 20 minutes to redistribute the gas.”

Victor shook his head helplessly: "What a stupid weapon... At this rate, how long will this fight last?"

"Who says it's not?"

Because the Wind Gun has such a high rate of fire, the soldiers have a hard time controlling their fingers as they pull the trigger, and they can empty both gas tanks in just a few minutes.

Then, you have to stop and wait for the horse-drawn cart that will bring the gas tanks to come.

Just then, a messenger climbed the tower and reported to Victor: "Commander, the high-altitude reconnaissance battalion has spotted Austrian troops approaching our west side. There are about 6 of them, about 5 kilometers away."

“Alright, the show should end now.” Victor nodded. “Order the Venetian legions to remain in the city to defend, and the rest to retreat to Pordenone in stages.”

Yes, the more than 10,000 French troops in Udine were there to "boost Archduke Charles's confidence." In fact, they had been under close surveillance by the French army ever since the Austrian army began crossing the river.

Yesterday, with the help of hot air balloons to calibrate their fire, the French artillery managed to deflect all their shells, creating the illusion that they were being suppressed by Austrian artillery fire.

Today's drama unfolded as the Austrian infantry swept through the Udine defenses with unstoppable momentum.

The next day at noon, the first Austrian skirmisher battalion stormed into the French camp in Udine, only to find hundreds of Venetian soldiers dressed in uniforms identical to those of the French, kneeling in terror and surrendering.

With the constant "warning" from the hot air balloons, Victor led his troops to accurately evade the interception of Milius's army and had retreated to a distance of more than ten kilometers.

In the city of Udine, Archduke Karl looked at the battle report that only 800 prisoners had been captured and glared fiercely at Milius.

However, since it was the first major victory after the start of the war, he did not reprimand the latter much and immediately began to plan the attack on Verona.

After Verona was captured, Mantua Fortress was the only defensible location left in northern Italy.

Ten days later, as Vienna received news of the great victory at Udine, Archduke Charles also received intelligence from Sardinian agents that the French Dauphin was personally leading 3 elite French troops to northern Italy to direct the defense.

(End of this chapter)