I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1202 The Initiative Is in My Hands

"It's clear the French have realized our main offensive is in northern Italy." Archduke Charles surveyed the officers in the conference room. "Their crown prince is on his way. And the morale of the French army will be boosted by his arrival."

He turned and tapped the location of Mantua on the map: "So we must conquer all the areas north of Mantua before he arrives with reinforcements!"

The Austrian surprise attack had been very effective, catching the French completely off guard. The next step was to maximize their advantage.

Archduke Karl quickly began to plan for the upcoming battle:
"The right-wing Wilmzee Corps advanced along the Alps and quickly occupied Trento and the area to the west."

"The left wing of Milius's Legion is responsible for the attack on Padua. There should be a French infantry division there..."

"Prince Schwarzenberg, leading the 12th and 15th Guards Divisions, has advanced to the west of Verona..."

After a brief three-day rest, the Austrian army launched a full-scale attack on several key towns north of the Mantua fortress.

Very similar to the previous Battle of Udine, the French Fifth Army stationed in Verona and other places was simply unable to stop the Austrian army, which outnumbered them several times over, and their dense, rain-like barrage of gunfire, as they retreated continuously from the Belluno line.

In just over half a month, the Austrian vanguard had already appeared on the north bank of the Mincho River—from where the cannons of the Mantua Fortress could already be seen.

Meanwhile, the French crown prince finally arrived in Mantua, increasing the garrison there to around 10.

Of course, this is just a bluff.

In reality, Joseph brought fewer than 3 soldiers.

At this time, the Mantua-Mincho-Lake Garda defense line was manned by the French Fifth Army and the 12th Infantry Division, as well as 14,000 soldiers from Milan, Modena, and other countries.

The total strength was only 65,000 men.

However, after Archduke Charles launched a probing attack on the Mantua fortress and was met with fierce fire from the French army, he became convinced that the French Dauphin had brought an army group to reinforce the fortress.

He was not confident that he could take down the fortress defended by 18 French troops with 10 men—even if he could, it would inevitably result in huge losses for him.

However, he was not in a hurry, because the previous strategic goal had been achieved, and a large force had been used to suppress Mantua.

He had anticipated the current situation long before the Allied forces convened the Vienna operational conference and had proposed a countermeasure.

As Archduke Karl looked at the latest battle report, a satisfied smile flashed across his serious face.

After the war began, the Prussian army launched a feint attack on Baden. This prevented the nearly 10 French troops stationed in the Karlsruhe area from leaving easily.

But by this time, General Blücher should have already led his main force south to Stokácher, and a few days later he would be able to control Zurich.

After that, the French army will be busy dealing with 5 German mercenaries under the command of British General Thomas Pickton, who will continue to harass the Rhineland region.

By the time the French realized what was happening, General Blücher's 6 Prussian troops and more than 2 Hanoverian soldiers would have quickly crossed Switzerland, entered Lombardy in the heart of Italy through the Gotthard Pass, and then marched into the heart of Italy.

At that time, the main force of 18 Austrian troops, together with 8 raiding troops led by Blücher, will launch a pincer attack on Mantua, and it is believed that they will soon be able to capture this most fortified fortress in Italy.

Subsequently, the Allied forces could choose to advance directly into eastern Burgundy from Switzerland, or attack Toulon from the south. The initiative in the war would then be firmly in the hands of the Allied forces!
……

Just as the Austrian army achieved a great victory at Udine, British commander Sir John Moore led 20,000 British troops from Hanover, using the pretext of "the Netherlands abandoning the Anglo-Dutch alliance," and quickly crossed the flat Hellerley region to launch an attack on Utrecht, the heart of the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the British North Sea Fleet imposed a blockade on the Dutch coast.

A few years ago, the Dutch parliament would have surrendered long ago. However, after the Dutch East India Company's stock price plummeted and Britain seized the Dutch Cape of Good Hope colony, Dutch public opinion of Britain plummeted. Therefore, at the request of the Dutch people, the Dutch parliament had no choice but to mobilize a limited army and rely on the dense network of waterways for defense.

However, the Dutch army only managed to muster 6 troops, and their fighting strength was weak. They were repeatedly defeated by the British army.

Just one week later, Sir Moore had advanced to Amersford, which was only 20 kilometers from Utrecht.

Inside the Dutch Parliament building, an extremely difficult vote is taking place.

Just yesterday afternoon, Dutch commander Dandels proposed breaching several sections of the dikes from Lake Fellowau to the River Lecce to flood the Utrecht plain and impede the British advance.

After heated debate, the Dutch parliament passed Dandels' plan by a narrow margin of 5 votes.

The Dutch population around Utrecht is not dense, and if properly controlled, it will not cause too many casualties.

Meanwhile, the Dutch parliament urgently contacted French officials in Brussels, indicating their acceptance of French troops entering the Netherlands.

East of Amersford.

Sir Moore watched as the lake water gradually submerged the road, a flash of anger crossing his eyes.

The water level was actually less than a foot, but it rendered his army impassable—even if the soldiers waded through, they couldn't fight. Furthermore, logistical vehicles and artillery were absolutely unable to advance through the water.

Soon, the staff officer brought him statistics on the flooded areas of the nearby Utrecht Plain.

A total of seven dams were destroyed, and the floodwaters completely surrounded the city of Utrecht.

The staff officer said from the side, "General, the engineering battalion believes that at least three of the dams need to be repaired before the army can barely pass through."

"This project will take about four months to complete. You see..."

Sir Moore frowned. In four months, he should have at least reached the Namur area, instead of wasting time here fighting the Dutch.

"Give the order to retreat," he gestured to his staff.

"Huh? I must have misheard..."

"No, you heard me right, the entire army is retreating to Zwolle," Sir Moore sneered. "Since the Dutch like to breach their banks, why don't we give them a hand?"

Three days later, just as the people of Amsterdam were celebrating the British retreat, a shocking piece of news arrived.

"The damned British have blown up all the dams on Lake Fellowe!" an officer shouted hoarsely as he rushed into the Parliament building. "Now, everything from Amersford to Haldway is flooded."

"Currently, British troops are bypassing Cologne, most likely heading towards Nijmegen..."

The Dutch members of parliament were all stunned.

Nijmegen is a town on the Waal River. The British are most likely going to breach the Waal dam!

The Netherlands is a very low-lying country. If the Waal River were to breach its banks, the waters flowing from the Rhine would flood almost all of the farmland in the south of the Netherlands!

(End of this chapter)