I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1207 Encounter on a narrow road

Before Huo Ce could finish speaking, the marching column beside him suddenly stopped.

He frowned in annoyance and said, "Damn it, what happened now?"

A messenger rode up from the front, reporting loudly: "General, French troops have been spotted on the south bank of the Arle. Our engineers have been attacked."

"French?!" Huo Ce exclaimed in surprise. "How come there are French people here?"

"This is unclear... but the engineering battalion said the enemy might have tens of thousands of troops."

Huo Ce was somewhat bewildered.

He hadn't heard about France's invasion of Switzerland when he left Zurich, and now, less than five days later, French troops have appeared deep within Swiss territory?!

France and Switzerland are separated by the Jura Mountains. To travel from the south side of the mountains to Lausanne, the southernmost part of Switzerland, and then north to Biel, the entire journey would take at least half a month.

Little did he know that on the third day after Austria declared war, Massena, in accordance with the battle plan, began leading his troops from the Roche Pass across the Jura Mountains.

Although the mountain pass was narrow, Masséna had plenty of time. After arriving at the southern foot of the mountain in about 20 days, he endured the freezing cold for another half month before receiving news of the Allied invasion of Switzerland.

Huo Ce quickly regained his composure thanks to his professional officer skills and began to make battle plans. He then personally went to a tributary of the Arle River to check on the enemy's situation.

Even from a distance, the booming sound of cannons could be heard.

The staff officer beside him hurriedly said, "General, the hussars reported that there should be 13,000 French troops on the other side, but they have deployed at least 15 cannons. They are probably here to stop us from going to Lausanne."

Huo Ce arrived at a hill and, sure enough, saw well-positioned artillery positions on the south side of the Arle River through his binoculars.

"The French reacted very quickly indeed." A disdainful smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "But look at their meticulously constructed defensive line and their aimless shelling. They are clearly very nervous, thinking that I might launch a full-scale attack across the river at any moment."

"But they're wrong. I'm not going to waste my time here."

He signaled to the messenger: "Order the Vogel Regiment to launch a feint attack here, while the rest of you rush downstream tomorrow morning, bypass the river from there, and then attack the French flank."

"Yes, General!"

South bank of the Ale River.

As Gazen listened to the constant roar of cannons around him, he finally couldn't help but complain to Massena, "General, the Austrians are still out of range. We shouldn't waste our precious ammunition."

Massena nodded calmly: "But this shows that we are taking defense seriously."

Before Gazen could say anything more, a cavalry captain reined in his horse and said, "General, after repeated confirmation, there are no other enemy troops within a 12-kilometer radius."

“Very good.” Massena stood up from the small wooden stool and said to Udino, “You can let the soldiers start preparing. Oh, dinner two hours earlier, and open more cans, they’ll be busy later.”

At 4 p.m., in the camp of the French 3rd Infantry Division, a corporal distributed the hot bread he had just received from the field mess truck to the soldiers.

On a patch of withered grass, the honorary representative reached out and touched the canned food in the hot water, his face beaming with excitement: "The temperature is just right, everyone get to work!"

The soldiers immediately rushed to pull out the cans, pried them open with their bayonets, and a delicious aroma of fish and meat filled the air.

The canned tuna is stewed in a broth prepared by the chef of Versailles Palace; the taste is absolutely superb.

Everyone immediately began to devour the bread, and in less than 10 minutes, they had almost finished most of the bread – a baguette that was over 60 centimeters long.

At 5 p.m., the nearly 10,000 soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division, well-fed and in high spirits, quickly formed ranks on the shore. A series of commands were issued from the mobile signal vehicle, and all the companies moved almost simultaneously.

A regiment of soldiers boarded makeshift rafts and quickly reached the opposite bank to establish a beachhead, while the others, carrying guns and boots, waded through the water.

October is the dry season in Switzerland. The deepest part of this tributary of the Aare River is only up to the soldier's waist.

Meanwhile, the Allied soldiers on the north bank were idly setting up camp and waiting for their meal.

When the patrolling Hanoverian hussars issued a warning of an enemy attack, half of the French 3rd Infantry Division had already reached the other side of the river.

The Austrian camp was suddenly filled with the piercing sound of bugles. Most of the soldiers ran around in confusion, while the officers shouted and cursed.

Even after the French raiding troops sounded their drums, the Hanoverian soldiers still failed to form a proper defensive formation.

Immediately afterwards, Udino personally led a skirmish group of 4 soldiers to launch a fierce attack on the right flank of the Austrian army.

The 3rd Infantry Division, as one of the most elite units in the French army, possessed unparalleled marksmanship skills in all of Europe.

With the aid of rifled guns, the first salvo of thousands of Minié shells caused three to four hundred casualties to the enemy.

Then, the French soldiers skillfully found the nearest cover and began to reload their weapons from behind it. This thwarted all the Allied sporadic counterattacks.

Soon, the French soldiers emerged from their hiding places, moved forward in unison about ten paces, and fired again.

Thus, after only four rounds of firing, the westernmost Hanoverian army collapsed completely due to heavy casualties.

Thousands of surviving soldiers screamed in terror and ran wildly along the riverbank, scattering the Allied soldiers who were still unaware of the situation.

However, bursts of gunfire soon followed, and more soldiers joined the fleeing ranks.

"The French have surrounded us!"

"Run! We've been ambushed!"

"There are tens of thousands of French people! We're finished..."

The chaotic shouts echoed throughout most of the Austrian army camp, and as darkness began to fall, the soldiers' fear intensified.

Within 20 minutes, Huo Ce received five or six different reports, some saying that the French were rushing down the hillside from the north, and others saying that the enemy force numbered as many as 30,000 or 40,000.

Huo Ce sent out three groups of officers in succession, but he was unable to stabilize the defense line.

Finally, after he vaguely heard gunshots, he had no choice but to order a retreat to the nearest town, Soltun.

There were no rearguard troops because he could no longer find any organized legions.

Just then, the setting sun completely disappeared below the horizon.

The routed Allied soldiers scattered like headless flies, and countless were trampled to death, fell to their deaths, or drowned.

The wails and screams continued until midnight before gradually subsiding.

The following morning, when Masséna arrived at the north bank of the river, he immediately saw soldiers leading large groups of prisoners past. There were at least three or four thousand of them—these poor fellows had been trying to escape all night, but due to the dim light, they had been wandering within a two-kilometer radius. After daybreak, they were captured by the French cavalry.

　Thanks to eldll东南枝, book friend 20250808212643037, Janus_de, and Miaomiao's dad for their generous donations. Your support is my motivation to write!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)