I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1208 Casting the Net
Udino greeted them excitedly and said to Massena, "General, just as you said, we defeated the enemy in just one night."

Massena smiled and shook his head: "This is just a detachment of the enemy. The real battle has not yet begun."

Although Udino had only slept for three hours, he still seemed extremely excited: "General, Hötze should have fled to Zurich. I'm confident I can catch up with him within two days!"

Massena simply patted him on the shoulder: "You've done a fantastic job. There's no need to rush things. The soldiers need a rest too."

Udino hurriedly said, "But he might escape Switzerland, you let me..."

"Don't worry, he can't escape," Massena said calmly. "Someone will intercept him there."

"Oh? You mean General Dawu?"

"No, it's General Sérueris. He should be near Basel by now."

Udino's eyes widened: "How is this possible? I remember he should be in Karlsruhe."

With the Swiss campaign underway, Massena had nothing left to keep secret: "Do you know why His Highness the Crown Prince has deployed three army groups to Karlsruhe?"

"This...why?"

The three army groups, totaling over 10 soldiers, are undoubtedly the strongest army group currently in terms of troop strength.

Udino suddenly thought of his own troops, which were split off from the First Army Group.

"So, we weren't the only ones split off from the Baden Front?"

Massena nodded: "That's right. His Highness has amassed a large force in Baden to deter the Allied forces from attacking there easily."

"But in fact, we had quietly left there a month and a half ago. General Sérurier led 3 soldiers of the Fourth Army to retreat to Belfort in batches, and then from there to Basel."

Udino frowned and said, "To get to Basel from northern Switzerland, you have to pass through the Freiburg fortress. It will be difficult for 3 troops to take it over in a short time."

Massena smiled and said, “You’ve forgotten Polentru. To its east is a rift valley that runs across the southern side of the Jura Mountains. You know, it’s dry up there from July onwards. The riverbed is hard enough for artillery to drive on.”

Udino's eyes widened. He had heard of that road; the valley was flooded and impassable until June each year. Even during the dry season, the valley was still uneven and very difficult to traverse.

Moreover, the area was often frequented by bandits, so merchants preferred to detour through Freiburg, to the point that the idea that "Freiburg is the only way to Basel" became a common perception.

But the Polentru Valley is not impassable.

Once you traverse these 60-70 kilometers of rugged road, you'll reach Basel, Switzerland's transportation hub. From there, the road to Zurich is flat, and with normal marching, it takes about 3 days.

Of course, this plan is also very risky.

If the Allied forces deploy heavy troops to defend the east side of the valley, Séruriès will be trapped in the narrow terrain and attacked.

Thus, Massena would have to quickly head north to help him break through the blockade, and then rush south to block the coalition's route to Lausanne.

However, no enemy forces were ever detected in Basel, indicating that the Allied forces never expected France to make Switzerland one of the main battlefields.

Udino's eyes began to light up.

The Allied forces did not leave many defensive troops in Zurich. After Sérurier's Third Army occupied the city, it effectively cut off the retreat routes of Blücher's and Hötze's armies in Switzerland.

That was an army of 8! Oh no, now there are less than 7 left—last night, the coalition forces that were captured, killed, or scattered must have numbered over 1. And General Masséna will hold the road to Lausanne, blocking these coalition forces within Swiss territory.

"Wait!" Udino suddenly remembered something and said urgently, "The enemy can also go through the Gotthard Pass and enter Lombardy from there..."

Northern Italy.

Before the Mantua Fortress, the Crown Prince's personal guard of grenadiers stood in straight lines, heads held high on their horses. Every ten meters or so, a flag bearing the insignia of a dolphin and a kite fluttered in the wind.

This imposing team could be seen from several kilometers away.

In the command room on the second floor of the fortress, Berthier was reporting the latest battle report to the Crown Prince:
"...On the night of the 3rd, General Massena launched a surprise attack on the Hötze army camp, capturing more than 3500 enemy soldiers and killing at least 4. Many of the bodies were washed away by the river, making it difficult to count them."

"It is estimated that the current strength of the Huoze Legion is less than 8 men."

"General Massena then constructed a defensive line in Bill."

"On the morning of the 5th, General Sérurier led his troops to Zurich and, with the help of the Swiss insurgents, easily occupied the city."

"However, no trace of Huo Ce was ever found, and it is speculated that he may have gone to meet up with Blücher."

"Based on the Prussian army's marching speed, they should be near Altdorf now."

Altdorf is the largest town on the north side of the Gotthard Pass. From here, it takes about a day to reach the pass.

Joseph nodded: "Has General Ney made all the necessary arrangements?"

“Yes, Your Highness.” Berthier nodded. “He arrived in Como a week ago with the Royal Ninth Infantry Division and the Fourth Artillery Battalion.”

Ney's legion had only 13,000 soldiers, but that was more than enough to defend the Gotthard Pass.

These more than 10,000 men were deployed in a semi-encirclement outside the mountain pass, with artillery pre-aimed at the valley to create crossfire. Even 170,000 troops, let alone 70,000, wouldn't be able to break through.

“Very good.” Joseph smiled. “Also, keep a close eye on Sardinia.”

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph continued, "At the current pace of the Allied forces, they should arrive in Lombardy within half a month. I suspect that Karl Ludwig will likely launch a fierce attack on Mantua at that time to divert our attention."

Moro immediately chimed in, "So we should move the troops out of the fortress ahead of schedule."

Berthier looked at him in surprise.

It's important to understand that the Italian Front consisted of only one army group and one infantry division, totaling 45,000 men. Now, with another 13,000 men deployed to defend the Gotthard Pass, only 32,000 soldiers remained.

Even with the addition of the 14,000 soldiers from the Italian states, they would still be in great danger when facing the fierce attack of the main force of 180,000 Austrian troops.

As a result, Moro wanted to transfer the garrison!
Joseph nodded slightly, gesturing to Moro:
"Please tell me about your plan."

“Yes, Your Highness.” Moro approached the map and pointed to Brescia, west of Venice. “Grand Duke Karl’s goal should be to form a pincer movement against Mantua with the Blücher Legion that is coming from Switzerland. Therefore, his main attack direction must be the west side of Mantua.”

(End of this chapter)