I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1213 Battlefield Commander (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Radecki hurriedly said, "Marshal, the enemy is clearly trying to control Trento in order to relieve the defensive pressure on Mantua."

Trento is located northwest of Venice, bordering the Alps to the north; in fact, the city is built on a hillside. If the French army occupied it, they could easily advance south along the Adige River to harass Verona, or move east through the Dolomites to threaten Vicenza and the areas to the north.

Chief of Staff Werther cautiously cautioned, "But the cavalry reports they only have a little over a thousand men..."

Grand Duke Karl immediately waved his hand: "There must be an even larger army nearby."

Yes, although the Austrian hussars only discovered a little over a thousand French soldiers, they dared not be complacent. This was because the soldiers of this army were all tall, equipped with fine warhorses, and carried dolphin-embroidered banners.

The Austrians often saw them near the Mantua fortress—the grenadier battalion of the French Dauphin's personal guard.

Their presence suggests that the French crown prince is likely en route to Trento.

And it's impossible that he wasn't surrounded by other main forces.

Grand Duke Karl looked at Verother: "How many soldiers do we have in Trento?"

"Approximately 6 people."

Grand Duke Karl hesitated for a moment, then ordered, "Send 7 men from Primorano and Mas to assist in the defense."

"Also, send Bajahazar's army to Perry so that they can reinforce Trento at any time."

The town of Perry is located in the middle of Lake Garda, on the westernmost edge of the Mantua defensive line. While it would be convenient for aiding Trento, stationing troops there would inevitably hinder the offensive against Mantua.

Radecki suddenly narrowed his eyes and said to Archduke Karl, "Marshal, since the French have transferred a large number of troops away from the Mantua defense line, we can take this opportunity to launch a strong attack."

Upon hearing this, Grand Duke Karl frowned slightly.

According to his plan, Blücher should have arrived in Lombardy a few days earlier and joined up with the Sardinian army.

That will be the time for him to launch his final offensive.

But even at this point, Lombardy remained calm as usual.

As he was weighing whether to launch a solo assault on the Mingqiao River defense line, his attendant knocked on the door and entered, bowing to him and saying, "Marshal, someone has brought news from the 'South'."

They've finally arrived. Grand Duke Karl felt a great sense of relief. "The South" was the Allied General Staff's name for Lombardy.

He took the secret letter from the servant, checked that the coded seal was correct, and immediately tore it open without hesitation. Then he froze on the spot.

The letter was delivered by Sardinian intelligence. It said that tens of thousands of French troops had suddenly occupied the Gotthard Pass, where fierce fighting had broken out just days earlier.

After a long while, he handed the letter to Verother with a gloomy expression.

The chief of staff was even more alarmed: "Could it be... that the Prussian army is trapped in Switzerland?"

Archduke Karl took a deep, frustrated breath. Without the cooperation of Blücher's army, he would have no choice but to fight a devastating siege of Mantua.

The casualties are secondary; the more troublesome issue is that the war in Mantua is likely to drag on for a long time as a result.

The empire is fighting far from its homeland, and its mobilization is enormous. The longer the war lasts, the more disadvantageous it becomes for the empire.

We must find a way to get the Prussian army to break through the mountain pass's blockade! Archduke Karl suddenly realized that Sardinia had an army of over 20,000. He could send someone to arrange a time for Blücher to launch a simultaneous attack on the mountain pass from both inside and outside the pass with his Sardinian army.

The French army numbered only about 1 and was unprepared for the Sardinians, so they were sure to be caught off guard.

At that time, the Prussian army will most likely be able to break through.

He quickly calculated the transmission speed in his mind, and then personally wrote two secret letters, sending them to Switzerland and Sardinia respectively.

Although it is more than 500 kilometers from Verona to Zurich, the letter can be sent to Innsbruck first, and then the message can be transmitted to Constance using the Sharp signal tower there, and then sent to Zurich. The whole process can be completed in 5 days.

Giving Blücher time to cross the Gotthard Pass, approximately 20 days later, they can launch a pincer attack.

The following day, as Grand Marshal Karl and his senior generals were formulating a plan for the general offensive against Mantua, a staff officer suddenly strode into the meeting room, his expression grave, and said, "Marshal, Baron Vernec was ambushed by the French yesterday afternoon north of Montecio. Currently, his legion has less than ten thousand men left."

Archduke Charles stood up incredulously: "You mean... Montecio?"

The town was northeast of Verona, behind his command post. The French dared to launch a surprise attack there, and a large-scale one at that.

The Vernek Legion had 29,000 soldiers, meaning that more than two-thirds of them were lost!
The staff officer lowered his head and said, "That's what General Vernecker reported. He also said that 3 French troops are still continuing their march north."

Archduke Karl turned to look at the map, his brows furrowing immediately: "Damn it! They're going to Treviso!"

But as expected of Austria's top general, he quickly composed himself and said to Verother, "Immediately dispatch four hussar regiments from Verona and Nogala to Treviso to pursue the enemy."

"In addition, Prince Schwarzenberg's troops will be stationed in Valstania, the Bellegard Legion will be in charge of Thienne, and Prince Heisingen will be in charge of Piazzolla..."

Under Archduke Charles's command, more than 65,000 Austrian troops would form a tight defensive line along the Brenta River, effectively blocking the French army that was launching a surprise attack on Vernec north of Venice.

Combined with the Austrian forces already located near Treviso, the total number of troops involved in this operation exceeded 8.

Finally, Archduke Charles solemnly ordered, "This French army must be annihilated within 20 days, and then we must return to the Mincho River."

However, seemingly to test his troop deployment skills, new battlefield news arrived in the afternoon: a French army was besieging Padua. The city was sparsely defended and had at one point been pushed back to the outskirts by the French.

Grand Duke Karl suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Padua is located east of Venice. How did the French manage to spare so many troops for a surprise attack?
He clenched his fist and quickly dispatched Mikhalevich with 1 soldiers to Padua as reinforcements.

What he failed to notice was that at this point, the Austrian army had only about 5 soldiers left along the Mantua line.

……

Outside Padua.

Victor paid no attention to the siege battle, but instead kept his eyes fixed on the west with some tension.

He didn't have enough ammunition to complete the siege, and he knew that there were three intersecting rivers nearby, and he had to retreat before Austrian reinforcements arrived, or he would likely be surrounded in the area.

On the fourth day of his siege, a ranger finally reported to him that the Austrian army had reached the town of Teoro, more than 20 kilometers to the west.

(End of this chapter)