I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1222 Swiss Slaughterhouse

Perhaps because he had prayed that night, or perhaps because the conscription office had increased its manpower, Gazka completed his registration by noon the next day.

The officer at the conscription office gave him a military service certificate and an address, telling him to go there to assemble.

When they arrived at the location, Gaizka found that there were five or six hundred people gathered there, but only one lieutenant and two corporals were in charge of managing them.

Uniforms and weapons had not yet been issued, and even training consisted of the simplest things like lining up and turning around.

Lieutenant Cassel told them that the instructors being transferred from the front lines wouldn't arrive for more than ten days. Only then could training officially begin.

This greatly disappointed the young men who were eager to go to the front lines to fight the Anglo-Prussian and Austrian invaders.

However, that afternoon, several horse-drawn carriages stopped in front of the temporary camp. More than a dozen people dressed in old military uniforms got out of the carriages.

Gaizka froze the moment he saw them.

Half of them are in wheelchairs or have lost an arm.

The leader, a middle-aged man with a bronze Iris medal on his chest and a left arm less than 20 centimeters long, raised his hat to Lieutenant Cassel who approached him: "Lieutenant, we heard that the recruit camp is short of instructors. We have all been to the battlefield and can help you train them."

“Oh, don’t worry, all five of us graduated from the Paris Police Academy. Mr. Strong and the others also attended a military technical school, so their basic training is definitely not a problem.”

Lieutenant Cassel stared at their disabilities for a long time, unable to utter a word.

The veteran wearing the Bronze Iris Medal said, "You see, we're no longer useful, but it's still better than letting the young men stay idle."

"No, you are heroes of France!" Lieutenant Cassel stood at attention and shouted, "You have already made enormous sacrifices, you shouldn't have to suffer this burden..."

"Hey, look at what you're saying, I'm practically getting moldy from staying at home all the time."

Strong, still in his wheelchair, continued, "I have experience fighting Prussia, and I can tell these young people that."

"I am a decorated gunner, and I once hit a British major directly from a kilometer away..."

“Let’s give it a try, Lieutenant. France won’t have to wait much longer…”

Lieutenant Cassel took a deep breath, turned to the recruits, and shouted, "Attention! Welcome your new instructor!"

With the help of a large number of veterans, 80% of the recruit camps near Paris quickly began training.

……

Construction site of the Nancy-Strasbourg railway line in eastern Nancy.

Looking at the bustling construction site, Chief Engineer Lepres asked his assistant with a puzzled expression, "Lingai, we have 600 workers, right?"

"Yes, 612 people, sir."

Lepres pointed towards the railway line: "But here... I didn't count carefully, but there are definitely more than 600 people."

Lingai nodded: "Many people came from nearby towns. Although they weren't very good at laying railway tracks, they could still help carry sand and gravel. Mr. Cruzee kept them here."

Cruze is the site manager.

Lepres frowned: "But where are we going to get so much funding to pay them their wages?"

Lingai said, "Everyone knows this is a railway for transporting supplies to the front lines, so no one has ever mentioned wages to me."

Lepres paused for a few seconds, then sighed and said, "At least give everyone two pounds of bread a day. I'll apply to the higher-ups."

……

Several ironworks in Namur loaded the finished gun parts onto trucks and transported them continuously to the new workshops of the Royal Ordnance Factory.

Workers worked in shifts around the clock to assemble it into a percussion cap gun.

Yes, the manufacturing process of rifled guns was too complex, and the output could not keep up with the rate of conscription, so they could only continue to produce the old-fashioned Auguste percussion cap gun.

With the support of numerous ironworks, the monthly output here reaches 7800 pieces.

In conjunction with the arsenals in Charleville and Paris, 15,000 percussion cap rifles could be supplied to the front lines each month. Combined with existing weapons stocks, the General Staff estimated that by February of next year, it would be enough to arm 170,000 new recruits.

……

The General Staff Department's Logistics Division was the most relaxed department.

In just over a month, they conscripted 26,000 mules and horses.

After the decree that "citizens' property is sacred and inviolable" was enacted, the number of people willing to provide livestock to the army actually increased significantly.

Some people didn't even ask for prepayment of rent; they simply sent their livestock to the logistics department with a requisition document.

This prompted the General Staff to raise the target for requisitioning mules and horses to 45,000, while the Logistics Department surprisingly stated that this number was too conservative.

……

1798 11 Month 17 Day.

Zurich, the capital of Switzerland.

A messenger handed the battle report to Sérulière, saying, "General, we spotted Cossack cavalry at the St. Gallen Pass yesterday at noon. We estimate there are over a thousand of them."

“The Russian army has indeed arrived.” Sérueri nodded. “Have you reported this to General Massena?”

"Yes, General."

"Okay, I know."

Seeing his unhurried demeanor, the staff officer beside him quickly reminded him, "General, shouldn't we launch a surprise attack on the Russians before they establish a defensive line?"

Sérurière smiled and waved his hand: "We're just waiting for them all to enter Switzerland. If we act prematurely, the rest will escape back."

"Please rest assured, the Russians' goal is to help Blücher break out, so they won't hold out indefinitely."

"But if the entire Suvorov Corps comes to Switzerland, our forces simply won't be enough..."

Sérurière said, "So General Masséna will head to Warren."

"Warren?" The staff officer's eyes widened immediately. "But that will let the Prussians escape."

Warren is west of Zurich. If the Massena Legion goes there, it will clear the road from Altdorf to Lausanne.

Nearly 7 Prussian troops could then travel along the northern side of the Zug from Aarau to Lausanne. Lausanne, in turn, would provide direct access to eastern Burgundy in France.

Sérurier nodded: "General Masséna has already taken these into consideration."

How far is Altdorf from Lausanne?

"More than 210 kilometers, General."

“That’s right. Blücher won’t find out that General Massena has left for at least two or three days. And even at their fastest marching speed, it will take them about eight days to reach Lausanne.”

"In other words, we have a week to deal with the Russians."

Vollen is located in northwestern Switzerland, only 120 kilometers from Lausanne. It would only take the French army less than four days to reach Lausanne from there.

Sérurière continued, "Moreover, General Masséna believes that most Prussians would not dare to go to Lausanne."

The staff officer was taken aback for a moment, but immediately understood.

Blücher was unsure whether the French had withdrawn or were trying to lure him out and then ambush him somewhere.

It's important to know that Switzerland is full of mountains and rivers, so there's no shortage of ambush sites.

Therefore, it would be safer for him to wait for reinforcements to come to his rescue rather than risk going to Lausanne.

(End of this chapter)