I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1223 A powerful opponent

Eastern suburbs of Zurich.

Russian Major General Rosenberg, beaming with joy, reported loudly to Suvorov: "Marshal, we have repelled the French, and the vanguard has entered Zurich."

"It is clear that the Austrians greatly exaggerated the fighting capacity of the French army. Their ability to exchange fire was not bad, but they immediately collapsed when Zaktsevich launched a bayonet charge."

Suvorov, expressionless, spurred his horse toward the city: "Have the soldiers gather as many supplies as possible."

Rosenberger quickly followed: "I thought this news would make you happy."

Suvorov turned his head and glanced at him: "Do you think the French have really been defeated?"

"Yes, I was involved in the command process from beginning to end..."

“That’s just what they want you to think,” the Russian commander-in-chief said. “We need to get to the vicinity of Glarus to rescue those 7 Prussians.”

"The French probably just want to speed up our journey. I bet they're waiting for us somewhere along the way."

Hours later, when Suvorov entered Zurich, officers immediately reported to him that the city was running out of food, wine, and even firewood.

“As expected.” Suvorov nodded, then asked, “What about those Swiss parliamentarians?”

"They've mostly all run away, Marshal."

“Then let’s help them establish a new parliament,” Suvorov said. “We should make good use of this capital.”

Because the battle with the French forces defending Zurich was relatively easy, the main Russian force continued its advance southwest early the next morning.

Meanwhile, the newly "elected" members of the Swiss Federal Parliament were being sworn in under the watchful eyes of Russian soldiers.

The first resolution of the newly formed Federal Parliament was to declare Switzerland's accession to the anti-French coalition and to demand that the cantonal parliaments provide full support to the coalition forces.

In Schlilen, a town west of Zurich, at the Russian army's temporary command post, a staff officer read reconnaissance reports to Suvorov line by line: "No enemy found in Adlisville. No enemy found in Talville... No enemy found in Holgen..."

After he put away all the reports, Suvorov immediately circled the town of Weydensville on the map with a pencil: "Then it should be here."

"Yes, it is indeed a good place. If we go directly to Schwyz, our flanks will definitely be attacked by the French."

He tossed aside his pencil and said to the staff officer, "The mountains near the Reuss River need to be searched carefully again."

"Yes, Marshal."

Two days later.

Apart from the 4 Russian troops left behind to control the logistical route, Suvorov's main force has reached a point more than ten kilometers west of Wedensville.

At this point, their destination, Schwyz, was directly south, where Lake Zurich and Lake Lucerne formed a narrow strip of land less than 10 kilometers wide.

Weydensville, on the other hand, is located in the southeast, adjacent to Lake Zurich.

A rough-skinned Russian officer rode up to Suvorov's side and asked, "Marshal, should we establish a perimeter around Weydensville?"

“Of course not.” Suvorov turned to the lieutenant general beside him and gestured, “General Rosenberg, have your legion prepare to launch an attack on Wedensville in conjunction with 4 Cossack cavalry. Be careful to conceal your movements.”

Ignoring the shock on his subordinates' faces, he continued to issue orders to the other officers:

"General Gorchakov, before you begin the main attack, launch a feint attack from the north side of Lake Zurich to draw the enemy's attention. After withdrawing from the battle, pay close attention to reconnaissance to the west. General Vorotov, circle around to the north of Schwytz and control the passage there, ensuring the Prussian army will not encounter any resistance."

He finally looked at Colonel Welotter, the Austrian staff officer: "Please contact General Blücher and have him lead his troops toward Schwyz. If the journey goes smoothly, join the battle immediately."

The Prussian army is currently located in Altdorf, which is almost right next to the south of Schwyz, only 15 kilometers away as the crow flies. However, there are mountains in between, so to get to Schwyz, one has to take a boat around Lake Sein.

This would require troops to be stationed on the north bank of Lake Seine to provide support, so that the Prussian army would not be ambushed during the landing.

Suvorov clapped his hands and shouted, "At any time, a fierce attack is the best strategy. We must never let the enemy seize the initiative on the battlefield!"

"Alright, now go teach the French a lesson."

The Russian generals took their orders and left, but none of them noticed that Suvorov had only sent 30,000 soldiers, with more than 24,000 remaining in the rear.

At 10:30 a.m., thousands of Russian troops suddenly appeared from the northwest of Wedensville and launched an attack on the town.

At this moment, Séruliès, who was lying in ambush south of the town, was startled when he heard the cavalry's report.

According to General Massena's plan, he should launch a surprise attack from the flank and rear of the main Russian army as it was en route to Schwyts, and thus tie down the enemy forces.

Massena's army will then advance from south of Warren, forming a pincer movement against the Russian forces.

At the same time, they will also block the Russian army's route back north.

The hussars reported to him yesterday that the main Russian force was still more than ten kilometers to the west, so why did they suddenly start attacking Weddensville?
Soon, a large number of Cossack cavalry appeared all around.

Sérusier felt a pang of unease; the Russians had most likely discovered him.

He immediately sent someone to contact General Massena, and then ordered the right-wing infantry brigade to turn around and intercept the Russian army, while the entire army moved westward.

Intense artillery fire soon erupted from the northwest, but the fighting gradually subsided as Sérulière's main force approached the town of Wedensville.

Sérusier, with his extensive command experience, immediately sensed something was amiss and ordered the reconnaissance area to be expanded. At the same time, he decisively abandoned the ambush and switched to a direct confrontation based in Wedtensville.

He had just completed his new battle deployment when nearly 20,000 Russian troops attacked from the south, while a large number of cavalry lingered on the left flank.

Selurier knew that the Russian army had a total of 6 men, and Suvorov's main force could suddenly appear from nowhere.

He only had 25,000 soldiers and was at a disadvantage from the start.

We must now do everything in our power to hold the position; General Massena will arrive in a day and a half.

At that time, they will have a total of 56,000 troops on both sides, and will use a pincer attack to annihilate the Russian army in one fell swoop.

Under Sérusier's focused command, coupled with the French army's powerful firepower, the Russians never found an opportunity to exploit the situation.

Finally, around 4 p.m., the Russian offensive began to weaken.

This finally relieved Sérusier.

However, he failed to notice that the enemy forces he was fighting now numbered less than 6, and the Cossacks on his flank had long since withdrawn.

(End of this chapter)