I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1230 Swiss Game
Northeastern Switzerland.

Glarus.

Blücher muttered curses for nearly half an hour, and finally, as if he had run out of steam, he grabbed a wine bottle from the wooden table and took a big gulp of wine.

It's very weak; there's almost no alcohol taste.

He glared at the servant beside him, about to unleash a tirade, but then slumped back down, slumped back down: "No more wine, is there? How much food is left?"

The corps staff officer hurriedly replied, "Supplying at two-thirds of the amount should be enough for four days, General."

Blücher waved his hand: "Distribute them to the soldiers in the normal quantity. Send someone to contact Massena, we can..."

He was halfway through his sentence when two hussar officers came galloping up, excitedly shouting, "General, we have spotted a Swiss convoy, estimated to be transporting at least 20,000 bushels of wheat, currently located north of the Mutten Valley."

Blücher jumped to his feet: "How many troops are guarding him?"

"There are only a little over a thousand soldiers around, General."

"So little?" Blücher frowned. "It must be a French trap."

He deployed layers of defenses relying on the mountains surrounding Glarus, and the French army had not dared to launch a full-scale attack. Now, they might be trying to lure him out.

The cavalry captain said, "General, that place is a quarter of a mile from the enemy's defensive line. We believe that the enemy is moving too slowly and doesn't want the Swiss to enter the camp."

Blücher hesitated for only a few seconds before turning and waving to the messenger: "Have Major Kleist intercept this convoy, with the Tauchen Legion providing cover."

"Yes, General!"

There is a short, gentle slope between the Muteng Valley and Glarus. If you suddenly rush down from there, you might be able to seize some of the transport vehicles before the French army can react.

Since dragging this out any longer will inevitably lead to surrender, we might as well take a gamble and give it a try.

To Blücher's surprise, after Claes charged forward, the French army may have mistakenly thought that his main force was about to break out, and they all held their defensive lines and did not come out.

His hussars recovered most of the wheat, with only about a hundred men killed by French artillery fire.

This amount of food is enough for his army to hold out for another half month!
That afternoon, Blücher offered a rare and devout prayer.

Meanwhile, in the French camp on the other side, Massena listened to the staff officer's report and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That artillery battery just hit its target eight or nine times in a row, almost scaring away the Prussian cavalry.

In front of the map, Sérusier, Davout, and others were still discussing the next phase of the operation. "I think we should leave Zurich to the enemy. This will make them think that we can't spare any more troops."

"That would be too obvious and would only make the coalition wary."

"No, you have to understand, they're all arrogant guys..."

Massena walked over and interjected, "The coalition forces should also be keeping an eye on Zurich. And Arau as well."

To increase the "bait," more than 8,000 of Gorchakov's troops are still besieged in Araú.

Massena looked at the map: "From where will the enemy enter Switzerland?"

Davu immediately said, "The main force can only go through Basel and St. Gallen, General."

Massena nodded: "The enemy must think the battlefield will be near Zurich and Aarau, but we will launch an attack as soon as they enter Switzerland."

"General, this means we'll have to defend two locations, and we don't have that many troops."

Massena smiled and said, "But we have a marching speed far exceeding that of the enemy. The reinforcements the General Staff will send for us at the end of this month will be 15,000 men."

"We left 2 soldiers in Glarus to keep an eye on Blücher. Then we deployed 3 in Basel and 2 in St. Gallen."

"No matter which side the Allied forces enter Switzerland from, they will be met with our surprise attack. At the same time, the legion on the other side will immediately rush to reinforce them."

“From Basel to St. Gallen, it would only take a little over three days to reach the destination. At this point, the Allied forces would certainly not have recovered from the chaos of the attack.”

After defeating the Suvorov Army, Massena discovered that rapid communication in the war zone could be achieved by fixing the Shapu signal vehicle to a mountaintop.

Switzerland is surrounded by mountains.

The distance from Basel to the St. Gallen Pass is only about 110 kilometers, and information transmission can be completed by setting up more than 20 signal vehicles along the way.

Dawu hesitated for a moment and said, "General, isn't this a bit too risky?"

Massena nodded: "It is indeed risky, but it can also deliver the most effective blow to the enemy. And even if the plan fails, we can withdraw our forces to the vicinity of Arau and reorganize our defenses."

……

Verona.

A black carriage drove toward the headquarters of the Allied Italian Army, and a group of soldiers quickly raised their hands to signal it to slow down.

Inside the carriage, Marquis Wellesley flipped through a thick stack of battle reports, his brow furrowed so deeply it could trap a fly.

He had to admit that the Allied forces' initial battle plan was very reasonable, even excellent, but the French army used various strange methods to drag them into a passive situation step by step.

The car slowly came to a stop. He got out of the car, carrying the battle reports, and strode into the manor where the command post was located.

An Austrian officer led him to the operations room on the east side, where they heard a heated argument coming from inside: "Pickton's army alone is not enough to break through the French lines; Korsakov's army is essential!"

"The Russians have made it clear that they refuse to go to Switzerland, so if we want to increase our troops, we can only draw them from Italy..."

"Then postpone the general offensive against Mantua! I even think that at least 8 troops should be transferred from Verona to ensure victory..."

Wellesley shook his head and stepped through the door that the servant had opened.

Grand Duke Karl, who was sitting directly opposite him, was the first to see him. He stood up and nodded to him, saying, "We've been waiting for you, Your Excellency Marquis."

The Englishman bowed in return: "I was only able to leave Porto last month, Your Highness."

He walked to his seat, glanced at the sand table on the conference table, and immediately got to the point: "Um, I think I just heard you discussing sending reinforcements to Switzerland?"

“Yes,” Archduke Karl nodded. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Wellesley sighed: "That's exactly what the French want us to do."

"..."

Wellesley pointed to the location of Switzerland on the sand table: "The plains here are narrow, and there are mountains and rivers everywhere, which is not suitable for large-scale military operations at all. On the contrary, it is very easy to carry out ambushes."

"Even if we deploy several times the number of French troops and ultimately help General Blücher break out successfully, the losses we suffer will be extremely heavy."

The Duke of York, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, looked at him and said, "So, what do you think should be done?"

Wellesley waved the battle report in his hand and, instead of answering, asked, "Do you all remember our initial operational objectives?"

(End of this chapter)