I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1241 All-Out Attack
Berthier quickly raised a question: "Your Highness, currently the only veterans in Baden are the Second Army, and a portion of the First and Fifth Armies. That's about 7 men in total."

"If we want to operate deep behind enemy lines, this number of troops is clearly not enough."

"Furthermore, Freiburg also has nearly 3 British troops, as well as more than 4 Russian troops from the Korsakov Corps."

"They could launch an attack on Baden at any time, so some defensive forces must remain in Baden. This will further reduce the number of troops we can commit to central Germany."

Joseph nodded.

It must be admitted that the commanders of the anti-French coalition were also very clever, quickly adjusting their battle lines and not continuing to waste time with the French army in Italy or Switzerland, thus creating a time advantage.

If we wait another month, the large number of new recruits mobilized by France will have completed their training and been deployed to the battlefield, while the Swiss First and Fourth Armies will have returned to the Rhine region, resulting in a very sufficient troop strength.

But by then, the Allied forces had already entered their pre-arranged positions, and the best opportunity for a flanking maneuver had vanished.

Joseph hesitated for a moment and said, "The task of defending Baden can be entirely assigned to the Sixth and Seventh Armies."

Berthier instinctively wanted to shake his head—both army groups were newly formed and new recruits; if anything went wrong, France would lose its only base on the east bank of the Rhine.

To everyone's surprise, Morrow added excitedly, "We can also recall a portion of the Third Army. Using the railway near Trier, we can reach Strasbourg within five days."

Berthier finally couldn't hold back any longer: "No, this is far too risky!"

The Third Army was responsible for defending Cologne on the lower Rhine. Across the river lay nearly 7 Prussian main forces. Diverting them would put the entire Rhineland region in danger.

“I think this is entirely feasible.” Joseph looked at the Chief of the General Staff and said, “You’ve forgotten that we sent the left flank army to contain the Brunswick Army.”

"When they advance directly towards the Anhalt region, the Duke of Brunswick will have only one option: to immediately return to their aid."

Anhalt is the wealthiest region in western Prussia. Stendal and Magdeburg are located here, and it is only about 110 kilometers from Berlin.

If the Duke of Brunswick were to recklessly cross the river and attack Cologne, Berlin would fall before he even reached Luxembourg.

Berthier remained uneasy, saying, "Even if we can commit 10 troops, the main force will definitely be placed on the right flank to deal with the main coalition forces in the Saxony region. The left flank will probably not exceed 3..."

Victor, who was standing nearby, suddenly reminded them: "We still have an army available. General Lefebvre is currently in Emden. If we head south immediately, we can intercept the Brunswick Legion near Hesse."

"Currently, the troops of Hesse and Thuringia have been conscripted by the British to the upper Rhine, and there should be no one to stop them."

"They could even be sent directly to Solingen to harass the Prussian forces from behind."

Berthier was about to say, "This would give the Moorish army defending Emden an opportunity to attack the Netherlands," but he immediately smiled and shook his head.

The Dutch will protect their country, especially with the Flemish Republic behind them.

Joseph continued, "As for the Baden defense line, it is not in great danger as new recruits are constantly being added."

Two army groups, totaling 7 new recruits, have now been deployed to Karlsruhe. Unless Suvorov is resurrected, it will be difficult to defeat them within 20 days.

After completing its training, the Eighth Army can arrive in Baden within two days to participate in the defense.

If this drags on for another month, the Ninth and Tenth Armies will arrive one after another. At that point, it's uncertain who will annihilate whom. Berthier finally said nothing more.

Joseph was just about to have the General Staff begin to formulate specific operational plans when an officer, led by Emmanuel, knocked on the door and entered.

The messenger handed Berthier a document about the Shap signal tower. Berthier opened it, glanced at it, and immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Your Highness, General Masséna annihilated Picton's army outside Basel, killing 2300 and capturing nearly 1."

The people inside the room cheered.

Joseph smiled and nodded, instructing Berthier: "Order General Masséna to deal with Blücher's army as soon as possible, and then return to Baden immediately."

Berthier looked at the report in his hand and said with some surprise, "Your Highness, General Massena is already on his way back. He left 25,000 men of the Udino Legion to continue the siege of Glarus."

Moro frowned and said, "I'm afraid this number of troops is not enough."

According to French intelligence, Blücher may still have nearly 6 troops under his command.

Berthier handed him the report: "General Masséna said he guarantees there will be no accidents."

The brief strategic briefing ended quickly, and several senior generals from the General Staff took their leave to prepare for the formulation of detailed operational plans.

The changing war situation led Joseph to revise his original itinerary, instructing Emmanuel to go directly to Karlsruhe.

Yes, he was well aware that Berthier's previous concerns were not unfounded.

The weakest point in this large-scale infiltration operation was the defense of Baden.

Korsakov's Russian army, combined with the Duke of York's forces, should be able to mobilize 6 troops to attack Baden. In an extreme scenario, they might even abandon Freiburg and launch a full-scale attack, bringing the total to nearly 8 troops.

If the 7 new French recruits in Baden fail to withstand the pressure, the situation will immediately become very bad.

The French army was forced to retreat to Strasbourg and rely on the Rhine River for defense. The main force that had launched the infiltration attack would then lose contact with the homeland.

Therefore, Joseph decided to personally oversee the situation in Baden.

He believed that his prestige should greatly boost the morale of the French troops here.

Moreover, he also brought with him 1500 soldiers from his personal guard grenadier battalion. Although the number was small, these noblemen were equipped with the best weapons in all of France.

He heard that, taking advantage of their return to Paris, almost everyone had bought a revolver at their own expense. Keep in mind, these pistols, due to their complex manufacturing process, cost as much as 300 francs. Currently, the French army has only issued a few to its elite cavalry.

Faced with this war that would determine the future of France, Joseph had to do everything in his power to add another weight to the victory!
On the fourth day after Joseph arrived in Strasbourg, the General Staff's operational plan was distributed to the various corps—

The eastern route, commanded by Moreau, consisted of the Fifth Royal Army, the Ninth Infantry Division, the Twelfth Infantry Division, and two independent hussar battalions, totaling 64,000 men. It passed through Nardlingen and Nuremberg, captured Bayreuth, a Prussian city in western Saxony, and there engaged the main force of the allied forces led by Archduke Karl.

　First of all, I sincerely apologize for the inconsistent updates since September.

　　I haven't been feeling well lately, mainly due to extremely poor sleep quality. I'm getting less than four hours of effective sleep a day, and my head is constantly foggy. However, I've started to feel better in the last couple of days, and I'll try my best to resume normal updates. Please bear with me. I also hope you'll continue to support this book; the biggest climax is coming up soon, and I'll repay you with the most exciting plot.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)