I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 747 I Think of Something
Southeast France.

Grenoble.

Dimopin, the commander-in-chief of the French Italian Front, turned his eyes away from the front-line defense map and said to General Dutt:
"If I remember correctly, the Pleven Corps was just merged last year, and it doesn't even have cavalry."

Dutt nodded. "Yes, General. Previously, it was three infantry regiments and a skirmisher battalion of the Montpellier Corps. Because a large number of elite soldiers were transferred away, they were finally merged into the Pleven Corps."

The so-called "transfer" actually means that soldiers with ideals and ambitions enroll in military academies, and after graduation they naturally join the corps directly under the General Staff.

The Montpellier Corps was gradually declining. In fact, this was a common situation in the old French army in recent years, but it was more serious in Montpellier.

Dimobin leaned back in his chair wearily and said, “It is a hasty decision to let them take charge of the defense of Brays.

"The Joubert Legion should have just left Lyon. Why not have them garrison Bresse?"

Dutt sighed. "It was arranged by Lieutenant Colonel Buwanaba, General. He has been mobilizing troops frequently recently, but he doesn't seem to pay attention to the defense of key areas."

Dimobin waved his hand and said, "Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is full of vigor and has made a series of unexpected strategic deployments, he is obviously still somewhat inexperienced in employing people.

"Lieutenant Colonel Buwanaba did fight some brilliant battles while commanding the artillery in the Southern Netherlands, but it was still too hasty to hand over an army of more than 3 men to him."

General Dutt said, "Do you think we should order Lieutenant Colonel Buwanaba to adjust the deployment immediately?"

"Okay." Dimobin nodded, looking a little helpless.

Before leaving Paris, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had warned him not to interfere too much with Buwanaba's command, so now he could only watch the young officer making a fuss.

Perhaps, when the time comes, it will be up to this old man like him to clean up the mess.

East of Toulon, the city of Nice.

After listening to General Dutt's order, Napoleon stood at attention and said, "The commander can question me and even question me. He has the right to do so. But I am not going to change my plan."

He murmured in his heart that these old antiques were too short-sighted and they only wanted to deal with the Austrians near the Alps.

Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not actually let them command the campaign in Italy.

General Dutt frowned: "Excuse me, the troops you sent to Bresse... yes, they do patrol outside the mountain pass diligently every day, but their numbers are too small and their combat effectiveness is worrying."

"That's exactly why I chose them," Napoleon said. "It took me some effort to sort out such a poorly made army."

"But what if the Austrians attack at this point?"

Napoleon smiled triumphantly: "I will immediately lead the main force to attack Sardinia from the Catibona Pass. This is why I set up my headquarters in Nice."

Duter's eyes widened immediately: "But...but what about Brays? If we leave the Austrians alone, they can capture Lyon in just half a month!"

“I left the Lyon Legion in Lyon, they will delay the enemy’s attack.

"At the same time, my army has crossed the Alps from the south, and then I will quickly move north to attack Turin.

“Believe me, before Beaulieu attacks Lyons, I will cut off the supply line from Turin to Bresse.

“Then we have two options.

"If the Austrians continue to attack Lyon, I will cross the Alps again from the west of Turin and attack their backs. "If the enemy chooses to return to Turin, I will prepare to attack Genoa from the east. The Austrians and the British will not sit idly by and watch us establish a stronghold in Genoa, so they will definitely come to fight with our army.

"Then I can freely choose the most suitable battlefield in the southern Piedmont Plain and defeat them."

Dutt digested the idea in his mind for a long time and found that this battle plan was indeed very feasible. It made full use of the French army's advantage of fast marching speed and led Beaulieu by the nose.

He suddenly thought of a problem and shook his head, "No, your plan has a fatal flaw.

"The supply lines eastward from Nice all border the Mediterranean, which is vulnerable to attack by the British fleet, and even an attack on Genoa would be extremely difficult."

To be honest, this old general does have some battlefield experience.

Historically, Napoleon was seriously threatened by the British fleet when he set out from Nice to attack Italy, but fortunately, he was lucky, and the supply convoys happened to avoid the attacks of British warships every time, until the French army controlled the entire Sardinia and began to supply from Turin.

Napoleon said confidently, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that we can gain control of the Mediterranean. You have also participated in the meeting of the General Staff, so you should be very clear about this."

Dutt thought, that was most likely what the Crown Prince said to stabilize the military morale. Do you really dare to formulate a battle plan based on that?
It was normal for him to have such thoughts. After all, Britain had dominated the oceans for a long time, and the French subconsciously lacked confidence in challenging the British fleet.

Historically, the British Navy did annihilate the Franco-Swiss-Dutch fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar and completely controlled the Mediterranean.

But this time, the French had steam battleships.

It is still unknown who will own the Mediterranean.

However, Dutt only hinted to Napoleon that the British Navy would definitely pose a threat to his supply lines, and asked him to prepare in advance, and then he left reluctantly.

Fourteen days later, Napoleon appointed the Corps of Moulins, commanded by André, as the vanguard to prepare to cross the Catibona Pass.

He personally led the Corsican Army, the Joubert Army, and Marmont's artillery battalion as the central army. After the Moulins Army controlled the other side of the pass, he immediately attacked Cuneo in the southernmost part of Sardinia to the north.

Augereau and Sérurier served as the two wings, covering the main force.

However, as soon as the Moulins Corps approached the Catibone Pass, it immediately reported to Napoleon via the Chapé signal machine in Nice that a large number of Austrian rangers were spotted near the pass.

"Scout?"

Napoleon listened to Lucien's report and couldn't help but frowned slightly:
"Could it be that the Austrians' main attack direction is Toulon?"

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was possible, so he immediately lay down on the map to check the location of the legion.

The central army was still 20 kilometers away from the Catibona Pass, and the corps on the two wings were also separated, so Beaulieu probably only discovered the Moulin Corps.

He immediately made a decision and said to his brother:

“Order General Andre to retreat immediately after engaging the Austrians.

"Order Augereau and Sérurier's Corps to withdraw westwards as well.

"Let the rabbit come out of its hole, and then we'll release the hounds!"

(End of this chapter)