I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 774: The Emperor's Intuition

Seeing Victor's puzzled expression, Napoleon asked, "Do you remember Marshal Beaulieu's age?"

"Ah, he seems to be 69 years old."

"Yes, 69 years old." Napoleon nodded, "He has fought for more than 50 years and has a lot of experience.

"If he had found that his front troops had not encountered any resistance after entering France, he would have become extremely vigilant.

"On the contrary, if we launch a fierce counterattack, he will be confident that Toulon can be easily captured."

Victor suddenly realized: "That's right. Victory will prompt the Austrians to advance quickly."

He suddenly thought of the current deployment of the Italian Front and reminded, "Lieutenant Colonel Buwanaba, is our army's current position too far back?"

Napoleon deployed all the French troops to the west of Nice, which meant that the easternmost part of the Toulon province had no defense force at all - Nice was the largest city east of Toulon, and it was the best place to defend.

Napoleon said: "The deeper the Austrian army goes into Toulon, the longer its front will be, which will be more conducive to our finding weak points to attack.

"Besides, this will also allow Monaco to pay more for its military expenses."

Monaco is a small principality in the southeastern part of France, located 10 km east of Nice, at the foot of the Alps.

If Austria wanted to attack Nice, it would have to attack Monaco first.

Although Monaco is a French protectorate, it still has a great deal of independence. Facing the threat from Austria this time, it will certainly fight back with all its might, and will inevitably be tied more closely to France in the future.

Victor was still a little hesitant: "Lieutenant Colonel Buonaba, if the Austrians enter Nice, they can go north to Bresse from here. And our army has not set up a defense line north of Toulon..."

"No, you don't have to worry." Napoleon said confidently, "Beaulieu will definitely continue westward and attack the port of Toulon."

“Can you tell me your basis?”

"Because the British will ask Beaulieu to do this, where our Mediterranean Fleet is parked." Napoleon said, and tapped his forehead with his index finger, "Also, my intuition."

"Will this..."

Napoleon smiled and patted him on the back. "You'd better use this time to urge the Toulouse Legion to prepare winter clothing. Perhaps we will cross the Alps soon. You know, the snow on the top of the mountain has not melted at this time of the year."

……

Eastern Monaco.

The town of Larvotto.

After the Austrian vanguard Provera Corps destroyed the French sentry tower at the Catibona Pass, it was immediately attacked by the "Provence Frontier Guards".

The Austrians were caught off guard at first and lost dozens of people, but they soon repelled the hundreds of French border guards under the personal command of Major General Provera at the front line.

Then, following Marshal Beaulieu's orders, Provera led the grenadier battalion and quickly advanced westwards until the town of Larvotto on the border of Monaco, where he encountered the French army that had reorganized its defense line.

And, 500 soldiers from the Monaco Royal Guard.

Provera immediately showed the style of a famous Austrian general.

On the one hand, he mobilized an infantry regiment to cooperate with the grenadier battalion to attack the defensive positions of the French and Monaco coalition forces. On the other hand, he sent cavalry to bypass the north side of Monte Carlo, the capital of Monaco, and head straight for the castle of the Grand Duke of Monaco.

As expected, the Monaco guards panicked and hastily retreated to Monte Carlo to protect their king.

The 800 French border guards in Larvotto were overwhelmed and were defeated by the Austrian grenadiers in less than two hours, and then fled to Monte Carlo.

Provera rested in the town for one night, and the next day ordered all 5 soldiers under his command to launch a full-scale attack on Monaco - yesterday afternoon, his entire legion had passed the Catibona Pass.

In fact, the entire country of Monaco is about the same size as the city of Nice. 5 soldiers can almost plow the entire country neatly.

The French and Monaco allied forces only fired a few shots symbolically and covered the Archduke of Monaco as he fled to Nice.

At the same time, Monaco's diplomats formally requested Paris to send troops for protection.

However, the French army seemed to be defending the Bresse line, and Toulon had very limited manpower.

It was not until the Provera Legion arrived at the gates of Nice that the French were able to muster about 1 men.

Sanremo is a city in southwestern Sardinia.

In the headquarters of the Austrian Italian Front, Beaulieu listened to the military intelligence report from the front line with a smile on his face.

The French had indeed not expected that they would advance from the south, as evidenced by the weak defenses of Toulon.

Provera easily defeated the French defenders and successfully occupied Nice. Now, he can use this place as a base to launch an attack on the Toulon fortress.

He looked at the troop movements on the wall and said to the herald, "Order Argenteuil and Vucacevi to speed up their march and pass the Alps before noon tomorrow.

“Tell them not to let their guard down.

"Set up camp immediately after entering France and send out cavalry for reconnaissance. Wait until all the central troops have passed through the mountain pass before continuing to advance."

"Yes, Marshal."

After the herald left, Beaulieu thought for a moment and said to his staff officer, "Report the victory to His Majesty the Emperor and say that our army is making good progress in Italy. By the time the news reaches Vienna, Toulon should have been occupied.

“Also, urge the British to deliver logistical supplies to the port of La Condamine.

"We need to prepare supplies for the attack on Brays."

La Condamine Port is a small port in Monaco.

Five days later.

Provera's Corps left Nice and launched an attack on the town of Cagnes, 11 kilometers to the west.

At the same time, Sebottendorf on the Austrian left began to besiege Vence, an important town in the south-central part of Toulon.

Provera put away the telescope, looked back at the marching column, and said to the herald, "Let these lazy guys move faster and try to enter Cagnes tonight to spend the night."

He had conducted repeated reconnaissances before and confirmed that there were no French troops around Nice. All he had to do along the way was to plant the flag in the town to complete the occupation.

However, it seemed that God had felt that he had given him too many military exploits and needed some training. A cavalryman came up to him and saluted, saying, "General, we have discovered a French defense line outside Cagnes, with more than 3 men."

Provera frowned: "Where did this army come from?"

"Look at the flag, it should be the Montpellier Regiment, General."

Provera nodded. If they hurriedly marched from Montpellier, they would arrive in about a week.

He immediately ordered: "The French should be very tired, attack immediately!"

"Yes, General!"

At noon that day, Sebottendorf also encountered thousands of French troops in Vence.

He also gave the order to attack without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)