I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 781: Fight for Genoa

Alps, east of the Catibona Pass.

General Dimopin, the nominal commander-in-chief of the French Italian Front, felt the warm breeze blowing from the Mediterranean, and his old bones, which were almost frozen and cracked, finally felt a little better.

He remembered the order that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had given him a few days ago, and he couldn't help but sigh with a bitter face.

He originally thought that at most he would just be there to show off in the city of Nice - the fact was that the young Buonaba was commanding very well, and there was no need for him to interfere at all - but unexpectedly the prince suddenly asked him to replace Buonaba and command the army.

Dimopin, who was nearly 60 years old, had to drag his old body across the Alps and prepared to attack Monferrato, a province in southern Sardinia.

To the north of Monferrato is Turin. At this time, Sardinia was in chaos, and Amedeo III was like a madman, constantly asking Vienna for help.

After the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Toulon, Beaulieu had less than 7 Austrian troops left on the Italian peninsula, plus the 2 Sardinian Legion led by Colli, and 2 men stationed in Milan.

With such a small number of troops, let alone reinforcing Sardinia, he himself was worried whether Milan could hold on.

In desperation, Francis II had to send the Swiss Front to Italy to assist in the war, and the commander of the Swiss Front, Melas, replaced Beaulieu and was responsible for commanding the Italian Front.

Only after Melas' vanguard troops arrived in Milan did Beaulieu finally breathe a sigh of relief.

With Melas' 3 troops, the situation in Italy was basically stabilized.

On the other hand, Amedeo III also sent an additional 1 soldiers to defend Monferrato.

At this time in northern Italy, the total strength of the Austro-Saar coalition had reached 6.

Dimobin only had 2 troops. The General Staff did send 8 new soldiers to the Italian Front, but they were intercepted by Napoleon.

However, he was not too worried.

Because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince didn't really want him to attack Sardinia, but just to show off. If it was just defense, his troops could still hold out for a while.

In addition, the Austrian army had just suffered a defeat and their morale was low. If a war really broke out, they might not pose much of a threat to him.

A week later.

Dimopin was enjoying his breakfast—after entering Italy, the food was obviously much better than in the mountains—when the staff officer knocked on the door and saluted him, saying, "Commander, I just received news from Milan that nearly 3 troops of the Melas Legion are heading south to Monferrato."

The old general drank a sip of milk and asked, "How far are we from here?"

“About 50 kilometers.”

Dimobin nodded, stood up and said, "Order the entire army to assemble and prepare to march eastward."

"Eastward?" the staff officer asked in surprise, "General, there is only Genoa over there."

"Yes, Genoa." Dimopin nodded, "That's where we are going."

According to the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, which was actually Napoleon's battle plan, once the main force of Austria and Sardinia moved to the south of Sardinia, he would make a full-scale attack on Genoa.

Genoa is the most important port in northern Italy. Almost all supplies shipped from the sea to Sardinia and Milan must be landed here.

If the French army occupied Genoa, it would mean that the supplies brought by the British from the sea would not be delivered to the Austro-Saharan coalition.

This was a situation that the Austrian commander absolutely did not want to see. At the same time, the British could not accept Genoa falling into French hands, because it carried more than half of Britain's trade with Italy.

Sure enough, when Dimopin's army left Diego and began to march towards Voltri, a strategic location west of Genoa, the Austrian army immediately became nervous. In the Austrian camp north of Monferrato, Colli looked at the officers in front of him and said firmly: "We must maintain the territorial integrity of Sardinia. If Monferrato goes wrong, we will quickly lose the trust of our allies."

Beaulieu shook his head wearily. "Once the French army occupies Genoa, they will be able to threaten Alessandria to the north. At that time, we will have to divide our troops to defend the east, west, and north, which will put us in an extremely unfavorable situation."

Alessandria is an important transportation hub in northern Italy, connecting Milan, Turin, Piacenza and other cities.

Collie was a little angry: "But the stubborn Genoese insisted on maintaining neutrality and would not allow us to send troops to assist them in defense!

"If we attack the French directly, we will have to cross the Alps. Before we arrive, the French will have already controlled the port of Genoa."

The southernmost tip of the Alps is in the shape of a "human" and Genoa is right at the end of that stroke, which means there are many mountains blocking the way between Dimobin and the Austrian army.

Although these mountains are not very high, it will still take time for a large army to pass through them.

Brigadier General Jean-Baptiste Cervoni saw that the two sides were arguing, so he stood up and suggested uncertainly: "Perhaps, we can ignore the attitude of the Genoese government and set up defenses there before the French army arrives. It will take a day and a half to get there from Alessandria."

Everyone turned to look at him.

After a while, Colley said in a deep voice: "But Genoa is a neutral port protected by His Majesty the Emperor."

"We are only going to stop the French army," Cervoni argued. "Once we have driven the French out of Italy, we will withdraw from Genoa. I believe that Britain will also approve of our actions."

Everyone was silent again.

With Genoa's military strength, whether it is Austria, France, or even Sardinia, they can easily occupy it as if they were in an empty land.

Then, you can take the lead in setting up defenses there.

In other words, whoever strikes first will gain a huge advantage.

Finally, Melas breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, “Well, it’s better than letting the French get Genoa.

"Order the Argentau Legion to proceed immediately to Genoa.

“General Colli continued on to Monferrato to block the French advance northwards.

"General Cervoni crossed the Alps and cut off the French retreat.

"We are going to destroy the Dimobin Legion in the Voltri area this time!"

……

Central Alps.

Great St. Bernard Pass.

The quartermaster-general saluted Napoleon and said, "Commander, perhaps we should wait for two more days at the foot of the mountain.

"Our current food reserves are only enough to last until we cross the Alps. After entering Italy, we will run out of food."

Yes, when Napoleon climbed to the halfway point of the Catibone Pass, he retreated again and led the Montpellier Corps, plus a Moulins cavalry battalion and 5 new soldiers just transferred by the General Staff, to launch a surprise attack from the central Alps.

(End of this chapter)