I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 797 Defense? Attack!
Of course, this is also because the steamship itself has excellent speed.

If it were an ordinary sailboat, it would take at least 10 days to complete the journey, and Dimobin had no choice but to surrender with hatred.

To be honest, Joseph originally set up the East Mediterranean Trading Company just to promote Franco-Turkish trade and win over the Ottoman Empire, but he did not expect to reap the benefits of high-speed logistical support.

At the port, excited French soldiers threw Captain Troc and other captains into the air, shouting their names constantly.

At that moment, several captains suddenly felt that even without the high interest, this adventure was worth it.

As large amounts of flour were moved into the warehouse, Dimobin felt his back straighten.

At this time, there were only 22 days left before the two-month mission given to him by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to hold on to Genoa. These few ships of supplies would be enough for him to hold on until then.

At noon the next day, he even agreed to Augereau's request for a counterattack on the Eastern Front.

The soldiers, who had eaten their fill, were in high spirits, and in half a day they pushed the encirclement of Argentau back a full kilometer.

Some are happy, some are sad.

The Austrian army soon received the news sent by the spies from Genoa, and the entire command center was in grief.

Melas's face turned pale, and he kept muttering, "The navy is a bunch of rubbish, idiots..."

After a long moment, Argento glanced at the commander-in-chief and said cautiously, "General, given the current situation, we should probably consider abandoning Genoa."

“Give up?” Melas raised his head and suddenly laughed. “Yes, of course, but now it’s not as simple as just giving up Genoa.”

Argentot frowned, but immediately understood.

As Napoleon continued to consolidate his control over Lombardy, he would soon completely lose contact with Austria.

At that time, it would no longer be their own army besieging Genoa, but would instead be attacked from the north and south by Napoleon and Dimopin!

Cold sweat immediately oozed from his forehead. You know, France can continue to send troops to Italy from the direction of Toulon in the future, and it is only a matter of time before the Austro-Sarcoid coalition is defeated.

He looked at Melas and said, "General, we should move eastward immediately, bypass Parma, and return to the Mantua Fortress..."

"Absolutely not!" Colley immediately retorted loudly, "If you do this, you will let Sardinia face the French army alone. We will lose the trust of all our allies!"

Sardinia is located in the westernmost part of Italy. After the Austrian army retreated eastward, the French army could occupy Alessandria at any time and cut off the connection between Austria and Sardinia.

Melas sighed heavily and nodded, "You are right. We must keep Sardinia, otherwise the situation in Italy will quickly collapse."

What he didn't say was that Parma, as a neutral country, would probably not allow his army to pass through.

He could certainly force his way through, and Parma's army would be powerless to stop him, but this would undoubtedly push him towards France and affect the attitudes of other neutral countries in Italy.

Melas stood up and walked to the map. He pondered for a long time before pointing his cane at Alessandria and said in a deep voice, "Order the entire army to gather in Alessandria and set up a defense line there. I will ask His Majesty the Emperor to send reinforcements and launch an attack on Milan from Mantua."

Then, he knocked on Pavia again: "And we will recapture Pavia, cross the Po River, and cooperate in the pincer attack on Milan."

Alessandria is the transportation hub of northern Italy. From here, we can support Sardinia to the west, go north to Milan, and at the same time deter Genoa.

By stationing troops here, we would have the basis to continue competing with France for northern Italy.

……

Milan.

Napoleon also pointed to the map on the wall and said to Victor and other officers: "The Austrians now have two choices. One is to withdraw from Parma to Mantua and confront our army there. In this case, we can only focus our attack on Turin.

"The second option is to retreat back to Alessandria and prepare to gather strength to cross the river and counterattack Milan. But they have to reserve troops to guard against General Dimopin's attack from the south, so they can only ask Vienna to send reinforcements."

Marmont muttered: "I hope they won't flee back to Mantua. I've seen that fortress. It's not easy to take."

Napoleon nodded. "I think Melas will most likely choose to go to Alexandria. After all, he wants to pretend to the Emperor that he has not been driven out of Piedmont by us."

He looked at the messenger beside him and said, "Send someone to contact General Dimopin and ask him to keep an eye on the north of Genoa. If the Austrian army shows signs of retreating eastward, try to delay them. I will launch the attack from Lodi."

"Yes, Commander."

Napoleon said to Victor again: "Gather your troops immediately and prepare to cross the river from Pavia."

"Ah?" The latter was stunned for a moment, "Cross the river?"

According to his understanding, the defense along the Po River should be done well to prevent the Austrian army from attacking Milan. After all, the Austrian-Serbian coalition still has the advantage in manpower.

Napoleon smiled and said: "We must defeat Melas before the reinforcements from Vienna arrive, otherwise we will face enemies from both Mantua and Alessandria."

"But our military strength..."

Napoleon said confidently: "Melas's army failed to capture Genoa, and their morale must be very low. This is the best time for us to attack.

“Also, Alexandria is a very good offensive base, but not very good for defense.

“General Dimobin could even cross the Alps and attack from his west.

"So, manpower is not a problem."

……

Southern Netherlands.

North of Brussels.

Joseph looked at the battle plan that Napoleon sent through the Chap signal machine, which was also a report for merit, and smiled with satisfaction: "Colonel Buwanaba really did not disappoint me. With such an army, he forced the Austrian and Saar coalition forces into a dead end."

"It is Colonel Bonaparte, sir," whispered Emand. "M. Bonaparte has changed his last name."

"Yes, Bonaparte." Joseph nodded. "Napoleon Bonaparte, that name sounds much better."

He signed Napoleon's battle plan and gave it to Ament to send back to Italy.

Following this trend, northern Italy would soon be pacified by Napoleon, almost exactly as the historical trend would have been.

Thinking of this, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

He seemed to be a little too "lazy" in the war in Italy, and left it entirely to Napoleon to handle.

In fact, the situation there is much better now than it has been historically.

At the very least, Dimopini did not lose Genoa, and France gained a solid stronghold on the southern coast of northern Italy.

If we still rely solely on Napoleon to fight hard, wouldn't it be a waste of the strategic advantage there?
He thought for a moment and said to Emmanuel: "Please inform Mr. Jean Talleyrand to go to Turin with the Count of Provence..."

(End of this chapter)