I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 867: Battle of Mantua
Beaulieu sent out hundreds of cavalrymen and repeatedly confirmed that this was not a trap set by Napoleon. Then he went to meet Wurmser with the band and officers in the fortress.

This was the first time he had left the fortress of Mantua in more than a month.

When he saw Wilmser surrounded by his guards in front of him, he immediately opened his arms and greeted him.

However, before he could finish his long-prepared speech, Wilmser asked solemnly, "Marshal Beaulieu, my reconnaissance team found no trace of the French army nearby?"

"Yes, they were scared away by your reputation." Beaulieu said happily, "In fact, they started to retreat two days ago, and this morning, the last batch of more than 3 people also left.

"Now, the line from Mantua to Brescia is back in our hands..."

"Wait," Wurmser suddenly interrupted him with a frown, "You mean, the French retreated two days ago?"

"Ah, that's right."

"You didn't try to pursue?"

"Well," Beaulieu seemed a little embarrassed, "you know, Napoleon is a very cunning guy, I am afraid of being ambushed, so..."

Wilmser hurriedly asked the staff officer to bring a map and asked, "Where is the right wing army now?"

The latter recalled: "We should have passed Limone, General. We will probably arrive here the day after tomorrow at the latest."

A bad feeling suddenly surged in Wilmser's heart. He shook his head and said to himself: "The French retreated too quickly. This is a bit abnormal..."

He turned to the messenger and said, "Contact General Kostanovich immediately and tell him to be careful of the French attack."

Kostanovich is the right wing of Wilmser's army.

When Wurmser learned that Napoleon had sent his troops to Verona to block the enemy, he was overjoyed and ordered his troops to be divided into three teams, left, center and right, and deployed in the east-west direction, trying to encircle the French troops near Mantua.

However, there was no enemy here at this time.

Beaulieu asked hurriedly, "How many soldiers are there in the Kostanovich Corps?"

The staff officer said, "1 men, Marshal."

Beaulieu immediately smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. There are only 1 French troops surrounding Mantua, and they are leaving in batches. In other words, there are about 7 to soldiers behind who will not arrive in Limone until tomorrow night."

Wilmser also breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.

He was also an experienced veteran, and behind the three armies he left Meszaros von Soboszlo with 4 men as a reserve force.

And behind them there were 6 troops who had just been recruited from Venice.

Even if the French took the risk of launching an attack, as long as Kostanovich could hold on for a day, reinforcements would arrive in a steady stream.

He said to the cavalry officer beside him: "Major Faber, you will immediately lead three cavalry squadrons to search for traces of the French army along Lake Garda.

"If they really go to attack Kostanovich, we will attack them from the south!"

The fortress of Mantua is located in a very strategic position, at the confluence of the Mincio River and the Po River, with Lake Garda as a barrier on the west side.

Limone is a small town on the northwest side of Lake Garda.

Therefore, if the French army attacked Kostanovich, they would be blocked by Lake Garda and could not threaten the fortress of Mantua. This allowed Wurmser to withdraw troops to attack the French army.

Just half a day later, the reconnaissance cavalry sent by Wurmser returned with a report that the French rear guard had just arrived at Calcinato, which is the southwest side of Lake Garda, with more than 6 troops. According to local farmers, more than French troops passed through there yesterday.

Wurmser immediately ordered his own central army of 1 men, plus the Argentau Corps, a total of nearly 3 troops, to rush to the west of Lake Garda to attack the French army there.

Beaulieu immediately said nervously: "General, but this will seriously under-equip Mantua's defense..."

"Don't worry, General Ulmer will be here the day after tomorrow at the latest, and his troops will number more than 1." Wilmser said unhappily, "The Emperor's order is for us to recapture Italy, not to stay here forever."

There were nearly 3 soldiers in the Mantua fortress, but it was surrounded by less than French troops, and Beaulieu had never tried to take the initiative to attack.

Beaulieu reminded him awkwardly: "General, Napoleon is a cunning guy, you must be more careful..."

West side of Lake Garda.

Idro town.

Napoleon checked his pocket watch, turned around and waved to the soldiers beside him, "Everyone speed up, we should be able to meet the Austrians before noon!"

Grouchy galloped over and raised his hat to him, saying, "General, the rangers have discovered the enemy's rear guard north of Limoges, with more than 4 people."

Yes, after Napoleon defeated Melas' army in Alexandria, he received a commission signed by the Crown Prince himself and was promoted to brigadier general.

At this time, less than half a year had passed since he came to Italy.

Augereau came over and frowned, saying, "General, the enemy's rear guard is too close. If we can't defeat Kostanovich quickly, we may be in danger of being pincered."

At the combat meeting last night, Napoleon suggested that the Austrian troops in the Mantua fortress might follow.

However, their assault army consisted of only more than 1 people, and defeating Kostanovich alone was almost the limit. If there were more enemies attacking from behind, they would be doomed to die.

Napoleon said very calmly: "No, Pierre, we will be delayed south of Limonene for half a day at most."

He did have enough confidence because he was leading the 3rd Royal Infantry Division and his favorite Royal Horse Artillery Battalion.

He had fought in battles with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince before, and he knew very well how strong the combat effectiveness of this direct legion was.

He looked at Augereau again and said, "In fact, Kostanovich is just an appetizer. The main course is the Austrian army behind us. If I'm not mistaken, Wurmser will lead the army here in person."

Augereau said nervously, "General, aren't our troops too few? Perhaps we should first join forces with the troops in the direction of Verona..."

Napoleon smiled and said, "Do you know why I left Victor's army behind? He could have been evacuated from Mantua with us."

"Isn't it to prevent Beaulieu from pursuing us?"

"Beaulieu? Of course not. He has been scared out of his wits. Even if a group of monkeys were dressed in French uniforms, he would not dare to launch an attack." Napoleon said, "Victor's task is to give Wurmser 'confidence' and break up his formation.

“That’s when our opportunity arose.”

(End of this chapter)