I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 908 Austria's Last Hope
On a mound on the southwest side of the Visio River.

Bajahaza observed the battlefield below and loudly instructed the herald:
"Let Hamer's cavalry close the gap on the left wing, quickly!
"Tell Lieutenant Colonel Ulrich that he must hold out for another hour and not count on reinforcements."

He put down the telescope, looked at Archduke Karl beside him, and sighed sincerely:
"These Frenchmen fight so fiercely. If you had followed my wrong orders, we would all be in danger now."

The young officer next to him, with curly hair, sunken cheeks and a listless look, waved his hand and said:
“No, that was Marshal Alvinzi’s mistake, you were just following orders.

"Fortunately, we are still in time. If the marshal's reinforcements can arrive before noon the day after tomorrow, we can annihilate this French army."

Bajahaza sighed and did not continue the topic, but in his heart he agreed with Archduke Karl's words.

Alvinzi's order to him was to get as close to the central army as possible so that they could support each other at any time.

But since leaving Venice, Archduke Charles had repeatedly pointed out to him that the left wing corps was too shrinking, leaving a huge gap in the direction of the Vecchio River, which the French might use to bypass and encircle the enemy.

He simply asked Archduke Karl to carry out his orders.

Fortunately, Archduke Karl "stubbornly" refused him, and marched his corps 3 kilometers east of his troops, and sent cavalry to conduct repeated reconnaissance along the Vecchio River.

As a Hungarian officer, Bajahaza had no way to deal with the Emperor's brother, so he just let him go.

Unexpectedly, just yesterday morning, Archduke Karl actually discovered a French army crossing the river, and then immediately and decisively launched an attack.

The Royal Moravian Corps led by Archduke Karl was one of the few elite troops that came to northern Italy this time. It caught the French by surprise and hundreds of people fell into the water and drowned.

However, the French army had more than 7 soldiers, while the Moravina Corps had only soldiers. In the end, the French army still managed to cross the river with difficulty.

At this time, Bajahaza also led his troops to the scene after receiving the news from Archduke Karl.

The situation turned around in an instant, and the French were pushed back to a forest near the river, and then the two sides reached a stalemate.

As the two were talking, a rider stopped his horse beside Bajahaza and shouted, "General, the French have organized two more regiments to attack on the left wing. General Metzger requested reinforcements."

Bajahaza frowned and looked at Archduke Karl with an inquiring look: "It seems that we can only send the Moser Legion."

The Moser Corps was his reserve force, and after the mobilization he no longer had any mobile forces.

Karl Ludwig recalled the terrain on the south side of the battlefield and asked the signal officer: "There seems to be a rocky beach where the French launched the attack, right?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Karl Ludwig nodded and said to Bajahaza, "General, my suggestion is not to use the reserve army yet. We should make full use of the advantages of artillery."

He looked at the herald again:
"Let the artillery of the Moravina Corps move closer to the left wing. Don't worry about the enemy's position, just aim at the rocky beach and fire.

"Also, order General Metzger to withdraw his troops to the side and rear, and try to block the space on both sides of the rocky beach. Wait until the enemy leaves the rocky beach before launching an attack."

The herald glanced at Bajahaza, and seeing that he had no objection, he stood at attention and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

……

On the French position, Augereau personally commanded 3 soldiers of the Moulins Corps to charge the Austrian army.

He had no corps directly under his command - Napoleon's side was the main attack direction, and he took away all the elite troops.

Therefore, the Moulin Legion is the most powerful force in Augereau.

Yes, he was very anxious now and decided to fight to the death here.

According to Napoleon's orders, he should have launched an attack on Alvinzi's left wing this morning, but now he was blocked here.

This would likely lead to General Napoleon being counterattacked by a superior enemy force, resulting in huge casualties. Brigadier General Andre, commander of the Moulins Corps of Augereau, nodded and said, "Let's get started. May God bless you."

After a moment, the rhythm of the snare drum began to speed up.

The skirmishers of the Mulan Legion were the first to rush towards the enemy.

However, the Austrian army only exchanged a brief fire with them before beginning to retreat.

Andrei was not surprised by the Austrians' cowardice. He immediately raised his sword and shouted to the entire army to advance.

However, the Mulan Legion only advanced two or three hundred steps before a large amount of gravel appeared under their feet and their speed slowed down instantly.

At the same time, on the high ground in front of the Austrian side, the heavy artillery roared.

The shells landed on the gravel and immediately shot everywhere. If the Mulan Legion had not been equipped with bulletproof inserts, the flying stones alone would have easily killed them.

Andre looked at the Austrian army line not far away. As long as he rushed through there, he could cooperate with the Marmont Corps to tear open the enemy's defense line to the north.

"Pass the order, loosen the formation and move forward quickly!"

"Yes, General!"

Three thousand French soldiers stepped onto the gravel fearlessly, but they could not move forward quickly - let alone running, they would sprain their ankles if they walked a little faster.

The Austrian artillery continued to pour out shells.

One after another, the iron balls whizzed through the French soldiers, leaving behind several lines of crimson blood mixed with a large number of body parts.

At the same time, people were constantly hit on the head by the rubble, and fell to the ground with a groan.

The Mulan Legion had only advanced less than 200 steps when it had already suffered three to four hundred casualties, and the rocky beach was covered with blood and minced meat.

Andre's horse was also hit in the left eye by a piece of rubble, and it wailed and shook its head and retreated.

Andre's eyes were almost spitting fire. He turned his head and looked at the cannons piled up on the east bank of the Vecchio River. If he had those things, he would be able to suppress the Austrian artillery fire.

But now, I can only be beaten.

Yes, when Archduke Karl launched a sudden attack yesterday, the heavy artillery of Augereau’s Corps had not yet been transported across the river before the pontoon bridge was destroyed by Austrian artillery fire.

Finally, the huge casualties forced Andre to order a retreat.

At this moment, hundreds of Austrian hussars cut in from the junction of Moulin's Corps and Marmont's Corps.

The Mulan Legion was in the process of retreating and immediately fell into chaos.

The situation was not stabilized until Augereau sent reserve troops to reinforce. However, by then, the French left wing had lost all the battlefield space it had captured that day, and the entire army was pressed into a small open space next to the woods.

into the night.

Both the French and the Austrian armies were in a state of anxiety.

The Augereau Corps was counting casualties, and the painful groans of the wounded filled the entire riverbank.

Bajahaza received news that his right wing corps had been completely defeated by Napoleon.

(End of this chapter)