I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 958 Ottoman Northern Expedition
The so-called "mixed formation" was a method that Wellesley came up with in order to make full use of the Portuguese army.

From then on, each company under his command was composed of 30% British soldiers and 70% Portuguese soldiers.

During the battle, the elite British soldiers stood on both sides and the last row, "trapping" the Portuguese soldiers in the middle and constantly reminding them what they should do.

In this way, the originally useless Portuguese army can demonstrate a high level of combat effectiveness.

From the first day Wellesley arrived in Porto, he ordered Beresford to train the Portuguese in batches.

In two months, he would have more than 1 available soldiers, and with the 7 British troops, his total force would reach nearly 1.

There is no possibility of failure in pursuing the 3 Spanish troops who are in chaos.

Even with the addition of the 5 French troops, he was confident of victory. After all, his new army was built according to French standards, but with twice as many people.

three days later.

The Portuguese Crown Prince Joao signed a decree in the name of Queen Maria I, requiring all Portuguese within 80 miles (nearly 130 kilometers) of Porto to go south of the Douro River within half a month, otherwise they would be sentenced for treason. The resistance forces fighting against the Franco-Spanish coalition were not affected.

Soon, when Juno led his army to a small village north of Porto, he was surprised to find that the village was empty, the wheat fields that were about to mature had turned into charcoal ash, and even the thatch on the roofs had been stripped off.

He suddenly felt something was wrong and immediately rushed to the nearest village, only to find the same situation.

He hurried back to the headquarters and sent someone to inform Marquis Talavera of the situation and report to Paris at the same time.

……

Southern Austria.

The middle section of the Southern Carpathians.

The green trees are filled with the fragrance of flowers and plants, and the melodious chirping of birds can be heard from time to time. Anyone who stays here for a while will feel relaxed physically and mentally, as if they have entered a fairy tale world.

But Archduke Karl frowned at this time, staring at the map on the saddle, and asked the messenger beside him:

"Are you sure that's the main Ottoman force, not a reconnaissance force?"

"Yes, Marshal, there are nearly 3 of them," the latter confirmed, "and they are equipped with cannons."

Archduke Karl looked up at the marching column beside him and said loudly:
"Everyone, speed up. We must pass the Ort Pass before dark tomorrow!"

Yes, according to his previous judgment, the Ottoman army had just reached the central part of Tarnovo at this time.

Unexpectedly, the summons officer just told him that the Hussars had discovered the Ottomans 5 miles south of Bucharest.

6 Auli is approximately equivalent to 45 kilometers.

The main force of the Austrian army had not yet crossed the Carpathian Mountains, which meant it was still more than 100 kilometers away from Bucharest.

Archduke Karl had read a lot of battle reports about the Ottoman army, and their marching speed should never have been so fast.

Of course, the Ottoman army that first arrived in the south of Bucharest was the New Army of Topizius, an elite force trained by the French.

Archduke Karl regretted that he should have taken the route from Moldavia and traveled south along the Eastern Carpathian Mountains. In that case, he should have arrived in Bucharest by now.

But in order to achieve the suddenness of the attack, he chose to cross the South Carpathian Mountains.

Although there were many mountain roads along the way and the marching speed was slow, as long as he crossed the Ort Pass, he could cut off the Ottoman army at will on the vast Wallachia Plain.

However, if the Ottomans captured Bucharest first, he would have to launch a siege there.

He had only 5 soldiers, while the Ottomans had an army of 11.

With such a huge gap in troop strength, if a field battle were to take place, he could still rely on his control of the overall battle situation to find the enemy's weak points and defeat them.

But if it was a siege, it would probably take half a year to finish the battle. He certainly didn't have half a year to waste.

He wasn't even three months old.

Although the Prussians panicked and transferred their troops to Königsberg in East Prussia because of the sudden appearance of the Russian army in Livonia, the French had clearly told them that Russia had no intention of attacking Prussia.

Therefore, it would not take long for the Prussians to react and resume their attack on Silesia.

He had to resolve the battle in Wallachia before then and then lead his army north.

Taking into account the time required for the march, he had only about a month to defeat the Ottomans.

Archduke Karl looked at the map again and casually asked the summoner, "How many people are there in the main force of the Ottoman front army?"

"That's not clear yet, Marshal."

"Hmm?" Archduke Karl looked at him in confusion. "Haven't we already discovered their vanguard? Why don't you continue to scout southward?"

"The Hussars advanced another three miles to the south and found no other enemy troops."

Archduke Karl narrowed his eyes immediately.

One possibility is that the Ottomans were setting up an ambush.

Another possibility is that their front and rear troops were out of touch.

The Ottomans would have never guessed that they were crossing the Carpathians to Wallachia from due north - the normal marching route was to bypass the Carpathians from Severinia in the west, or to go through Moldavia in the east.

Therefore, if the Ottomans wanted to set up an ambush, they had to choose the east and west sides of Wallachia, but there were only endless plains there, making it impossible to hide the troops.

It seemed that their main force had fallen far behind the vanguard.

Archduke Karl's thoughts raced. If he headed to Bucharest as quickly as possible, he would have a chance to recapture this important city before the main Ottoman force arrived.

After all, there were only 3 enemy troops there.

But the risks are not small.

If we fail to capture Bucharest in time and the main force of the enemy arrives, things will be troublesome.

He quickly thought of another tactic.

Abandon Bucharest and directly attack the main force of the Ottoman army.

Although Tarnovo is not as flat as Wallachia, the northern and central parts are basically plains, which is suitable for field battles.

He immediately told the herald: "Abandon all unnecessary logistics vehicles and leave only 10 cannons and the minimum amount of ammunition.

"After crossing the Orth Pass, the army continued southward along the Orth River.

"Bypass Bucharest and fight the decisive battle near Isperih."

Isperih is a town north of Tarnovo, on the way to Bucharest.

Five days later.

After hearing the report that "Topiz's army has occupied Bucharest", the Ottoman commander-in-chief Mustafa showed a smug smile on his face.

This was the first time in his life that he seized the initiative in a battle before the army of a European power.

(End of this chapter)