I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 867 Mantua Defense War

Beaulieu sent out hundreds of cavalrymen again to repeatedly confirm that this was not a trap set by Napoleon before taking the band and the officers from the fortress to greet Würmser.

This was the first time he had left the Mantua fortress in over a month.

When he saw Würmser in the front, surrounded by the guards, he immediately opened his arms to greet him.

However, before he could say a word of the prepared speech, Würmser asked with a solemn expression, "Marshal Beaulieu, didn't my reconnaissance troops find any traces of the French army nearby?"

"Yes, they were all scared away by your great reputation," Beaulieu said happily. "In fact, they started to retreat gradually two days ago. This morning, the last batch of more than 3,000 people also left."

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

"Wait," Würmser suddenly frowned and interrupted him. "Are you saying that the French retreated two days ago?"

"Ah, that's right."

Koscowitz was the commander of Würmser's right-wing army.

When Würmser learned that Napoleon had detached troops to Verona to intercept them, he was overjoyed and ordered his troops to be divided into three columns, left, center, and right, and deployed in an east-west direction, attempting to encircle the French army near Mantua.

However, there was not a single enemy here at this time.

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

The staff officer said, "18,000 men, Marshal."

Beaulieu immediately smiled: "Then there is no need to be nervous. The French army besieging Mantua has only more than 17,000 men, and they are leaving in batches. That is to say, about five or six thousand soldiers will not be able to reach Limone until tomorrow night."

Würmser also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

He was also a veteran with rich experience, and he had left Meszaros von Szoboszlo leading 4,000 men as a reserve force behind the three armies.

Moreover, there were still 6,000 troops newly recruited from Venice further behind.

Even if the French risked launching an attack, as long as Koscowitz could hold on for a day, there would be a steady stream of reinforcements coming.

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

"If they really go to attack Koscowitz, we will launch a pincer attack on them from the south!"

The location of the Mantua fortress was very dangerous, located at the confluence of the Mincio and Po rivers, with Lake Garda as a barrier on the west side.

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

Therefore, if the French attacked Koscowitz, they would be blocked by Lake Garda, making it impossible to threaten the Mantua fortress.

This allowed Würmser to dare to draw troops to launch a pincer attack on the French army.

Just half a day later, the reconnaissance cavalry sent by Würmser returned to report that the rear of the French army had just arrived at Calcinato, which was on the southwest side of Lake Garda, with a number of more than 6,000. According to local farmers, tens of thousands of French troops had passed through there yesterday.

Würmser immediately ordered the central army of 10,000 men he led, plus the Argentau Corps, a total of nearly 30,000 troops, to immediately rush to the west of Lake Garda to pincer attack the French army there.

Beaulieu said nervously, "General, but in this way, the defensive force of Mantua will be seriously insufficient…"

"Don't worry, General Ulm will be here by the day after tomorrow at the latest, and his troops have more than 10,000 people," Würmser said angrily. "His Majesty the Emperor's order is for us to recover Italy, not to stay here all the time."

Previously, there were nearly 30,000 soldiers in the Mantua fortress, but they were surrounded by less than 20,000 French troops, and Beaulieu had never tried to take the initiative to attack.

Beaulieu reminded him with a grin, "General, that fellow Napoleon is full of tricks, you must be more careful…"

West side of Lake Garda.

Idro Town.

Napoleon looked at 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!"

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Grouchy galloped over and tipped his hat to him: "General, the scouts have discovered the enemy's rear guard north of Limone, with more than 4,000 people."

Yes, after Napoleon defeated Melas's army in Alexandria, he received a letter of appointment personally signed by the Crown Prince and was promoted to Brigadier General.

It had been less than half a year since he came to Italy.

Augereau leaned over when he heard this and frowned, "General, the enemy's rear guard is too close. If we can't quickly defeat Koscowitz, we may be in danger of being attacked from both sides."

At the war meeting last night, Napoleon proposed that the Austrian army in the Mantua fortress might follow.

And their surprise attack corps had only more than 12,000 people. Defeating Koscowitz alone was almost the limit. If there were enemies attacking from behind, they would be in a desperate situation.

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

He indeed had sufficient confidence, because what he was leading at this time was the Royal Third Infantry Division and his beloved Royal Horse Artillery Battalion.

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

He looked at Augereau again and said, "Actually, Koscowitz is just an appetizer. The main course is the Austrian army behind us. If I guessed correctly, Würmser will personally lead the army to come."

Augereau said nervously: "General, will our strength be too small? Maybe we should join forces with the troops in the Verona direction first…"

Napoleon smiled: "Do you know why I left Victor's corps behind? At that time, I could have let him evacuate Mantua with us."

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

"Beaulieu? Of course not, he has been frightened out of his wits. Even if a group of monkeys were dressed in French military uniforms, he would not dare to launch an attack," Napoleon said, "Victor's mission is to give Würmser 'confidence' and spread out his formation."

"At that time, our opportunity will appear."