I Am the Crown Prince in France - Chapter 781

Chapter 777 Genius

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As Napoleon was talking, an officer came in and reported:

“Sir Commander, there is news just sent from the direction of Vence. The main force of the Sebotendorf Army has left Vence and is detouring around Saint-Jean.”

Napoleon cast a proud look at Augereau, as if to say, “Look, everything is happening according to my ‘script’.”

Most of Augereau’s doubts about Napoleon’s commanding ability as a young officer were immediately dissipated.

He stood upright and said: “Obviously, you are right, Lieutenant Colonel Buwanaba. Now, I have to assemble the troops.”

According to Napoleon’s arrangement, once the Austrian army on the Vence side starts to move, they will attack southward here.

Napoleon deployed old-style armies in Vence and Cagnes, but the most effective Moulins Army in his hands had been waiting in Levan, 20 kilometers away from the main Austrian army.

All of this is to avoid being discovered by the Austrian cavalry.

Joseph used his understanding of historical trends, advanced military concepts, and powerful weapons and equipment to lead the French army to victory. Napoleon used his genius military command ability to defeat the enemy

Therefore, all Joseph allocated to him were the lowest legions in the French army – it was a waste to give the emperor a powerful new army. He could defeat his opponents with these old armies!

Napoleon looked at his watch, stood up and said to the guard: “Load my luggage into the carriage. We have one hour to set off.”

“Yes, sir.”

…

Sebotendorf had lunch in the town of Saint-Jean, and then continued his march westward.

He knew that he would face a fierce battle at the Toulon Fortress, and he had to let the soldiers rest as much as possible on the way to restore their physical strength.

However, just after his army had walked two or three kilometers, five cannons suddenly appeared from behind the northwest slope and began to pour shells in his direction.

The position of those cannons was very good, and they could cover most of the positions of the Austrian army, and there was a dense forest in front of them. If you wanted to attack there, you had to make a large circle from the west and go up a small road.

Yes, this is the artillery position selected by the emperor himself. It is definitely a “feng shui treasure” for the artillery.

The fierce shelling caused chaos in the Austrian army. Sebotendorf hurriedly ordered the troops to shrink towards Saint-Jean, but then, the rhythmic sound of military drums came from the north.

More than 3,000 soldiers of the Joubert Corps formed three neat infantry lines and were approaching more than 800 steps away.

They had been staying here before, and Sebotendorf came up on his own.

If the Austrian cavalry hadn’t discovered them, Joubert even planned to wait until all the Austrian troops had passed before attacking from behind the enemy.

It’s just that Joubert knew the quality of his soldiers, so he could only attack in a line array – a column attack had higher requirements on soldiers. If they were not well trained, they would probably fall into chaos after rushing in front of the enemy.

But even in the face of the slowly advancing line formation, Sebotendorf had no time to convert the marching column into a dense defense formation, not to mention the constant roar of French artillery on the high ground beside him.

He looked at the soldiers running around him, and he had only one thought in his mind: Where did these French troops come from?

The battle lasted for more than two hours, and Joubert successfully cut off the Sebotendorf Army in the middle.

Sebotendorf returned to the town of Saint-Jean with 3,000 remaining troops, while the remaining nearly 5,000 troops were blocked on the west side. Under the continuous bombardment of French artillery fire, they were never able to organize an effective defensive formation. …

Meanwhile, the battle for the town of Cagne was drawing to a close.

After all, a fierce battle broke out here since early morning. Carretto’s grenadier battalion and the skirmisher battalion that cooperated with him were quickly defeated by the French army behind them. Then Victor’s Army and the Cagne garrison launched an attack on Provera on the east side of the town. Counterattack.

Provera was completely unprepared to be attacked by a superior enemy force – after losing the skirmishers, he only had 4,000 soldiers left. After the merger, Victor already has more than 5,000 people.

The Austrian army was still organizing columns to attack the French army outside the town. Suddenly, Victor led two cavalry squadrons to rush out from the north side of the town and hit Provera’s right wing.

The column formations that could not support each other were immediately broken up by the cavalry, and the French infantry in the town of Cagne took the opportunity to rush out.

…

Beaulieu received two requests for reinforcements within an hour of each other, and was stunned.

If he could still accept the shock brought by the sudden appearance of 20,000 French troops, then the timing and location of the French attack made him fall into deep fear.

His first reaction was to order his staff to strictly investigate spies in the army, especially officers. Otherwise, how could the French know the movements of his troops so clearly.

Beaulieu then summoned his officers to hold a combat meeting.

After the staff quickly explained the situation on the front line, Beaulieu looked at the fat officer in front of him:

“Major General Dannenfield, you immediately lead Ratman’s Brigade and two skirmisher regiments to Vence for reinforcements.”

In Beaulieu’s view, he already had a military advantage, and Sebotendorf and the others were just poorly prepared for the French army’s sudden attack.

If the Vence front can be stabilized and the battle can be brought into a steady rhythm, the French troops will never be their opponent.

Beaulieu looked at Sardinian Army Commander Colli again:

“You are responsible for the defense of the line from Nice to the Catibona Pass. In addition, you need to conduct more reconnaissance. I am worried that the French will launch a surprise attack.”

A correct version!

“Yes, Marshal!” Colli stood at attention.

He knew very well that the Catibona Pass was not only the supply line of the army, but also the retreat route. So Marshal Beaulieu allocated him more than 10,000 soldiers to ensure the safety here.

“As for the direction of Cagnes.” Beaulieu pondered, “Let General Provera withdraw.”

Cagnes was originally a coastal supply route, which was convenient for the troops stationed in Toulon to receive logistical supplies from British transport ships in the future.

For now, it is acceptable to give up temporarily.

Soon, the Austrian military camp became busy.

Pitoli von Dannenfeld led 10,000 troops to help Vence, and Colli went to the east to stabilize the supply line.

The Austrian army near Vence moved eastward, trying to meet up with the reinforcements.

At the same time, Napoleon personally led the Moulins Corps and his direct Corsican Corps, a total of 9,000 people, to the west of Nice at a very fast speed.

At two o’clock in the afternoon of the next day.

Napoleon, who was 8 kilometers northwest of Nice, frowned when he heard the report of the cavalry.

“The Austrians are too slow.”

He looked at Augereau beside him: “So we have to stay here until tomorrow morning.”

According to his estimate, he should encounter the Austrian troops reinforcing Vence or the Sebottendorf Corps withdrawing from Vence this afternoon.

But the slow marching speed of the Austrian army put him in an awkward position.

If he entered the position in advance, he would probably be discovered by the Austrian cavalry.