Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 959 - 867 Mantua Offensive and Defensive Battle: First Relief

Chapter 959: Chapter 867 Mantua Offensive and Defensive Battle: First Relief

"As for Lieutenant Colonel Desai’s troops," Napoleon lightly flicked the reins and continued, "do you really think they’ve been carrying out sniper tasks in Verona all this time?"

Verona is the city north of Mantua. Over a month ago, Napoleon had Desai lead more than twenty thousand soldiers there, posing as if to delay Wilmze’s reinforcements.

Oreal asked in surprise, "Isn’t that the case? However, Desai’s Army has indeed slowed Wilmze’s march southward."

"Of course not. Three days after the Austrian reinforcements chose to bypass Verona, I ordered Lieutenant Colonel Desai to move along the Adige River to the east of Mantua."

The Adige River is Italy’s second-largest river, located north of Mantua.

And Verona is the most important crossing point in the middle of the Adige River. Controlling it can severely disrupt supplies from Austria to Mantua.

To bypass it, Wilmze had to cross the Adige River at Trento to the north, while the left flank bypassed south towards Mantua.

Of course, if the French Army relied too much on Verona and neglected their defenses, they could be suddenly surrounded by bypassing Austrian forces.

But no one expected that Napoleon would directly abandon Verona, this strategic point.

...

West of Lake Garda.

Wilmze, riding on horseback, was vividly outlining the blueprint of victory to a few officers beside him.

Yesterday, Bolieu had already submitted a report to Vienna, roughly stating, "Wilmze and he have repelled tens of thousands of French troops and successfully lifted the siege of Mantua, capturing large amounts of military supplies, and are currently continuing to pursue the French Army."

Wilmze admitted that the report was somewhat exaggerated, but it no longer mattered, as the victory he was about to achieve would far surpass that report.

By then, no one would be able to stop him from being made Marshal!

Yes, because of his less-than-perfect performance during the Brabant uprising in the Southern Netherlands a few years ago, he had been suppressed, still holding the rank of General even now.

He was almost seventy, and the Italian battlefield could be said to be his last chance for promotion.

At this moment, the faint sound of a military bugle suddenly came from the front.

Soon, an officer rushed to report to Wilmze: "General, our vanguard has encountered the French Army, about four to five thousand men."

Before Wilmze could react, another cavalryman came riding swiftly, loudly saying, "General, after Colonel Bonarotti engaged with the enemy, they have already routed."

A staff officer beside him wondered, "Four to five thousand French troops defeated so quickly?"

"Yes, Captain Ferrari, the enemy almost didn’t form ranks and was defeated immediately upon contact."

Wilmze tapped his palm with the handle of his riding whip, looking into the distance, he said, "Looks like we’ve caught up with Napoleon’s rear guard.

"Order the Bonarotti Corps to pursue immediately. Oh, have De Luca bring five hussar squadrons to assist in interception."

"Yes, General."

Wilmze then instructed the staff officer, "Issue orders to speed up the march and prepare for decisive battle."

The entire Austrian Army sped up immediately, seemingly worried that their slower pace would allow the Cosdanovic Army in Limoné to snatch their achievements.

Two hours later, another messenger reported to Wilmze: "General, the French in front are retreating westward. Colonel Bonarotti asks whether to continue pursuing?"

Wilmze laughed, "Cowardly Frenchmen, abandoning even their main forces. It seems the decisive battle will end soon. Tell Bonarotti to continue the pursuit, and have the Aquila Corps move to the vanguard."

Napoleon’s main force is to the north, so if the French rear guard is fleeing west, it’s like handing Napoleon’s rear to Wilmze.

After half a day, when the Austrian Army was just 22 kilometers from Limoné, someone was sent by Bonarotti to report to Wilmze, saying that the Victor Corps of the French enemies on the west side had built defenses near Idro, creating a stalemate with him.

Wilmze was suddenly displeased, frowning.

The Bonarotti Corps had nearly 6,000 men, plus five cavalry squadrons, amounting to 750 cavalry, yet they were stuck in a stalemate with four to five thousand routed French forces!

Wilmze hesitated for a moment and asked the staff officer beside him, "Still no trace of the enemy’s main force?"

"No, General," Captain Ferrari replied, "the hussars advanced more than two leagues northward without encountering the French Army."

He was referring to the Oli, roughly equivalent to 16 kilometers.

Wilmze nodded.

The west side of Idro is the Chiyes River, meaning that Victor’s French troops have no retreat path.

Resolving this French unit before the decisive battle with Napoleon could prevent them from causing disruption to his flank and boost morale with a victory.

With this in mind, he instructed the Order Officer, "The central troops move closer to Idro. The left-wing Ranieri’s Army assists Bonarotti in quickly eliminating the enemy there. Reinforcements will strengthen the left wing."

"Yes, General!"

At this moment, Wilmze was focused solely on devouring Victor’s Corps, without noticing that his large army had stretched into a long, narrow east-west formation.

Meanwhile, three hours before he dispatched his left-wing army to Idro, Napoleon suddenly launched a fierce attack on the Austrian Cosdanovic Army heading towards Mantua.

With the Royal Cavalry Artillery Battalion at his command, Napoleon felt like a bird regaining its wings.

With the cover of cavalry, 12 six-pound cannons, along with the main French infantry force, reached the southwest of Limoné, starting to bombard the Austrians who had just set up their combat formation with dense shells.

The Austrian Army had once enjoyed watching the French Cavalry Artillery bombard the Prussian Army in the Southern Netherlands; now that the shells were falling on them, they realized how painful it was.

The right wing of Cosdanovic’s line formation began to retreat under the cannon fire after only ten minutes.

Napoleon unhesitatingly launched an infantry column attack there, simultaneously using skirmishers to engage the enemy’s left wing.

French soldiers, equipped with bullet-proof inserts, dashed to about 60 paces from the Austrian right wing before transitioning to a horizontal formation, then broke the already unstable enemy with two volleys.

Napoleon immediately ordered the few cavalry to pursue the fleeing soldiers in depth, while the infantry turned east to help form a semi-encirclement of Cosdanovic’s main forces along with their central troops.

When Cosdanovic hurriedly redeployed his left-wing forces to reinforce the center, the French infantry, in coordination with the cavalry, completed the encirclement from the north, which was his rear.

Watching through his telescope as Austrian soldiers screamed and fled in all directions, Napoleon leisurely turned and instructed his attendant, "Constant, fetch me a cup of coffee."

"Shall I add some brandy for you, General?"

"Oh, yes, thank you."

Napoleon then saw that the cavalry artillery had moved to the east side of the battlefield, using grapeshot to block the Austrians escaping in that direction, prompting him to sigh with satisfaction; commanding such elite troops in battle was simply a joy.