Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 960 - 868 The Battle of Mantua: Napoleon’s Raid

No wonder Napoleon would have such an exclamation, the highest quality troops he had before were the Lyon Corps, which wasn’t considered top-notch in the old army.

There were even several thousand recruits who had been in training for less than half a year.

Even so, he swept across more than half of Northern Italy.

Now he holds the Royal Third Infantry Division, which is like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, winning battles effortlessly.

By the time he finished a cup of coffee, Cosdanovic’s command flag in the distance had already fallen.

The soldiers of the Austrian Army’s right wing, which was the first to be attacked, began to kneel and beg for surrender in droves.

Napoleon looked at his pocket watch and said to the staff officer: "You see, I told Mr. Ogero that half a day was more than enough. Hmm, in fact, we only used a little over 5 hours.

"By the way, has there been any new news from Victor?"

"Not yet, General. But based on time estimates, Lieutenant Colonel Victor should have retreated to Idro by now."

Napoleon nodded: "Order the soldiers to rest for half a day at Limone, tomorrow morning we will teach Wilmze a lesson. Oh, and establish contact with Marmon’s Army, find out where they are now.

"Also, have the cavalry closely seal the roads to the south."

"Yes, General."

Napoleon was still very confident in Victor, who was leading the Corsican Legion and the Lyon Corps. After half a year of fighting in Italy, these troops had gained rich combat experience, holding off the Austrians for a day or two was not a problem.

Moreover, he had already ordered defensive lines to be set up in Idro in advance.

Add to that the fact that it would take Marmon’s Army quite some time to come up from Cremona in the south.

Yes, from the moment he withdrew from the siege of the Mantua Fortress to intercept Cosdanovic, he anticipated that the Austrians would send a large army to pursue him.

And he made strategic deployments in response.

At the same time, Desai’s Army, which had been staying in Verona, also began to move south.

According to the established battle plan, he would bypass the Po River and besiege the Mantua Fortress once more. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

By noon the next day.

Wilmze received another report that the French Army at Idro was still holding on, which made him curse in anger.

If this delay continued, Napoleon’s main force might realize something was wrong and flee back to Milan!

He thought for a moment and then sent an additional 3,000 soldiers to Idro, telling Order Officer to inform Bonarotti that if Victor’s forces were not eliminated by nightfall, he would await dismissal.

Less than half an hour after his orders were issued, he suddenly heard the sound of cannon fire coming from the east.

And it wasn’t just one or two cannons, it was an intense roar.

Wilmze was momentarily stunned.

Cavalry had scouted the north just yesterday afternoon, and there were no enemy forces within at least two miles, so who was firing these shots?

Soon, the commander of the right flanking Austrian corps sent cavalry to clear his confusion.

The man ran to him with a frantic expression, shouting loudly: "General, several thousand French Army soldiers suddenly attacked us..."

Wilmze’s heart tightened, where did these French people come from?

He had indeed conducted a meticulous reconnaissance of the northern side, knowing that Napoleon’s main force was there, but he hadn’t anticipated that Napoleon had already stationed Marmon near Cremona, south of Lake Garda, a week earlier.

It was Marmon’s Army of over 5,000 who had now reached and when the Austrian cavalry discovered them, they were less than 3 kilometers from the Austrian right flank.

Meanwhile, Wilmze’s main forces were positioned on the left flank, besieging Victor. When the right flank was hit by Marmon’s surprise attack, it immediately fell into a bitter struggle.

Wilmze had already used even his reserve forces earlier, and now he had no troops left to redirect to the right wing, so he hurriedly recalled the 3,000 troops dispatched to Idro, and after some thought, worried it wouldn’t be sufficient, he ordered Ranieri’s Army to return for additional support.

However, before the order officer sent to Idro even saw Ranieri, more bad news came from the Austrian right wing.

This time, the arriving cavalryman was covered in blood, and after reaching Wilmze, he almost collapsed, handing over Commander Alves’s letter: "General, the French Army has appeared behind us, numbering over 10,000. General Alves says he can’t hold on any longer."

It was Napoleon’s main force coming from the north near Limone.

Wilmze dared not hesitate any longer and immediately ordered the center army to move eastward to support Alves’s army.

Whether this maneuver would sever the army’s left and right flanks was not a concern at the moment.

When he led his center army of more than 15,000 to the east, he encountered Alves’s fleeing troops after less than 4 kilometers.

Wilmze stopped several fleeing officers, and upon questioning, learned that his right flank had already been defeated.

Yes, Alves had only over 6,000 troops, which couldn’t withstand Napoleon’s nearly triple forces attacking from two sides.

Wilmze was shocked and hurriedly ordered the troops to turn toward Idro to regroup with his left wing for a counterattack.

But Napoleon gave him no chance.

He left Juno with 2,000 soldiers to continue entangling with Alves’s remnant forces, while he himself charged directly at Wilmze’s center column.

At the same time, the French Victor’s Corps at Idro noticed the enemy starting to withdraw, realizing that General Napoleon had launched an attack as planned, so they immediately ordered a counterattack on the Austrian forces in front of them.

The Austrian forces besieging them found themselves in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat, and hesitated, leading to their being consistently pushed back by Victor.

Napoleon’s main forces encountered Wilmze around 4 p.m.

The French Army soldiers, who had been fighting for most of the day, showed no signs of fatigue and immediately deployed their formation, led by the mounted artillery, attacking the Austrian forces from the north and south directions.

The soldiers of these affiliated corps had undergone years of training with 5-kilometer loaded cross-country runs, and in terms of physical endurance, no army in all of Europe could match them.

Wilmze, however, remained calm and swiftly set up defensive positions, personally leading his guard to the front lines to supervise the battle, barely holding on until nightfall.

Under the moonlight, Wilmze first inspected the wounded, confirming that more than 17,000 soldiers were still capable of fighting, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The French Army was no more than 20,000 strong, as long as he could steadily withdraw, there should be an opportunity to retreat back to the Mantua Fortress.

He returned to his tent, ready to discuss the next day’s battle plan with his officers, when a few guards brought a man in farmer’s garb to the tent entrance.

Wilmze looked at the "farmer’s" credentials and immediately asked, "Does Marshal Boliue have something for me?"

Yes, that man was the one who came from the Mantua Fortress.

The "farmer" said in a hoarse voice: "General, the Ulm Corps was intercepted by the enemy yesterday afternoon and is currently blocked on the east bank of the Adige River.

"Additionally, over 10,000 French troops have surrounded Mantua..."

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