Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 1296: Chapter 1201: The Initiative Is Mine

“It is evident that the French have realized our main attack direction is in Northern Italy.” Archduke Karl glanced around the conference room at the officers, “Their Crown Prince is on his way, and the morale of the French Army will be reinvigorated by his arrival.”

He turned and knocked on the map at the location of Mantua: “Therefore, we must conquer the entire area north of Mantua before he arrives with reinforcements!”

The Austrian Army’s surprise attack has already had a very good effect, catching the French people unprepared. The next step is to expand the advantage as much as possible.

Archduke Karl quickly began to deploy the subsequent battle:

“Right flank, Vilmze Corps, advance along the Alps, swiftly occupy Trento and the areas to the west.

“Left flank, Milius Corps, responsible for attacking Padua. There should be one infantry division of the French Army there…

“Prince Schwarzenberg, lead the 12th and 15th Guard divisions, and insert into the west side of Verona city…”

After a brief three-day rest, the Austrian Army launched a full-scale assault on several major towns north of the Mantua Fortress.

Much like the previous battle of Udine, the French Fifth Army Group stationed in Verona and other areas were completely unable to withstand the Austrian Army, which was several times their size, and their Wind Gun volleys, dense as a torrential rainstorm, and retreated continuously from Belluno.

In just half a month, the Austrian Army’s vanguard appeared on the north bank of the Ming River—here one could already see the cannons on the Mantua Fortress.

And the Crown Prince of France finally arrived in Mantua, raising the number of defenders here to about 100,000.

Of course, this is merely a show of force.

In reality, Joseph only brought less than 3,000 soldiers.

At this time, the Mantua-Ming River-Lake Garda frontline was composed of the French Fifth Army Group and the 12th Infantry Division, as well as 14,000 soldiers from countries like Milan and Modena.

Total troop strength was only 65,000.

However, after Archduke Karl conducted a probing attack on the Mantua Fortress and encountered fierce firepower from the French Army, he became convinced that the Crown Prince of France had brought an Army Group for reinforcement.

He was not confident in capturing a fortress defended by 100,000 French troops with 180,000 men—even if he could take it, it was bound to result in significant losses.

But he was not in a hurry either, because the initial strategic objective had already been accomplished, exerting pressure on Mantua with heavy forces.

Furthermore, he had anticipated the current situation before the Allied Forces held the Vienna operation meeting and proposed a plan to address it.

Looking at the latest battle reports sent to him, Archduke Karl’s stern face flashed with a satisfied smile.

After the start of the war, the Prussian Army feigned attacks on Baden, preventing the French from easily withdrawing nearly 100,000 troops in the Karlsruhe direction.

But General Blucher should already be leading the main force south to Stockach, expected to gain control of Zurich in a few days.

After which, the French will be busy dealing with the 50,000 German mercenaries commanded by British General Thomas Picton, who will continuously harass the Rhineland region.

By the time the French react, General Blucher’s 60,000 Prussian Army and more than 20,000 Hanoverian soldiers will swiftly pass through Switzerland and enter the Italian heartland, Lombardy, through St. Gotthard Pass.

At that time, the 180,000 main force of the Austrian Army, combined with the 80,000 tactical forces led by Blucher, will form a pincer attack on Mantua, confidently capturing Italy’s strongest fortress soon.

Subsequently, the Allied Forces can choose to penetrate deep into the French heartland in Eastern Burgundy from the Swiss direction, or attack the Port of Toulon from the south. The initiative of the war will firmly be in the hands of the Allied Forces!

…

Meanwhile, as the Austrian Army achieved a great victory at Udine, British commander Sir John Moore led twenty thousand British troops from Hanover, using the “Dutch betrayal of the Anglo-Dutch Alliance” as a pretext to quickly cross the flat terrain of Heilongjiang and launched an attack on the core of the Netherlands, Utrecht.

The British North Sea Fleet also imposed a blockade on the Dutch coast.

If it was a few years ago, the Dutch Parliament would have undoubtedly surrendered long ago. However, after the incident of the Dutch East India Company stock plunge, the Dutch people’s perception of Britain has sharply deteriorated.

Under protest from the Dutch populace, the Dutch Parliament had no choice but to muster limited troops for defense along the dense waterways.

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During the Battle of Alexandria, General Moore commanded the British left wing, and his elite troops, including the Gloucester County Regiment and the Black Watch Highlanders, fought like demons in the ruins. General Moore patrolled the front lines, shouting orders, responding with his tactical genius to the swirls on the dusty battlefield. His exemplary leadership led his outnumbered troops to hold their ground and counter more enemy forces.

When the Gloucester County Regiment was surrounded by two French units, they performed excellently. As both the front and back rows fought simultaneously, the Gloucester family received the command; “Front row will maintain position, rear row will pivot left and right”—they fought fiercely front and back, overcoming the French. Meanwhile, General Moore oversaw the Black Watch as they captured Bonaparte’s ’invincible’ standard.

I have always believed that General John Moore might be the finest officer of his generation, having built the army Wellington used to defeat Napoleon; his military doctrines have withstood the test of time, and his tower fortresses are a monument to the giant John Moore throughout the world.

General John Moore died knowing he achieved his most iconic victory during his epic retreat to Spain’s Corunna, his command executing shocking and destructive rear-guard actions, ambushing and annihilating entire French units amidst repeated assaults. Ultimately, Moore reached Corunna with his entire army intact, then turned his back to the sea and created a tactical miracle in the Battle of Corunna. Sadly, this relatively young genius general died along with around 900 of his commanders, who heroically fought and defeated a much larger French army, losing more than 2000 soldiers in Corunna alone.

I have always thought of John Moore as a forgotten giant; I’ve written short stories about his life, and undoubtedly many of my old readers remember my incessant talk about how unbelievably impactful Sir John Moore’s life was, how his wisdom enabled him to achieve lasting greatness during his brief time. Moore would have defeated Napoleon, possibly even more challenging than Wellington… Yes, I’m still fighting for the Gloucester County Regiment. Follow current novels on novlfire.net

Napoleon commented on John Moore this way: “He alone, with his talent and resolve, saved the British Army in [Spain] from destruction; he was a brave soldier, an excellent officer, a brilliant man. He made some mistakes, which may have been tied to the difficulties surrounding him.”