Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 1307: Chapter 1212: Master of Battlefield Coordination

Radetzky hurriedly said, “Marshal, the enemy is clearly attempting to control Trento to alleviate the defensive pressure on Mantua.”

Trento is located northwest of Venice, bordered by the Alps to the north; the city actually sits on a hillside. If the French Army occupies it, they can easily move south along the Adige River to harass Verona, or emerge east through the Dolomites Pass to threaten Vicenza and the area to the north.

Chief of Staff Verossi cautiously reminded, “But cavalry scouts report there are only a little over a thousand soldiers…”

Archduke Karl immediately waved his hand, “There must be a larger force near them.”

Indeed, although the Austrian Cuirassiers only discovered a little more than a thousand French troops, they did not dare to be complacent. This army was comprised entirely of tall soldiers equipped with expensive warhorses and flew the Dolphin Iris Banner.

The Austrians often saw them near the Mantua Fortress—the Crown Prince of France’s trusted aide Grenadier Battalion.

Their appearance indicated the Crown Prince of France should be on the way to Trento.

And it was impossible for him not to have other main force units around him.

Archduke Karl looked at Verossi, “How many soldiers do we have in Trento?”

“Around 6,000 soldiers.”

Archduke Karl hesitated slightly and ordered, “Move 7,000 soldiers from Primolano and Mas to assist in the defense.”

“Also, have the Bajahaza Corps head to Perry to provide reinforcements for Trento at any time.”

The town of Perry is already midway along Lake Garda, at the far west side of the Mantua defensive line. Although it’s convenient for aiding Trento, stationing there will inevitably affect the assault on Mantua.

Suddenly Radetzky squinted his eyes and said to Archduke Karl, “Marshal, since the French have moved large numbers of troops away from the Mantua defensive line, we can use this opportunity to launch a strong attack.”

Archduke Karl frowned slightly upon hearing this.

According to his plan, Blucher should have arrived in Lombardy a few days ago and joined forces with the Sardinian Army.

That would be the right moment for him to initiate a full-scale assault.

Yet until now, Lombardy remained as calm as ever.

Weighing his options on whether to launch an independent strong attack on the Ming River defensive line, he heard his attendant knocking and entering, bowing slightly and saying, “Marshal, someone has sent news from the ’South’.”

Finally, it arrived. Archduke Karl felt much more at ease. ’South’ was the term the Allied Forces’ staff department used for Lombardy.

He took the sealed message from the attendant, checked the cipher code was correct, and immediately couldn’t wait to open it, then froze in place.

The message was sent by the Sardinian Intelligence Department, stating thousands of French troops suddenly occupied the St. Gotthard Pass, and there had been fierce fighting there a few days ago.

After a while, he darkly handed the letter to Verossi beside him.

The Chief of Staff was shocked, “Could it be… the Prussian Corps has been blocked in Switzerland?”

Archduke Karl took a deep breath in frustration. Without the cooperation of the Blücher Corps, he would only be able to fight a major battle of attrition at Mantua.

Casualties are secondary; more troublesome is that the battle at Mantua could drag on for a long time because of this.

The Empire is fighting overseas, with a massive mobilization scale; the longer the war lasts, the more disadvantageous it is for the Empire.

He must find a way to help the Prussian Army break through the pass’s blockade!

Archduke Karl suddenly thought that Sardinia had more than 20,000 troops available; he could send someone to coordinate a simultaneous attack on the pass from inside and outside with Blücher and the Sardinian Army.

The French Army has only around 10,000 troops and is unprepared against the Sardinians, certainly to be caught off guard.

By then, the Prussian Army would likely be able to break through.

He quickly calculated the communication speed in his mind and then personally drafted two secret letters to be sent to both Switzerland and Sardinia.

From Verona to Zurich is over 500 kilometers, but the message could first be sent to Innsbruck, using the Sharp Signal Tower there to relay it to Constance, and then sent to Zurich, a process that can be completed in 5 days.

Allowing time for Blucher to traverse the St. Gotthard Pass, a flanking attack could be launched in about 20 days. ᴛʜs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀ s ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛ ʙʏ NoveIꜰire.net

The next day, while Archduke Karl and his senior generals were formulating a plan for a total assault on Mantua, a staff officer suddenly walked briskly into the conference room with a serious expression, “Marshal, Baron Vernick was ambushed by the French north of Monte Cio yesterday afternoon. His corps now has fewer than 10,000 soldiers left.”

Archduke Karl stood in disbelief, “Are you saying, Monte Cio?”

This small town lies northeast of Verona, essentially behind his command post. The French dared to venture there to launch an ambush, and it was a large-scale one, at that.

The Vernick Corps had 29,000 soldiers, meaning more than two-thirds were lost!

The staff officer bowed his head and said, “General Vernick reports it this way. He also said that 30,000 French troops are continuing to head north.”

Archduke Karl turned towards the map, instantly furrowing his brow, “Damnit, they’re heading to Treviso!”

Nevertheless, he was Austria’s premier general; quickly regaining his composure, he instructed Verossi, “Immediately dispatch four Cavalry Corps from Verona and Nogara to pursue the enemy at Treviso.

“Additionally, deploy Prince Schwarzenberg’s troops to Vallestania; Belgard Corps is responsible for Tiene, and Prince Heixinggen for Piazzola…”

Under Archduke Karl’s deployment, over 65,000 Austrian troops established a tight defense along the Brenta River, effectively trapping the French forces that ambushed Vernick in the north of Venice.

Complementing the Austrian forces already near Treviso, the total troop commitment for this operation exceeded 80,000.

Ultimately, Archduke Karl gave another stern order, “This French force must be annihilated within 20 days, then return to the Ming River line.”

Yet, as if to test his ability to manage troop movements, new battlefield intelligence arrived by afternoon, announcing a French Army was besieging Padua, where troops were scarce and had once pushed to the outskirts.

Archduke Karl felt a headache rising.

Padua is in the east of Venice; how did the French manage to deploy so many troops for ambushes?

He clenched his fists and quickly dispatched Mikhailovich with 10,000 soldiers to reinforce Padua.

He did not notice that at this moment, only just over 50,000 soldiers remained along the Mantua line.

…

Outside Padua.

Victor was not focused on the combat but rather anxiously watching the west.

The ammunition he carried was insufficient to complete the siege, and he knew that there were three intersecting rivers nearby. He had to retreat before Austrian reinforcements arrived; otherwise, he risked being surrounded in this area.

On the fourth day of the siege, cavalry scouts finally reported to him that Austrian troops had reached the town of Teolo over 20 kilometers west.