Chapter 775: 'Workaholic' Napoleon
Chapter 776: 'Workaholic' Napoleon
Joubert's eyes immediately lit up with delight. He hadn't expected the enemy to actually circle all the way around from the north side of Vence, practically delivering themselves into his hands.
For a while now, he had harbored doubts about Napoleon's orders, but at this moment, all he felt was profound admiration.
Northwest of Cagnes Town.
Victor had just gotten out of bed and hadn't even had a chance to wash up when he faintly heard gunshots coming from the town.
The sounds were much clearer than before, indicating that the engagement was very close to his position.
He was greatly astonished. The Austrian army had indeed circled around to attack the west side of Cagnes, just as Lieutenant Colonel Napoleon had predicted.
Without waiting for a scout to report, he dropped his toothbrush and called out to the orderly's tent:
"Martino, sound the bugle, assemble the troops! Quick, our chance to strike has come!"
Victor galloped out on horseback, waving to his soldiers as he declared:
"The Austrian army has exposed their backs to us! This is a prime opportunity to earn glory! Forward!"
Inside Cagnes Town, the sudden appearance of an Austrian grenadier battalion on their flank threw the French defenders into disarray.
The officer commanding the defense exclaimed that things were dire and hurriedly led the reserves personally to the west side to repel the enemy.
However, the defensive forces there were far too weak; in less than an hour, the hastily constructed outer fences of the town had all been breached.
Caretto watched the hundreds of French soldiers huddling and trembling by the main road outside the town, then ordered his grenadier battalion to form a column and launch a general assault with the support of skirmishers.
As the Austrian drums began to beat, Caretto was discussing with his staff how to coordinate with General Provera to sandwich the French forces on the east side of Cagnes Town once they broke through, when he suddenly sensed something was off with the drumming.
He turned his head and couldn't help but frown slightly. 'Why does it sound like there are drums to the north as well?'
A sudden jolt ran through him, and he roared at his staff officer:
"Enemy attack!"
In truth, it wasn't Sebottendorf's or Caretto's scouts who were derelict in their duty; it was simply that Napoleon's arrangements were meticulously flawless.
He had previously kept Victor's legion and others positioned more than ten kilometers away from the engagement site, only moving them towards their predetermined ambush points after the Austrian attack had begun.
This was primarily because he could precisely determine the critical points of engagement; otherwise, stationing troops so far from the battlefield would be tantamount to gifting the enemy a major advantage.
Austrian cavalry had diligently scouted more than 6 miles ahead, but the reports sent back to Beaulieu consistently stated that there were no signs of any French forces nearby.
Beaulieu, in turn, had formulated what he considered an extremely sound operational plan based on these reports.
At this moment, if one possessed an omniscient perspective, they would see two infantry lines, several hundred meters long, unfolding behind the Austrian troops attacking the west side of Cagnes Town, completely sealing off all nearby roads.
Meanwhile, Sebottendorf's legion, circling to advance on Toulon, was unknowingly heading straight into Joubert's embrace...
Near Levens, 20 kilometers north of Nice, Napoleon was bent over a desk, calculating something, occasionally turning his head to his aide to say:
"The Lyon Legion's ammunition reserves are nowhere near enough...
"The Montpellier army's winter coats are too thin. Are those really supposed to be winter coats? The Notary Investigation Bureau should really look into their quartermasters...
"Oh, the Moulins Legion's ammunition needs a separate resupply; that's quite a bother. Perhaps you should return to Paris and discuss it with General Staff Headquarters, to transfer some Copper Percussion Caps from the direct legions to them..."
The aide nodded repeatedly, jotting notes down rapidly in his book.
He had grown accustomed to the methods of this workaholic commander. The latter personally oversaw almost everything, down to whether a soldier's buttons were intact.
While this ensured that the legion faced no issues in any detail—Lieutenant Colonel Napoleon's managerial abilities were undoubtedly genius-level—it also created a new problem: his personal handling of all army matters, large and small, was highly inefficient. After all, one's energy is limited. Even if he only slept five hours a day, he couldn't possibly deal with everything in a timely manner.
More than half an hour later, Napoleon finally finished signing the piles of documents on his desk, rubbing his wrist as he told his attendant:
"Please bring my coffee. The reports from Vence should be arriving soon, so I need to catch a quick rest."
Soon, an exquisite, oriental-style porcelain cup was placed before him, its rich coffee aroma filling the entire tent.
The attendant used tongs to pick up sugar cubes and drop them into the cup. Napoleon, watching, nodded with a continuous smile:
"More, yes, a little more."
Only after a third of the cup was filled with sugar cubes did the Lieutenant Colonel pick up the nearby brandy bottle with satisfaction, pouring the amber liquid into the coffee, then signaling his attendant with his eyes.
The attendant used a burning sliver of wood to ignite the brandy floating atop the sugar cubes. Immediately, red and blue flames danced, releasing a heady aroma of spirits, and the coffee cup transformed into a shimmering work of art.
Once the flames subsided, Napoleon gently blew on it, took a leisurely sip, and narrowed his eyes in contentment.
This was his self-invented way of drinking coffee, and his second favorite indulgence on the battlefield, surpassed only by taking a bath.
'Hm, from this, one can tell he wasn't exactly a devout Catholic. Truth be told, he'd sooner put his faith in cannons.'
Just as his coffee cup was nearing empty, Major Augereau entered the tent, placed a letter on his desk, and spoke in a tone of consultation:
"Lieutenant Colonel Napoleon, Baron Deville has requested reinforcements twice now. Perhaps, to be safe, we should send more troops to Vence."
Napoleon drained the last drop of coffee, nodded contentedly, and then looked at Augereau. "Please believe me, Vence's defenses are very stable."
"But you know, the enemy's main left flank is entirely concentrated there..."
"I've faced the Austrian army many times and I'm very familiar with their fighting capabilities. Oh, and that's their Royal German Legion, which is even stronger than the Hungarian Legion led by Sebottendorf."
"They have no conviction for a decisive battle at all. The moment they suffer a few casualties, they start thinking about retreating."
"I've already instructed Lieutenant Colonel Deville that as long as he manages his soldiers' attrition, holding out for more than ten days won't be an issue."
Augereau took a deep breath. "But what about after ten days?"
"Beaulieu certainly believes he has a significant numerical advantage—and yes, his army is indeed larger—so he'll never be content with a slow advance."
"If he can't breach Vence within a week, he will definitely choose to bypass it and attack Toulon instead."
"Of course, this also stems from his concern that we might deploy more forces to defend the Toulon fortress."
In reality, Napoleon had also stationed a reserve force of 700 men west of Vence; if Deville made a mistake, these troops would fill any gaps in Vence's defense.
Furthermore, should an emergency arise in Vence, several hundred members of Monaco's royal guard would also rush to assist, as he had placed the Prince of Monaco in the town of Biot, not far from Vence.
Therefore, he had merely calculated his troop deployments with extreme precision, rather than taking any unnecessary risks.
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