Novels online

Chapter 776: Genius

Just as Napoleon was speaking, an officer entered to report:

"Commander, fresh news from Vence: General Sebottendorf's main force has departed Vence and is detouring via Saint-Jeannet."

Napoleon shot Augereau a triumphant look, as if to say, 'See? It's all unfolding according to my script.'

Augereau's doubts about the young officer Napoleon's command abilities largely dissipated at once.

He snapped to attention and declared, "Clearly, you are correct, Lieutenant Colonel Buonaparte. Now, I must go assemble the troops."

According to Napoleon's plan, once the Austrian forces near Vence began to move, their own unit here was to launch an attack south.

Napoleon had stationed old-style armies in Vence and Cagnes, while the most combat-capable unit, the Moulins Legion, waited at Levens, 20 kilometers away from the main Austrian forces.

All of this was to prevent Austrian cavalry from discovering their movements.

Joseph utilized his knowledge of historical trends, advanced military concepts, and powerful weaponry to lead the French army to victory. Napoleon, on the other hand, defeated enemies with his genius military command.

That was why Joseph allocated him the French army's bottom-tier legions—giving powerful new armies to Emperor Napoleon would be a waste, as he could conquer his opponents with these older units alone!

Napoleon checked his watch, then stood and told his aide, "Load my luggage onto the carriage. We depart in one hour."

"Yes, sir."

...

Sebottendorf had lunch in Saint-Jeannet and then continued his westward march at a leisurely pace.

He knew a fierce battle awaited them at the Toulon fortress, so he needed his soldiers to rest as much as possible on the way to recover their strength.

However, his grand army had barely advanced two or three kilometers when five cannons suddenly appeared from behind a slope to the northwest, beginning to rain shells down on them.

The cannons were positioned perfectly, covering most of the Austrian forces' location. In front of them was a dense forest, making any direct attack impossible. To reach them, one would have to make a wide detour to the west and then climb a small path.

Indeed, this was an artillery position personally chosen by Emperor Napoleon—an absolute "ideal spot" for artillerymen.

The fierce bombardment threw the Austrian army into disarray. Sebottendorf hurriedly ordered his troops to withdraw towards Saint-Jeannet, but then, a rhythmic drumbeat echoed from the north.

Joubert's legion, consisting of over 3,000 soldiers, had formed three neat infantry line formations and was already closing in from over 800 paces away.

They had been holed up there earlier, and Sebottendorf had walked right into their trap.

Had the Austrian cavalry not discovered them, Joubert had even planned to wait for the entire Austrian army to pass before launching an attack from their rear.

However, Joubert was aware of the quality of his soldiers, so he could only attack in a line formation. Column attacks required a higher level of soldier training; if training was insufficient, the troops could easily fall into disarray before even reaching the enemy.

But even facing the slowly advancing line formation, Sebottendorf had no time to transform his marching columns into a dense defensive formation, especially with the French cannons roaring incessantly from the high ground beside them.

Watching his soldiers scrambling in every direction, he had only one thought: 'Where did these French troops come from?'

The battle lasted about two hours, and Joubert successfully cut Sebottendorf's legion in half.

Sebottendorf retreated with 3,000 remnants of his soldiers to Saint-Jeannet. The remaining nearly 5,000 troops were blocked to the west and, under continuous bombardment from French artillery, never managed to organize an effective defensive formation...

Meanwhile, the battle in Cagnes was nearing its end.

After all, fierce fighting had erupted here since early morning. Carletto's grenadier battalion and the skirmisher battalion supporting him were quickly routed by the French forces behind them. Then, Victor's legion and the Cagnes garrison launched a counterattack on Provera to the east of the town.

Provera was utterly unprepared for an attack by a numerically superior enemy—after losing his skirmisher battalion, he had only 4,000 soldiers left. Victor's combined forces, on the other hand, numbered over 5,000.

The Austrian army was still organizing column attacks on the French forces outside the town when Victor suddenly led two cavalry squadrons charging out from the north side of the town, striking directly at Provera's right flank.

The isolated column formations, unable to support each other, were immediately broken by the cavalry charge, and the French infantry from within Cagnes seized the opportunity to surge out.

...

Beaulieu received two requests for reinforcement within an hour, leaving him dumbfounded.

While he could accept the shock of the sudden appearance of 20,000 French troops, the timing and location of the French attacks plunged him into deep dread.

His first reaction was to order his staff to thoroughly investigate spies within the army, especially among officers, for how else could the French be so precisely aware of his troops' movements.

Afterward, Beaulieu gathered his officers and convened a war council.

After a quick briefing on the front-line situation by his staff, Beaulieu looked at the slightly corpulent officer before him:

"Major General Dannenfeld, immediately lead Rathmann's Brigade and two skirmisher regiments to reinforce Vence."

In Beaulieu's view, he still held a numerical advantage; Sebottendorf and his men were simply unprepared for the sudden French assault.

If they could stabilize the Vence front and bring the battle into a methodical pace, the French forces would be no match for his own.

Beaulieu then looked at Colli, the commander of the Sardinian legion:

"You are responsible for the defense of the line from Nice to Cadibona Pass. Additionally, conduct extensive reconnaissance; I fear the French may launch more surprise attacks."

"Yes, Marshal!" Colli replied, snapping to attention.

He understood clearly that Cadibona Pass was both the army's supply line and its retreat route. That was why Marshal Beaulieu had allocated him over 10,000 soldiers to ensure its security.

"As for the Cagnes direction," Beaulieu mused, "let General Provera withdraw."

Cagnes was originally intended as a coastal supply route, convenient for the Toulon garrison to receive logistical supplies from British transports in the future.

For now, abandoning it temporarily was acceptable.

Soon, the Austrian camp became a flurry of activity.

Pitolli von Dannenfeld led 10,000 troops to reinforce Vence, while Colli went east to secure the supply line.

The Austrian forces near Vence, meanwhile, moved east, attempting to link up with the reinforcements.

At the exact same time, Napoleon personally led the Moulins Legion and his loyal Corsican Legion, a total of 9,000 men, striking directly into the west side of Nice at an incredibly fast pace.

The following afternoon at two o'clock.

Napoleon, located eight kilometers northwest of Nice, listened to the cavalry's report and couldn't help but frown.

'The Austrians are moving too slowly.'

He turned to Augereau beside him. "This means we'll have to wait here until tomorrow morning."

According to his estimates, he should have encountered either the Austrian reinforcements heading for Vence or Sebottendorf's legion retreating from Vence that afternoon.

However, the Austrian army's slow march pace had put him in an awkward position.

If he entered his position too early, he risked being discovered by Austrian cavalry.