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Chapter 781: Struggle for Genoa

The Alps, east side of Cadibona Pass.

General Dumouriez, the nominal commander of the French Army of Italy, felt the warm wind blowing from the Mediterranean Sea, and his old bones, almost frozen solid, finally eased a little.

He recalled the orders the Crown Prince had given him a few days ago and couldn't help but sigh with a bitter expression.

He had originally thought he would merely be making an appearance in Nice—the young Buonaparte had proven to be an excellent commander, making his intervention unnecessary—but then the Crown Prince suddenly ordered him to replace Buonaparte and take command of the army.

The nearly 60-year-old Dumouriez had no choice but to drag his aging body over the Alps and feign an assault on Monferrato, Sardinia's southern province.

North of Monferrato lay Turin. At this time, Sardinia was in a state of chaos and panic, and Amedeo III was frantically and ceaselessly pleading with Vienna for aid.

After Beaulieu's disastrous defeat in the Siege of Toulon, he had fewer than 7,000 Austrian troops left on the Italian Peninsula, plus the 20,000-strong Sardinian Legion led by Colli, and another 2,000 men stationed in Milan.

With such meager forces, let alone reinforcing Sardinia, he himself was worried about whether Milan could be held.

Franz II, left with no other choice, had to dispatch the Swiss Army to Italy to assist in the operations and had the Swiss Army commander, Melas, replace Beaulieu to take command of the Italian front.

With Melas's 30,000-strong army, the situation in Italy was finally stabilized.

Meanwhile, Amedeo III also sent an additional 10,000 soldiers to Monferrato for its defense.

At this point, in Northern Italy, the combined Austrian-Sardinian forces had reached a staggering total of 60,000.

Dumouriez, however, had only 28,000 troops at his disposal. The General Staff Headquarters had indeed sent another 5,000 fresh recruits to the Army of Italy, but Napoleon had intercepted them en route.

Still, he wasn't overly concerned.

Because the Crown Prince didn't actually want him to attack Sardinia, but merely to put on a show. If it was just a matter of defense, his forces could hold out for a while.

Moreover, the Austrian army had just suffered a defeat and their morale was low. Even if it came to battle, they might not pose a significant threat to him.

A week later.

Dumouriez was enjoying his breakfast—the rations had significantly improved since entering Italy compared to the mountains—when a staff officer knocked and entered, saluting him and saying, "Commander, we've just received news from the Milan direction: Melas's army, nearly 30,000 strong, is moving south towards Monferrato."

The old general took a sip of milk and asked, "How far are they from us?"

"Approximately 50 kilometers."

Dumouriez nodded, then stood and declared, "Order the entire army to assemble. Prepare to move east."

"East?" the staff officer asked, surprised. "General, there's only Genoa in that direction."

"Yes, Genoa," Dumouriez affirmed, nodding. "That's exactly where we're headed."

According to the Crown Prince's orders—which was essentially Napoleon's battle plan—if the main Austrian-Sardinian forces moved south into Sardinia, he was to feign a full-scale assault on Genoa.

Genoa was the most important port in Northern Italy; almost all supplies shipped by sea to Sardinia and Milan had to be unloaded there.

If the French army occupied Genoa, it would mean that British supplies shipped by sea would be unable to reach the combined Austrian-Sardinian forces.

This was a situation the Austrian commanders absolutely did not want to see. At the same time, the British could not accept Genoa falling into French hands, as it accounted for more than half of Britain's trade with Italy.

As expected, when Dumouriez's army departed from Diego and began to march towards Voltri, a strategic stronghold west of Genoa, the Austrian forces immediately became tense.

North of Monferrato, in the Austrian camp, Colli looked at the officers before him and declared firmly, "We must uphold the territorial integrity of Sardinia. If Monferrato falls, we will quickly lose the trust of our allies."

Beaulieu shook his head, looking weary. "Once the French army occupies Genoa, they can immediately threaten Alessandria to the north. At that point, we'll be forced to split our forces to defend in three directions—east, west, and north—which would put us in an extremely disadvantageous position."

Alessandria was a crucial transportation hub in Northern Italy, connecting Milan, Turin, Piacenza, and many other cities.

Colli bristled with indignation. "But the stubborn Genoese insist on maintaining their neutrality, refusing to let us send troops to help them defend!

"If we directly attack the French army, we'll have to cross the Alps. Before we can even arrive, the French will have already taken control of Genoa's port."

The southernmost end of the Alps forms a distinctive Y-shape, with Genoa situated at the tip of one of its spurs, creating numerous mountain barriers between Dumouriez and the Austrian army.

Although these mountains weren't particularly high, it would still take considerable time for a large army to traverse them.

Brigadier General Jean-Baptiste Cervoni, seeing that both sides were at an impasse, stood up and suggested, somewhat hesitantly, "Perhaps we could disregard the Genoese government's stance and set up defenses there before the French arrive. We could reach it from Alessandria in a day and a half."

Everyone turned to look at him.

After a moment, Colli said in a deep voice, "But Genoa is a neutral port, protected by His Imperial Majesty."

"We'd merely be blocking the French army," Cervoni countered. "Once we drive the French out of Italy, we can withdraw from Genoa. I believe Britain would surely approve of our actions."

Silence fell upon the group once more.

Given Genoa's military strength, whether it was Austria, France, or even Sardinia, any could easily occupy it unopposed.

And then they could establish defenses there first.

In other words, whoever made the first move would gain a significant advantage.

Finally, Melas exhaled and nodded. "Alright," he said, "anything's better than letting the French seize Genoa.

"Order Argentau's Legion to immediately proceed to Genoa.

"General Colli will continue to Monferrato to block any French advance northward.

"General Cervoni will cross the Alps and cut off the French army's retreat route.

"This time, we will annihilate Dumouriez's Legion in the Voltri area!"

...

Central Alps.

Great Saint Bernard Pass.

A logistics officer saluted Napoleon and said, "Commander, perhaps we should wait two more days at the foot of the mountain.

"Our current food supplies are only enough to last until we cross the Alps; we will face a supply shortage once we enter Italy."

Indeed, after climbing halfway up Cadibona Pass, Napoleon had withdrawn and instead led the Montpellier Legion, along with a Moulins cavalry battalion and the 5,000 new recruits just allocated by the General Staff Headquarters, to launch a surprise attack from the Central Alps.