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Chapter 804: Information Warfare of the 18th Century

"We've captured Leuven?" Davout was the first to react, his face lighting up with surprise. "That means Prussia and Austria won't be able to funnel troops directly into the Southern Netherlands anymore."

Lefebvre chimed in immediately. "They only have one route left—swinging north through 's-Hertogenbosch to reach Brussels."

Pondering the Crown Prince's words, Davout added, "This also means the Duke of York won't be able to retreat eastward toward Geldern. He's practically stranded!"

Indeed, while the Duke of York still had the Netherlands at his back, everyone collectively ignored them.

At best, the Dutch could provide supplies. Their army was essentially negligible. Their most elite soldiers were under Davidovich's command, and even they had proven to be the most incompetent in previous engagements. Currently, those ten thousand or so men were huddled in Ghent to the west, completely cut off from the Duke of York.

Joseph nodded. "Meanwhile, we can draw reinforcements from Wallonia and the Flanders Region. We will continue our northward advance all the way to The Hague, perhaps even Amsterdam. At the very least, we must secure the northern territories of the Flemish Republic to ensure Brussels' future stability."

The officers grew ecstatic. His Highness intended to march directly into the Netherlands! This would be a feat rivaling the glories of the Sun King's era.

Yet, they felt a lingering apprehension. After all, their forces were numerically inferior, particularly in terms of French regulars. Launching a major offensive under such conditions was incredibly risky.

Lefebvre, ever the cautious one, suggested, "Your Highness, perhaps it would be more prudent to wait for the new recruits in Paris to finish their basic training. Once we have another five thousand men, the situation will be much more stable."

Joseph shook his head calmly. "You must have faith in the strength of the Flemish people. Once we reach Antwerp, we will quickly gain tens of thousands of Flemish recruits. By the time we invade the Netherlands, their fervor will be even greater. We can arm them with the weapons and equipment captured from the Austrians, and they will provide the bulk of our logistics. As for the recruits from Paris, send them all to Italy. The operational pressure there remains quite heavy."

Given France's population base, conscripting two thousand new recruits a month was a relatively simple task. With the recent victories in the Southern Netherlands and Italy, public enthusiasm for joining the army was at an all-time high.

However, Joseph had no intention of sending undertrained boys to their deaths, nor did he want to drain too much able-bodied labor from domestic production. Thus, he strictly controlled the numbers. After the land and tax reforms, France had the capacity to muster seven or eight thousand men a month, even if it didn't reach the extreme mobilization rates of the historical First French Empire.

Just as Joseph finished speaking, an officer hurried into the tent and handed a military report to Lefebvre. "General, this just arrived from Freiburg," he whispered.

Lefebvre opened the report, scanned it, and looked at Joseph. "Your Highness, Wurmser led thirty thousand Austrian troops south five days ago. It appears he intends to reinforce Mantua."

Thanks to the four million francs Joseph had invested in a dense network of Chappe Telegraph towers—extending south to the Alpine passes and north to Namur in the Southern Netherlands—Austrian troop movements could reach Joseph with almost no delay.

Out of those five days, four had been spent smuggling the intelligence out of Freiburg. As the westernmost territory of Austria, Freiburg bordered France but was separated by the Black Forest mountains. For the Intelligence Bureau to relay this information within four days was highly efficient.

The officers in the tent turned their gazes toward Joseph in unison. Murat wore a look of astonishment. "Your Highness, you were right. The Army of Italy desperately needs reinforcements."

Lefebvre frowned. "It seems the Austrians intend to retake Milan. If Wurmser is personally heading to Italy, then sending a few thousand recruits to Colonel Bonaparte certainly won't be enough."

Joseph narrowed his eyes. "Who is currently commanding the Austrian forces in Freiburg?"

Lefebvre checked the report. "It is Count Baillet von Latour, Your Highness."

"Him." Joseph tapped his finger on the table, lost in thought. "It seems our operational plan needs some adjustment."

Latour was considered a first-tier Austrian commander and had played a significant role in the historical Rhine Campaign, but he was no match for Moreau.

"What do you mean?" Lefebvre asked.

Joseph looked at the map, focusing on the Mantua Fortress—the final Austrian stronghold on the Italian peninsula. His finger stopped tapping. "Reassign the Royal Third Infantry Division from Moreau's Legion to the Army of Italy. Give them three Royal Horse Artillery Companies as well. Oh, and those thousands of new recruits—send them all to Colonel Bonaparte."

The room fell silent as the officers stared at him in disbelief. They had agreed that the Army of Italy needed help, but this was an overwhelming amount of support. The Royal Third Infantry Division was the core of Moreau's force. If they were taken away, how could the front near Basel be held?

Lefebvre spoke up quickly. "Your Highness, isn't this too risky? If Latour decides to force a crossing of the Rhine, Moreau's strength would be..."

Joseph nodded. "I understand your concern. However, this time, we are going to fully exploit our information advantage to create a synchronized linkage across the entire front."

Lefebvre and the others looked at each other in dismay. 'Information advantage'? 'Linkage'? The words were familiar, but the concepts were entirely foreign.

Seeing their confusion, Joseph wasn't surprised. The concept of information warfare didn't exist in this era. He explained patiently, "We have the Chappe Telegraph. Communication between different armies takes at most three to five days. The enemy requires at least double that time. That is our information advantage."

He was actually being conservative. For units within French borders, communication could be delivered in half a day—the primary delay being the time it took for a cavalry messenger to ride from headquarters to the nearest signal tower.

Joseph continued, "I predict that once the Army of Italy begins its offensive, the Holy Roman Emperor will likely continue to divert troops from Freiburg to reinforce Mantua. If that happens, Moreau's Legion will face no pressure and might even be able to launch counterattacks. If Latour does not divert troops and instead continues to pressure Basel, Moreau can simply abandon the Rhine line and retreat to defend Lorraine. In that scenario, the Austrian forces in Italy will surely be defeated by Colonel Bonaparte. Afterward, he can choose to besiege Mantua or bypass the fortress and march directly north toward Venice. Meanwhile, we can shift some soldiers from Masséna's Legion back to defend Lorraine. The key is that no matter how the enemy moves their troops, our information travels faster than theirs. This allows us to react ahead of time and strike whenever their defenses are thinnest!"