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Chapter 870: The Battle of Mantua: Besiege a Point to Strike at Reinforcements

Wurmser felt his head throb with a sudden, jarring buzz.

He had personally confirmed that there were no French forces near Mantua, which was the only reason he had dared to pursue Napoleon to Limone.

Where on earth had the enemy surrounding Mantua come from?

Had Beaulieu been present, he likely would have patted Wurmser on the shoulder with grim empathy and sighed, "Now you finally understand the nightmare I endured."

Wurmser’s council of war convened immediately, though the topic had shifted drastically from "evading Napoleon's harassment" to "relieving the siege of Mantua."

Early the next morning, a weary Wurmser—having spent a nearly sleepless night—left Ranieri with six thousand men to cover their rear, while he scrambled with the main force toward Mantua.

Napoleon had received word of Desaix's encirclement of Mantua even earlier than Wurmser. By the previous night, he had already ordered Marmont's corps on the southern flank to disengage and wait for the Austrians to the northwest of Mantua.

Meanwhile, he took his time launching an assault against the six thousand enemy troops left to cover the retreat.

Just past noon, the superior French forces completely shattered the Ranieri Legion. Without a moment's pause, they set off in hot pursuit of Wurmser.

Desperate to break the siege, Wurmser had no interest in a prolonged engagement. He detached a portion of his army to push the few thousand French troops toward the north, buying space for the rest of his units to hastily cross the river.

Marmont did not resist desperately. Half an hour earlier, a messenger had informed him that Napoleon's main force had arrived six kilometers to the northwest.

Just as the Austrians finished their pontoon bridges and began to cross, a thunderous artillery barrage struck their flank and rear—Napoleon had arrived.

With no other choice, Wurmser was forced into a frantic, disorganized defense. The banks of the Mincio River descended into absolute chaos.

Behind the French lines, Grouchy watched through his telescope as enemy soldiers streamed across the river. He turned to Napoleon, his voice thick with urgency. "General, please permit me to lead the cavalry to intercept them. If we delay another moment, Wurmser will slip through our fingers!"

Napoleon glanced at him and shook his head calmly. "No. The cavalry camp has no mission today. You may stand down and rest."

"But..."

Napoleon offered a faint smile. "If I wanted to capture Wurmser, I would have had Marmont complete the encirclement from the south yesterday instead of sending him here to intercept."

Grouchy froze, baffled. "Why would you do that?"

Napoleon handed his telescope to an aide and took a seat. "It is an order from His Highness, the Crown Prince. We are not permitted to occupy the Mantua Fortress for the next six months."

Grouchy’s eyes widened in disbelief. He had heard of orders to capture a fortress within a deadline, but an order to delay its capture was a first.

Napoleon was in high spirits. Before Grouchy could ask, he explained, "While I believe a direct strike on Vienna is the optimal choice, using Mantua to continuously bleed Austria dry is also a sound strategy.

"Observe. This time, with very little effort, we will eliminate twenty to thirty thousand of Wurmser's men.

"The Mantua Fortress itself is formidable, but the surrounding region from Lombardy to Venice is crisscrossed with waterways and lacks concealing terrain. It makes it incredibly easy for us to launch ambushes on any army passing through.

"Just you wait. Over the next six months, we will annihilate many more of the enemy."

Joseph had issued this specific command because he knew all too well how the historical Battle of Mantua had served as an "unhealable wound," draining Austria’s lifeblood.

Mantua was known as the "Key to Italy," the strongest pass on the road from Italy to Austria. If the French broke through here, their spearhead would point directly at Vienna.

Consequently, Austria would sacrifice everything to hold the fortress.

Historically, Napoleon hadn't been able to take Mantua in one bite, which inadvertently created a situation where he could "besiege a point to strike at reinforcements." Austria had funneled a hundred and twenty thousand troops into relief efforts, only for Napoleon to devour at least half of them, dealing a devastating blow to the empire.

Now, by having Napoleon deliberately deploy with the goal of striking reinforcements from the start, the results would be even more effective.

When Austria was at its peak, its dominance over the Holy Roman Empire was a massive strategic asset. But if Austria weakened beyond a certain point, the numerous small states of the Empire would become a liability.

It was like a gang leader. When he was strong, he wanted a hand in everything to reap the benefits. But when he fell gravely ill, he would only find it annoying when his underlings begged for his protection.

Eventually, when the underlings realized the boss could no longer "cover" them, they would grumble and quit the gang.

Joseph's medium-term goal was to dismantle the German region as much as possible, and exhausting Austria was the most critical step in that process.

Grouchy remained somewhat confused. "Commander, we could still capture Wurmser now and simply choose not to assault the fortress afterward."

Napoleon smiled. "Having a high-ranking figure like him inside the Mantua Fortress will compel Vienna to send reinforcements even faster.

"And the fortress will fall to us sooner or later. It won't be too late to capture him then."

Beside the Mincio River, the French horse artillery continuously repositioned, seeking gaps in the battlefield to hammer the pontoon bridges.

In truth, hitting a narrow pontoon bridge from a distance was difficult. However, even when shells splashed fifty or sixty meters away, the shockwaves sent the Austrian soldiers on the bridge into a state of panic, their legs trembling with fear.

Those who hadn't yet crossed were even more frantic. Ignoring their officers' desperate shouts, they shoved their way onto the bridges.

Soon, soldiers on the bridge were being pushed off by their own comrades. The air was filled with a cacophony of terrified screams and the constant "thud-splash" of men hitting the water.

For every one soldier who successfully reached the opposite bank, three or four fell into the river.

The French simply stood on the perimeter, firing their muskets at a measured pace. The Austrians were mostly drowning themselves in their own chaos.

Seeing the utter collapse of his army, Wurmser realized he could no longer repel the French. He quickly retreated across the bridge under the protection of his personal guard.

As dusk approached, the French finally halted their offensive.

A panic-stricken Wurmser took count of his troops on the southern bank of the Mincio. He discovered that the thirty thousand men he had started with had dwindled to fewer than four thousand.

Then, another terrifying thought struck him—with so few men, he might not be able to break through the French encirclement outside Mantua to enter the fortress.

Fortunately, his "luck" held. Early that morning, the French had concentrated their main strength on the southeastern side of the fortress to attack a watchtower, leaving a gap in their lines.

Wurmser acted decisively, slipping through the opening with his remaining troops and successfully fleeing into the fortress.

However, the French reaction was swift. They immediately turned back to strike, capturing every last soldier in the rear of his column.