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Chapter 913: Triumphant Return from Northern Italy

Augereau and Marmont exchanged a look, their expressions heavy with concern.

Even if Bajzáth had truly been routed the day before, the mere presence of fifteen thousand Austrian troops to the north was enough to command their full attention.

After days of grueling combat, Augereau's Corps had been whittled down to roughly sixteen thousand combat-ready soldiers.

Should the enemy forces to the west and south turn back for a counter-attack, the French army would find itself facing a catastrophic disaster.

Augereau hesitated for a moment before finally turning to his messenger. "Order the pursuing units to contract their lines immediately."

"Tell the Corsican Regiment to move toward the vicinity of Saint Leon and establish a defensive line..."

In reality, Archduke Charles did not have fifteen thousand soldiers at his disposal.

His Moravian Army consisted of fewer than seven thousand men in total, but he had cleverly thinned his ranks, spreading his soldiers across a front spanning two kilometers.

With Alvinczy's main force positioned to the southwest, the French cavalry had paid little heed to the northern flank. In their hurried reconnaissance, they could only estimate the enemy's numbers based on the deceptive width of their formation.

His gambit had worked; Augereau was indeed pulling back into a defensive posture.

However, he knew he could only keep up this charade for two days at most. Eventually, the French scouts would catch on to the ruse.

Before that happened, Bajzáth and Wurmser's forces had to rendezvous with Field Marshal Alvinczy's reinforcements. Only then could they reorganize and launch a counter-offensive against Augereau to stabilize the collapsing left wing of the theater.

Charles looked back at the map, knowing he still had to guard against a desperate French assault.

Thinking of this, he turned to a nearby messenger. "Dispatch the engineering battalion to the Visio River to set up pontoon bridges. We must be ready to cross at any moment."

"Yes, General!"

Just as the messenger departed, a sudden roar of commotion erupted from the soldiers outside the tent.

Charles frowned and signaled to his aide. "Marc, go and see what the disturbance is about."

The aide acknowledged the order, but before he could turn, several officers burst into the tent in a state of panic, pushing a messenger to the front.

The messenger bowed deeply to the Archduke, his voice trembling with difficulty. "Your Highness... Field Marshal Alvinczy... he was captured by Napoleon the day before yesterday."

The Archduke's pupils constricted instantly.

No wonder the messengers he had sent to request reinforcements had never returned. It seemed they had already fallen into French hands.

'Everything is spiraling toward the worst possible outcome,' he realized.

His mind raced to assess the situation. The position in Northern Italy was now beyond salvation. The only thing left to do was to save as many of Bajzáth and Wurmser's troops as possible.

Those were over twenty-five thousand soldiers—likely the very last of the Empire's available strength.

He still held one slight advantage: Augereau's Corps was currently blocked by Bajzáth's retreating stragglers. In all likelihood, they had not yet received the news from the direction of Trento.

Resting his hand on the hilt of his saber, Charles addressed the officers before him in a low, firm voice.

"The Empire still has us. This war is far from over. Now, return to your men immediately."

The officers stiffened, snapping to attention. "Yes, General!"

Once they had dispersed, Charles immediately looked to his staff officer. "Assemble all soldiers and begin maneuvering to the east."

"Send riders to contact General Bajzáth and General Wurmser. Tell them that tomorrow, Augereau's Corps will move to clear the road. They must move with the utmost speed toward Bolzano."

"This is their only chance!"

Bolzano served as the primary transportation hub north of Trento. From there, they could continue north into the Austrian town of Meran and follow the northern slopes of the Alps back toward Vienna.

Now, Archduke Charles intended to make one final effort while Augereau's fear of an "ambush" still lingered.

At two o'clock that afternoon, Augereau received a sudden report from his cavalry: an enemy force had appeared on their eastern flank.

Augereau was beginning to feel disoriented. Traces of Austrian movement were being reported from every direction.

While he was still consulting with Marmont on how to respond, the Austrians to the east launched a sudden, fierce assault.

Once he confirmed that no other enemy forces were closing in from other directions, Augereau decided to concentrate his strength for a decisive battle against this eastern foe.

True to his nature, Augereau took to the front lines, fighting alongside his men amidst a hail of bullets and thick smoke.

Before long, the attacking Austrians were repelled.

Augereau immediately led his troops in pursuit. Another skirmish broke out near the banks of the Visio River, and the Austrians were forced to retreat once more.

As the sky began to darken, Augereau had pinned the enemy against the riverbank. It was almost a perfect reversal of the position he and the Austrians had occupied just a few days prior.

He ordered his men to dig in and establish a line, intending to completely annihilate this Austrian force the following morning.

Meanwhile, Bajzáth, who had been at a loss after hearing of Alvinczy's defeat, was reached by the Archduke's messenger.

An hour later, the remnants of Bajzáth's Corps turned and began a forced march toward Bolzano.

Wurmser's side also gathered a large number of soldiers and similarly began a frantic retreat to the north.

These two units were remarkably "fortunate" not to encounter any significant French blocking forces. By nightfall the next day, they reached the south of Ora, leaving them only half a day's journey from Bolzano.

On the other side of the field, Augereau launched his final assault against the enemy to the east.

To his utter astonishment, the Austrian positions that had seemed to hold seven or eight thousand men the day before were now occupied by fewer than a thousand soldiers.

Under the cover of night, Archduke Charles had led the main body of his army across the pre-established pontoon bridges to the eastern bank of the Visio River.

He had successfully lured Augereau's Corps nearly ten kilometers to the east, creating a narrow gap that allowed his two "unreliable colleagues" to slip away to the north.

By the time Victor's Corps, dispatched by Napoleon to reinforce the Visio River area, finally arrived, Bajzáth and Wurmser's troops had already been gone for nearly a day.

Charles continued his retreat eastward, enduring a grueling trek through the marshes of Venice before finally reaching the safety of the Klagenfurt fortress in Austria.

Thus, of the eighty-five thousand-strong army that had originally marched into Northern Italy with Alvinczy, thirty-one thousand men managed to return to Austria thanks to Charles's "rescue."

Additionally, nearly nine thousand Austrian troops from the direction of Molveno in the west eventually managed to escape to Venice through various circuitous routes.

Trento.

French Camp.

Napoleon offered high praise to Augereau and Marmont, who had just returned with their troops. After all, despite the sudden Austrian maneuvers, they had stubbornly held the eastern front and prevented a collapse.

Once the two generals departed, Napoleon looked at Lucien. "Very well. Now, please summon all the officers. It is time we discussed the capture of the Mantua Fortress."

At that moment, Desaix suddenly entered, accompanied by several officers.

A smile spread across Napoleon's face the moment he saw him. "Your presence here must mean that Mantua..."

"Indeed, General," Desaix replied, his smile even brighter. "Beaulieu surrendered this morning."