He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 116

(116) Advance into Padua, the Core of Venice

So, Napoleon wasn’t planning to stay in Caldiero, south of Verona, for long.

“Alright, everyone should be well-rested! Now that Commissioner Salicetti has joined us, we must advance eastward! Everyone, prepare for the march!”

Already in Caldiero, Napoleon’s army was hastily preparing to move out again.

Due to the battles at Lonato and Castiglione, the number of wounded had increased considerably.

Still, most of the casualties were from Laharpe’s division, so the main divisions of Masséna and Augereau were in good fighting condition.

Moreover, the cavalry led by Eugene and Lannes, and the artillery of Marmont and Duroc, were in perfect shape.

They had only been waiting for the safety of Salicetti, an important figure in the French Republic.

Of course, Salicetti, the French Republic’s commissioner who had barely managed to catch up, was shaking his head.

“Oh, I’m going to die. I’ll take a carriage.”

“As you wish, Commissioner. I need to inspect the march preparations, so I’ll be going.”

“No, before you go, let me ask you one thing, Commander Napoleon.”

Watching the wounded being loaded onto supply wagons, Salicetti frowned.

“Is this alright? Our connection with Milan in the rear is completely cut off. I may not be a soldier, but it seems to me that the line connecting Verona and Mantua has fallen into Austrian hands?”

The occupation of Verona was a bigger problem than he thought.

The route from Milan to the Venetian Republic’s mainland passed through Verona.

So, from the moment Alvinczy seized Verona, the supply line from Milan was severed.

No matter how little Napoleon cared about supplies, the soldiers were likely to be affected. Supply was not only a matter of practical material supply but also a psychological one.

But Napoleon replied calmly.

“It doesn’t matter, we have enough food.”

“How?”

“We have that, don’t we?”

Suddenly, soldiers were seen splitting open tin cans with daggers.

-Clang!

Of course, Salicetti had authorized filling every wagon with those cans, and seeing them now, he felt strangely full.

But the soldiers who swallowed the food in the cans all shouted in unison.

“Ugh, it’s awful!”

“Still, eat it! Or it’s just hardtack!”

“It would be better to cook a stew!”

Again, feeling the phantom pain of a stomachache, Salicetti clicked his tongue.

“The taste must be terrible.”

“It’s because the soldiers are full. They should know how lucky they are to be eating meat that hasn’t rotted.”

“You speak like someone who has starved. You were quite wealthy in Corsica, weren’t you?”

Napoleon, who had been a prominent figure in Corsica, scoffed.

“I suffered a lot in Paris, Monsieur Salicetti.”

At one time, Napoleon had even starved at the military academy.

He often had to eat on credit because he didn’t have money to buy a piece of bread.

In Napoleon’s view, caring about the taste of food was a bourgeois luxury.

Food was just for filling the stomach.

Salicetti thought he should ask Eugene, as the authorizing officer, to improve the taste of the canned food, and changed the subject.

“Alright. Let’s leave the supply issue aside, where are we going?”

“We are going to Padua.”

“What? No, Commander Napoleon! That’s the next biggest city after Verona, and it’s the core of Venice!”

Salicetti, who had studied in Tuscany, knew the situation in Italy well.

Verona, Padua, and the capital Venice were the three major cities of the Venetian territory.

The problem was that Padua was right in front of Venice, deep within its territory.

With the supply line cut off, they were entering the heart of enemy territory.

Even a military layman could see that it was an extremely dangerous operation.

But Napoleon was still calm.

“That’s what it takes to draw out the enemy. It’s difficult if we don’t fight in the field.”

“What if they counterattack? Besides, the east of Venice is Austrian territory!”

“If their army comes, we just have to intercept them all. But they won’t come. Because there’s also the Turks.”

Salicetti was dumbfounded by Napoleon’s composure and looked around.

The staff officers, adjutants, and even the division commanders just shrugged.

They all knew that Napoleon’s tactics were dangerous.

But so far, Napoleon had conquered Sardinia and Milan with strategies that involved taking risks.

Who knew? Maybe he would really conquer Venice too.

Then suddenly, Napoleon asked Salicetti.

“How is Paris? Are they telling me to go to Rome?”

“Huh? Oh, right. Actually, I haven’t seen the directors’ requests since I came to Verona. But I do have a letter that Danton sent last.”

“What is it?”

Napoleon frowned as he looked at the directive from Paris that Salicetti had handed him.

“Vienna?”

Vienna, the headquarters of the Habsburg family, the imperial family of the Holy Roman Empire. In other words, it could be said to be the de facto capital of Austria.

They hadn’t even conquered Venice yet, but Paris was demanding even more.

Salicetti replied with an embarrassed smile.

“Yes. They want you to threaten Vienna.”

“I haven’t even subdued Italy yet, Danton must be crazy.”

“Danton’s request is just to threaten them. It seems the Rhine isn’t doing well.”

Just then, Eugene, the brigade commander of the Horse Grenadiers and still the chief adjutant, handed him a note as if he had remembered something.

“Ah, Commander. News from the Rhine.”

To be precise, it was information obtained from the Milan bank.

Although they had lost Verona, it didn’t mean that the Austrian army had seized all the routes.

The information route from Milan to the vicinity of Verona was still safe.

Suddenly, Napoleon’s face turned strange as he looked at the note.

It was news of the retreat of the French Rhine Army towards Bavaria.

The defeat of his rival, Moreau.

“Ha! Moreau! Serves him right for showing off. Even generals were captured?”

“So I heard. Brigadier General Desaix was captured.”

“Tsk, if that friend had come under me, he would have enjoyed the battlefield of glory!”

Napoleon clicked his tongue lightly and turned to Salicetti.

“But Vienna is not my concern, Salicetti.”

“Oh, really? Then is Venice your concern?”

“That’s not it either!”

At that moment, Napoleon’s eyes flashed.

“The complete annihilation of Alvinczy’s army!”

It was literally a boastful statement.

Napoleon had already annihilated the Austrian army dispatched to northern Italy twice.

What would happen if he annihilated them again?

First, he annihilated 50,000 of Count d’Argenteau and Beaulieu’s Lombardy army.

Next, he defeated Quosdanovich and Wurmser, annihilating 50,000 of the Tyrol Corps as well.

Now, Alvinczy’s Friuli army of 50,000 was approaching.

Napoleon twisted his lips and asked.

“If that happens, Austria will have lost a total of 150,000 men in Italy alone. What will happen?”

Austrian soldiers were all volunteers.

Out of the current army of about 300,000, 150,000 were annihilated?

The loss of 50,000 could be endured.

The loss of 100,000 could be managed somehow.

But if 150,000, half of the troops, were wiped out, it would no longer be possible to defend the empire.

Austria’s bordering enemies were not only France.

The Turks, Russia, and Prussia were all potential enemies.

Salicetti clapped his hands.

“Indeed, I understand your plan!”

There was no need to attack Vienna, and the Rhine front could be saved.

***

From Caldiero to Padua was about 70 kilometers [approximately 43 miles].

-〈The Venetian Republic has betrayed its long-time ally, France! Therefore, I announce to the revolutionary comrades: Revolution in Venice! Let’s plant the tricolor flag of liberty, equality, and fraternity and establish a new government!〉

The governor of Padua, Alvise Contarini, frowned as he looked at the pamphlet on his desk.

At the marching speed of Napoleon’s Italian army, it was exactly 2.5 days away.

Moreover, there was no Venetian Republic army to stop Napoleon.

Also, the Austrian army did not move to stop Napoleon, even while occupying Venetian territory.

Thanks to that, Napoleon reached Padua in an undefended state.

In the middle, Eugene showed his skill by scattering a lot of one-page pamphlets.

It was a propaganda tactic that had been very effective in the Vendée, a French civil war zone.

Contarini suddenly slammed his desk.

-Bang!

Contarini shouted, picking up a pamphlet that the Marseille postal unit had scattered near Padua.

“Ugh, what nonsense! When did we betray France!”

He focused on the [betrayal], not on the revolution or the new government.

You can see that he is focusing on the wrong part.

In the first place, inciting a popular revolution in a noble republic is a threat.

But Contarini was from the best noble family in the thousand-year-old Venetian Republic.

It was an example of how substandard the noble elites of the Venetian Republic were.

Battaglia, who was watching the scene with dismay, shook his head.

The Austrian army ran all the way as a messenger.

He hoped that the governor would take measures after seeing this pamphlet that he found on the way.

It seems that it was too much expectation.

“From Bonaparte’s point of view, that may be the case.”

“Hey, Francesco Battaglia. What do you think? Is he really serious about coming to Padua?”

“He’s coming.”

Battaglia asserted with a stern face.

“Milan, Bergamo, and Verona have all been trampled by Bonaparte. Padua is no different unless there are 30,000 troops.”

As the commander of the Verona militia, Battaglia saw the French army’s blitzkrieg [a swift, overwhelming military attack].

Although he opened the gates because he couldn’t stand the threat, he never regretted it.

Because immediately after that, Battaglia also obtained the news that Lannes and Eugene, who had occupied Verona, had defeated Wurmser.

What if Napoleon’s main army had headed to Verona instead of Wurmser?

The outcome of the battle between Wurmser and Napoleon was unknown, but Verona would certainly be conquered.

It was terrible to think about what would happen when conquest took place instead of surrender.

The French army is not a gentleman.

The news of the massacres, rapes, and looting committed against their own people in the civil war was well known in Venice.

It was to inform that the revolutionary army was barbaric.

No, it doesn’t even have to go that far.

How many of Wurmser’s 50,000 Tyrol Corps survived and escaped?

They didn’t even leave a single prisoner properly.

Contarini suddenly spoke to Battaglia, who was shivering.

“Well, I’ve already reported this news to the home government. But I don’t know if there will be any countermeasures.”

“There won’t be. There are only 7 ships protecting the Venetian mainland. Governor Alvise Contarini.”

“It’s been a long time since the proud shipyard has been running. Tsk!”

Let’s leave the army aside.

The navy is not ready either.

There are only 7 battleships to protect the Venice lagoon, which can be said to be the mainland.

It was once a republic that dominated the eastern Mediterranean, but it has already lost its hegemony for 200 years.

Now, it has simply become a small country that exports specialties.

There is only one way to defend the country.

To rely on foreign countries.

Contarini sighed and told Battaglia.

“First, let’s agree to supply them. Even if it means emptying the granaries.”

In the end, he had no choice but to fully comply with Alvinczy’s demands.

Battaglia also nodded with a heavy face.

At that time.

-Thump!

Suddenly, a Padua militia officer burst in from outside.

“Governor! Something terrible has happened!”

Contarini was surprised and jumped up.

“What’s going on? Don’t tell me the French army is already here?”

“H, how did you know?”

“What?”

Marcantonio Miniscalchi, a militia officer, shouted.

“General Bonaparte’s French Italian Revolutionary Corps, commonly known as the [Italian Army], is now right in front of our Padua!”

Miniscalchi, who once defended Verona as the deputy commander of the militia, has now retreated to Padua.

However, it was as if he was facing the French army again, making the escape meaningless.

His face was so pale that his fear was clearly revealed.

But Contarini and Battaglia did not blame Miniscalchi.

Why?

Because their expressions were just as pale.

Battaglia grabbed Miniscalchi and shouted.

“What about Vicenza!”

To get to Padua from Verona, you have to go through a city called Vicenza.

At least Battaglia thought he could buy as much time as the French took to occupy Vicenza.

But Miniscalchi shook his head violently.

“They surrendered.”

“What?”

“They surrendered without resisting. And there’s an even bigger problem.”

Just as Contarini was about to open his mouth in disbelief, Miniscalchi gave an even more shocking report.

“Now the students of Padua University have risen up.”

“What? Why!”

“Look at this pamphlet. Seeing this pamphlet, the Jacobin [supporters of a radical, democratic political movement] sympathizers have revolted!”

Miniscalchi shouted, shaking the pamphlet that Contarini had been looking at until just now.

“If this goes on, the city hall will be occupied first!”

Only then did Battaglia realize the real purpose of this pamphlet.

It was not simply scattered to threaten Padua.

Revolution is an issue that is shaking the entire intellectual class of Europe.

The students of Padua University are bound to be dissatisfied with this republic system ruled by nobles.

Most of the students are not nobles, but just bureaucrats.

Just as the bourgeoisie [the middle class] led the French Revolution, there are bourgeoisies in Italy.

The purpose of this pamphlet is to induce them to revolt.

Battaglia said with a weak smile.

“Didn’t I tell you? Bonaparte is more terrifying than the devil.”

In the end, Contarini raised both hands.

“I surrender. Fighting like this is suicide.”

Of course, if they fought with the determination to die, they could buy some time.

But neither Contarini, Battaglia, nor any Venetian nobles had the determination to do so.

***

However, becoming a loser means handing over fate to the winner.

“First, I will declare the establishment of the Padua Republic.”

After seizing the Padua government office, Napoleon declared to the former governor Contarini.

Battaglia and Miniscalchi were standing with dismal faces and were shocked.

It was not just a republic, but the Padua Republic, so they had no choice but to be surprised.

First of all, it means that Padua will be separated from Venice.

Next, it means that Venice, a noble ruling system, will be changed to a democratic republic.

Finally, the de facto ruler of the republic is likely to be France.

Contarini asked with difficulty.

“Yes? No, what do you mean.”

“Each city in Venice was not originally Venice’s. It has a long tradition of independence, and Venice has only conquered it by force, isn’t it?”

“B, it’s already been 400 years, General.”

But Napoleon glared at Contarini coldly and replied.

“Our France values the freedom of citizens. The citizens of Padua revolted and surrendered to us. We will respect their wishes and declare an independent republic!”

Contarini and the Padua nobles, who had no will to fight, simply bowed their heads helplessly.

The adjutants and division commanders standing behind Napoleon solemnly watched the scene.

The thousand-year-old Republic of Venice.

The moment when it will be trampled under the hooves of France is approaching.

Salicetti, who was carefully watching Battaglia, whom he knew, whispered to Eugene.

“That, did he do that on purpose?”

“Yes. Proclamations will be sent to Verona, Bergamo, and Brescia, which are occupied by Austria. All the old independent cities of Venice will become independent republics.”

“It will have a bad effect on Lombardy. Tsk.”

Each region may start an independence movement until Lombardy.

Anyway, revolution is an event that makes citizens boil.

But Eugene smiled and shook his head.

“Instead, Alvinczy will have no choice but to crawl out.”

The situation will change if the 50,000 troops led by Alvinczy are annihilated.

After all, it is an era where military power ultimately determines the trend.

It is obvious that the city republics of Italy will fall into the hands of France again.

The problem is defeating Alvinczy.

Then Napoleon turned to the division commanders.

“Masséna, Augereau, Laharpe!”

Just as Napoleon’s main division commanders were about to step forward, Napoleon firmly ordered.

“You will now embark on the complete subjugation of Terra Ferma [Venice’s mainland territories]. Thoroughly subdue Venice!”

Terra Ferma, the mainland territory of the Venetian Republic.

He will liberate the entire area and put it under French influence.

It’s as if he’s about to conquer the entire Venetian Republic.

For example, it is a decoy operation, but the scope is national.

Suddenly, Masséna twisted his lips and smiled.

“What is the deadline, General?”

Napoleon twisted his lips and replied.

“Until Alvinczy comes out of Verona.”

This is a national-level decoy operation.

A decoy to lure Alvinczy out and completely defeat him.

Furthermore, the operation to blow away half of the main force of the Holy Roman Empire’s corps has begun.