He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 248

(248) Eugene Arrives at Marengo

Every crisis has a solution.

“Where are our cannons! Where’s Brigadier General Duroc!”

Massená, who had rushed to the rear, shouted.

It was true that the initial [suicide attack] had taken them by surprise.

They also hadn’t known that the Russian army’s specialty was bayonet charges.

However, Napoleon and the French-Italian army corps were still largely intact, though somewhat damaged.

In particular, Massená, known for his quick thinking among the French high command, was the first to react.

Duroc, the artillery commander guarding the cannons in the rear, rushed over.

“Here, sir! Commander Massená!”

“Good. You’re more reliable than that windbag Marmont. Start firing the cannons immediately!”

“But our soldiers haven’t fully retreated yet.”

Massená grabbed Duroc by the collar.

“This is a cannon duel. We need to use all our cannons to keep them in check!”

Even if it means some of our own men die, it doesn’t matter as long as we kill more of the enemy.

That was Massená’s logic.

Duroc frowned deeply before raising his hand.

– Bang! Bang! Bang!

Duroc’s elite artillery unit began firing their cannons simultaneously.

A total of 24 mobile artillery 8-pound cannons.

Their firepower was weaker than the Unicorns, but their firing rate was much faster.

“Good! Some of our men will die, but it can’t be helped!”

“The Ivans will die in greater numbers.”

“Yes, they’ve committed at least 30,000 to the bayonet charge. Their commander is either…”

Massená sighed and glared ahead.

“Insane, or a genius!”

At that moment, something sparkled in the smoke ahead.

Massená rubbed his eyes and peered forward, spotting the bald-headed general running towards them.

And next to him was a very familiar face.

It was none other than Commander-in-Chief Napoleon.

“Massená, are you there!”

“Commander-in-Chief, are you unharmed!”

“The bald man saved me. It’s not your time to be promoted yet. Heh heh! More importantly!”

Even in this moment, Napoleon joked before issuing urgent orders.

“Send a messenger immediately. Order Lannes and Murat to charge!”

Even Massená was taken aback.

The units led by Lannes and Murat were cavalry brigades.

Infantrymen were engaged in bayonet combat on a battlefield that had been devastated by artillery fire.

A medieval battle where swords were cutting and piercing heads was unfolding.

To charge cavalry into that was enough to make him want to return the compliment about Suvorov being crazy.

“In this situation?”

“Have you forgotten? The Battle of Caldiero!”

“Ah! Neutralize the artillery!”

Only then did Massená realize Napoleon’s intention, and he whistled.

“Whew, Kellermann!”

Napoleon’s eyes widened at the familiar name.

“Huh? Was that old man in our corps?”

“No, it’s his son. Hey, Kellermann. Can you do it? You need to ride to that cavalry unit dithering on the army’s right flank and deliver the Commander-in-Chief’s orders!”

“Hey, I’d hate to die on the battlefield and not be able to face Commander Kellermann.”

François Christophe Kellermann, a renowned general who had secured victory with Lafayette at the Battle of Valmy.

A 64-year-old general who had been fighting on the battlefield since the Seven Years’ War, now almost an elder statesman in the army after the revolution.

Later in the original history, even without significant achievements, Napoleon would acknowledge his gravitas and make him one of the 26 Marshals.

However, the one Massená was calling was not that Kellermann, but his son, François Étienne Kellermann.

A 29-year-old young cavalryman, not much younger than Napoleon, responded.

“I can do it! I’m a Hussar!”

Showing valiant spirit, [son] Kellermann rode into the smoke.

– Thud thud thud!

The cavalry unit, still wandering on the battlefield and thus not yet damaged, received Napoleon’s message.

Of course, Kellermann suffered greatly in the process, but that was irrelevant to those receiving the orders.

The problem was the instruction to penetrate deep into the already chaotic battlefield.

Murat gritted his teeth as he listened to Étienne Kellermann’s panting words.

“The Commander is insane.”

“So, are you not going?”

“Even if I don’t want to go, that bastard is already heading out.”
.

Watching Lannes charge in the distance, Murat retorted to Bessières.

“Come on, men of Gascony! Follow me!”

Lannes threw himself into the battlefield with unparalleled courage.

The cavalrymen, many of whom were from Gascony, followed Lannes.

Murat’s subordinates and Bessières looked at Murat’s face.

Napoleon’s orders, Lannes’ preemptive charge, and the chaotic battlefield.

Murat glared.

“Damn it, a man only dies once! Let’s die!”

“Hyah! Charge!”

“Prepare for carbine fire!”

The cavalrymen raised their [rifles] simultaneously.

Originally a modified version of the breech-loading Ferguson rifle by Pauly, the Beauharnais-style cavalry [rifle].

Made with percussion caps, it could be reloaded almost continuously.

The only difference from later rifles was that it was a single-shot, not a double-barreled one.

Murat, who in the original history would have valued sabers more than carbines, held his carbine and aimed forward.

– Bang! Bang! Bang!

Literally flanking, the cavalrymen overwhelmed the Russian artillerymen.

The artillerymen didn’t have time to react to the mounted gunfire.

Furthermore, the infantrymen didn’t have the chance to return and counterattack.

The moment the cannon fire ceased, Napoleon keenly noticed.

“That’s it. We’ve taken the enemy cannons! Massená, advance at full speed!”

“Understood! Serboni, where are you!”

“Here!”

Watching Massená regroup the vanguard division, Napoleon wore a satisfied smile.

“This time, we will annihilate the Russian army!”

The time for counterattack had come.

***

At that moment, the undefeated veteran was impressed by the rising young general.

“Good heavens, to break through like this. That Corsican is truly a genius!”

The French army, advancing like a two-headed beast, was attacking the Russian corps from the rear and the front.

– Waaaah!

So, Suvorov’s original plan was this.

Shake the enemy’s formation with a preemptive artillery barrage, followed by a bayonet charge by the infantry.

Then, fire cannons into the battlefield to prevent the enemy from regaining their composure.

Once the lines were completely broken, the remaining rearguard would be fully committed to finish the battle.

However, reality unfolded differently.

First, the French soldiers showed a different level of fighting spirit compared to when they had faced off in Switzerland.

Unlike the soldiers under Laharpe or Moreau, who had retreated in terror from the bayonet charges, Napoleon’s elite troops, trained in Italy, withstood the shock.

In addition, the enemy quickly returned fire with their own artillery, buying time.

No matter how few cannons they had, the firepower of artillery could not be ignored.

As the vanguard of the Russian corps hesitated, the cavalry struck the rear of the Russian corps, whose attention was focused on the front.

If they had collided with an infantry square, the cavalry would have been sacrificed.

However, Napoleon had them focus solely on attacking the artillery.

Furthermore, almost all of the Russian infantry units were deployed forward for subsequent commitment.

As a result, many artillerymen were killed, and the cannons, though intact, could not be fired.

Suddenly, Barclay, checking the rearguard artillery units, shouted.

“Generalissimo! The enemy seems to be using new weapons. Let’s move the headquarters back!”

“No, war is not decided by who has the better guns. But if we retreat, it’s over!”

“The Generalissimo will be injured at this rate!”

Suvorov chuckled and mounted his horse.

“Even if I die, I must capture that young man. Otherwise, Russia is in danger! Where is Bennigsen!”

Bennigsen quickly rushed to Suvorov’s side.

“Here, Marshal!”

“Bagration, who was commanding the artillery, has been blocked. Now, you are the only one with the tactical skill to break through.”

“Yes, I will create a breakthrough!”

Suvorov waved his hand and ordered.

“No need to create many. Aim for only one target. There.”

Pointing as if using a telescope with his baton, Suvorov’s eyes flashed.

“Where that short Bonaparte is.”

The infantry unit charging in the vanguard was visible.

It was Massená’s division.

However, the one actually commanding that division was not Massená, but Napoleon.

Bennigsen nodded and pulled out his direct regiment troops, shouting.

“Let’s go, sons of great [Rossiya]! Show them that you are invincible bayonet fighters!”

Bennigsen’s regiment simultaneously fixed bayonets and moved forward.

– Thud, thud, thud!

Until now, they had only watched the bloody battle unfold in the vanguard.

However, the Russian infantrymen were already filled with fighting spirit.

Having been forced to watch their brothers die, now was the time to avenge them.

– Ura! Ura! Ura!

The Russian infantrymen, shouting and running, extended their bayonets simultaneously.

– Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The sudden charge of Bennigsen’s regiment broke through Massená’s division’s lines.

“Bonaparte is in sight!”

Bennigsen shouted.

The general himself was also wielding a bayonet.

***

It was extremely rare for a commander-in-chief to go to the front lines to fight in the late 18th century.

“Commander-in-Chief!”

Napoleon also did not go to the front lines unless it was a special battlefield like Toulon.

However, now every place was a battlefield, and it was a chaotic situation where battles were taking place everywhere.

So, instead of hiding in the rear, he had rushed to the vanguard.

It helped to raise the morale of the soldiers, but in turn, he had become a target.

“Those guys are really not human. If those soldiers were under my command, I would have conquered India!”

“This is not the time to be admiring them!”

“Yes, but I need troops to do that!”

Napoleon stared intently at the Russian army pressing in from the front and lamented.

“Why isn’t my son Eugene here? Junot, Lasalle! Where are you all! If only you were here, I would have fed those guys grenades!”

Of course, Napoleon was not panicking, nor was he foolishly waiting for soldiers.

So, while lamenting, he quickly steered his horse aside to retreat.

At that moment, a loud noise rang out.

– Swoosh, bang!

Napoleon, who was trying to escape by riding his horse backward, stopped.

“What, what is this?”

He would have understood the situation if the enemy’s shell had exploded in front of him.

However, the sound that had just erupted came from the enemy’s infantry lines.

The explosion had suddenly occurred.

At that moment, his adjutant Marmont shouted to Napoleon.

“Commander-in-Chief. Look over there!”

In the distance, the tricolor flag was rushing from behind the Russian army.

– Flutter!

Marmont, seeing the boy at the head, shouted with joy.

“The Freischütz have arrived!”

The Freischütz, soon to be known by the nickname Marksmen [elite sharpshooters].

The conqueror of the East, Constantinople.

All the cavalrymen held percussion-cap pistols simultaneously.

– Click.

The boy at the head, Eugene, shouted.

“Fire!”

Eugene, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force’s Horse Grenadier Brigade, fired their pistols simultaneously.

– Bang! Bang! Bang!

Eugene had arrived at Marengo.

Taking the blood of Russian infantry as an offering.