He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 252

(252) Austria Deploys Its Last Line of Defense

There could be no greater sign of Austria’s desperation than seeing a sick man forced to fight on the front lines.

“Run! We must leave this cursed Italian land!”

A young man was desperately running along what was known as the Trento Route.

The Alps, the longest mountain range in Europe, a high-altitude region.

This mountain range, which wraps around the entire northern part of Italy in a semicircle, has had numerous passages since ancient times.

Among them, the Trento Route is the shortest path from Venice to Austria.

The young man’s name was Karl, soon to be the commander of the Austrian 1st Italian Army.

The soldiers were nowhere to be seen; it was a sight of the command unit rushing ahead first.

Suddenly, the old general, Leiberich, who was panting behind him, asked.

“Huff, huff. Where should we tell the 3rd Army to go?”

“Chief of Staff Leiberich, send a messenger to the Swiss side. That area is now within our sphere of influence, thanks to Russia.”

“Are you ordering them to defend Switzerland?”

Karl spurred his horse on the foothills of the Alps, shouting.

“No, Munich! Paul Kray must also come there. That’s the only place where we can stop the enemy now!”

He chose this route simply because the 2nd Army was stationed in Trento.

Karl remembered Napoleon’s tactics of directly striking Vienna in the past.

It had already been proven then that Napoleon could not be stopped in Vienna.

Now, Austria’s situation is even worse than before.

The forces under Napoleon’s command are at least 60,000 strong.

However, the Austrian 1st Army, which was the main force, was virtually annihilated at Caldiero.

In this situation, Karl judged that only one place could be defended.

Bavaria, a duchy that held the third-largest power within the old Holy Roman Empire.

“Your Highness, Vienna has better terrain.”

Suddenly, Karl, infuriated by Melas, who was chattering beside him, shouted.

“Field Marshal Melas! What happened to us because you told us to wait?”

“Yes? No, Your Highness. That’s.”

“If you have any sense, think about it. What would have happened if we had gone to Marengo?”

Karl screamed with bloodshot eyes.

“Instead of Eugene Fröhlich, we would have stabbed him in the back. Right in Bonaparte’s back!”

Field Marshal Melas’s 2nd Army cannot be called the best.

However, it is composed of 50,000 experienced soldiers, all veterans of the previous War of the First Coalition.

If they had led these men to Marengo, a great reversal might have occurred.

Karl pressed Melas, whose face had hardened.

“The military doesn’t move with theory, Melas!”

“Your Highness, I have roamed the battlefield since the Seven Years’ War. Please refrain from such insults.”

“Nonsense! It’s almost the 19th century, Melas. Do you know what that means?”

In an instant, Karl grabbed the reins and declared.

“Protecting key points, connecting supply lines, maintaining communication networks! What’s important is not that, but annihilating the enemy army! That’s what Bonaparte has shown!”

The group stopped for a moment, following Karl.

Below, the 2nd Army was seen marching through the valley.

Karl watched the ranks of soldiers with a complex expression.

In fact, the 2nd Army was more familiar to Karl than the 1st Army, which was mostly composed of Magyar [Hungarian] Eastern Border Guards.

After all, the 2nd Army was responsible for the Rhine front.

But could he really lead them and defeat Napoleon?

Even the 80,000-strong army led by Russia’s best general, Suvorov, and the Austrian 3rd Army were defeated.

He didn’t know how much damage they had suffered, but their morale must be very high.

“Your Highness, then isn’t it important for us to maintain our military strength?”

Karl, who had been lost in thought, was awakened by the question from his deputy chief of staff, Schmidt.

“We could do that if we were Bonaparte, Schmidt.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Unfortunately, what we must not lose is not just the army.”

Karl replied with a complicated face.

“My brother, His Majesty, and the capital are the symbols we must not lose. If we lose them, our empire is finished.”

Schmidt’s point was this.

Munich is a battlefield where Karl had previously fought and succeeded in defending against Moreau.

However, defensive battles inevitably lead to the consumption of troops.

Wouldn’t it be better to maneuver to preserve military strength rather than engage in an unreasonable defensive battle?

Nevertheless, Karl believed that if they lost the Emperor and Vienna, it would be the end.

Chief of Staff Leiberich tilted his head.

“What do you mean? If we just protect His Majesty.”

“How many ethnic groups are there in our army, Chief of Staff Leiberich?”

“Well, there are too many.”

Karl’s baton pointed down the valley.

“That’s right. Right now, there are Magyars, Bohemians, High Germans, Low Germans, and even Flemish people mixed in. The Emperor and the capital are the links that connect this empire. But what if we lose them?”

Even though it is not yet the age of nationalism, there is still a distinction between ethnic groups based on blood, culture, and language.

Of course, Austria is succeeding in uniting at least nine ethnic groups.

However, this is only possible because the symbol of the Emperor has created a court faction centered around Vienna.

If this symbol and the capital region of Vienna collapse, the empire will also collapse.

Last time, Napoleon only dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, but now it will be different.

“We must stop them in Munich. The help of the Bavarian Duke is essential, but I don’t know if he will give it.”

Suddenly, Karl frowned.

Because the Duchy of Bavaria has traditionally been a rival of the Habsburg family.

***

In the end, war is a violent act that is an extension of politics.

“Urgent news, Your Majesty!”

Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the Emperor’s office.

Royal Advisor Thugut rushed in.

As the former Chancellor who had insisted on a hard-line stance, the Emperor did not welcome him.

Moreover, this was even more so given that he had just heard the news of the defeat.

Emperor Franz II, looking tired, looked up from his documents and replied.

“I have already heard that Russia has lost. General Korsakov and the survivors have returned. I have ordered a letter to be sent to the Tsar requesting additional reinforcements.”

“That’s not it. The Rhine front!”

“What do you mean? The 4th Army under General Friedrich von Hotze should be there. Besides, there are Prussian reinforcements as well.”

At that moment, Thugut exclaimed.

“Moreau, Moreau of France, has defeated General Hotze!”

Thugut, true to his hard-line stance, had connections on the front lines.

Therefore, he had obtained information one step ahead of State Chancellor Weinsberg.

As evidence of this, Weinsberg was pale and unable to say anything next to the Emperor.

Emperor Franz clutched his head and asked again.

“What happened to the 4th Army?”

“For now, the news is that only about 2,000 out of 30,000 men were lost. They are currently retreating!”

“That’s a stroke of luck.”

The Emperor, sighing deeply, turned to another pale old man.

“What should we do in this situation? Count Wallis?”

Wallis, the chairman of the War Committee, rolled his eyes and advised.

“There is only one option we can think of. Munich.”

“Why? The terrain in Austria is much more rugged.”

“There are forests there. The ‘German’ forests that have been around since ancient times. Moreover, if the Electorate of Bavaria helps us.”

Still, as an old general with extensive battlefield experience, Wallis gave a reasonable answer.

“We may be able to fight in a situation where our imperial army is the only one in a superior position in this war.”

Unless there is a special secret plan, there is clearly only one path Austria can choose.

A defensive battle.

Munich is a place that can enable defense using the forests.

However, there is one problem here.

The House of Wittelsbach has ruled Bavaria for the past 800 years.

During that time, the Wittelsbachs had sought the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.

In short, they were rivals of the Habsburgs.

Moreover, there is another problem.

Recently, the Duke of Bavaria has changed.

Emperor Franz thought deeply and turned to the young man at the end of the office.

“We must help Karl. Metternich.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I want you to go.”

Franz gave a very simple order with deep implications.

“Go and persuade Bavaria.”

In fact, the change of the Duke may be a good thing.

Because the former Duke Karl Theodor von Pfalz-Wittelsbach was truly an unmotivated ruler.

Even in previous battles, Austria had to grab him by the scruff of the neck and drag him to the battlefield.

However, Emperor Franz is not sure whether the new Duke, who is full of enthusiasm, is pro-Austrian.

Rather, there are even rumors that he is immersed in French culture.

Therefore, diplomatic persuasion is necessary.

And the persuasion of a very capable diplomat.

“I understand. I will definitely bring the Duke to the battlefield!”

Metternich, the man who would be called the greatest diplomat of the 19th century in history, replied.

***

Of course, the Duke who has just ascended the throne does not actually have the power to make decisions.

“This is difficult. His Highness the Duke has just succeeded to the electorate [the right to elect the Holy Roman Emperor]. Moreover, our army is in a completely miserable state.”

The new Duke, Maximilian Joseph von Zweibrücken-Wittelsbach, did not even meet him.

Instead, the person speaking was Maximilian von Montgelas, the real power in the Duchy of Bavaria.

Originally, he was a vassal of the former Duke and played a major role in placing Maximilian Joseph on the throne of Bavaria, a kind of kingmaker.

The problem is that this man is originally from the Duchy of Savoy and is close to pro-French figures.

Of course, the pro-French he is referring to here is France before the revolution.

Nevertheless, he had no loyalty to the Holy Roman Empire.

Naturally, Maximilian Joseph, who appointed Montgelas as his chief secretary, has a similar tendency.

In later history, he would help Napoleon without betraying him until the end.

Metternich, who knows the tendencies of both even if he doesn’t know this history, smiled and said.

“Baron Maximilian Joseph von Montgelas. Of course, you will be able to choose. The path of betraying the old ties of the Holy Roman Empire and causing the empire to collapse.”

“Wasn’t it already collapsed? The new Austrian Empire is not the Holy Roman Empire. In fact, the position of Elector is only an honorary title.”

“But the Duke’s position also relies on old traditions. You know very well that the current Duke’s right of succession is very weak, don’t you?”

In fact, Maximilian Joseph is from a collateral line [a branch of the family, not the direct line of descent].

But how did he ascend to the ducal throne?

The reason is very simple.

The direct lines of the former Duke and the Dukes before him had been cut off.

However, there was someone who recognized this succession.

It was Emperor Franz II, who hated the former Duke.

But now he is abandoning the Emperor?

The Duke’s position may be weakened.

Montgelas, who understood this meaning hidden in Metternich’s words, frowned.

“Is that a threat?”

However, Metternich bowed very gracefully and smiled.

“No. But if His Highness the Duke wants to acquire a solid foundation in the future, he will need the support of His Majesty the Austrian Emperor.”

“So?”

“You only need to defend enough. No matter how much the French army has, they cannot simply break through the Bavarian forests without taking damage.”

Montgelas’s eyes narrowed.

You don’t need to do your best.

You only need to help a little.

Then Bavaria has done its part.

Metternich added one thing to this very tempting story.

“If you help us that much, we have a chance of winning. If you do that much for Bavaria, we plan to cede Tyrol [a region in the Alps].”

“Tyrol? The entire imperial territory in the Alps?”

“That’s right, Baron. And if you help us.”

In an instant, a document came out of Metternich’s arms.

-Swish.

Montgelas, who saw the document, widened his eyes.

Arco.