He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 356

(356) The Ruska Amerika Army Annihilates with Blitzkrieg

July 1805. In the Northern Continent, summer nights offer little darkness.

“It’s a phenomenon known as the White Nights. You can witness it in Europe, visiting Swedish, Danish, or Norwegian territories. Oh, and in Russia too.”

North of the Mississippi River, where the nominal British and French territories meet.

There lies an area that would later be known in original history as Minnesota State.

It is said to be named by the indigenous Dakota people who lived there.

Surprisingly, the first white men to visit this place were not British but French.

Once, French fur trappers built temporary structures here. In a place that would be called Minneapolis in original history, the Nouvelle France Legion arrived.

It’s still too far south for the full White Nights phenomenon.

However, as Jomini pompously explains, even in this area, the sun, though it’s evening, remains high in the sky.

Considering the joke about a land where the sun never sets, Eugene shrugged.

“Then, a surprise attack won’t be easy.”

“We do have guides, but most of us are unfamiliar with the terrain, aren’t we? The enemy has a significant advantage in terms of geography.”

“How is the supply situation?”

Deje, standing to his right, explained.

“We’ve decided to supply through Lake Superior. Fortunately, Tecumseh’s Shawnee tribe has friends remaining in that area.”

Conversely, Junot, the commander of the Royal Guard, is currently defending the Pensacola area in Nouvelle France.

In any case, it’s officially announced that Eugene hasn’t left Nouvelle France.

Because Britain and the United States have started a war.

With all the powers in the New World watching Nouvelle France, Eugene intends to keep a low profile.

However, this operation is crucial in determining the outcome of the war.

Therefore, King Eugene needed to come up to the northern edge of the territory to assess the situation.

Suddenly, Chief Adjutant Ippolito tilted his head.

“Lake Superior? Isn’t that American territory, Commander Deje?”

“As the Chief Adjutant knows, the United States doesn’t fully control the entire Northwest Territory yet. There are fewer than ten thousand white people in an area larger than our French homeland.”

“Isn’t there already talk among Americans about us occupying both banks of the Mississippi River? Is it okay to enter their territory so directly?”

In fact, strictly speaking, the border between the United States and Louisiana is the Mississippi River.

However, American administrative power hasn’t reached the eastern part of the Mississippi River.

The center of the United States is on the east coast, and most of the population is concentrated there.

On the other hand, Nouvelle France has chosen to advance north along the Mississippi River, starting from the Caribbean coast.

Therefore, most of the military and administrative power, and the population, are concentrated on the Mississippi River.

Thus, they are extending their administrative power even while only traders are seen on the western bank.

Originally, the governors of the Western Territory states were about to start protesting this.

However, the issue of runaway slaves in the South, the ban on the slave trade, and the outbreak of the Anglo-American War have halted the protest plans.

Seizing the east bank of the Mississippi River in this gap is one of Nouvelle France’s strategies.

But the supply plan Deje mentioned has an even bigger problem.

After all, Lake Superior, the westernmost of the Great Lakes, is clearly divided between the United States and Britain.

Then, Jomini chuckled and interjected.

“Oh, my. Chief Adjutant. You don’t hesitate to use any means when pursuing women, but you’re so rigid in tactics! Haha! We’re not going directly. Russia is.”

So, France isn’t the one violating the territory.

It’s Russia doing it.

All responsibility naturally falls on the Russian Emperor and the Son-in-law [Louis-Philippe, married to the Tsar’s daughter], the highest authority in the New World.

Ippolito thought about this and turned to his lord and friend, Eugene, with a dumbfounded expression.

“Won’t Emperor Pavel protest about this later?”

“We’re just fulfilling our promise. Besides, Philippe, the Son-in-law, agreed to take responsibility.”

“After returning home, Louis-Philippe might die on a Russian gallows instead of a French guillotine. But what is the United States doing? This is, strictly speaking, the American-British War.”

Eugene sat on a steamboat on the Minnesota River, glanced at another report, and replied.

“They’re struggling to capture the northeastern Canadian territory. But the progress is slow.”

Minneapolis is a city that will be built where the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers meet.

Eugene also came this far aboard the Mississippi supply fleet, consisting of three steamboats.

The Dakota tribe, who lived in this area, retreated under the threat of Micanopy’s Alachua Division.

Of course, he intends to secure the Dakota tribe’s territory through negotiations, but Eugene prioritized the use of force over negotiation.

In original history, the United States used force later, but instead committed massacres.

Rather than handling it that way, Eugene intended to demonstrate power and then thoroughly abide by the terms of the negotiation.

For example, if land is given, ownership or titles are definitely confirmed.

This is where feudalism is better than capitalism. When a fief is combined with a title, it cannot be easily sold.

Even if indigenous chiefs are deceived by white men, the risk of losing their land and becoming destitute is reduced.

Lasalle and Champot suddenly broke Eugene’s reverie.

“Rather, Sydney, who is conducting a naval blockade, is faster. Jackson only made big talk, but he’s very slow.”

“At this rate, the United States will wither away under British pressure.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice? Hehe! Then we eat America?”

Eugene glanced at Lasalle and replied, dealing with both heat and cold at the same time.

“Lasalle, it’s a country of five million people where a democratic system has already taken root. Do you think you can conquer it so easily? Division is better.”

Lasalle coughed and shut his mouth.

The generals of the Nouvelle France Royal Palace all watched Eugene.

The briefing was over.

Now it was time for a decision.

Deje, the commander-in-chief of the Nouvelle France army, asked.

“Then, will you confirm the operation, Your Highness?”

Eugene came up the river, still looking at the massive Mississippi River, and took a deep breath.

This place is definitely different from Europe in terms of supply, distance, and population density.

So, this operation, which is still impossible in Europe, will succeed.

“Alright, I approve. Jomini, let’s start a Blitzkrieg in the Americas.”

Éclair means lightning [in French].

Guerre means war [in French].

If you translate the two words into German, it becomes Blitzkrieg, or lightning war.

“I will break through like lightning, Your Highness!”

Jomini shouted as he leaped like lightning from the steamboat to the dispatch boat.

Thus, the first blitzkrieg in North America began.

***

A very strange army appeared in the Great Lakes region of North America.

“Glory to the Russian Tsar!”

“Shawnee, Shawnee, Shawnee!”

“Viva Bonaparte, ah, no. This is… Viva Romanov?”

Real Russians, indigenous warriors, and black mixed-race soldiers who were French until recently but are now disguised as Russians.

Naturally, each group has a different organization, and the command system is incomplete.

The commander-in-chief is particularly problematic.

Jomini smacked his lips and turned to the Russian nobleman in military uniform, smiling kindly beside him.

Louis-Philippe, the husband of Princess Alexandra and the son-in-law of the Russian Empire, said with a smile.

“Well, I know nothing about strategy. Chief of Staff Jomini, explain what you’re going to do.”

Of course, it’s half a lie.

Philippe is the son of the Duke of Orléans, a great French nobleman, and served as a general in the Revolutionary Army.

However, he doesn’t quite grasp this war.

The troops are disorganized or lack experience, and the operation area is uncharted territory.

How can they carry out the conquest of Canada?

Suddenly, Jomini sighed deeply.

“Kuh, I said I would execute it, but I didn’t mean I would come here myself.”

“Stop complaining. What are you going to do? Leading this rabble.”

“They may be a rabble, but their marching speed is very fast, Duke.”

Jomini twisted his lips and looked back at the soldiers, mainly composed of cavalry.

“Like General Bonaparte, no, Emperor Napoleon’s Italian expeditionary force.”

The indigenous soldiers and black mixed-race soldiers, mainly composed of the Alachua Division, are all riding horses.

However, they are from the south, so they seem a little cold even in summer.

But Philippe wanted to object to Jomini’s words.

Because there were infantrymen in the mixed expeditionary force.

Then, the infantry commander walked out and asked in a blunt English.

“So, are you telling us to just charge recklessly?”

In a bizarre situation where the nominal Russian army communicates in English, Jomini, who is fluent in foreign languages, smiled.

“You seem to have some tactical sense, General Tecumseh.”

“Don’t call me that! The French words are strange. I am just a great warrior of the Shawnee tribe.”

“But you want to secure territory where you can live independently from the white men, right?”

Jomini looked at the half-naked Tecumseh and asserted.

“Then, listen to us. Unlike the British or Americans, we keep our promises thoroughly.”

Tecumseh stared at Jomini, then turned his head sharply and returned to his tribe.

The total number is 1,000.

All light infantry, equipped with Pauly-system percussion breech-loading rifles [early form of cartridge rifle] provided by France.

This rifle can only be used if percussion caps are supplied, so the natives cannot produce them themselves.

It’s a means for France to control them even while giving them weapons.

They have been given gunpowder and trained in shooting, so they are about as good as recruits who have undergone a month of training according to French standards.

Louis-Philippe smiled bitterly as he watched the scene.

“But I’m uneasy about this. Isn’t Division Commander Micanopy also a rookie? In fact, Chief of Staff Jomini, I don’t think you have much combat experience either.”

“Don’t worry. Capable and experienced generals are coming.”

“Who?”

Then, a man in shabby clothes walked from behind Lake Superior and replied.

“It’s me, Duke Charles. Huh, I didn’t expect to meet you here?”

Philippe turned his gaze and was startled.

A middle-aged man with a very familiar face is wearing an old French Revolutionary army uniform.

The soldiers following him are the same.

The problem is that the man is a banished person [exiled for treason] who he thought was dead.

Philippe rushed over and asked.

“Pichegru? No, are you alive?”

“Did you think I was dead? I’ve been fighting all over Saint-Domingue, Florida, and Louisiana. Now even this cold Canada!”

“It’s not that cold now that it’s summer. Anyway, it’s good to see you, General Pichegru!”

Pichegru, who was once exiled to the New World by a coup, sneered.

“Here, I have my subordinates too. Moncey, Winter, and Ney.”

Brigadier General Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey, Brigadier General Jan Willem de Winter, and cavalry commander Michel Ney.

All of them were leading generals who commanded the Army of the North alongside Pichegru.

Ney, more than anyone else, was one of the main figures who made a name for himself in the Revolutionary Army with his cavalry advance.

Philippe asked with a bright expression.

“Glad to see you. So, how do the generals plan to organize the mobile operation?”

Pichegru snorted.

“Of course, it’s a cavalry blitz. Can those Indians even keep up?”

The problem is the infantry among the indigenous troops who don’t ride horses.

Some cavalry are included, but the warriors who were mobilized in this area were mostly infantry.

But Jomini replied simply.

“I’ve already confirmed. The daily marching speed is at least 70 kilometers [43 miles].”

“What? Is that possible? They don’t even have horses.”

“There are some cavalry, but more than that, they are poorly armed and have strong legs. If the supply goes as planned, they will catch up enough.”

In later original history, Tecumseh’s infantry showed a marching distance during the Anglo-American War.

80 kilometers [50 miles] a day.

It’s a speed that surpasses even Napoleon’s infantry.

Of course, it’s possible because they are light troops, but anyway, speed is key in this battle.

Pichegru nodded and turned his gaze.

“Good. Then, it’s a blitz. Hey! General Mulatto! Can you keep up!”

This time, Dumas, who followed as the commander of the horse artillery, glanced at Pichegru and snorted.

“I am a cavalry specialist, Pichegru.”

In fact, cavalry commander Dumas and Pichegru, who is actually an infantry specialist, are clashing with each other, and the lightning-fast maneuver began.

***

In western British Canada, in Brunswick, William McGillivray yawned and stopped by the governor’s office.

“Ahem, good morning again today.”

This place used to be French territory in the old days.

But almost half a century has passed since Britain defeated France in the New World.

Now, merchants from Scotland and England have come over and taken control of the city.

The Northwest Company, which William McGillivray runs, is one of them.

A giant company that divides the North American fur trade, it was virtually a company that dominated western British Canada.

But Miles Macdonell, the governor of Brunswick, clicked his tongue when he saw McGillivray.

“The Americans are invading from the south, and the Russians are seen from the west, but you’re very relaxed, President?”

“Well, then. Well, when will those guys cross this vast New World?”

“Still, isn’t the northern area where people live all determined? How about contacting the Hudson’s Bay Company to replenish the mercenaries?”

It’s a conversation that seems to be the opposite, but it can’t be helped here.

Because in Canada, as in India, the company [East India Company, Hudson’s Bay Company] rather than the government is leading the colonization.

The Northwest Company is mainly developing the northwestern area corresponding to western Canada.

Therefore, even if he is a governor, he does not have many troops to command directly.

On the other hand, the president of the Northwest Company can mobilize mercenaries using the profits from the fur trade.

McGillivray, looking at Governor Macdonell, snorted.

“Who would like it? Only the Hudson’s Bay Company would like it? All the rights in this area are ours. Why am I suffering here from Montreal?”

Then suddenly there was a loud noise.

-Swoosh, bang!

McGillivray, who had fallen in confusion, jumped up and headed outside.

“What!”

It’s the sound of shelling.

But strangely enough, the sound of flying and breaking is loud with the sound of explosions.

Governor Macdonell shouted to McGillivray, who was flustered and unable to come to his senses due to the sudden situation.

“Good heavens, Indians? No, it’s the Russians!”

At that time, McGillivray also saw the flag.

-Fluttering!

The double-headed eagle.

It is the imperial flag that the Romanov dynasty boasts.

Under the eagle flag, Louis-Philippe, who is clearly of French descent, shouted loudly in English.

“Now, break through! Soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army!”

After that, the warriors who heard the order in English, Tecumseh’s Shawnee warriors, rushed in.

While the United States and Canada are fighting fiercely in the Great Lakes.

A rear blitzkrieg was launched in the name of Russia.

The target was the cities that used to be French territory.

It was the land called Quebec.