He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 187

< Preparing for Battle >

Late November 1796. The Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Naples.

“You must have had a hard time coming all this way.”

“Everyone has worked so hard!”

Upon hearing the news of their arrival, the King and Queen of Naples rushed out of the palace to greet Theo and the British forces.

The ministers who followed also breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone looked as if they had gained a thousand troops.

With Northern Italy already in the hands of the French Revolutionary Army, it was only a matter of time before Napoleon’s forces reached the southern region.

Some Neapolitan nobles had been displeased with the 17th Rifle Regiment, which had been established at Theo’s strong recommendation, fearing that such military movements might unnecessarily provoke neighboring countries.

However, as they faced the immediate threat of war, they were impressed by Theo’s foresight and eagerly awaited British military support.

At this time, the Count of Sanderson, the son-in-law of the King of Naples and a highly influential figure in England, personally led the navy and army, which was a great source of reassurance.

“Thank you, Count… Thank you so much…”

An elderly high-ranking official held Theo’s hand tightly and expressed his gratitude, tears welling up, for traveling such a long way to protect the Kingdom of Naples.

*

The King of Naples led the British commanders to the reception room and said,

“You must be tired from the long journey. Why don’t you take a short break? We have prepared a small welcome banquet.”

Theo politely declined the offer.

“Your Majesty, I sincerely appreciate your consideration, but the French army is approaching. It’s not too late for a banquet after we defeat them.”

“I was hoping we could at least have a meal…”

“Your Majesty, time is of the essence. Rather than a meal, I would like you to summon the top commanders of the Kingdom of Naples to one place right now.”

The King of Naples replied apologetically.

“Alright, I understand. I seem to have been too short-sighted. I will do as you ask.”

“Thank you.”

Theo and the British commanders were led by a servant into the royal palace’s conference room to prepare for the strategy meeting.

In the center of the large rectangular conference room, which was impressively decorated with marble and plaster, was a long wooden table made of luxurious material, surrounded by dozens of intricately carved chairs.

A large chandelier with countless candles illuminated the room from the center of the arched ceiling, and a thick pile of firewood burned brightly in the massive fireplace, warming the conference room.

Clatter-

Soon, King Fernando, along with Francesco di Savoia, the commander of the Kingdom of Naples, the army general, General Benedetto Ricci, and other Neapolitan commanders, entered the conference room one after another.

After exchanging greetings and brief pleasantries, they began the full-scale strategy meeting.

Theo opened the conversation.

“We have been on a ship for over ten days, so we have not received any information during that time. I would appreciate it if you could share the current progress of the French army.”

“Yes! Count. According to the information we have received so far, the French Revolutionary Army…”

Listening to them, it seemed that the French army’s advance through Northern Italy, even their defeat of Austria, was causing great fear among the people of the Kingdom of Naples.

Initially, some citizens welcomed them, advocating revolutionary ideals such as liberty, equality, and fraternity. However, rumors of looting and atrocities committed by the French Revolutionary Army in the occupied areas, and even massacres of civilians, quickly turned them against the French.

“According to intelligence, the French army is expected to arrive in the Caserta area within ten days as soon as they reorganize their ranks.”

Theo asked Savoia, the commander of the Kingdom of Naples.

“Then, are the infantry units of the Kingdom of Naples currently stationed in the Caserta area?”

The infantry units of the Kingdom of Naples had often trained to delay and block the speed of the French army, which boasted rapid mobility, in the Caserta area, which was the gateway for the enemy’s advance.

General Ricci, the army general of the Kingdom of Naples, replied instead.

“Yes, but according to reports, 50,000 French troops are coming. I wonder if our 15,000 infantry units can properly stop them…”

“What? Did you say 50,000 troops? Is that reliable intelligence?”

Theo was taken aback. He had received a report that the size was about 30,000 when he boarded the ship to the Kingdom of Naples.

But 50,000… Theo had not anticipated that they would mobilize such a large force.

“Yes. It’s information we received urgently a few days ago. It seems the French army obtained information about the British army’s participation and gathered more troops.”

The combined forces of Naples and Britain barely exceeded 30,000, but the fact that France was leading such a large force of 50,000 troops showed how much significance they placed on this battle.

Theo pondered.

‘50,000… And seeing Napoleon leading the large army himself, it’s clear that this is a move to be very conscious of us, the British. He intends to use this opportunity to crush the British army, raise his and France’s reputation, and break the spirit of the British.’

Savoia, the commander of the Kingdom of Naples, cautiously offered his opinion.

“Shouldn’t we urgently dispatch troops to the ‘Caserta’ area, where the French Revolutionary Army has no choice but to pass, to further strengthen the main defense line?”

“Why do you think so?”

“Caserta is a strategically important location due to its mountainous terrain and high hills. In particular, the high hill called Monte Cassino is the most ideal place to maximize the firepower of the artillery. So, we must establish a base there as soon as possible and prepare.”

However, Theo expressed his opposition.

“I think differently. Since the French troop size is much larger than expected, we will not establish a base in Monte Cassino. The Neapolitan infantry in the Caserta area must also be called back immediately.”

“What?”

“Looking at the mountain warfare with Austria, the French army completely destroyed the bases with artillery fire and advanced with incredible speed.

Now that the troop strength has nearly doubled, and with General Bonaparte, who is a genius in artillery operations, we will not escape Austria’s fate if we build an ordinary base on the top of the mountain.”

General Ricci, the army general of the Kingdom of Naples, tilted his head.

“Then, is there any other way?”

Savoia, the commander of the Kingdom of Naples, was also puzzled.

“Count Sanderson, this is a war with General Bonaparte, who is shaking Europe. As you know, many commanders who have faced Bonaparte on the plains say that they were helplessly swayed and trampled upon by his unheard-of and unseen tactics and strategies.

Even if he is skilled in mountain warfare and a genius in artillery, isn’t building a base on a high mountain the best way for us, who are outnumbered, to defend? The defense is much more advantageous than on the plains.

Moreover, it has been raining frequently these days, and the ground is soft, so the French army’s cannons will not be able to perform properly.”

Napoleon enjoyed using tactics that involved dividing his forces to move quickly, breaking through the enemy’s weakest defense lines without hesitation.

He also quickly gathered the scattered attacking forces to surround and quickly eliminate the penetrated enemy, and then dispersed again to find other attack points.

This method worked quite well against opposing armies that marched in a line while firing their guns. The key strategy was to penetrate weaknesses with rapid movements, causing confusion and collapsing the battle line at once.

From the perspective of modern people, the tactics of line infantry, which involves standing in a line and advancing while being hit by enemy bullets, may seem quite ridiculous.

Moreover, the scene of allies and enemies facing each other in a line and shooting at each other may even feel absurd.

It is never easy to understand the attitude of the time, which required even deadly battles to be honorable and gentlemanly.

However, in fact, this line infantry method was a tactic created by devising the best way to maximize effectiveness, considering the performance of weapons and human resources at the time.

The smoothbore muskets used by soldiers during this period were very long, requiring them to be loaded only in a standing position, and reloading took a long time due to the complicated procedure.

Also, in an effort to increase the reloading speed even slightly, the diameter of the ammunition was made smaller than the bore, so the trajectory of the bullet would fly to the wrong place because the ammunition did not fit exactly into the bore.

In addition, gunpowder was a very expensive material, so it was common for line infantry to be deployed in actual combat without ever firing a gun.

Even if they did shooting training on a regular basis, it was virtually impossible to aim properly and shoot at the enemy due to the erratic bullets and the thick smoke that obscured their vision when firing, making live-fire training meaningless.

In addition, in slightly humid weather, the flint and gunpowder of the musket would get damp, often leading to misfires.

In the end, due to the poor weapon situation, the possibility of inflicting even a little damage on the enemy with concentrated firepower was greater by sticking together in a line and firing all at once while advancing forward. Therefore, most countries had no choice but to absolutely prefer line infantry tactics.

Thus, the ‘line’ was the most important factor in determining the survival of the entire unit in the tactics of this period. Once a line was broken in the heat of battle, it was almost impossible to rebuild it.

For this reason, European armies repeatedly practiced marching in a line in formation. The discipline for this was very strict, and soldiers who disrupted the line during training were given a basic 100 lashes, and sometimes even 1,200 lashes.

This was a harsh training method close to brainwashing, designed to ensure that even if bullets grazed them and their comrades were shot and fell, they would continue to move forward without breaking the entire line.

The French army went even further, believing that even inexperienced recruits could roughly hit the enemy at close range, so they focused more on melee combat training than on shooting or formation.

The French line infantry units were famous for not fearing incoming bullets and for their brave and rapid advance, which did not give the opponent any openings. And, before reloading, they quickly charged and swept away the enemy with melee combat.

Theo looked around at the commanders and explained calmly.

“General Bonaparte’s tactics are not really special or new.

The core of his tactics is concentration and speed. In particular, he considers rapid mobility as a key strategy not only for the infantry but also for the artillery.

To ensure speed, he boldly discarded heavy equipment that hindered marching. They don’t even carry tents or sleeping bags; they just cover themselves with leaves on the side of the road and sleep.

They only pack the minimum amount of food and procure the rest through looting on the spot, which shows how much emphasis they place on attack speed.

By discarding everything that is a burden in this way, the equipment that needs to be loaded onto carts is greatly reduced, and only weapons such as ammunition are loaded, which inevitably increases the marching speed dramatically.”

“Then, what should we do against such a fast enemy? Shouldn’t we move a little faster or at least at a similar speed to win?”

Theo shook his head.

“No. We can never win with the same tactics. Even if we move quickly against the French army, who have repeatedly experienced victory by using dynamic mobility as a weapon, we will not be able to keep up with even half of their speed. We are also at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.”

“So, shouldn’t we set up a base on the mountain top and bombard them to stop their speed at all costs?”

“Austria also chose the method you mentioned, Commander. However, the result was very disastrous.

General Bonaparte is a genius with a mathematical mind, so no one can match him in artillery operations.

Although the ground is soft now and the shells will not roll but will be buried, considering that General Bonaparte has the ability to accurately hit the base, building a base on the top of the mountain will be a path to defeat.”

“Then, what tactics are you thinking of…?”

“I am going to fight General Bonaparte with completely different tactics. I will explain my strategy in detail from now on. But before that, there is one important thing that must be done right now.”

“?”

“From now on, all unit members must be randomly mixed and ordered to move in groups of five.”

“Groups of five?”

“The same goes for the commanders here, including myself. Whether you go to the bathroom, eat, or shower… you must move in groups of five. If you violate this, you must issue an order to be executed by firing squad immediately.”

“What… is the reason?”

“General Bonaparte is known to be as skilled in espionage as he is in amazing tactics.

It wouldn’t have been easy to suddenly increase the number of troops, but just knowing that he knew about our participation in advance and quickly reinforced 20,000 support troops shows that.

There are probably a considerable number of spies active in Naples or our British units.

Since all the operations we are doing from now on are a matter of life and death for all of us, we must maintain strict security.

So, my idea is that we must move in groups of five until this war is over to absolutely prevent information from leaking out.”

General Ricci, the army general of the Kingdom of Naples, nodded.

“Hmm… It will be quite inconvenient, but… if that really happens, it will be really difficult to secretly deliver intelligence because we are watching each other’s every move right next to each other, right? It’s simple but it seems very effective.”

“Yes. Instead, it must be implemented very strongly, so you must impose severe penalties.

Now, let me tell you about the strategy I have devised…”

The commanders of the Kingdom of Naples, who had listened to all the operations in detail with a serious attitude, decided to unanimously elect Theo as the commander-in-chief of the allied forces after much deliberation and actively follow his command.

* * *

The next day, dozens of hunters and herbalists who knew Cassino Mountain inside and out were summoned to the palace by order of the king.

And, in the name of the Naples-British Allied Forces, a large amount of dried fruit and dried meat were purchased, and the immediate conscription of available horses, carts, and wagons was carried out.

In addition, as much unusable cloth, blankets, and old clothes as possible were collected from each household.

In this way, countless carts and wagons, and lines of dried food, continued to enter the base for three to four days, and it was witnessed that thin wooden planks large enough for two or three adult men to lie on were also piled up like mountains and brought into the base.