He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 126

(126) Ozhuro Rescues Eugene

Disruption: An operation where a small force outmaneuvers a larger one.

“We’re heading into the Rivoli Gorge as is. Our target is the Laudon Division!”

The problem is that we are outnumbered.

There’s always the possibility of being counterattacked, surrounded, or annihilated by the enemy.

Our advantages are the rough terrain and the fact that we are cavalry.

However, the cavalry led by Eugene is not the Pyrenean cavalry familiar with mountainous terrain.

They are mostly from Vendée or Toulon and have been active in Northern Italy.

They are cavalry unfamiliar with high altitudes.

It was different from when they fought Xavier in the highlands just a moment ago.

-Clatter!

The horses descending into the gorge are clumsy.

Even the commander, Brigadier General Eugene, is cautious.

Ippolito followed beside him, panting as he asked.

“Hah, hah! Another fight? We were just fighting the mounted riflemen!”

Rivoli Gorge, northeast.

That’s the direction Eugene’s brigade is heading.

Just moments ago, Eugene’s brigade faced the enemy’s mounted riflemen, Prince Xavier’s unit.

Using high-speed maneuvers and deception against the enemy, Eugene succeeded in stopping Xavier’s cavalry.

This also halted the advance of the Brabec infantry, who had joined forces with Xavier.

Having stalled the enemy’s advance, Eugene immediately headed northeast towards Laudon.

Even for cavalry, this is an extremely difficult task with only about one-tenth of the force.

The fundamental reason this is possible is due to Eugene’s ability.

[Xavier Cavalry Stopped, Brabec Infantry Approaching Due North, Laudon Division-Level Force Approaching Northeast.]

It’s an era without radar.

However, the Silver Word’s notifications were giving Eugene a unique [vision].

Just like his ability to sense danger, it was informing him of the enemy’s proximity.

Nevertheless, the enemy is numerous.

Eugene barely managed to steer his black horse into the gorge, shouting.

“If you have time to think, reload your ammunition instead!”

“We’re running out of bullets!”

“Then take the weapons and ammunition from the dead enemy soldiers! I won’t accept that you don’t know how to fire a muzzle-loading musket!”

Eugene shouted, watching the front.

“We have to hold out until the Commander arrives!”

So, the reason Eugene took the risk is the same as Napoleon’s.

The only way to break through the encirclement of Alvintzy’s 50,000-strong army is to defeat them individually.

For this to be possible, the enemy must be scattered, and our forces must be concentrated.

If Lan’s Pyrenean cavalry were here, the enemy would try to stick together instead of scattering.

On the other hand, the Horse Grenadier Brigade is small in number and not particularly intimidating.

At least not until they start throwing grenades.

Even the commander is just a boy, and overall, they are not very large.

At that moment, Joubert, who was scouting ahead, shouted.

“Laudon’s division is in sight!”

The Horse Grenadiers, including Eugene, lowered their bodies.

The Laudon Division, advancing from the opposite side, the northeast, was taken by surprise.

Cavalry had suddenly appeared.

The regimental commanders hurriedly shouted.

“What, cavalry? Could it be the unit that annihilated General Liptay!”

“Form a line! Prepare to fire!”

“Don’t be alarmed! This isn’t flat ground. It’s terrain that is absolutely advantageous for infantry!”

However, Eugene, who overheard the regimental commanders shouting in German, scoffed.

“Yes, but when there’s no artillery, it’s not just the cavalry that’s at a disadvantage!”

Laudon, who would later become the highest-ranking field marshal in Austrian history.

However, he never achieved any remarkable feats.

A position gained by strictly adhering to the basics and making no mistakes.

Moreover, he was promoted rapidly at a young age, making him vulnerable to unconventional tactics.

Just like Prince Xavier.

A rear regimental commander rushed to Laudon, who was looking at the front where Eugene had appeared.

“General! Enemy cavalry has appeared from behind!”

“What? What are you saying? There was no one there when we were marching!”

“W-well, I didn’t confirm it exactly. There was no way there would be enemy soldiers!”

A rear attack was unfolding.

Colonel Honoré Vial, the cavalry commander who had been hiding in ambush on the mountainside in the northeast direction Laudon had been advancing from, appeared.

-Thud!

The number was only 300.

However, since the total strength of the Horse Grenadier Brigade was 1,000, Eugene was taking an extreme risk.

If they failed to kill the enemy, the small allied force would be wiped out.

“Ambush isn’t just for surprise attacks. Everyone, open fire!”

As Vial calmly gave the order, the 300 cavalrymen fired their pistols.

-Bang! Click, bang! Click, bang! Click!

All were [Marsot cap] bullets ignited by fulminate of mercury [a type of percussion cap used for firearms].

However, even the Eugene Brigade didn’t have many of these bullets.

It was a fierce battle, using up all the remaining bullets.

This was the same for the Eugene’s direct cavalry unit that had charged from the front.

“Eugene! I’ve already fired 10 shots!”

At Ippolito’s shout, Eugene pulled back on the reins again.

“We’re retreating! Juno, send the signal!”

“Got it! Retreat! Ascend to the Rivoli Plateau!”

“Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!”

At Juno’s command, the cavalrymen simultaneously split to both sides and began to rotate as if winding a thread.

However, the flustered Laudon only stopped, hastily forming a battle line.

Taking advantage of the gap, Eugene, Juno, and Vial bypassed the Laudon army and ran.

Eugene shouted as he ran at the front.

“Run faster! Don’t let the enemies grab our necks!”

“I don’t think they’ll catch us?”

“No! There were cavalrymen we were hoping for and running towards in front, Ippolito! Xavier’s mounted riflemen!”

Of course, it was unlikely that Xavier would suddenly launch a reckless re-attack.

He would be cautiously sending out scouts to assess the situation.

However, Eugene, riding on horseback, felt uneasy and watched the front.

“Besides, something’s off.”

“Why?”

“…It’s a hunch.”

Because the Silver Word was appearing everywhere.

[Danger, danger, danger.]

However, unlike other units, this danger was not specifically indicated.

Could there be something different from Xavier, Brabec, and Laudon?

At that moment.

-Bang!

With a sudden gunshot, Eugene’s horse raised its front legs.

“Eugene!”

Ippolito shouted in surprise, but it was too late.

-Crash!

Eugene fell off his horse and crashed to the ground.

A fall from a horse.

At that moment, soldiers who looked like stragglers appeared on the ridge and shouted.

“There, the [Freischütz] [elite light infantry or skirmishers] Eugene’s cavalry is here!”

The reason why the Silver Word couldn’t name a specific unit.

Austrian stragglers had entered Rivoli.

***

A general who once knew no defeat was now the commander of irregular forces.

“This is Marshal Wurmser’s revenge!”

Bahaliks von Bahazar, commander of the Grenz Infantry Regiment [Austrian military border guard regiment].

A man who had been assigned to Wurmser’s command in Castiglione and fought against Napoleon’s army.

Unlike Roselmini or Schwirz, who reorganized their units and joined Alvintzy, Bahazar was unable to return.

It was to gather the Dalmatian infantry, the Grenz Regiment.

Guilt over losing his fellow soldiers, regret for not protecting his superior, anger towards the enemy.

When Bahazar, who had been wandering around Castiglione, barely managed to gather his forces, news came that enemy soldiers were advancing on Rivoli.

He advanced on Rivoli like a guerrilla and finally caught them.

The Eugene Brigade, which had been harassing the Austrian army, by the neck.

[Skirmishers] [lightly armed troops who fight in a loose, dispersed formation] scattered throughout the key points of the gorge aimed their muskets at the cavalry.

Suddenly, adjutant Franyo Blasic reported.

“He’s back on his horse, General Bahazar!”

Bahazar shook his head, glaring ahead with bloodshot eyes.

“It doesn’t matter. This is mountainous terrain.”

The Grenz infantry were originally soldiers who fought in mountainous areas such as Hungary, Croatia, and Dalmatia.

They are not suitable for forming a line and charging.

However, the Grenz infantry are experts at fighting scattered in mountainous terrain.

As he poured gunpowder into his musket, Bahazar muttered.

“No matter how fast they are, there’s a way to march in the mountains. It’s clear they don’t know that.”

“Our soldiers are also very tired, General!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Bahazar stared in the direction Eugene was coming from and ordered.

“If we just kill that one, we’ve done our job. After that, we retreat!”

On the other side, the Eugene Horse Grenadier Brigade was running around in confusion.

Because Commander Eugene had lost consciousness immediately after falling from his horse.

Adjutant Ippolito hurriedly put Eugene on his horse, but he was only groaning, seemingly disoriented.

Fortunately, nothing seemed to be broken, but at this rate, he would be shot and killed by the enemy.

Ippolito shook Eugene as he rode his horse.

“Eugene! Wake up!”

“Ugh. The front is dangerous…”

“Hey, then where do you want us to go! Give us instructions!”

Eugene barely saw ahead with blurred eyes.

The Silver Word’s notifications were popping up countless times.

All were death traps.

Except for one place.

“Plateau, to the center of the plateau.”

With those words, Eugene dropped his head again.

On the other hand, Ippolito, who saw the center of the plateau, widened his eyes.

Because he could see at a glance that the Grenz infantry were scattered on the way to the center of the plateau.

“Damn it, cursed by the Virgin Mary! That’s where the skirmishers are running wild?”

“What are you doing! Ippolito! What did the brigade commander say?”

“Uh, well.”

Ippolito hesitated and shouted to Juno, who was running up from behind.

“Break through the center of the plateau!”

Juno raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

“Good, that’s my kind of thing! Let’s go, Lasalle! Champot!”

“Hee-ho! Are we saving the brigade commander instead of the princess today!”

“Damn it, we might die today if we screw up!”

Led by Lasalle and Champot, Juno began to charge in place of Eugene.

-Doo-doo-doo!

Towards the center of the plateau where the Grenz infantry were reloading their muskets.

***

On the way up to the center of the plateau, 1,000 Grenz infantry were waiting.

“Good. Everyone, reloading complete!”

Adjutant Franyo clenched his fist tightly.

The Grenz soldiers were all aiming their muskets, waiting for the Eugene Brigade to come.

Even if they were not line infantry, the power would be immense if the loaded muskets were fired all at once.

Everyone except the soldiers scattered in the front was currently positioned on the path leading from the gorge to the plateau.

Now, when the enemies enter the encirclement, it’s time for a firefight.

At that time, Bahazar gave the order.

“Prepare for volley fire.”

“Yes? Shouldn’t we prepare a little more and fire all at once?”

“It’s not necessary, it’s enough to just kill the enemy. Especially, the enemy of the Marshal.”

At Bahazar’s order, Franyo shouted.

“Prepare to fire!”

The flint approached the position to ignite the gunpowder.

-Swish, shaaak, kirik!

1,000 guns aimed at the cavalry.

Bahazar also raised his gun.

Bahazar, once a sharpshooter who caught Tukur soldiers from afar, flashed his eyes.

He could see Ippolito and Eugene running in his sight.

“Finally, I’m avenging the Commander!”

At that moment, a gunshot rang out first.

-Bang!

One of the soldiers trying to fire was shot and fell.

Not from the Eugene cavalry coming.

It was a member of the Grenz infantry.

-Bang! Click, bang! Click, bang! Click!

Franyo, who had hurriedly run to the rear, returned and shouted.

“Regimental commander! Something terrible has happened. It’s French infantry. The number is, a division according to the enemy’s organization!”

Bahazar widened his eyes.

“Why are they coming here!”

But in the first place, that was what the Eugene Brigade should have said.

Colliding while wandering in the dark is what highland warfare was like in the late 18th century.

Just as Bahazar had grabbed Eugene by the neck, there was a French army that had grabbed Bahazar by the neck.

The Eugene Horse Grenadier Brigade also stopped charging.

The sound of gunshots echoed loudly between the gorge and the plateau.

-Clack! Click, bang! Clack, click, bang! Clack, click, bang!

Ippolito muttered, stopping without realizing it.

“They’re slow, but they’re firing as they advance.”

This is difficult even with a breech-loading rifle, not a musket.

First, load, then fire, then move, then reload again.

Repeating this process in formation.

A marching method that is barely possible only when the commander is faithful to the basics and conducts repeated training.

The division-level force, which had been marching slowly enough to feel distant, routed the Grenz infantry.

Unfortunately, on the opposite side of the Grenz infantry was the Horse Grenadier Brigade.

Juno, Lasalle, Champot, and Joubert rampaged, slaughtering the enemy.

The commander of the division appeared in front of Ippolito, who was watching the scene.

“You don’t look well, Freischütz Brigade Commander.”

Even in the infantry army, the commander rides a horse.

The commander on horseback had a rather stern face.

Suddenly, with a pale face, Eugene smiled from Ippolito’s horse with his eyes open.

“Commander Ozhuro. It’s nice to meet you again like this.”

“Is this the opposite situation this time?”

“Yes? Ah, you don’t have to worry about that.”

Ozhuro, who had been rescued by Eugene in Bassano before, turned his horse around.

“The debt is paid. There will be no such rescue next time.”

Ippolito clicked his tongue as he watched Ozhuro chase after the Grenz infantry and advance again.

“He’s a blunt person. He couldn’t even give a word of encouragement.”

“Instead, he’s a general who would never stab you in the back.”

“That seems like a good thing?”

Eugene shrugged his shoulders as he quietly watched Ozhuro’s back.

“Eventually, our paths may diverge.”

General Ozhuro, a thorough republican, had rescued Eugene, the knight of the princess.

Very slowly, but with a pressure that the enemies could not resist.

Bahazar, who had been about to kill Eugene until just before, was also cornered on the edge of a cliff.

Bahazar let out a scream.

“Even if you kill me, our empire will surely take revenge on you!”

Ozhuro coldly looked at Bahazar and retorted.

“Die in the name of the revolution, you dog of the empire.”

The next moment, Ozhuro’s soldiers aimed their muskets.

-Clack, bang!

It was the moment when the Ozhuro Division completely seized the Rivoli Plateau.

The encirclement was broken or stopped, and the highlands were in French hands.

The time had come for Napoleon’s [awl] [a tool for piercing holes, here symbolizing a sharp, decisive attack] to tear through Alvintzy’s curtain.