He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 128

(128) The Sun of Rivoli Rises

Amidst the relentless cannon fire, the battle neared its end.

Far in the distance, dawn began to break.

The French army’s line of sight, however, remained fixed on the northwest.

The sunrise would occur behind them.

At that moment, Napoleon could only focus on the immediate front, unable to look back.

“The night bombardment makes a charge difficult!”

“Hold the bayonet charge! Dispatch messengers to each division! Maintain sufficient distance and only fire! And form torch brigades!”

“Yes! Where are the messengers!”

His adjutant, Captain Suukowski, hurried away.

Originally, the adjutants who were members of the Napoleon Club had all risen to become commanders.

That was why Suukowski, previously a guard, was selected as a temporary adjutant.

However, he wasn’t proving as effective as the original Napoleon Club members.

Napoleon found himself constantly instructing him.

“If Eugene or Marceau were here! They would have already taken care of it. Damn it!”

Napoleon was grinding his teeth and glaring ahead when suddenly,

“Your Excellency! It seems we have achieved our strategic objectives for now. Shouldn’t we pause for a moment?” Chief of Staff Berthier asked.

The full scope of the situation wasn’t entirely visible.

However, it was clear that the enemy was retreating in disarray. [Annihilation implies complete destruction, but disarray better reflects a military retreat.]

In particular, the Loudon Division had surrendered completely, and the enemy’s encirclement had already collapsed.

Nevertheless, Napoleon shook his head firmly.

“No, the sun will rise soon! Until then, fire with all your might. The moment the sun rises, advance into the enemy lines!”

The soldiers were exhausted, and the pre-dawn twilight was thick.

Because even the bonfires in the enemy camp had been extinguished, soldiers were tripping and falling.

Some rubbed their eyes while firing, crying out as gunpowder stung them.

The French army, too, was reaching its limit.

That was why Napoleon had entrusted his direct cavalry to Murat and ordered them to charge.

As Berthier suggested, they might need to pause and allow the soldiers to rest.

However, Napoleon didn’t issue the order to stop.

Why?

If they stopped now and the Austrian army slipped away, they would have to fight again from the beginning.

They might even have to wage a bloody battle in the Alps.

Of course, Napoleon was unaware of Murat’s success.

He had killed the Austrian commander, Alvinczy.

Even if Napoleon had known, he likely would have ordered the attack to continue.

What mattered was not the enemy commander, but the enemy’s overall military strength.

However, from the soldiers’ perspective, they had already been fighting all night, for over 12 hours.

Moreover, visibility was at its worst just before dawn.

“Hah, hah, hah!”

The soldiers were panting with exhaustion.

In particular, the Massena Division, which had been at the forefront, was the most weary.

Massena gritted his teeth and swung his bayonet.

The bonfires that had illuminated the field had gone out, making it difficult to distinguish friend from foe.

“Damn it! Where are the torches! They were burning so well all night, where did they all go!”

Just then.

-Whoosh!

In the distance, a fierce fire erupted on the Rivoli plateau.

All the soldiers paused.

Brigadier General Serboni urgently shouted to Massena.

“The plateau is on fire!”

Massena’s mouth dropped open.

It was as if the fire had risen in response to his words.

But that couldn’t be.

After a moment, Massena laughed and shouted.

“Freischütz is truly a genius of strategy! To start a fire on the plateau at this moment and use it as a lighthouse!”

Like the former smuggler he was, Massena referred to the fire on the Rivoli plateau as a “lighthouse.”

The metaphor was apt.

Like a lighthouse, the fire completely illuminated the remaining darkness.

Brune rushed over and shouted.

“Division Commander, give the order! The soldiers are ready!”

Massena stroked his chin and urged his horse forward again.

“Alright! Hey, Lanpon!”

The time had come for Colonel Lanpon, the charge leader of Montenotte, to charge once more.

***

Still, this was just before the flames erupted.

-Bang! Clang, click. Thump, thump. Bang!

At that moment, as the entire Rivoli area was engulfed in fierce battle,

The Rivoli plateau itself was relatively peaceful.

Listening to the gunshots and marching sounds from below, Eugene wore a wry smile.

“Wow, General Augereau is bold.”

The Augereau Division hadn’t stopped and was also participating in the night advance.

Moreover, they weren’t stopping to fire, nor were they engaging in bayonet charges, but rather conducting a night march and firing battle – a risky maneuver.

It was a situation ripe for friendly fire.

However, Augereau chose to eliminate the enemy, accepting the risk.

Then, Ippolito, who was tending to Eugene’s injuries, tilted his head.

“But, is it okay for us to be doing this?”

“We’ve fought enough. Our cavalry needs to rest, too.”

“Oh, I see a cavalryman falling over there? Is that Lan’s cavalry?”

On the plateau, the moonlight provided decent visibility below.

It was clear that Lan’s cavalrymen were having accidents while running.

It seemed Lan had made a command error, but that wasn’t the case.

Horses are essentially night-blind.

That’s why cavalry particularly avoids night maneuvers.

Nevertheless, Lan, and Napoleon, demanded that even the cavalry participate in the night offensive.

Eugene sighed lightly.

“A night general offensive… His Excellency the Commander is doing something really daring.”

Perhaps today’s battle would result in the French army suffering the most casualties of the Italian campaign.

In any case, a night offensive was bound to inflict heavy damage on the attackers as well.

But Ippolito, who had been staring intently at the front, said.

“I think we’re going to miss them.”

“Xavier’s main cavalry?”

“Not just them, but the Bravek unit is also retreating. It seems that the Augereau Division or Massena – the division from the southeast – isn’t catching them properly?”

Eugene raised his eyebrows and nodded.

It was quite possible.

In the first place, Napoleon’s corps wasn’t particularly superior in individual combat power to Alvinczy’s corps.

They had only been able to win overwhelmingly by exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses and maximizing their strengths.

However, the battle taking place in the current night situation was ultimately a series of individual combats.

Even if the Austrian army was panicked by the night raid, the individual soldiers’ combat power was still excellent.

The French army was largely conscripted, while the Austrian army consisted of highly trained professional soldiers.

Eugene, who had been quietly watching the dark valley, rose from his seat.

“I think we need to light a fire.”

“What? The sun will rise soon, won’t it? Is there really a need to light a fire?”

“We’ll miss them all before that. Besides, the Bravek unit is still intact. There’s a chance they might counterattack.”

It was an era when people, not machines, fought.

In particular, the Massena Division alone had probably been marching since yesterday afternoon.

They had been fighting all night without rest, so the soldiers’ stamina was bound to be at its limit.

On the other hand, Austrian commanders, including Bravek, were only retreating.

In terms of stamina, the Austrian soldiers might be superior.

“Gino!”

At Eugene’s call, Gino, who had been lying down and looking at the stars, raised his head.

“What?”

“Let’s go down too.”

“What? Everyone is completely exhausted. You’re not in normal condition either?”

Eugene shook his head and pointed to the bushes around the plateau as if waving his hand.

“We’re not going to fight. Let’s set a fire. Let’s illuminate the area below, using the entire plateau.”

Gino blinked and looked at Eugene, then at the valley below, and then back at the forest.

Set a fire.

And turn this entire plateau into a torch.

To do so, the Horse Grenadier Brigade must also leave the plateau.

Suddenly, Gino burst into laughter and jumped up.

“Wow, that’s a big scale! Good! Hey, everyone, get up! Anyone know how to start a fire!”

Soon after, flames began to rise across the Rivoli plateau.

***

Seeing the massive flames, Napoleon smiled.

“It’s Eugene. So, he’s safe.”

There were two units that should be on the Rivoli plateau.

One was Eugene’s Horse Grenadier Brigade, and the other was the Augereau Division.

There were also commanders such as Gino, Vial, and Verdier there.

However, the only one who could come up with a plan in this urgent situation was Eugene.

Napoleon finally turned his head, as if relieved.

Towards the east, where the sun would soon rise behind him.

“Dawn is finally breaking.”

The twilight that had been cast over the entire Rivoli, plateau and valley, was receding.

The fierce battle that had taken place all night.

It was a complete victory, but also the French Italian Corps’ costliest engagement in this campaign.

Nevertheless, everyone was running enthusiastically.

Because generals, officers, and soldiers all sensed that victory was just around the corner.

As if the sunlight was piercing through the darkness, victory reports arrived from each division.

“Your Excellency the Commander! The body of the enemy commander, Alvinczy, has been found! Colonel Murat’s breakthrough was successful!”

“The Augereau Division has succeeded in defeating the Bravek army along with the Massena Division. The enemy is scattered and fleeing!”

“Xavier’s cavalry is fleeing! Report from General Lan’s 13th Pyrenees Cavalry! They are in pursuit!”

Instantly, Napoleon issued an urgent order.

“Send a messenger to Milan. Tell Serurier to capture all those who are fleeing!”

There was no need to defend Milan anymore.

It was time for Serurier’s corps to mobilize and capture the stragglers.

Chief of Staff Berthier, who had been collecting reports, shouted,

So agitated that even his usually calm demeanor had crumbled.

“General, it’s a victory. A complete victory!”

Napoleon looked ahead and smiled.

“I see my son.”

A group of cavalry was seen rushing from the Rivoli plateau.

The sunlight shone, making Eugene, the leader of the cavalry, appear dazzling.

But conversely, that meant that the sun was rising behind Napoleon.

At that moment, Eugene, who was running, muttered to himself without realizing it.

“The sun of the revolution!”

That feeling wasn’t just Eugene’s impression.

“Viva la France! Viva la Revolution! Viva Bonaparte!”

“We won! We won! We beat Austria!”

“It’s a victory!”

French shouts echoed throughout the Rivoli area.

“Viva Napoleon! Our little corporal!”

Eugene remembered.

The shouts that had echoed when he saved 3,000 royalists in the Vendée [a region in France known for its royalist sympathies during the French Revolution].

Most of them had left for the New World, but the Napoleon Toulon postal regiment, which had witnessed that scene together at that time, was here.

Now, not only the Toulon regiment but the entire Italian corps was shouting.

Viva Napoleon, soon Napoleon forever.

“Your Excellency the Commander, congratulations on the victory!”

Eugene stopped in front of Napoleon, jumped off his horse, and shouted.

“You did quite well in the opening battle. Son.”

Napoleon praised Eugene, holding his shoulder.

He hadn’t seen it directly, but he could guess from the results.

How active a role Eugene had played.

Suddenly, Napoleon roared towards the entire Rivoli plateau.

“Now, Italy is truly ours!”

October 8, 1795.

The Battle of Rivoli was over.

With the result that Alvinczy’s 50,000-strong Friuli army [Friuli was a district of the Republic of Venice from the 15th century until its dissolution in 1797], Austria’s last major force, was annihilated.

In total, 150,000 Austrian Italian army soldiers were lost.

Now, Napoleon had become the undeniable “sun” of the revolution.