He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 209

(209) Conquering the World’s Oldest Port

Jaffa, an ancient port city inhabited since 7500 BC.

“The Crusades always started here, and they made their last stand here as well.”

A 40-meter-high hill stands tall, closely abutting the coastline.

Over thousands of years, people have built walls and residences here, making it appear even taller.

Above all, the fortress built by the Ottoman Empire to protect the Syrian coastline looks impregnable.

The second-in-command of the Knights Hospitaller, Tomassi, recited while standing at the bow.

Watching him, Ippolito whispered to Eugene.

“Weren’t we supposed to be revolutionaries, not crusaders?”

“Of course. If we needlessly flaunt the cross, we won’t even be able to set foot here without a fight. Besides, some of our auxiliary troops are Muslim Mamluks.”

“But what’s that flag?”

Eugene chuckled, looking at the Knights Hospitaller’s cross flag fluttering at the top of the ship next to the French tricolor.

“It’s proof that the Knights Hospitaller are with us. Evidence to submit to the Vatican later, you might say.”

At that moment, the senior division commander and commander of the Guards, Marceau, approached and shouted.

“Alright! So, are we going to deal with this the same way again? Amphibious assault!”

Eugene glanced back at the enthusiastic Marceau.

The head of the Knights Hospitaller’s nursing unit, Angelique Marceau, was watching with sparkling eyes.

In short, not only Pauline but also Marceau’s wife had joined this battle.

Of course, if he had only brought the army, Eugene would never have allowed them to come.

But since the fleet came along, there was room to transport non-combatants like Pauline, Angelique, and Volney.

This was all possible because they had almost complete control of the sea.

Teasing Marceau, Eugene asked.

“Aren’t you being too enthusiastic in front of Angelique? But it won’t be easy to take it that simply.”

“Huh? Isn’t that why we brought the Bedouins all the way here? Spending as much as 100,000 francs.”

“Do you know that our army’s maintenance cost is 500,000 francs a month? That’s cheap. Besides.”

Eugene’s gaze turned to the Jaffa fortress.

“As you can see, that’s a fortress. Not just a castle rising in the middle of the desert like El Arish.”

The high walls look like an iron wall.

If they were to attack from the land, it wouldn’t be easy since they would have to fight uphill from below.

Even if they mobilized the artillery, it would be difficult to even hit the walls.

Therefore, it is difficult to capture the fortress itself with Bedouin cavalry.

So, should they land the French army this time and wage a siege?

The problem is that the French army didn’t bring siege guns this time either.

Marceau tilted his head.

“Are you saying we have to land? Without siege guns?”

“That’s a problem, but there’s a bigger problem.”

“Why?”

Eugene clicked his tongue, looking at the [Notification] appearing in silver letters before his eyes.

“There’s a plague going around there. It would be very troublesome if it spread to the soldiers.”

The silver letters are warning of [Danger].

There is no way there would be a particularly skilled commander or a strong defense force in Jaffa.

Then the disease that stopped Napoleon in the original history is spreading inside the castle.

That is, [Plague].

Since it is not an era where vaccines have been developed yet, it is best to avoid contact with epidemics as much as possible.

However, Marceau asked back with a dumbfounded face.

“No, if we don’t land and the Bedouins aren’t enough, how do we capture the fortress?”

“I said it wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t say we wouldn’t use the same method. Marceau.”

“What are you talking about?”

Eugene clapped his hands.

“It’s a bit of a waste, but let’s use the shells we were going to use in Acre here. Surcouf!”

Then, this time too, the captain of the Horus, Surcouf, ran up and shouted.

“Speak, Commander!”

“Tell Captain Sheila of the Hercules. When the walls collapse, pour concentrated shells into that area.”

“Understood!”

Again, Eugene called the general who was busy climbing onto another ship next to him and looking at Jaffa Castle.

“Desaix!”

The moment Desaix, aboard the battleship [Artemis], turned his gaze, Eugene raised a megaphone and shouted.

“When the shelling starts, support the Bedouin cavalry from behind! Can you do it?”

“Of course. Can I charge?”

“Yes! But don’t engage in bayonet combat, just engage in shooting!”

Desaix laughed heartily and moved the ship with a gesture.

“Understood. Commander. I’ll show you the shooting skills of our unit!”

This time it was Desaix’s division’s turn to engage in shooting.

***

Jaffa, later in the original history, became Tel Aviv, the largest city in Israel.

-Uwaaaa!

Camels pour into Jaffa, the southernmost promising port city in the so-called [Syria] region.

3,000 camel cavalry led by Sheikh Hassan Tubar.

Not all are Bedouins.

A considerable number of former Mamluks are mixed in, and some are Coptic cavalry.

But they all have something in common.

They are from Egypt in the Near East.

Conquer the land by marching with local Egyptian auxiliary soldiers, and then the naval fleet provides fire support.

In the original history, this is the strategy that the British fleet uses with the Turkish army.

But now Eugene is using the amphibious strategy.

All thanks to saving half of the Mediterranean fleet.

The 11 battleships and 10 frigates patrolling the sea in the distance.

The Egyptian auxiliary soldiers running on camels had no choice but to be full of spirit.

It is a golden opportunity to wipe out the Turkish forces that have dominated Egypt for 300 years, with the French army that annihilated the forces of the fearsome Mamluk Beys [Powerful regional rulers in Ottoman Egypt].

“Now, let’s go! This time too, we will capture the castle and take the lord’s head!”

It was the moment Sheikh Hassan was about to climb the hill in one fell swoop.

-Swoosh, bang!

Suddenly, a shell flew and blew away some of the Bedouin cavalry.

“What!”

“Shelling! The artillerymen from Jaffa Castle are shelling, Sheikh!”

“Damn it. Were there still defenders here?”

Jaffa Castle is different from El Arish.

Unlike El Arish, which had a formal fortress in an oasis, Jaffa is a commercial city in itself.

In addition, there is a fortress wall that has already existed since the Crusades.

Therefore, the Ottoman Empire has also concentrated a considerable number of troops here.

5,000 infantry, 1,200 artillerymen, and as many as 50 cannons.

Although they were old cannons, 50 of them had considerable firepower.

Hassan hurriedly stepped back and shouted, looking at the 50 gunports where the barrels were already heating up.

“What are the [Franks – a term used in the Middle East to refer to Europeans] doing! Huh?”

At that time, the battle fleet, which was only thought to be patrolling in the distance, rushed to the coast.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

France’s Gribeauval cannons [a type of French artillery] naturally have a longer range than the Ottoman’s old cannons.

In particular, cannons loaded on ships tend to pay more attention to range.

The fact that the city is close to the coast, unlike Damietta, also contributed.

In an instant, the shells that collided with the walls exploded as they were.

-Rumble!

The problem was that these bursting shells were concentrated in one place, not in several places on the wall.

The bursting shells exploded on the bastion right in front of the coast.

Soon, the brick walls began to sink.

Hassan, surprised, opened his mouth wide.

“The walls are, collapsing?”

But in fact, there is nothing to be surprised about if you know the reason.

In the Jaffa capture battle in the original history, the walls collapse because they cannot withstand the weight of the defenders.

Although it is a very high and strong-looking wall, it is a castle that was built at least 300 years ago.

It is not prepared for siege warfare dominated by cannons, and furthermore, it has been weathered and worn out by the waves.

In the end, it could not withstand the concentrated bursting shells.

At that time, behind the Bedouin cavalry, who had stopped in surprise, fluent Arabic was heard.

“Sheikh Tubar! Pasha Desaix is here!”

It was Desaix, who had obtained the title of [Pasha – a high-ranking title in the Ottoman Empire] in Damietta, who was running.

Hassan Tubar also acknowledges Desaix’s skills.

Because he is the man who annihilated the Janissaries [elite Ottoman soldiers] of the Ottoman Empire, who were always a target of fear, at once.

Hassan was also nervous at the sight of the man leading his soldiers at a rapid pace.

“Let’s break through. The enemies are in a state of panic now!”

“Y-yes. Let’s go, guys!”

“Let’s go!”

Desaix, who entered the castle in chaos at once, ordered his soldiers.

“All units, volley fire!”

Desaix’s division, which had been advancing in columns, spread out in a row at once.

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

While the three rows of firing lines poured out fire in succession, the Bedouin cavalry rushed into the castle.

Naval bombardment, volley fire, and cavalry charge.

The combination of the three was perfectly achieved.

It was also the moment Jaffa collapsed.

***

The combination of naval battle fleet bombardment and land auxiliary soldiers’ charge once again rings the victory.

“Kill them! We cannot surrender to the Frankish invaders!”

A middle-aged Arab man, covered in blood, shouted from the completely fallen fortress of Jaffa.

His face shows that he still cannot believe the defeat.

The generals of the [Eugene Corps], who entered without a proper battle, have similar expressions except for Desaix.

In fact, Eugene himself felt a bit like that.

At that time, Eugene roughly understood the Arabic, and the interpreter next to him translated it.

“He is called Abdallah Bey [a Turkish title denoting rank]. He is the lord of this Jaffa.”

“Who did you say was the higher lord?”

“The governor of Sidon, Cezar Pasha. He is in overall command of Damascus and this area. Especially since the Grand Vizier [the prime minister of the Ottoman Empire] was defeated by us and fled.”

It is Gauhari, an Egyptian scribe from the Coptic religion.

He could have lived comfortably in Egypt, but Gauhari ended up following the expedition.

While looking forward to the moment when he would seize the lifeline of the Ottoman Empire.

Eugene listened to Gauhari’s explanation and approached the Arab lord.

-Swish.

The Arab lord, Abdallah, was surprised to see the rope that had been released and shouted.

“W-what!”

“Abdallah Bey, I will not kill you.”

“Ha, I will not surrender to the infidels! You beardless brat!”

Eugene snorted and retorted in still clumsy Arabic.

“Instead, go to the governor of Sidon and tell him.”

He chose Abdallah as a messenger to convey to Cezar Pasha, the current governor of Sidon.

“If you hand over the Franks there, there is no reason to touch Acre.”

Abdallah looked at Eugene with disbelief and backed away and ran away.

It may be difficult because it is an arid zone, but he will receive help from the locals.

Everyone was surprised.

Even though they won so easily, is it okay to let the defeated general go so easily?

Adjutant Ippolito asked urgently.

“What do you mean, Eugene?”

Eugene had already gone down below the wall and replied, looking at Abdallah leaving Jaffa.

“Remember Sydney Smith who escaped?”

“Well, yes? I don’t know if that guy was on board, but a fleet that looked like the British fleet escaped from Damietta.”

“Where did they escape to? I think it will be where the governor of Sidon is. Beirut is originally under the jurisdiction of the governor of Sidon.”

Beirut, soon the capital of modern Lebanon in the original history, and a place used by the Turkish army as a maritime port.

In short, Eugene judged it this way.

Sydney Smith’s British fleet must have combined with the Turkish Syrian defense forces.

Ippolito nodded as if he understood now.

“Ah, you mean that thing about handing over the Franks? Oh, but would the Turks abandon the British army?”

“No.”

“Then why did you do that?”

Eugene shrugged and told Ippolito and the division commanders.

“But, if my prediction is correct, the command may be divided. The command of the real European who is defending Acre right now. Maybe it’s a Frenchman.”

“What? A Frenchman?”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, Eugene twisted his lips and smiled.

“Our [Father]’s rival.”

It is the story of the second person who broke Napoleon’s [delusions of grandeur] in the original history.

Now, he is probably with the governor of Sidon, Cezar.

Antoine Le Picard de Phélippeaux.

Soon, Napoleon’s childhood classmate will meet Eugene.