He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 245

(245) Suvorov Arrives at the Fateful Marengo

The Russian Empire had defeated the French Revolutionary Army.

“Urgent news! Everyone, listen up! Russia has defeated France!”

News of defeat always travels faster than news of victory.

It wasn’t the victory at Verona that reached Paris first, but the defeat in Switzerland.

The five Directors gathered at the Tuileries Palace, slumped in their seats as they heard the devastating news.

Upon hearing Auguste’s shout, Danton looked at the ceiling and screamed.

“Good heavens, Moreau has lost again!”

The Director’s secretary, Deglantine, quickly added to calm Danton down.

“It’s not a complete defeat yet. Casualties are around 10,000, and the rest have retreated to Geneva.”

“How much more do we have to lose before it’s considered a complete defeat! We’ve lost Switzerland entirely!”

“It means the Rhine front is safe, Director.”

At that moment, Danton threw down his pen and shouted.

“Bullshit! If the Russian army reaches the Rhine like this, will Prussia just stand by? They’ll launch an all-out offensive! We’ll have to fight at Valmy again!”

Currently, France has four land fronts:

Italy, Switzerland, the Rhine, and Flanders.

Among them, the Prussian army led by Blücher is advancing towards Flanders.

The Jourdan Corps, along with the Batavian Republic [a French-controlled republic in the Netherlands], is holding them back, but there are limits.

Originally, Moreau, the commander of the Rhine front, was supposed to move north to support.

However, as the Russian army approached Switzerland, he went to support Laharpe and suffered a setback.

The assessment that only 10,000 troops were lost is not wrong.

But if things continue like this, the Flanders front will be breached.

If that happens, Paris will be in danger.

Lafayette, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

“If it comes to it, I will take the field.”

Only then did Danton remember that Lafayette was the hero of Valmy, and he glared.

“Lafayette, you?”

“I am a soldier by nature. Have you forgotten?”

“No, that’s true, but wasn’t the last time you were on the front lines eight years ago?”

Could it be that he has long lost his sense of combat?

Danton said it directly, but the other three Directors had similar expressions.

However, Lafayette shouted with a determined look.

“If we fight with the determination to die, we can protect Paris! Our France still has that much strength left!”

In fact, Lafayette’s words are true.

Because in the original history, before Napoleon returned from Egypt, France fought surprisingly well in a similar situation.

The defense force, composed of Jourdan, Moreau, and Masséna, repeatedly advanced and retreated, successfully defending the front.

However, unlike the original history, France faces another problem.

“Your excellent fighting spirit is admirable. But we must face reality, Director Lafayette.”

Demoulins, who stutters, spoke without stuttering once.

“Currently, our Atlantic and Mediterranean ports are completely blockaded.”

“Not yet to that extent.”

“It happened after the Florida relief fleet left. No merchant ships can set sail except for smugglers.”

Demoulins pointed to the petitions piled up in one corner of the Director’s meeting room and said.

“Merchants are clamoring for coffee and sugar, and citizens are clamoring for tobacco. Fortunately, this year’s wheat harvest is not bad.”

Even if it’s not just luxury goods, essential goods like timber and rope from Northern Europe are also under embargo.

This is because the British fleet, gathered from all over the globe, is attacking all French ports.

This situation implies something else.

There is a significant problem with the collection of taxes, including tariffs.

“If this continues, our French government will go bankrupt.”

Lafayette widened his eyes and protested at Demoulins’ summary.

“We can bring in more money from Italy! Bonaparte’s bank there is overflowing with funds!”

“Those funds are all military funds. It’s money going into canned goods, uniforms, and firearms and gunpowder.”

“Issue government bonds and pay with that! Confiscate all the reserve funds in the bank!”

Demoulins replied with a sigh.

“Who can go to Italy and deliver that order? Bonaparte is there.”

That the Bank of Italy is Eugene’s bank is a secondary issue.

The real priority is that all the bank’s reserve funds are military funds.

Would Napoleon be willing to give up military funds to the government?

Lafayette shouted in anger.

“The country comes first, before personal property! Immediately!”

“We can’t go there anyway. A war is about to break out.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Then, Salicetti, who had been watching the situation, took out a document.

“Intelligence has been received that the Russian army is crossing the Alps. It’s information from Bonaparte’s organization, the Sûreté [French secret service].”

Lafayette accepted the intelligence document with a complicated heart.

It was information that even the French government had not yet confirmed.

Furthermore, if they had known this information, the Russian army would not have advanced to the Rhine, and there would have been no need to be so flustered.

But despite Napoleon’s intelligence capabilities, there is still a remaining problem.

If the Russian army defeats Napoleon, the threat will be doubled.

“Then, everything depends on Bonaparte. Now.”

The five Directors had to look at each other and admit it.

That the fate of France now depends on Napoleon.

***

In the city of Trento, once part of the Holy Roman Empire, a young man was screaming.

“Aaaagh! Ugh, Bonaparte! You cursed devil! Ugh!”

Inside the barracks, high-ranking generals hurriedly grabbed the young man.

“Hold him! His Highness the Archduke is having a seizure!”

“Close the tent, immediately!”

“Your Highness, please take this!”

However, the young man trembled for a moment, then shook his head and stood up.

“I’m okay. Now. Whew.”

It was a symptom of epilepsy, also known as seizure disorder.

A congenital affliction of Archduke Karl Ludwig von Habsburg, the hope of the Austrian Empire.

In the original history, this disease would develop severely, causing him to withdraw from the War of the Second Coalition.

But he was not yet in that state.

Karl asked an old general who was looking at him with a worried face.

“Field Marshal Melas, how many troops have gathered here in Trento?”

Michael von Melas, commander of the Austrian Second Army, replied with a grim face.

“Almost all of the Second Army that I was leading.”

“Are there any troops that retreated north from Caldiero?”

“There are some. But it’s hard to say there are many.”

Karl covered his face with a feeling of despair.

“The capable young men of Magyar [Hungarian] have died. Because of me.”

Most of the First Corps troops brought to Italy were Magyar, that is, Hungarian.

This was because they had gathered a large number of Eastern defense forces, taking advantage of the collapse of the Turks.

However, they were almost annihilated in a single battle at Caldiero.

Of course, in reality, they would not have been completely annihilated, and many would have become deserters in northern Italy.

But considering the injuries and the enemy’s suppression, it was as good as a death sentence.

Then Melas said cautiously.

“It would be best to wait here, Your Highness.”

“What do you mean, Field Marshal? We should gather the scattered soldiers or unite with the allied forces.”

“The Russian army has already headed towards Lugano.”

Karl widened his eyes upon hearing the place name.

“Lugano? That’s right in front of Como. How on earth did they cross the Alps already?”

If Trento is the eastern route from Austria to Venice, Lugano is the western route.

It is the gateway from Switzerland to Italy, especially towards Milan.

Back in the Renaissance, it was also part of the Duchy of Milan.

However, after the 16th century, it joined the Swiss Confederation and is nominally part of Switzerland.

Melas quickly added to the surprised Karl.

“Not only that. They have destroyed the self-proclaimed Helvetic Republic [French-backed Swiss Republic] and revived the [Swiss] aristocratic confederation.”

“What?”

“They have even defeated the French army, Moreau’s army.”

Schweiz, that is, the German name for Switzerland.

In fact, most of the Swiss population is of German descent, so it is no exaggeration to say that Schweiz is the correct national name.

Switzerland is, strictly speaking, an English pronunciation.

Anyway, Karl, who was naturally more familiar with German than English, stared blankly at Melas and asked again.

“I really can’t believe it. Was that even possible?”

“It is certain that they have already crossed the Alps. However, the current information needs to be re-examined. Currently, Field Marshal Paul Kray’s Third Army has followed as support.”

“No, it must be true. If they crossed the Alps. Then, shouldn’t we join them?”

Melas once again dissuaded Karl from his very common-sense question.

“If we move towards Milan from here, it will be easy for the supply lines to be cut off in the meantime. Wouldn’t it be better to watch how the Russians and French fight and then move?”

A strategy that emphasizes the thorough connection of supply lines and communication lines.

It is a norm that the Austrian army has followed like the Bible until now.

Karl also knows well how much this strategy can stabilize the army.

Especially in the case of the Austrian army, a mercenary corps composed of various races, it is essential.

But can they really face Napoleon with such a cautious advance?

Only very negative answers come out.

Nevertheless, Karl had no choice but to accept Melas’ words in the end.

“Hmph, if only my body were healthy! Alright. However, as soon as I recover, we must join Suvorov!”

Melas had a dissatisfied look on his face, but he bowed politely.

“I understand, Your Highness.”

Not because Karl thought it was right, but because he was the Emperor’s brother.

***

Paul Kray von Krajowa, the 64-year-old general, met a marshal older than himself on the battlefield for the first time in a while.

“I greet the victor of Schweiz!”

The opponent, who literally made one bow his head, smiled with a slender face.

First of all, he has more troops under his command than Kray.

But what’s really scary is something else.

That he crossed the Alps, the barrier to the far north, in a truly short period of time.

“Are you Paul Kray, the commander of the Third Corps?”

“The Austrian army doesn’t have a corps organization, but if you mean the commander of the Third Army, that’s me.”

“I’ve heard the story. The man who defeated Kleber, the conqueror of Egypt?”

Kray smiled bitterly at the unexpected praise.

“That’s an old story. Besides, it was just an engagement that took place during the war commanded by His Highness the Archduke. I can’t dare to compare myself to Kleber.”

During the First Coalition War, Kray commanded the army on the Rhine front.

At that time, Kray was active under Karl, and in the middle, he fought with Kleber in Wetzlar.

At that time, Kray defeated Kleber’s army, causing them to retreat, and that’s the story he’s bringing up.

However, in the original history, Marceau dies in that very battle under Kleber’s command.

Immediately after that, Kray is defeated by Hoche and retreats.

Thanks to going to Egypt, all of that didn’t happen.

Nevertheless, it is clear that Kray is not a mediocre general.

The 70-year-old General Suvorov, a newspaper fanatic who only looked at the operation in the newspaper and grasped the fact, laughed heartily.

“I like humble generals. Hehe, let’s do well.”

“Where are you going now? Milan? Or Genoa?”

“Well, to protect Milan, Bonaparte is coming quickly, right?”

Suvorov, who looked south as if he could see Milan for a moment, said lightly.

“Somehow, I want to have both.”

Kray blinked and asked again.

“What do you mean by that?”

“When I looked at the topography here, there was a strategic point between Milan and Genoa. It’s called Alessandria.”

“Yes? Ah, there is such a city. It’s a transportation hub.”

Somehow, it has a similar name to Alexandria in Egypt, but the origin is different.

Egypt, of course, is a name derived from Alexander the Great.

On the other hand, Alessandria, a city in northern Italy, is named after an old Pope Alexander who founded it.

Suvorov, who is on his first trip to Italy, slightly unfolded the map and said.

“I will move towards that side. Then, I can threaten both Milan and Genoa. Furthermore.”

Suvorov’s gaze turned to Alessandria.

“Bonaparte will have no choice but to come. At the fastest speed.”

“Why is that?”

“If I get enough food there, I can go to mainland France.”

At that moment, Kray, who was listening, was so surprised that he opened his mouth wide.

“Marshal, that’s too reckless!”

However, Suvorov’s subordinates are calm.

Barclay, Bennigsen, Bagration, and even Kutuzov are all like that.

Suvorov laughed heartily and patted Kray on the shoulder as he looked around in surprise.

“The reason you guys couldn’t beat Bonaparte is because you think it’s reckless. Hahaha!”

Only the reckless can beat Napoleon.

Suvorov accurately saw through that fact.

Late July, 1799.

Suvorov began to advance to the place that would later become more famous as Marengo in the original history.

To catch Napoleon.