He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 257

(257) Winning the Second War of the Grand Alliance

As the battle finally ended, the battlefield fell into an eerie silence.

– Swish.

The rain poured down, making it difficult to ignite black powder.

While smokeless powder would eventually allow for gunfire even in such conditions,
in this era of black powder and priming, the rain effectively halted the battle’s roar.

The Boarneh-style percussion lock rifle wasn’t yet mass-produced, and smokeless powder remained in the experimental stage.

Wiping away the rain, Chief of Staff Berthier stated expressionlessly.

“The autumn rain is heavy, Your Excellency.”

There’s a saying that avoiding an umbrella in the rain is a sign of masculinity.

In truth, umbrellas were originally considered women’s accessories in Europe.

Napoleon, manfully enduring the Bavarian downpour, sneezed.

“Our army has suffered heavy losses too. Damn it. Achoo!”

“It was a complete bloodbath, even more so than fighting the Russian army during bayonet charges. It’s fortunate the Rhine Corps, not the Italian Legion, was the main force, wouldn’t you say?”

“Isn’t the Rhine Corps made up of Frenchmen? Troops that I might have commanded in the future have been depleted, thanks to Moreau’s aggressive fighting. Achoo!”

Napoleon, slightly ruining his image with a sneeze, sneered with a forced laugh.

“If he had fought passively as usual, there would have been fewer casualties. Hmph.”

As Napoleon pointed out, Moreau’s corps suffered nearly 30 percent casualties.

In modern terms, this would be considered near annihilation.

Out of 50,000, a staggering 15,000 died in the forest.

However, thanks to the bloody battle, the Austrian army was virtually surrounded.

Lannes, Murat, and Junot’s rough shouts echoed through the forest.

“Come on, white doves! Quickly disarm and surrender! Keep fighting if you want to die!”

“Shall we shove another Russian-made [Likhorne – a type of bayonet] up your asses? It’ll be nice and hot when your anus gets impaled on the horn. Heh heh!”

“Don’t tease them too much. They’re pitiful. But, if you don’t surrender!”

Suddenly, Junot fired a percussion pistol into the air.

– Bang!

Even with moisture, the percussion gun could fire.

The soldiers facing off were startled and flustered by the noise.

Junot chuckled and roared.

“You’re all going straight to hell, which you Catholics love so much!”

The revolutionary soldiers cheered, and the Austrian army, filled with devout believers, were enraged.

However, their surrounded situation remained unchanged.

They were positioned with Moreau in front and Napoleon’s main force behind.

Chief of Staff Leiberich approached Archduke Karl Ludwig, who was sheltering from the rain.

“Your Highness, our army can still fight.”

Archduke Karl Ludwig stared ahead with a沉沉 [chen chen – deep/profound] gaze.

“Moreau is almost within our grasp.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to completely crush Moreau’s army and attempt a breakthrough?”

“While getting shot in the back with cannons?”

Staring at Moreau’s headquarters, which was right in front of him, Karl gritted his teeth.

“The Bavarian army was weaker than I expected. If they had held out for just half a day, the battle would have been evenly matched again.”

Especially because it was raining.

In the original history, sleet fell, plunging the battlefield into chaos.

However, because the commander wasn’t Karl but his younger brother Johann, the Austrian army failed to take full advantage of the situation.

Currently, the main reason was that the Bavarian army assisting Karl was led by the still inexperienced Archduke Maximilian.

Holding out for half a day in a battle is a common expectation.

However, Archduke Maximilian’s army couldn’t withstand Eugene’s surprise attack for even two hours.

This two-hour gap ultimately determined the Austrian army’s defeat.

Looking at Karl staring at the rain above, Chief of Staff Leiberich narrowed his brows.

“Your Highness, does that mean…”

“We can’t all die, can we?”

“If we surrender, Vienna will have no ability to resist.”

It’s not that there are no troops left in Austria.

If they gathered the military resources remaining on the eastern border and in the rear, they could create another large army of hundreds of thousands.

However, there is no time or 余裕 [yoyuu – leeway/margin] to gather the troops.

Just like when Napoleon directly struck Vienna before.

Karl smiled bitterly.

“We should have reformed the military in the meantime. We can only hope that Bonaparte will honor his word. Send an envoy. We will go through the formal surrender protocol.”

In the end, Austria’s downfall was due to being too slow.

Just like in the original history.

***

The rain stopped, and the French army began to march again.

“Oh, Eugene. You’re finally here? Our [Second Public Benefactor – a title implying great contribution to the nation] has arrived.”

The army is an organization that constantly walks.

There’s a reason why marching drills are essential in military training.

There’s even a saying that the real war is fought with feet.

In September 1799, the French army was the organization with the best feet in all of Europe.

Of course, immediately after the bloody battle, the army was mostly mobilized by marching carriages.

The commander-in-chief, Napoleon, was no exception.

Eugene moved his horse to the side of the carriage, took a swig from his canteen, and asked.

“The first is Father, right?”

“Of course. I planned this campaign, led it from the front, and finally accepted the Archduke’s surrender.”

“Then who’s third?”

Napoleon, who had been boasting, glanced back.

“Moreau.”

The troops following far behind could be seen.

It was none other than Moreau’s Rhine Corps.

It was a group full of wounded soldiers, but their morale was high.

They were filled with pride for having played a crucial role in the Battle of Hohenlinden.

Conversely, Moreau also gained elite troops through this war.

Just like Napoleon’s Italian Legion or Eugene’s Orient Legion.

Eugene, who had been looking at Moreau’s corps, asked in a low voice.

“He could become a threat later. You know that, right?”

“He could become the center of the Jacobins [a radical political organization during the French Revolution]. They’ll be troublesome.”

“Well, after all, third place is just third place.”

Eugene stared straight ahead and declared.

“Now, it’s Father who will determine Austria’s fate.”

The army was heading east.

In fact, Hohenlinden is south of Munich, so the French army wasn’t heading towards Munich.

Their destination was Vienna.

Napoleon, still looking at the rear where Moreau was, that is, the carriages carrying the prisoners, said.

“Karl demanded an honorable surrender.”

“You granted it, didn’t you? Even now, he’s not tied up with ropes, just disarmed, and escorted in a carriage.”

“What about the Bavarian Archduke?”

Eugene glanced at the Orient Division and nodded.

“Yes, he agreed to surrender willingly. Munich will also open its gates to our army. Well, we don’t have time to go there now, though.”

The Bavarian army was treated very differently from the Austrian army.

That is, most of them were released.

Instead, the Bavarian Archduke was taken as a hostage.

It seemed like a setup for a surprise attack, but in reality, it wasn’t.

In the late 18th century, the gentleman’s agreement, a remnant of so-called [chivalry – a code of conduct emphasizing honor and courtesy], still dominated the battlefield.

Once commanders made agreements for honorable surrender and prisoner exchange, surprise attacks after the battle were rare.

This norm was broken in the original history around the later stages of the Napoleonic Wars.

In a way, Napoleon broke it.

As Eugene was lost in thought, Napoleon suddenly asked.

“I heard the Wittelsbach family has many handsome and beautiful people. How about it, Eugene? Do you want to become the son-in-law of the Wittelsbach family?”

Eugene asked back with a dumbfounded expression.

“Where did you hear that?”

“I heard very quickly that you were talking about a father-in-law. Fortunately, it seems you’ve forgotten about Pauline.”

“Father, Pauline, no, Aunt is not like that with me at all. Cough!”

Eugene, who coughed because he choked, quickly protested.

“Besides, haven’t I become too valuable to marry into the Wittelsbach family? I’ll become even more valuable in the future.”

This marriage is something Napoleon pushed for in the original history as well.

In the era when Napoleon’s family members were all marrying into royalty, it was a royal family he chose after finding a suitable match.

Perhaps he intended to make it Eugene’s territory.

However, Eugene has no intention of marrying an 11-year-old girl right now.

Of course, there’s no reason to be tied down to a small kingdom like Bavaria.

Above all, Napoleon was just joking; he’s not even an emperor yet, and now Eugene is much more important than in the original history.

Napoleon chuckled and leaned back in the carriage.

“Alright. Then, I need to prepare a speech for what to say in Vienna. Write a draft. You do remember that you’re originally my chief secretary, right?”

“What should I write? ‘Commander-in-Chief,’ Your Excellency.”

“The strategic goal of this war was the dissolution of the Empire. We must achieve that, with the least amount of bloodshed.”

Napoleon muttered languidly, burying himself in the carriage seat.

“A total of 21 million people have to be convinced. Of this.”

It’s not an era of very accurate statistics, but Austria’s population is about 21 million.

Of course, if you exclude the Polish territory and Hungary, it drops to about 9 million.

Eugene recalled that point and advised Napoleon.

“The space that can be made into French territory or sphere of influence is limited to the Rhineland.”

“Reason?”

“The cultures are different. Beyond that, there are completely heterogeneous ethnic groups. If you try to forcibly annex them, you’ll suffer from constant conflicts, especially if you give them suffrage.”

It’s nothing special.

Even during the old kingdom era, France’s foreign policy was not European conquest.

One of the national grand strategies was to expand to the so-called natural borders, areas that could be defended by rivers and mountains from the center of France.

In addition, Italy, Spain, or Flanders, which have some affinity as the same Latin group, are France’s war goals.

Even after winning the war, Napoleon in the original history does not recklessly annex the old Holy Roman Empire.

The reason is that only the Rhineland, where French is spoken and the culture is similar, is made into a satellite state.

Napoleon twisted his lips and laughed heartily.

“Wasn’t that what you did in Egypt? So, we’ll destroy the Empire, but France can’t take it over. The answer?”

Eugene smiled and asked back.

“You heard about what I did in the Orient and came back, right?”

“You nicely divided the Balkan Peninsula.”

“You can do the same with Austria.”

At that moment, Eugene’s eyes flashed.

“Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Austrian Poland, Slovakia, and even Transylvania must all be torn apart.”

Napoleon twisted his lips and tapped his leg.

“Terrifying. But then, the [honorable surrender] that Karl demanded will be gone? Wouldn’t they desperately try to fight even if we forcibly conclude a treaty?”

What Eugene just said is actually what happens in the future of the original history.

That is, the division of Austria caused by the Allied Powers after World War I.

Of course, Napoleon was surprisingly generous and didn’t commit such acts, but it’s different now.

Because the dissolution of the Empire has become Napoleon’s strategic goal.

Eugene turned back to the carriage carrying Archduke Karl and asked.

“You don’t want to kill him, do you?”

“Isn’t he someone who surrendered believing in me? Killing prisoners is against international custom and against my conscience.”

“I understand. Then you can give him a gift.”

When breaking a promise made with the other party, there is a very simple solution.

“You make Karl a king.”

It is to make an offer that cannot be refused.

***

The Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna was defenselessly opened.

– Thud.

The Austrians remember the time when they had to open the gates helplessly after trying to fight.

No, Emperor Franz II remembers it most clearly.

That’s why when he learned that Archduke Karl had been defeated, the Emperor gave up.

“In the end, Bonaparte has come to this Vienna.”

Looking at the Emperor, who stepped forward with a miserable face, State Chancellor Weinsberg, Imperial Advisor Thugut, and Metternich whispered.

“What will that devil say this time?”

“Abdication, probably.”

“If His Majesty abdicates, who will come next? It won’t be Archduke Karl.”

Far away, the French army, 120,000 strong, is approaching.

It is an overwhelming force given Austria’s current defensive state.

It was also the reason why the Emperor lost hope and had no choice but to surrender.

The French general, Napoleon, who arrived with 100 cannons, suddenly declared from horseback.

“I, Napoleon Bonaparte, Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, hereby declare.”

Although it was in French, French was the international language of this era.

Every Austrian aristocrat had no choice but to understand it.

Napoleon solemnly ordered the Austrian imperial family and aristocrats, who were holding their breath and pricking up their ears.

“Dissolve the Austrian Empire!”

Even the most seasoned Weinsberg, Thugut, and Metternich were all surprised and exclaimed.

“W-What are you saying?”

“You dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, and now you’re telling us to dissolve [Österreich – Austria in German] too?”

“H-How dare a country bumpkin from an island!”

At that moment, a cannon roared into the sky.

– Bang!

Just as people were startled, a cannonball struck the Schönbrunn Palace directly.

Everyone froze.

Even though the battle situation had already ended, such an act of firing cannons at the palace was unprecedented in the old days.

However, it was always common in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

The revolution had simply restored the true nature of war.

Napoleon, the true revolutionary general who had fired cannons at the palace, continued his order.

“Furthermore, the dissolved empires will each become independent. The new countries will determine whether they will be kingdoms or republics in consultation with France, and the new leaders must also comply with France’s demands. Except for Hungary.”

This is not a negotiation.

It is a unilateral notice.

But Austria had no choice but to accept it helplessly.

Who could guarantee that the ruthless French revolutionary army, who had fired cannons at the palace, would not bring the guillotine?

At that moment, Napoleon’s words struck the Emperor’s ears more powerfully than any cannon fire.

“Archduke Karl must ascend to the throne.”

Everyone was shocked by those words.

Franz II, the Austrian aristocrats including Metternich, and even Archduke Karl, who was in the escort carriage.

However, once someone ascends to the throne, they cannot easily step down.

September 15, 1799.

It was the day Napoleon ‘arbitrarily’ decided on the dissolution of the Austrian Empire and Karl’s Hungarian throne.