He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 429

(429) Give Up Portugal, Gain Spain

The chase had begun.

“Charge! Full speed ahead! Faster!”

“General! Hah… Hah… We’re getting too far from the main force!”

“I’m not doing this because I like it!”

Lasalle shouted at Lamarque, who was panting as he hurried to keep up.

“Suddenly, His Royal Highness, or rather, His Majesty the King, decided to show chivalry! Everything’s a mess now!”

In fact, Lasalle’s specialty was to crush the enemy with rapid maneuvers and surprise attacks.

This was the tactic Lasalle mainly used in the New World, where he independently commanded brigade-level forces.

However, Eugene faced Wellesley head-on and gave him three days.

Thus, by the time the French army began its pursuit, the British army had already fled west.

As Lasalle urged his horse onward, his close friend Major General Champot urgently caught up.

“Lasalle, this is a bit strange.”

“What’s strange? I guess he has plenty of time now that he’s king.”

“Didn’t you see His Majesty’s blitzkrieg at Jena just recently? The speed he moved from Berlin to Austerlitz back then was hard for even us to keep up with.”

Champot narrowed his brow, looking at the marching dust of the infantry division following from the rear.

“His Majesty must be expecting something big.”

Only then did Lasalle slow his horse.

Champot’s words were definitely correct.

Immediately after the Battle of Jena last year, Eugene launched an emergency maneuver to Austerlitz.

Considering the speed he had then, it was strange that Eugene was giving them leeway now.

Moreover, there was another problem.

“Come to think of it, we’ve already crossed the Portuguese border. Did we declare war on Portugal?”

“No need for a declaration of war. We’re still at war with Britain, so the Third Coalition War hasn’t ended. Also, Portugal is an ally of Britain.”

“I wonder if we’ll end up running all the way to Lisbon. Hey, you there! Do you see the enemy? Lamarque!”

Lamarque, who had been running ahead, returned with his squad and reported.

“Not yet! However, the terrain ahead isn’t very good!”

Terrain with mountains, hills, and undulating hills began to appear.

It was completely different from the Spanish area, which had been a good plateau for riding horses.

Above all, they were starting to see rivers that required engineers to build bridges to cross.

It was a battlefield not suitable for cavalry movement.

Lasalle, who was looking ahead with binoculars, narrowed his brow.

“This is good terrain for ambushes.”

He smiled brightly, presenting a [gift] he had brought from the New World.

“What is this, the Middle Ages? What’s with the ambush talk in the 19th century, Champot?”

“We haven’t had to deal with so-called [guerrillas] since His Majesty’s coronation. But Marshal Masséna’s corps often clashed with militias. In places like this.”

“Hmm, are the Portuguese as tenacious as the Spanish?”

At that moment, Palafox, who had been riding with Lasalle, shook his head.

“Although they are on the same Iberian Peninsula, the Portuguese have very different tendencies. From the beginning, the Catalans and Castilians have different temperaments, and even within Castile, the Galician and Leon regions are different.”

Palafox was a general who was in charge of the cavalry in the Madrid defense forces.

Of course, he was not comparable to Lasalle’s brigade, but he still had decent cavalry command skills.

So he came along as a guide and assistant commander.

Lasalle stroked his beard and asked.

“Hmm, General Palafox. You probably know more about Portuguese tactics than we do, right? What do you think, should we launch a surprise attack here?”

“No, the Portuguese would rather hold out defensively. They won’t choose a method that would cause a lot of casualties.”

“Then, it doesn’t matter. Advance!”

Again, Lasalle took the lead and began to trot.

-Doo-doo-doo!

But Lasalle widened his eyes as he looked ahead and canceled the order.

“Wait, stop the horses! Brigade, slow down! Right now!”

The 1,000-strong Royal Cavalry Guard Regiment stopped.

It wasn’t that a large army had suddenly appeared.

It was just that an obstacle blocking the road had appeared as soon as they crossed the hill.

Lasalle, staring at the [barrier], asked Champot.

“Champot, are my eyes deceiving me?”

Champot stared intently at the wall and turned his horse’s head.

“It seems we need to report to His Majesty. This isn’t a problem our Royal Guard Cavalry Brigade can handle.”

It was the moment when a chain of walls, fortresses, and mountains appeared before the Royal Army.

***

People always want to have everything.

“That greed makes everything difficult.”

“But Portugal is a strategically important point, isn’t it?”

“If we give up Spain, it’s not a strategic point. Besides, I can’t get over that barrier either.”

Eugene retorted to Hippolyte, pointing to the barrier that Lasalle had first seen.

“Even His Imperial Majesty would have difficulty.”

Most of it was earthen walls, as if it had been built very hastily.

However, the gun emplacements in various places made it difficult to approach carelessly.

Eugene smiled bitterly as he looked at the shape that somehow reminded him of the Maginot Line [a line of concrete and steel fortifications built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany].

“The Lines of Torres Vedras, huh.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s the name of the area around here. They’ve built it completely like Hadrian’s Wall [a defensive fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of what is now northern England]. I didn’t know Wellesley had a talent for fortification.”

The Lines of Torres Vedras, soon to be Wellesley’s Lisbon defense line.

The Torres and Vedras areas, just north of Lisbon, have many mountains.

Using this terrain, they created a defense line to prevent foreign troops from invading carelessly.

In fact, it was a fortress that the British had come up with to defend themselves, as the French army had once occupied Lisbon in the original history.

Of course, it was not perfect now because it was built in a hurry, to the point that Alava, who had come along as an attendant, pointed it out.

“It’s not a complete defense line yet, Your Majesty.”

“General Alava, how can you be so sure? Besides, the French Imperial Army supporting ‘us’ only has old-fashioned cannons. All the new Boarneau-style unicorns have been put into the Eastern Front.”

“Siege warfare isn’t just about cannons.”

Alava bowed to the new King Eugene with enthusiasm.

“If you order the [Madrid Division], I will gladly give my life to drive the British out of this land.”

It is ironic to think that Alava was one of Wellesley’s top collaborators in the original history.

But at this moment, it is Britain that is attacking the legitimate King of Spain.

Therefore, from the perspective of a patriot like Alava, driving out the British army is a rational conclusion.

Eugene smiled and shook his head.

“You’re brave. But I’m not a king who tells loyal nobles to go to the battlefield and die in vain.”

“This is not a futile death. It is absolutely necessary. If we leave it as it is, Britain will virtually control Portugal and constantly threaten the throne!”

“That’s a valid judgment, but the Marquis of Romana and former Carlos IV are still on the Iberian Peninsula.”

Eugene narrowed his eyes.

“Wellesley’s strategy is to make us waste time here.”

Even Masséna could not overcome this barrier in the original history.

It is almost impossible for Eugene to overcome it in a short period of time.

If he wastes time here, the Marquis of Romana’s army, which is still lurking in the south, and the dissatisfied forces in various regions will surely revolt again.

Then Spain will fall into an uncontrollable chaos.

Naturally, all the New World colonies will try to become independent.

But Junot came up and clicked his tongue, asking.

“So, Your Majesty, what are you going to do? Should we bring the Mediterranean fleet and attack Lisbon? It’s too good to give up like this, isn’t it?”

“Lisbon is a place for you to die, Junot.”

“No, why such a curse? That’s too much, isn’t it?”

Junot was horrified, but Eugene chuckled.

Eugene wasn’t just cursing Junot.

Really, here, Junot occupies Lisbon, is chased out after a defeat, and in the original history, he suffers from mental illness due to injuries sustained during the Italian campaign.

So the saying that Lisbon is a death trap is not a lie.

Eugene turned his horse’s head.

“Withdraw north of the Douro River.”

“Your Majesty! We must break through while the defense line is not complete!”

“I won’t say it twice, Alava.”

The Douro River is the river that forms the northern border between Spain and Portugal.

“The Castilian army returns to its original border and prepares for defense. Now, it’s time to pacify Spain.”

Eugene had decided to give up Portugal.

***

Salamanca, in fact, Eugene set up camp on the outskirts of the city where the oldest university in Spain is located.

“Your Majesty, you avoided engaging with Wellesley.”

Jomini, who had come to the tent at night, chuckled.

It would be even better if a beautiful woman came, but there are no women in Eugene’s army right now.

He was somehow missing Pauline, who had been working as a nurse.

Eugene shook off his wandering thoughts and replied.

“Can you see it in my eyes?”

“Others may see the British army, the Portuguese defense line, or the Marquis of Romana’s army still remaining in southern Castile, but I see Your Majesty’s strategy itself. I think you only care about Wellesley.”

“That’s right. Wellesley is different from other generals in Europe.”

Eugene stared at the map spread out on the temporary desk in the royal tent.

“I talked about the [Indian Army] before, Jomini? Wellesley is the one who moved that Indian Army. He has experience in large-scale wars where armies of hundreds of thousands move. And he has experience in winning.”

This is the real reason why Wellesley was so successful in the original history.

Waging wars involving large armies has only just begun in Europe.

But Wellesley has experienced countless battlefields in India where armies of 100,000 clashed.

So in a sense, he returned to Europe with far more battlefield experience than most veterans.

Of course, the victory of the guerrilla war waged in the Peninsular War is simply due to Wellesley’s talent.

“So, are you giving up Portugal?”

“If I’m wrong, I’ll end up giving up even southern Spain. Not to mention Portugal.”

“You must capture the Marquis of Romana.”

Jomini gave advice based on his keen analysis.

“Reorganize the enthusiastic Madrid Division and the Castilian and Aragonese armies to deal with it.”

Use Spaniards to catch Spaniards.

That’s what Jomini suggested.