He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 83

83. The Sun Rises in Montenotte

War is said to be a whirlwind.

So said Alexander the Great.

But Napoleon would have said the same.

Now, Auguste Marmont, a member of the Cleves de Napoleon [Napoleon’s inner circle], thinks the same.

The man who would later become synonymous with betrayal in history.

But now, he is a loyal devotee of Napoleon, an adjutant carrying out orders.

Marmont, Napoleon’s personal artillery adjutant, roared.

“Run, you slugs! For every minute you slowpokes are late, ten of your comrades die!”

The Horse Artillery Battery, with cavalry and artillery carriages connected, moved with all its might.

-Kuururung!

A light gun that fires 4-pound, or about 2-kilogram, shells.

However, because it is made of bronze, which is heavier than steel, even a light cannon weighs about 300 kilograms [660 pounds].

It is 1.6 meters [5.2 feet] long and has a range of 1200 meters [3937 feet].

Here, the weight of the carriage adds another 660 kilograms [1455 pounds].

Four horses pull it with four reins, and eight artillerymen ride along, whipping and guiding the cannon.

It is slow in the turbulent battlefield, but it moves incomparably faster than ordinary artillery batteries.

Horse artillery, the unit that Frederick the Great first formally organized and began to deploy on the battlefield.

However, only the French army properly utilizes this horse artillery.

And today, in this place, only Napoleon does.

Suddenly, Captain Fornesy, who was leading the horse artillery, shouted urgently to Marmont.

“Look ahead! The enemies are moving their artillery battery to the high ground!”

“They’ve only moved it halfway. That’s fine!”

“Th, then… What should we do?”

Fornesy is an officer who looks at least 20 years older than Marmont at first glance.

However, he was completely dependent on the mere 21-year-old upstart, Marmont.

Marmont, momentarily satisfied by the exhilaration, turned around and shouted.

“Hey, Colonel Duroc! How is it? What’s the condition of the cannons?”

Marmont commands, but Duroc inspects.

That’s how it was when they were educated together at the Châlons Artillery School.

They were a perfect ‘combination’.

Suddenly, Duroc jumped off his horse and checked the screws of the last cannon.

The screw sound mimicked a firing pin.

-Kirik.

Duroc nodded.

“Good.”

At that moment, Marmont slapped the shoulder of the 45-year-old artillery captain, Fornesy, and laughed.

“You managed it really well! It’s not easy to hear good things from Duroc.”

“Th, then… Are we going right away?”

“Of course! What did you say your name was, Captain?”

The old soldier François Fornesy, who faithfully obeys his young superior, replied.

“Fo, Fornesy.”

“Good, Captain Fornesy! Shoot to your heart’s content!”

“Wh, where to?”

At that moment, Marmont pointed to the artillery battery of the Argentau Corps on the Montenotte highlands and shouted.

“Of course, at that artillery battery. We have to blow those guys away first, so it will be one-sided shelling, right?”

This is why the elder Fornesy willingly obeys the younger Marmont.

He only knows how to manage the artillery battery, handle the cavalry, and shoot.

But now Marmont, and Commander Napoleon, were showing more than that.

He knows exactly who to shoot, how to move, and what to defeat in order.

People follow those who give direction in chaos.

The middle-aged 45-year-old captain, Fornesy, stuck to the artillery battery.

A total of 30 horse artillery batteries were detached from their carriages and began preparing for shelling.

-Chiiiik.

At that moment, Marmont said lowly just before putting on his earmuffs.

“Duroc, prepare.”

“Are you thinking of entering the front lines? To what extent?”

“Well, as far forward as possible so that the infantry doesn’t trample us.”

Marmont’s eyes flashed as he pointed to the very center of the front.

“That would be good.”

At that moment, Gribeauval’s work [referring to the artillery system designed by Jean-Baptiste de Gribeauval], the 4-pound cannon of the horse artillery, spewed fire.

-Kwang!

Thirty shells hit the Montenotte highlands all at once.

The artillery battery, which had been sitting there without receiving any orders until then, was struck simultaneously.

The Argentau Corps’ cannon was completely neutralized.

Marmont cheered.

“Good! Fire 10 shots in a row! Completely annihilate the artillery battery, and then run again!”

Duroc nodded silently and began to reposition the artillery battery.

Now, it was time for concentrated shelling.

***

When the explosion broke the ranks, the main force of the battlefield began to advance.

“Serboni! We must be the first to reach the enemy’s main camp!” Brigadier General Jean-Baptiste Serboni, Masséna’s adjutant, turned his head.

The battlefield was still being bombarded.

However, his superior Masséna was already busy mounting his horse.

The problem is that Masséna’s division is not a cavalry division, but an infantry division.

“But we are still under shelling?”

“Are you not going to charge because of that? Deploy skirmishers! Advance and charge in attack columns!”

“Th, then it will be dangerous when the enemy counterattacks!”

Masséna’s instructions now are like this.

After the revolution, the French infantry was organized under the influence of Count Jacques Antoine de Guibert, who was active in the Seven Years’ War.

If Gribeauval was the reformer of the artillery, then Count Guibert was the reformer of the infantry.

Count Guibert was the first to create the concept of strategy and was also the conqueror of Corsica.

However, Count Guibert argued in his [Tactical Theory] that the column, the line, and the skirmishers should be combined.

For example, like this.

One infantry regiment consists of 3 battalions, and 1 battalion consists of 8 companies.

Then, when the infantry regiment advances, 1 company is deployed as skirmishers on the front, and 1 company is placed as a rear reserve.

The rest gather narrowly in marching columns and advance, and when attacking, they widen the ranks into attack columns.

After that, in a full-scale battle, the famous line infantry line is unfolded.

However, Masséna was ordering them to widen the ranks into attack columns and charge from the beginning.

Just as Serboni was in shock, Masséna laughed.

“That’s when it’s a melee. What about now?”

“Uh, that’s…”

“Look at the front. Do the enemies have the ability to counterattack now?”

Again, Brigadier General Serboni, who looked at the front, scratched his head and nodded.

“I will charge as soon as the shelling stops.”

Completely in a state of chaos.

This is the situation that the Argentau Corps, which was preparing its ranks in advance in Montenotte, is experiencing at this moment.

Nevertheless, the Argentau Corps was also a volunteer unit with long combat experience.

In particular, the soldiers who fought against the Ottoman Empire in the eastern part of the Empire regained their senses even in the shelling.

For a moment, Brigadier General Verdier shouted, looking at the infantry units running out to avoid the shelling.

“Commander, the enemies are counterattacking!”

Brigadier General Jean Antoine Verdier is a man who used to command grenadiers.

Right on the Pyrenees battlefield under Augereau.

So Verdier is not afraid now, but asking.

He is asking for instructions on how to repel them.

Verdier’s superior, Augereau, looked at the German regiment rushing in roughly and replied heavily.

“Send the Lanfon Regiment.”

“Yes? Ah, wouldn’t it be too uncontrollable if we did that?”

“It doesn’t matter now.”

Guillaume Lanfon, the regimental commander under Augereau.

A very rough and brave man, literally a [charge leader].

However, he is a soldier with an aggressiveness that even Augereau has difficulty controlling properly.

Nevertheless, Augereau told him to send Lanfon.

Why?

The enemy is not receiving proper command, and the allies have completely seized the victory.

Suddenly, Augereau turned his gaze, looking at Verdier, who was going to give orders to the Lanfon Regiment.

He could see Napoleon watching the battlefield in the distance.

“The day that political officer showed that he is a real soldier.”

On the other side, there was also a man rushing in with a desperate determination.

Karl Sebottendorf,

A soldier who has roamed the battlefield since he was young and has worked to defend the entire Empire.

Even now, he was facing the greatest crisis of his life, but he did not give up and was leading his direct regiment.

Sebottendorf shouted to his regiment from the Luxembourg region.

“Fight back! Our army has not lost yet! The cannons, the cavalry, and the line infantry are all still intact!”

If they delay the enemy even a little, they can reorganize again.

If that happens, they will surely be able to defeat the French army.

If they can hold out for just 3 days.

However, the shell hits the brave first.

-Swoosh, Kwang!

The regimental commander, Gerhard Rosselmini, who was running next to Sebottendorf, screamed.

“General Sebottendorf!”

However, the 4-pound shell had already crushed Sebottendorf’s body.

The situation where even the last hope of a counterattack was gone.

The commander of the Austrian advance party, Count Argentau, sat down.

In this situation, there was no way to find even a clue to a counterattack.

At that time, someone grabbed Count Argentau.

It was Colonel Bukassovich.

“Let’s retreat to the high ground, Commander!”

“What? Retreat? Retreat, leaving behind the army that His Majesty the Emperor gave us? Bukassovich?”

“I’m not saying to abandon the unit!”

Josef Bukassovich shouted with bloodshot eyes.

“I will stop them with my death. I’m telling you to retreat from here and go to the fortress 3 miles ahead. There is a place called Monterežino!”

This place is located in a place where mountains extending from the Alps are located everywhere.

Even if you head north of Montenotte, there is a mountain fortress.

Even if they wage a siege warfare at that fortress in Monterežino, they will be able to hold out for more than 3 days.

Count Argentau, who found hope, grabbed Bukassovich, turned around, and ran.

“Yes, I ask you to do this, Colonel Bukassovich!”

Looking at Argentau, who was hurriedly riding away, Bukassovich turned around.

“Hoo, it will be our last battle. Grenz Regiment!” [A regiment from the military frontier of the Austrian Empire]

The direct regiment that came from the eastern border of the Empire, Croatia, lined up.

Now it was time for the infantry charge, and the shelling had decreased.

In addition, the sun was setting in the west, and night was approaching.

Nevertheless, the French army was advancing relentlessly.

Suddenly, Bukassovich shouted, touching the cross medal hanging on his chest.

“Let’s bet our honor on the cross given to us by the Empress!”

The cross that Empress Maria Theresa, the former emperor, had awarded.

He remembers the place where he was appointed as a knight of the Order named after the Empress.

Bukassovich, like Argentau, was also there.

Soldiers who are loyal to the monarch, not the state.

The soldiers of the Empire shouted all at once.

“Let’s die with honor!”

It was literally a simultaneous charge.

The Grenz infantry regiment, which is brave even in gunfights, even though they cannot form a line, charged.

With bayonets, ready to stab the enemy like spears.

The goal is one place.

“Capture the commander!”

The Grenz infantry regiment broke into the center of the French Italian Corps, which was caught off guard.

Just a little further, and Napoleon would have been in sight.

That’s when it happened.

-Tang! Clang, Tang! Clang, Tang! Clang!

Such rapid fire that it seemed like a burst.

The infantry regiment, which had been running without even having a chance to dodge properly, fell to the ground one by one sporadically.

Bukassovich also stopped running, hit by a bullet.

“H, how… to shoot so quickly.”

Bukassovich, bleeding profusely, crashed to the ground.

The blood of the Austrian army flowed over the land of Montenotte.

***

It is certainly not yet an era where rapid fire is common.

-Clang, Tang! Clang, Tang! Clang, Tang!

Napoleon’s commander’s bodyguard was firing their guns all at once.

Once they shoot, they immediately turn to the back and reload, and the ranks standing behind them come forward and shoot again.

Three rows of soldiers taking turns shooting is the same as other line infantry.

The difference is the loading method of the guns they use.

Patrick Ferguson Rifle, soon to be famous with a screw-type breech-loading rifle.

These are the ones wearing too blue coats, and even darker navy blue uniforms unlike ordinary infantry.

Ippolito, who was catching his breath after the initial charge, shouted.

“Look! The [Ciel Coat] blocked it!”

Ciel, French for sky blue.

So, Napoleon’s [Blue Coats], which ended the war in Vendée, were deployed.

Eugene turned around and got on his horse.

“There is no need to deploy Brigadier General Laharpe’s reserve unit.”

“Isn’t there? Uh, where are you going?”

Eugene smiled, staring straight ahead.

“Let’s go catch the head, Ippolito.”

The silver letter notification that clearly appears is visible.

[Escaping: Commander Count Argentau. Moving to the rear north.]

Eugene’s horse grenadier regiment, in fact, a company-sized 300 riders, began to move again.

At that time, Eugene discovered Lan, who was charging again.

The cavalry had finally begun to be deployed.

“Commander’s orders! 13th Cavalry Regiment! Prepare to charge!”

Lan roared and launched the Pyrenees Cavalry Regiment.

“Finally, our time has come. Run!”

It is the Pyrenees Cavalry Regiment that has been eagerly waiting until the battlefield is completely tilted.

Lan at least tasted the battle in the initial skirmish, but the rest of the cavalry had to watch the artillery and infantry play until now.

Every soldier wants to fight in a winning battle.

Finally, the opportunity came.

-Dududu!

1,500 riders.

The cavalry who were able to stand on the battlefield without being robbed of their horses.

The entire current strength of the Pyrenees Cavalry Regiment charged excitedly.

The comrades left in the rear will envy them.

The infantry running on foot will envy them.

What will the enemy, who was holding out in the front, think of them?

In an instant, the Pyrenees Cavalry Regiment trampled the terrified enemy with their horses.

“Ugh!”

“Save me! Mother, Holy Mary!”

“R, run away!”

The moment the ranks were completely broken, Lan ran across the battlefield and shouted loudly.

“Breakthrough!”

At that time, someone approached Lan and shouted.

“Lan! Can you still run!”

Lan blinked.

It’s Eugene.

He thought he had returned to the rear after working together in the initial battle, but why is he here?

“What’s going on, Boy Standard-bearer?”

“We are not enough alone. We need the help of a cavalry specialist!”

“Special, what? Is it English? Anyway, I know what you mean, but what’s the problem?”

In response to Lan’s question, Eugene pointed to the rear highlands.

“Argentau!”

Argentau’s troops were scattered and retreating.

Lan is also a soldier who can assess the battlefield effectively.

He knew well enough that capturing the commander was the most important thing.

Without being obsessed with annihilating the enemy any longer, Lan grabbed the reins.

“Raise the flag, Boy Standard-bearer! So that the shelling doesn’t pour on us!”

Eugene hurriedly picked up the tricolor flag that had fallen on the battlefield.

-Flutter!

Literally, Eugene’s horse grenadier corps and Lan’s Pyrenees cavalry corps charged into the mountains all at once.

No formation, no tactics, no command needed.

The only thing needed is the speed to catch the enemy.

Argentau, who was running his horse to death, turned around at the sound of hooves and was horrified.

“Wh, what! Why is the cavalry coming this way!”

However, the distance is too great.

Suddenly, Eugene lowered the flag and grabbed the pistol.

Because he commanded the grenade unit in the initial battle, he still had an unfired pistol.

This pistol is a test piece.

The first gun to use diluted [fulminate of mercury] instead of a percussion lock.

It contains the first fulminate of mercury bullet made by DuPont.

It is a bullet covered with a percussion cap.

It is a detonator that may explode at any time, but Eugene fearlessly held it.

Because if it is really dangerous, the silver letters will tell him.

“Now, just one shot.”

In an instant, the fulminate of mercury detonated, and the percussion cap bounced into the air.

-Tang!

The bullet flew and pierced Argentau’s neck as he ran on his horse.

Argentau’s neck, which was trembling, was bent.

The horse was still running, but the rider slumped.

-Thud.

The rider, Count Argentau, rolled on the ground.

At that moment, Ippolito hurriedly grabbed the flag that Eugene had dropped.

The tricolor flag.

The flag of the revolution fluttered in the air.

“We caught the commander!”

The entire cavalry shouted.

Finally, they caught Count Argentau.

Eugene shouted to the soldiers.

“Raise the tricolor flag of the revolution! The revolution has won over the Empire!”

The first battle in which the enemy was literally annihilated after the French Revolution.

The initial battle of the Italian expedition, the Battle of Montenotte, ended at this moment.

Napoleon, who was holding binoculars at the headquarters, jumped up and started running on his horse.

Declaring victory on the battlefield.

“Now, Italy is ours!”

March 21, 1795.

The time when the sun sets in the west.

However, for Napoleon, the sun was just beginning to rise in Montenotte.

The sun in the name of victory.