He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 88

(88) Crossing the Adda River with France’s Finest Hussars

Originally, the Battle of Lodi, despite its fame, was a rather modest, small-scale engagement.

-Doo-doo-doo!

A mounted grenadier battalion, composed entirely of cavalry, raced across the Lombardy plains.

Speed—that was the only thing this unit considered.

Strangely enough, they were running without even the grenades that gave the unit its name (hand grenades).

Pistols and rifles were practically the only equipment this battalion currently possessed.

However, another cavalry column followed behind them, slowing down slightly.

It was the engineer wagon unit organized by Chief Engineer Chasseloup.

“Run, you tortoise-like bastards! Are you going to fall behind the mounted grenadiers!” Chasseloup yelled, whipping his men on.

Eugene took a breather, looking back at Chasseloup, who was desperately urging his men forward.

“It’s fortunate that Colonel Chasseloup came.”

“Isn’t he just slowing us down?”

“Once we arrive, we’ll be faster thanks to Colonel Chasseloup.”

In the original history, Chasseloup caught Napoleon’s eye at the Battle of Lodi.

In fact, the Battle of Lodi itself was one of Napoleon’s greatest stepping stones to success.

This is because the victory in this battle was heavily reported in Paris, making Napoleon a war hero of France.

However, the actual battle was only a division-level clash, with approximately 10,000 soldiers on each side.

At that time, Chasseloup succeeded in crossing the river, becoming one of Napoleon’s chief engineers.

But now, the forces gathering at Lodi are completely different from what history recorded.

Napoleon’s army numbered 45,000, and Beaulieu’s main and rear armies totaled 40,000.

The Italian and Lombardy armies are about to clash.

Thus, it has become a truly fateful battle.

Eugene adjusted the speed of his black horse and muttered.

“It has become a battle that will determine the fate of Lombardy.”

“Huh? Wasn’t it always like that?”

“Normally, we should be besieging Mantua or confronting them in front of Milan, right? Beaulieu is in a panic and made a strange maneuver.”

Of course, from Beaulieu’s point of view, there is a legitimate reason: a luring operation.

But that is only effective when Napoleon takes a gamble-like operation.

For example, personally leading the charge across the Lodi bridge.

Eugene remembered seeing such a record somewhere but shook his head.

It must be just one of Napoleon’s exaggerations.

There’s no way the commander would really lead the charge on a battlefield where bullets are raining down, right?

This isn’t a medieval battle.

Nevertheless, it is true that Beaulieu is not an easy opponent.

“Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s an easy opponent. Beaulieu is also a general who has won quite a few victories in the Flanders campaign. And it’s also true that he arrived at the Adda River first.”

“General Masséna went first.”

“I wish he had at least cut the bridge, but he didn’t, did he?”

At that moment, Captain Lasalle, who was running next to Eugene, laughed heartily.

“Ha! What bridge! He was passionately burning with enthusiasm. Well, so were we!”

Lasalle is 20 years old, two years younger than Hippolyte.

He is practically a greenhorn who has just emerged from boyhood.

But his actions are so daring that even Junot shakes his head.

At that moment, a curly-haired man, who was running like the vanguard next to Eugene, shouted.

“Manly. Was it Lasalle? I like you!”

“Heh heh, are you from the Pyrenees?”

“Not at all, I’m from Gascony! The home of real men. Well, you’re not a Gascon man, but you’re not bad! Breaking through the encirclement with 30 men!”

Of course, Murat is 28 years old, an age where it’s strange to act like a child.

However, he certainly seemed more eager than anyone else before the battle.

Eugene chuckled.

“That’s just General Masséna being crazy.”

Instantly, Murat and Lasalle flinched, but at the same time, Eugene nodded while on horseback.

“But thanks to that, we might be able to catch Beaulieu.”

“Huh? Wasn’t that our strategic goal?”

“Just because it’s a goal doesn’t mean we’ll achieve it, Hippolyte? As I said before, it was one of two things. Either we go to Mantua and miss him, or we miss him while fighting in Milan.”

In the original history, Napoleon does not capture Beaulieu.

Beaulieu, who escaped safely, is simply dismissed by the decision of the Holy Roman Empire’s War Council.

But Eugene has already chased down and killed someone who originally couldn’t be caught.

Count d’Argenteau.

The adversary in the Battle of Montenotte.

Then maybe Beaulieu can be caught too.

“We have to catch him here before he escapes north of the Alps and eliminate any chance of sending reinforcements to Mantua.”

Instead of dragging out the Italian campaign, we’ll settle it in one go.

This is Napoleon’s current strategy, and it’s also something Eugene has begun to consider.

Of course, the war won’t end just by catching Beaulieu.

But at least we can fight on much more favorable terms when Austria newly dispatches a defense force.

Suddenly, Junot asked.

“But how are we going to cross the river?”

“Huh? With a pontoon bridge, of course. That’s why we brought Colonel Chasseloup’s unit, right?”

“No, I asked when we were leaving. He said he couldn’t bring the mobile pontoon bridge? Only the engineers came.”

At that moment, Eugene stopped his horse.

-Hee-hee-hee-ing!

Because he suddenly stopped his horse, Eugene almost fell off.

But the shock was so great that Eugene couldn’t even be surprised.

Rather, the 300-strong mounted grenadier brigade, which had stopped abruptly with their commander, was surprised.

“Wh-what’s going on!”

“Colonel, are you alright?”

“Hey! Cavalry commander! Isn’t this too much?”

Lasalle, Tournay, and Murat shouted at the top of their lungs.

But Eugene stared blankly at the wagons that were following behind.

He hadn’t seen the scale of them because they had rushed here.

They weren’t big enough to carry a prefabricated pontoon bridge.

They could barely fit the engineer soldiers and tools.

“This is a bust.”

Junot, who had inadvertently delivered the bad news, scratched his head and asked.

“That pontoon bridge, does it have to be made by laying wood on top of boats?”

“Usually, yes. That’s why it gets so big.”

“It would be faster to cross by boat. Well, we have to take the horses with us, right?”

Suddenly, Junot tilted his head.

“Then, why don’t we go upstream and go around? It’s narrower there and the waterway is…”

A very common-sense idea.

But to Eugene, it was like salvation.

Eugene, his eyes wide, hurriedly grabbed the reins.

“That’s right. There might still be a bridge upstream!”

Upstream of the Adda River.

Beaulieu’s bridge demolition operation may not have reached that far.

***

The Adda River is a tributary of the Po River and is famous for its high flow rate and fast current.

-Shoo-ah-ah!

North of Lodi, 30 kilometers away.

The village of Cassano.

That is the name of the place where Eugene’s mounted grenadier brigade arrived.

The width is narrower than Lodi downstream.

However, the current was too fast to cross here, whether on horseback or on foot.

Deputy Commander Colonel Junot clicked his tongue.

“That’s a really strong current. And the depth is quite deep?”

Eugene nodded, examining the current.

After all, Eugene had only lived in the city, and at best, he had only crossed the sea on someone else’s boat.

No matter how much he examined it, it was difficult to gauge the speed of the river.

If Junot, who had more experience than Eugene, judged it that way, it would be correct.

“We can’t cross it like this.”

“Should we go back?”

“Then it will be too late.”

Eugene frowned and looked around.

“Probably, Commander Napoleon has already engaged in battle. If we’re an hour late, 1,000 people will die in the meantime.”

As it is, we have no choice but to build a bridge.

Chasseloup and the engineer officers, looking exhausted, are taking out their tools from the wagons as if they are prepared.

However, if we build a pontoon bridge on-site instead of a prefabricated one, it will take twice as long.

At least 3 days.

The Battle of Lodi might be over by then.

But then Lasalle stroked his chin and said.

“Actually, I heard something in the village of Lodi.”

“What is it, Captain Lasalle?”

“You said this is the village of Cassano? In the past, Duke ‘Eugene’ fought a battle in this area.”

Just as Eugene was about to widen his eyes, Lasalle smiled and said.

“They said the bridge he used at that time is somewhere around here?”

Of course, the story Lasalle heard was probably from flirting with a ‘girlfriend’ he made in the village of Lodi.

It’s not accurate, and he doesn’t know the location.

But Eugene somehow had a hunch.

‘Eugene’, that is, Eugene’s French pronunciation.

If you change this name to German, it becomes like this.

Eugen.

The famous general who was chased out by Louis XIV, went to the Holy Roman Empire, and waged a war of revenge during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Prince Eugene of Savoy.

There is a battle that this general, whom Austria considers an unparalleled hero, lost.

Right here, Cassano.

“Battle of Cassano.”

“What? What is that?”

“It exists. During the War of the Spanish Succession, Duke Eugene lost a battle. I’m sure I heard there was a stone bridge.”

Because the French commander, Duke Vendôme, seized that stone bridge, Eugene was unable to cross the river.

In other words, there is a perfectly good stone bridge here.

The mounted grenadiers ran around looking for the bridge all at once.

Suddenly, the most active man, Murat, shouted.

“I found it! Isn’t that a bridge?”

There was a bridge crossing the Adda River, the Cassano Bridge.

Only then did Eugene feel relieved.

We can cross it.

We will be able to run to Napoleon without being late.

But Lasalle frowned slightly and muttered.

“But it seems a little insufficient for the cavalry to break through.”

The bridge looked very precarious.

There was a risk of falling into the river if the horse took one wrong step.

According to the battle records in Cassano, 1,000 French soldiers fell into the water and died.

But Eugene was in a hurry.

Just as he was about to order a charge, even at the risk of death, Junot, who was intently looking at the bridge, asked.

“Can’t we just lay logs?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I don’t need our acting brigade commander, I need the chief engineer’s opinion. Colonel Chasseloup, what do you think? Can you do it if we just lay wood next to it?”

Colonel Chasseloup blinked and nodded.

“It’s possible. I think we can do it in about 2 hours. There’s already a bridge.”

“How about wine barrels?”

“Oh, if we split them…”

Junot grinned and got on his horse.

“This is Italy, after all. There must be wine barrels! Hey, Murat!”

Murat, who was playing around after discovering the bridge, replied nonchalantly.

“Why are you calling me?”

“Stop complaining and lend me some strength.”

“What?”

At that moment, Junot hit Murat on the shoulder and shouted.

“It’s time for a pleasant requisition, everyone!”

At that moment, Murat and his direct cavalrymen’s eyes flashed.

The looting time disguised as requisition had come.

***

One of the tragedies of war is that you have to work against your free will.

-Tap, tap, tap!

The people of Cassano village, who had been living peacefully, were suddenly caught off guard.

They were deprived of all their precious wine barrels.

In addition, the villagers had to start construction to renovate the bridge they used well.

Junot, who became the temporary construction site supervisor, shouted, wearing his military cap backwards.

“Good! Italian friends, please build the bridge well. If our horses happen to fall!”

Junot shook the tall Murat, who was standing next to him, and laughed.

“This friend here won’t stay still! Hahaha!”

Eugene could only stare blankly at the scene.

In fact, although he was the commander, Eugene was only 14 years old and had very little experience in requisition [confiscation of goods for military use].

That’s why Junot, the deputy commander, took the lead.

But even so, the idea of using wine barrels was amazing.

Suddenly, Eugene, who approached Junot, said.

“Requisition is used in this way.”

“Originally, requisition is not just about taking supplies. Rather, the key is manpower mobilization!”

“Still, how did you come up with this idea?”

Junot smiled, watching Chasseloup, the engineers, and the people of Cassano reinforce the bridge.

“Even if it’s the Po River, this is just a tributary. The Rhine River flows through my hometown too. Haha!”

A river also flows through Junot’s hometown, Burgundy.

In its own way, Junot’s father was also a farmer.

That’s why he is quite quick-witted in dealing with unexpected situations.

However, Eugene knows one of Junot’s original history failures.

He fails in the river crossing operation ordered by Napoleon and loses a unit.

In the Russian expedition, no less.

Eugene looked at Junot silently and chuckled.

“The person who almost failed in the expedition because of the river crossing.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“It’s nothing. Junot, you’re really omnipotent.”

Junot blinked and laughed at the compliment.

“I’m good at everything! Even if I’m not outstanding. Anyway, the bridge is all done now. What should we do?”

It would have been impossible if we had built the bridge from the beginning.

In fact, it is more difficult to build a pontoon bridge here than in Lodi because the current is faster.

However, it was easy to reinforce the existing Cassano Bridge.

Especially if the Chasseloup engineering unit is there.

Eugene nodded, looking at the almost completed reinforced Cassano bridge.

“Good. Let’s explain the operation before the charge.”

Command-level officers gathered around Eugene.

Junot, Hippolyte, Tournay, Lasalle, and Murat.

In particular, Murat and Lasalle are those who left their names in later history as special cavalry commanders.

When you know it, Eugene didn’t just come here.

However, from now on, we have to run at full power.

Also, only the mounted grenadiers had to charge, leaving the engineers here.

When we arrive, we will probably go straight into battle.

Prior situation awareness was essential.

“The shelling and melee have probably already begun.”

“Because it’s not a prepared battle?”

“That’s also true, but it’s also because Commander is in a hurry. The battle location is probably the Lodi Bridge.”

In an era with low radar, communication equipment, and telescope magnification.

War can only be overcome with maps, scouts, and ‘intuition’.

However, Eugene has something different from others.

The records of the original history and the notification of the Silver Letters.

He can predict the enemy’s situation, and identifying the location is Eugene’s specialty.

Therefore, Eugene explained with confidence.

Of course, to others, it looked like foresight in a good way, and like a quack in a bad way.

“There’s no need to find a road. Just run south along the Adda River from here.”

“Then, what is our role?”

“Backstabbing.”

Eugene’s eyes sparkled.

“The enemy will probably have broken through to the east of Lodi. At that time, we will hit the flank.”

“What if Masséna’s division is annihilated?”

“That’s unlikely. Also, Beaulieu will be under attack from both sides.”

Eugene knows Masséna’s skills.

Even in an unfavorable situation, Masséna will somehow endure.

Conversely, Napoleon is by no means slow.

Even though the infantry is the main force, there is a high possibility that he has reached Lodi by now with a forced march.

Then, what about Eugene’s brigade?

The cavalry’s daily march speed is usually 100 kilometers at maximum speed, and 88 kilometers per hour at full speed.

If we march within the limits of preserving the horse’s power, it will take about 2 hours to go to Lodi.

Eugene said, looking at the commanders who would soon enter the Battle of Lodi.

“The important thing is not just a simple victory.”

“Then?”

“It’s about catching the commander, Junot. In short.”

Eugene’s hand cut his neck.

“It’s a decapitation operation.”

That’s exactly the operation Beaulieu thought of.

However, decapitation can cut not only the enemy’s head but also the ally’s head at times.

The cavalry unit aiming for Beaulieu’s head has now crossed the Adda River.

“Okay, let’s go!”

“This time, the achievement belongs to this Murat!”

“I’ll create the legend of this Lasalle again!”

Junot, Murat, and Lasalle started running excitedly.

-Doo-doo-doo!

Behind the ranks, running in the center of the mounted grenadier brigade, Eugene smiled.

“Good, a lion, a wild horse, and even Don Quixote. The best reckless Hussars.”

Lion Junot, wild horse Murat, and Don Quixote Lasalle.

Commanders who should never be avoided if you think about preserving your allies.

But if you’re trying to catch the enemy commander, it’s a different story.

These are truly Hussars, the best reckless cavalry who only know how to charge without thinking.

Eugene is now running with the most reckless men in Napoleon’s army.

“If I can’t catch Beaulieu with this combination, I’m not a gambler!”

May 14, 1795.

Two days after the Battle of Lodi had already begun with Masséna’s initial battle.

Eugene’s mounted grenadier brigade finally crossed the Adda River and ran to Lodi.

It was a high-speed detour that even the allies could not have predicted.