Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 906 - 814: The Surprise Delivered by the Crown Prince

Chapter 906: Chapter 814: The Surprise Delivered by the Crown Prince

Soon after, Bezi’er joined the fray with Napoleon’s guard.

He brought along Napoleon’s banner.

In the chaos of the battlefield, soldiers couldn’t find the general’s figure, but they instantly saw the fluttering flag.

Colonel Bonaparte is always by our side!

The new recruits shared this thought, and their morale soared. Their bayonet thrusts became fiercer.

Screams echoed, as more Austrian Army soldiers, driven by terror, dropped their weapons and fled.

Chervoni’s defensive line collapsed rapidly like a sandbank against a flood.

When Joubert arrived to join the battle, he only saw the backs of Wangre Group’s new recruits and the sight of thousands of Austrian Army soldiers kneeling in surrender.

From a distance, Napoleon saw Joubert’s banner, then glanced at the retreating enemy, and said to Lucien, "Have Major Joubert launch an attack to the south of Marengo; Melas’s command center should be there!"

"Yes, Commander Sir!"

Kilometers away at Castelcchio, Juno had been defeated by the overwhelming force of the Genoa Legion and retreated toward San Gilliano with only over 300 soldiers left.

Sailu Li’er was still maneuvering around the Coli Army, but it was clear the situation was dire, with soldiers starting to flee.

Meanwhile, commanders of the Austrian Army’s wings received the same order from Melas—to immediately proceed to Marengo Village to reinforce, as Napoleon had broken through their central army.

...

Five kilometers south of Marengo at Cabianga.

As Melas watched the last rays of sunlight disappear over the horizon, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He hadn’t anticipated that the French Army could swiftly defeat Chervoni’s troops with inferior numbers; he had almost been captured by the French people.

Fortunately, luck smiled on him, as Oreluo Army’s troops were exhausted, pursuing very slowly.

The French new recruits, though spirited, had lost formation in previous skirmishes, and Napoleon couldn’t hold them back.

As a result, Melas used only about 300 of his Imperial Guard to defeat them.

Afterward, Melas hurriedly retreated to Cabianga.

Chervoni also retreated, gradually gathering less than 4,000 scattered soldiers.

In the church at Cabianga, Melas looked at the messenger just arrived from the Genoa Legion and asked, "Have you already joined up with the Coli Army?"

"Yes, General." freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"What are the losses?"

"Almost no losses, General; the French people were merely stalling and did not engage in direct combat."

Melas’s eyes lit up with renewed vigor.

The combined forces of Genoa and Coli amounted to over 25,000 soldiers. If they allied with the troops facing the French Army to the north of San Gilliano, they’d have over 30,000 soldiers.

This was enough to mount a counterattack against the French Army.

Napoleon’s troops, after today’s fierce battle, were surely exhausted, while Genoa had hardly fought and could enter combat in prime condition.

With numerical superiority, there might be a chance to turn the tide and win!

With this in mind, Melas quickly penned an order and handed it to the messenger, instructing him to return to the Genoa Legion immediately.

In the order, he appointed Genoa to command all Austrian Army north of Marengo, to launch an attack against Napoleon by 10 a.m. the next day.

Meanwhile, in Marengo Village, Napoleon focused solemnly on the map, laying out operational plans to Joubert and other officers.

"We failed to capture Melas, which means there’ll soon be another fierce battle."

"But our troops urgently need rest."

Throughout today’s brutal battle, the French Army suffered nearly 5,000 casualties, and many units were scattered, making further combat difficult.

Napoleon, however, remained calmly composed:

"Despite this, we gained a significant advantage by severing Melas’s connection with his forces.

"So, I plan to feign an attack on Melas’s command center to divert the Austrians’ attention. Captain Meiner will lead 2,000 new recruits for this task.

"Meanwhile, our main forces will move eastward, regroup with the Oreluo Army, and rest at San Gilliano.

"Depending on the enemy’s movements, we will choose between Marengo or..."

As Napoleon, sleepless through the night, held strategic meetings, a nondescript carriage quietly arrived at the Sardinian Army’s camp under Coli.

A man in black stepped off the carriage, accompanied by two Sardinian captains, and headed directly toward the officers’ tent.

Soon, over a dozen senior Sardinian officers gathered in the tent with the man in black, yet no one reported this to General Coli.

The next morning, Coli awoke and immediately ordered the Sardinian Army to assemble for an attack on the French people.

However, after only ten minutes, the Order Officer returned and said, "General, the Legion is already in formation, seemingly headed toward the Bormida River."

"Bormida River? Damn it, what are these guys doing?" Coli frowned, tossed aside the ham he was eating, and rode to the soldiers’ camp.

From afar, he saw his troops moving westward.

He grimly summoned the highest-ranking Sardinian Army officers and scolded them: "Are you mad? Who gave you permission to move the troops?"

The most senior Admiral François Taun of the Sardinian Army politely bowed toward Coli, saying, "General Coli, we’ve received orders from His Majesty the King. Turin is severely threatened by the French Army, so we must return to the capital to bolster its defenses."

"Turin? My God! We’re on the verge of counterattacking the French Army; you can’t leave on your own," Coli cried in frustration, "I command you to return to camp immediately!"

The Sardinian officers exchanged glances. Admiral Ta Weng took a document from his pocket and held it up to Coli: "I’m sorry, General; you are no longer the commander of the Sardinian Army. This is a transfer order signed by the Minister of War; I now command the Legion."

Coli realized something was amiss and hurried to find Genoa.

The two deliberated for a long time, finally deciding to deploy troops to intercept the Sardinian Army and forcibly revoke Ta Weng and his officers’ command, placing the 18,000 soldiers temporarily under Austrian officers.

However, Genoa’s forces were initially set to attack Marengo, and suddenly needing to turn west, troop movements took nearly an hour.

By the time they reached the eastern bank of the Bormida River, the Sardinians had largely crossed the river and set up cannons aimed at the bridge, ready to fire if the Austrians pursued.

Napoleon, with dark circles under his eyes, gathered the forces, intending to abandon Marengo and move east as planned.

Yet just as the troops moved out, the cavalry monitoring the front lines rushed over to report, "Commander Sir, the enemy is moving westward."

"Yes, understood..." Napoleon waved them off but suddenly paused, "Did you say westward?"