From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Turin, the most dazzling pearl at the foot of the Alps.

Since the Roman Empire, this city has been guarding the main road between Lombardy and Transalpine Gaul, and has been a military stronghold that has been fought for thousands of years.

The calm Po River passes through the east side of the city, and the fertile Po River Plain has continuously brought countless wealth to the city.

Although there is still some gap with Paris, a world-class city with a population of 600,000, Turin, with a population of nearly 200,000, is definitely one of the richest cities in the entire Apennine Peninsula.

Over thousands of years of history, this city witnessed Hannibal crossing the Alps to attack the Apennine Peninsula, and also witnessed Constantine the Great defeating the Western Emperor Maxentius. The Renaissance left a good glimpse here, and the scars of several wars are still vivid.

On October 9, 1771, after four days of rapid march, the Corsican army was less than 70 miles away from this important ancient city.

On the morning of October 9, in the back garden of the Royal Palace of Turin

"Our country is happy to provide you with military assistance for the counterattack on Sardinia"

The British ambassador drank a sip of black tea slowly and looked at the old King Carlo Emmanuel III beside him:

"But it seems that the Corsican talents in your country should be your top priority."

In Carlo Emmanuel III's strategic deployment, Prince Vittorio did not have to rush to fight a decisive battle with the Corsican army. Since the main force of the enemy army had landed in Liguria, it would be better to take back the two islands of Sardinia and Corsica, which had empty defenses.

In this way, the Corsican army that lost its rear homeland would undoubtedly become a turtle in a jar. At that time, there would be no need for a bloody battle, and the Corsican army would take the initiative to surrender to the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Such a strategy of defeating the enemy without fighting is naturally favored by experienced diplomats like Carlo Emmanuel III.

If they wanted to counterattack Sardinia and Corsica, they would naturally need the British maritime assistance. The two countries had secretly reached a number of military agreements before the outbreak of the Italian War.

Although Great Britain had signed a complementary treaty with France and jointly promised not to interfere in the Italian war, it was still feasible to secretly provide some assistance to the Sardinian navy like the last siege of Ajaccio. Such behavior has long become an unspoken secret when the great powers are engaged in proxy wars.

Carlo Emmanuel III did not drink tea. He lay tiredly in an armchair, apparently resting his eyes.

For an old king in his seventies, the hard work of political affairs has exhausted him physically and mentally, not to mention that the Kingdom of Sardinia has now actively jumped into the quagmire of the Italian War under the instigation of the British.

If it were not for the thought of getting Corsica without any effort, Carlo Emmanuel III would definitely stay out of the Sicily War of Independence as he did in the Seven Years' War.

"Don't worry about the war on the mainland."

The old king looked at the British ambassador, his voice weak but extremely firm:

"Vittorio will hold the Corsicans back, and I need you to deploy the fleet as soon as possible and re-launch the attack on Ajaccio."

The British ambassador nodded slightly. Although he preferred to fight a decisive battle with the Corsican army in Liguria, Carlo Emanuele III obviously did not want to take any more risks.

After all, when Colonel Bartland invaded Ajaccio, the whole country believed that Corsica could be easily taken. If there was any problem in the war in Liguria, the standing army of the Kingdom of Sardinia would almost be lost.

What's more, Prince Vittorio was still the commander of the main force of the Sardinian army. As the heir to the kingdom, he could not make any mistakes on the battlefield. The 70-year-old old king could no longer have time to train another heir.

Just as the two were about to discuss the details of the second invasion of Ajaccio, the kingdom's Minister of War rushed into the back garden in a hurry.

The Minister of War was already bloated, and when he ran, he trampled the famous flowers and herbs in the garden like a wild boar.

When he ran to the king and the British ambassador, panting, before he spoke, Carlo Emanuele III's brows were already furrowed, obviously very dissatisfied with the interruption of the meeting:

"What the hell do you want to do?!"

"I am very sorry, Your Majesty, but there are two urgent reports that must be reported to you."

The Minister of War knelt on one knee, not daring to look up at the king's eyes, panting and saying loudly:

"First of all, we received news late yesterday. We are sure that the Republic of Genoa was attacked by the Corsicans. The Genoese were completely defeated and forced to sign a treaty with the Corsicans."

The British ambassador was holding He was holding a teacup, seemingly not caring about the news. In his opinion, the feud between the Corsicans and the Genoese was just a minor one:

"It's interesting that the Corsicans still have the energy to care about their old friend Genoa."

Carlo Emmanuel III just nodded. He didn't care about this commercial republic now. The focus of the kingdom now is to take back Sardinia and Corsica as soon as possible:

"I know, but don't bother me with such trivial matters. You will only make us lose face in front of the British guests."

"No, no. Your Majesty, this is not a trivial matter."

The Minister of War dared to interrupt the king's accusation and said with gritted teeth:

"The second piece of news is what I just confirmed from the Army Department. The Corsican army that attacked Genoa did not return to Vadolidore, but went north into the Po River Valley. They marched straight to Turin! Now they are probably only one day away from Turin."

Bang!

The British ambassador was stunned. The teacup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered all over the floor. He didn't even react when the scalding tea splashed on his legs.

The Corsicans are coming to Turin? ! And one day later? !

This was completely beyond the expectations of the British ambassador and Carlo Emanuele III. Shouldn't these Corsicans be held back in Liguria by Vittorio? !

Carlo Emmanuel III's pupils trembled, but he reacted immediately and asked:

"What is the size of that army?"

"About three regiments."

"It is the main force of the Corsican army." Carlo Emmanuel III frowned even tighter, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to be twisted together:

"Where are Vittorio's troops? They should get the news from Genoa faster! Have they set out to intercept the Corsican army?"

Vadolidore is only two days away from Genoa. It stands to reason that Prince Vittorio should have learned about the movements of the Corsican army and should be on his way to stop the Corsicans.

The Minister of War lowered his head even more, his chin almost poking into his chest, and after a long moment of deliberation, he carefully said:

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince's troops have not taken action. Your Highness seems to think that the main force of the Corsican army is still stationed in Vadolidore, and his army is still confronting the garrison of Vadolidore."

Carlo Emmanuel III suddenly felt dizzy and wanted to curse, but after all, he was his heir and the commander of the army he appointed. The old king could only hold his forehead and sigh.

He didn't know what happened in Vadolidore that made his son make such a serious misjudgment, but it meant that, at least for the next period of time, Turin could only rely on its own strength to resist the Corsicans.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ambassador, it seems we have to talk at another time."

The old king forced himself to sit up and ordered the British ambassador to leave. At least until the crisis in Turin was resolved, the plan to counterattack Sardinia and Corsica would be completely shelved.

The British ambassador nodded very tactfully, and then left the Turin Palace with a gloomy face.

He also knew very well that if the Turin Palace was really lost, then the Kingdom of Sardinia would be doomed to withdraw from the Italian War, and that was definitely not what Great Britain wanted to see.

After the British left, Carlo Emanuele III sighed again, and once again regretted joining the Italian War.

But now the Corsicans' knife tip is about to point to the tip of the nose, and regret is useless. The old king asked in a deep voice:

"How many troops can be mobilized around Turin?"

The Minister of War quickly replied:

"About 4,000 people, but 3,000 of them are two newly recruited regiments. I'm afraid that only the more than 1,000 people of the Royal Guard have enough combat power."

In order to make up for the loss of Colonel Bartram's annihilation in Corsica, the Kingdom of Sardinia also recruited a group of new soldiers in Piedmont, but these new soldiers who have not even completed basic training must not be of much use, especially on the field battlefield.

"Four thousand men are not enough to repel the Corsicans, but if we just defend Turin and buy time, it's probably enough."

Carlo Emmanuel III pondered for a moment, his face was no longer as ugly as before, and he immediately had a response strategy in his mind, and ordered confidently:

"Immediately pass my order, let the Army Department send a letter to Vittorio, ordering him to return to Turin immediately; declare martial law and curfew inside the city, and no one is allowed to enter or leave without reason; order the Royal Guard and two new regiments to enter the southwest bastion and accept my command; immediately dismantle all bridges on the rivers outside the city to hinder the Corsican army's offensive"

A series of instructions continued to pour out of the old king's mouth, almost without any pause. In Carlo Emmanuel III's military life, this was not the worst moment, so he quickly entered the role of leader.

All the deployments of the old king had only one purpose-to do his best to defend Turin with the advantage of city defense and buy enough time for Prince Vittorio to return to defend and rescue.

This was not a problem for the impregnable Turin.

After the last order was issued and recorded by the Minister of War and the court secretary, Carlo Emanuele III lay back in his armchair, looking tired but not panicked.

He closed his eyes and murmured to himself:

"Let the Corsicans come next. When the magnificent walls and moats of Turin appear in the sight of these barbarians, they will realize their insignificance."

One day later, on October 10, it rained heavily.

After five days and a rapid march of nearly 500 miles from Genoa, the Corsican army had arrived at the east bank of the Po River, and was only separated from the magnificent ancient city on the other side of the river by a river.

Lawrence did not order the army to attack immediately, but first camped on two hills on the east side of the river.

After all, the army had hardly had enough rest since Vadolidore marched towards Genoa. Now that the war was imminent, Lawrence absolutely did not want to let the soldiers go to the battlefield exhausted both physically and mentally.

Moreover, in heavy rain, the rifled rifles of the Corsican Chasseurs were also unable to be used due to wet gunpowder. Before the firing needle guns and metal fixed-loading ammunition were installed, I am afraid that rainy days were a peace signal for a ceasefire and truce between the two armies.

Moreover, facing a heavily defended town like Turin, Lawrence and his staff officers must first formulate a reasonable plan.

In Lawrence's own camp, Chief of Staff Berthier spread a 1750 version of the Turin map on the table, pointed at the map and analyzed the crowd:

"This big river running from north to south is the Po River. We are currently stationed on the east bank of the Po River. As for Turin on the other side of the river, although its garrison must not be large, I am afraid it will take a lot of effort to completely capture it. The cost; the city is completely surrounded by a moat and city walls. There are some small fortresses scattered on the city walls, and there is a large bastion in the southwest corner. The Turin Palace in the middle must also be extremely well-defended."

Lawrence and all the Corsican officers listened attentively, and everyone's expression was extremely serious.

These Corsican officers are experienced in hundreds of battles, but this is also the first time they have besieged a large city with a population of 200,000 people with city walls, moats, and bastions. Compared with the city in front of them, they had not been there before. The sieges experienced on the battlefield in Corsica were all minor battles.

A Corsican officer couldn't help but sigh:

"It seems that a forceful attack is unrealistic."

Everyone also nodded in agreement. If the Corsican Chasseurs equipped with rifled rifles serve as defenders and occupy favorable terrain in street fighting, they can undoubtedly defeat one against ten by virtue of their ability to accurately snipe enemy skirmishers. But if you are the attacker, you may have to pay a very heavy price to completely capture Turin.

And the most important point is that the Corsican army has always lacked heavy fire support like artillery.

In the previous war with the Genoese, due to military budget constraints, the Corsican army itself did not install many artillery pieces. The only dozen artillery pieces were six-pound light field guns.

Although the military's war budget is now much more generous, and the French have also provided a large amount of arms, the cultivation of high-quality talents such as artillery, just like the pilots of later generations, does not happen overnight.

If you want to storm Turin, it may be difficult to destroy the impregnable Turin city wall just by relying on the dozen or so light field artillery in the army.

There was a brief silence in the tent, and the patter of rain outside could be heard clearly.

Because everyone also understands that a strong attack is indeed unrealistic, but they do not have time to engage in a protracted battle with the Turin defenders. Vittorio's troops may return to defend Turin at any time.

"Is there a letter from Andre? What are the movements of the main force of the Sardinian Army?" Lawrence asked casually.

Berthier nodded, but his tone was hesitant:

"Davout's letter was sent yesterday. He stated that the enemy's main force is still not moving, and he stated in the letter that he can involve the enemy's main force for at least a month."

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at each other. No one thought that Andre Davout could really involve Vittorio in Valdolidore for a month. After all, the request for help from the Turin Palace would be sent to Vittorio within a week at most. In the big tent of the military camp.

But Lawrence just nodded slightly and wrote a month on the map:

"A month? I'm afraid there will be no problem if the food in Turin can last for a month."

Even if Andre Davout did hold Vittorio at Valdolidore for a month, it would not be enough to deprive besieged Turin of all ammunition and food.

In Lawrence's estimation, if it is the worst case scenario and the Corsican army is really unable to capture Turin, they can only try to encircle the point for reinforcements and occupy a favorable terrain in advance to prepare for the battle with Vittorio's troops who come to support. decisive battle.

But such a decision is undoubtedly very risky. The strength of Vittorio's department is about three times that of the Corsican army, and the quality of its army is far worse under the long-term reforms of Carlo Emanuele III. The Republican Guards of Genoa attacked.

It can even be said that the Kingdom of Sardinia under Carlo Emanuele III was at the forefront of contemporary European countries in terms of military technology.

Even with three regiments of Corsican Chasseurs in hand, Lawrence could not be said to be sure of victory, which is why the Corsican army had to do everything possible to bypass Vittorio's department and attack Turin.

Once defeated in this battle, the Corsican army fighting against the enemy will have no way to retreat, and will end up in a situation where everything is lost.

"No, we still have to conquer Turin. As long as we can break into the Turin Palace, the war in the Kingdom of Sardinia will be over."

Lawrence thought silently and turned to look at the city of Turin looming outside the tent in the rain and fog.

Berthier also looked outside the tent, but his eyes were fixed on the Po River flowing turbulently in the heavy rain, and he suddenly realized something:

"Early October, late summer and early autumn, the flood season of the Po River, etc., Charles! I may have a way. As long as Davout can really buy a month, Turin will definitely fall into the hands of our army!"