From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Chapter 378 André Davout’s Awakening

"What did you say?!"

A week later, inside the main headquarters of the Sardinian Army, Prince Vittorio looked at the royal envoy in front of him with wide eyes:

"The Corsican army has launched a siege on Turin?"

When the royal envoy rushed to the station in a hurry, Prince Vittorio thought that it was just like the last time, that the Corsicans had opened the door of Liguria wide in order to lure him back to the defense. Just a little trick.

It was not until the envoy was carefully investigated and interrogated, and it was confirmed that he was indeed from his father's court, that Prince Vittorio accepted the news with shock and doubt:

The main force of the Corsican army is not at Valdolidore at all, and Turin, the capital of the kingdom, has been besieged by the Corsican army from Genoa.

"How is this possible!"

Prince Vittorio quickly read the callback order sent to him by the Ministry of War, but he was unwilling to accept this reality at all:

"How could the main force of the Corsican army be the Genoese army? I have personally investigated and found that there are no less than four regiments of troops stationed in Valdolido Rene."

During this week, Prince Vittorio naturally did not wait to confront the Corsicans in the station in vain.

He continued to send people to collect information about Genoa City, and at the same time increased the reconnaissance of Valdolidore to ensure that any actions of the Corsicans could be reported to him as soon as possible.

Three days ago, Prince Vittorio even personally led the Royal Cavalry Regiment to launch a tentative attack on Valdolidore.

As a result, the Corsican people reacted hugely to this, and directly sent out all four regiments, as if they were going to fight the Sardinian army. Their vanguard force, a well-trained hunting battalion, even fought with the Wang family. There was a brief exchange of fire between the cavalry regiments, causing dozens of casualties to the Sardinian army.

Although Prince Vittorio was also looking forward to a decisive battle with the Corsican army, his father's order required him to defend Liguria. In addition, at that time he only led the highly mobile Royal Cavalry Regiment to test the attack, so he could not He could only retreat to his station in disgrace.

The Corsican army did not pursue it deeply and quickly returned to Valdolidore, and the two sides resumed their confrontation with each other.

After this test, Prince Vittorio became more convinced of his judgment on the deployment of the main force of the Corsican army.

Not only because he saw with his own eyes the strength of the four regiments of the Corsican Army, but also because of the Corsican Chasseur Battalion that had a firefight with the Royal Cavalry Regiment.

After all, any general knows that the equipment cost and training cost of the chasseurs are extremely expensive compared to the line infantry.

In the eyes of Prince Vittorio, it was beyond his expectation that the poor Corsica could gather a battalion of chasseurs. Now the Corsicans have deployed this precious chasseur battalion in Valdolidore. , which further proves that this is where the main force of the Corsican army lies.

Staring at the order in his hand, Prince Vittorio's expression was uncertain, and he couldn't make up his mind for a moment.

It is indeed my duty to accept this transfer order and immediately return to defend Turin. But if this is exactly what the Corsicans want, then Liguria will be open to the whole south of the Po River plain. All will fall.

As Carlo Emanuele III ages, Prince Vittorio's succession to the throne gradually becomes a certainty. As the future king, Vittorio no longer obeys his father's words as he did in the past. He must You have to have your own considerations.

"It seems there is only one way."

Prince Vittorio's eyes darkened and he thought in his mind:

"Immediately engage in a decisive battle with Valdolidore's Corsican army, defeat it, and then return to defend Turin."

Although his father's order requires him to guard this place, under the current situation, Prince Vittorio understands that only taking the initiative can break the deadlock. No matter what the Corsican's machinations are, as long as he wins on the frontal battlefield, everything will be fine. It's all in vain.

And just when Prince Vittorio made up his mind, he was ready to implement his plan.

An officer rushed into the tent and shouted in a panic:

"Your Highness! Your Highness! The Corsicans of Valdolidore have taken action. They have mobilized their entire army and are marching in the direction of Nice!"

Prince Vittorio was stunned for a moment:

"Nice.? Do they want it?!"

As we all know, there were two major territorial disputes between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Sardinia at that time. One was the Principality of Savoy area located outside the Alps, and the other was the Nice area located on the border of Liguria.

Nice, located between Marseille and Genoa, is also a prosperous and wealthy trading city as famous as Marseille.

Because this seaport city is located at the junction of Liguria and Provence, its ownership also changed hands back and forth between France and the Kingdom of Sardinia. In the 18th century alone, Nice had changed hands three times between the two countries.

It was not until the end of the War of Austrian Succession twenty-three years ago and the signing of the Treaty of Aachen that the Kingdom of Sardinia once again recaptured Nice from France.

As the most important seaport of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Nice's importance to the kingdom is self-evident. Whether it is for the trade income or naval base here, the Kingdom of Sardinia is absolutely inseparable from this city.

At the same time that Prince Vittorio received the news, the troops led by Andre Davout had already approached this land full of disputes.

During the march, a subordinate officer turned his head and glanced at the sparse team behind him with a worried face, and then looked at Andre Davout:

"Sir, are we really going to attack Nice?"

Andre Davout has always been taciturn. When faced with the doubts of his subordinates, he just nodded and cherished his words like gold:

"There is almost no garrison in Nice, so it can be taken lightly."

Nowadays, the main force of the Kingdom of Sardinia's army is in the hands of Prince Vittorio. Andre Davout also conducted reconnaissance in advance and determined that Nice was an empty city militarily at this time.

"We also know this. The problem is that we cannot defend Nice from behind."

The officer looked at the team behind him again:

"You can't expect these farmers to actually fight like regular troops."

Although these soldiers looked just like ordinary Corsican soldiers, wearing full uniforms and accessories, and carrying brand-new smoothbore flintlock muskets on their shoulders, the officer knew very well that these men were not from Corsi at all. They were not soldiers of the Wehrmacht, but farmers and townspeople forcibly recruited by André Davout in Valdore.

Not long ago, when Andre Davout took over the command of the 4th Battalion of the 1st Chasseur Regiment, the first thing he did was to blockade the entire town and surrounding villages, and then all Adult males were conscripted into the army and formed into subordinate armies.

At the same time, relying on the authorization of Prime Minister Lawrence Bonaparte, André Davout also made a large number of supply requests to the French province of Provence.

Relying on French supply assistance, Andre Davout used the quantity and frequency of supplies to confuse the judgment of the Sardinian army. At the same time, he also easily provided these new recruits with full uniforms and weapons, and paid them Big salary.

Thanks to this, these forcibly recruited recruits did not suffer from low morale or unstable military morale. They actively cooperated with daily training and Davout's orders. Many poor people living in poverty even hoped to serve in the Corsican Army. Looking forward to it.

Prince Vittorio of the Sardinian Army was also confused by this group of levies and made the judgment that the main force of the Corsican Army was here.

Now Vittorio would never have thought that the truly combat-effective troops under Andre Davout were just the 500-man chasseur battalion given to him by Lawrence.

Of course, although the morale of these recruits was acceptable, no officer would think that they could really compete with the Sardinian soldiers on the battlefield.

Even though the training time and training cost of line infantry are extremely low, these soldiers were still farmers carrying pitchforks and hoes less than a month ago, and it is impossible to expect them to display any combat effectiveness.

Perhaps their greatest role is to provide bluff cover for the only main chasseur battalion, just like when the Royal Cavalry Regiment of the Sardinian Army launched a test attack that day.

In the eyes of this officer, rather than calling these people soldiers, it is better to say that they are actors used to confuse the Sardinian army.

"Sir, after we capture Nice, the entire war situation will not change much."

The officer was still trying to persuade Andre Davout to give up the operation. He really didn't think that storming Nice at this time was a good choice:

"It's better to defend Valdore Dore, we already have ready-made defenses there."

André Davout glanced at the officer and suddenly asked:

"If you were the commander of the Sardinian Army and learned that our army had occupied Nice, what would you do?"

The officer was stunned for a moment and was about to analyze, but Andre Davout asked and answered himself:

"Nice is the most important port in the Kingdom of Sardinia and the only base of the Kingdom's navy. Its importance is not as important as Turin, but it is far more important than any other town."

"Sir, you mean...?"

"The defense of Turin is impenetrable. The only way for the Corsican army to attack Turin is to wait until it runs out of ammunition and food, but this will take at least three months. In other words, Turin can hold on for at least three months."

Only when talking about marching formations and military strategies did Andre Davout speak more:

"But the siege of Nice is imminent and we cannot hold out for even three days. If I were the Sardinian army coach, I would first recover Nice and then lead the army back to defend Turin. There is plenty of time."

At this point, Andre Davout's intention was already very obvious.

He had already calculated that Prince Vittorio had most likely received the news about the siege of Turin and would take action soon.

If he still stands still at Valdolidore at this time, the main force of the Sardinian army will undoubtedly return directly to defend Turin, and the main force of the Corsican army that is currently under siege will inevitably be in danger.

In order to continue to contain the main force of the enemy, Andre Davout also chose to move dangerously and led a newly recruited army to capture Nice, forcing Prince Vittorio to recover Nice first and then return to defend Turin, achieving the goal of The strategy of encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao.

Although he and Prince Vittorio are strangers, Andre Davout can be sure that the other party will definitely act according to his own design. After all, from the perspective of the Sardinian Army, this is the most rational and maximizing interests. decision.

According to Andre's estimation, the troops in his hands can probably resist the Sardinian army for a month by virtue of Nice's favorable terrain.

This month is what Andre Davout promised Lawrence in his letter, and he can continue to contain the main force of the Sardinian army in Liguria for about a month.

"But."

The officer couldn't help swallowing his saliva and said hesitantly:

"You just said that Turin can hold out for more than three months. Even if we hold back the main force of the enemy in Nice for a month, it will be useless. When the enemy recaptures Nice, our army will be declared annihilated, and you will become a prisoner of the Sardinian army."

At this moment, even this officer saw that the decision to attack Nice was a risky move.

If the main force of the Sardinian army captured Nice first, and the siege of Turin was far from over, then their army would definitely have no chance of survival.

In other words, Andre Davout handed the fate of himself and the entire army to Lawrence Bonaparte, who was 600 miles away. Only if Prime Minister Bonaparte captured Turin before Nice fell, their army of thousands of people would have a chance of survival.

But Andre Davout shook the reins, his face remained firm and unmoved. He glanced at the distant north, shook his head gently and said:

"Turin can hold out for three months, which is estimated from the perspective of the enemy. With Chairman Berthier's talent, it may not take that long, but it is still a gamble."

As he said, Andre Davout whipped forward, looked up at the sky and murmured:

"Within a month, if Turin wins first, we will be the first meritorious ministers. If Nice wins first and dies on the battlefield, we will die for what we deserve."

In order to repay the trust of Mr. Bonaparte and to implement the creed of the Wumen family, Andre Davout had only one idea in his mind at this time:

To keep the main force of the Sardinian army in Liguria until the last second before his death.

Six days later, on October 24, two weeks had passed since the Corsican army besieged Turin.

This majestic military town still stands at the foot of the Alps. In the past two weeks, the Corsican army has not launched any attack on Turin, and has not even used all its forces to besiege the city, but has invested a large number of manpower in the construction of fortifications on the banks of the Po River.

"Did Vittorio decide to retake Nice first?"

Inside the palace, Carlo Emanuele III also received an urgent report from the south today. Thanks to the fact that the Corsican army did not have enough troops to launch a comprehensive siege, the current Turin Palace can still maintain contact with the troops led by Vittorio:

"Never mind, it is a correct decision. The Corsicans will not pose any threat to Turin within three months."

After learning that his son did not obey the order to return to Turin immediately, but launched a siege on Nice first, the old king did not feel angry or disappointed, but felt a little relieved in his heart.

Carlo Emanuele III did not expect that the Corsican feint troops in Vadolidore would dare to take the initiative to attack Nice. After all, this was a premeditated move. Vittorio's troops could easily take back Nice and then calmly support Turin.

In the eyes of the old king, the behavior of the Corsican troops was meaningless. It just delayed Vittorio's troops to return to Turin for a few weeks.

As for the weeks they bought with their lives, they would not have any impact on the siege of Turin. The towering walls, ten-foot-deep moats and indestructible bastions were definitely not something that the Corsican army could conquer in a few more weeks.

After reading the report from Vittorio's troops, the old king was in a good mood and did not look like a monarch in a besieged city at all.

Everything was under control. Carlo Emmanuel III could even foresee the development of the subsequent war:

After weeks of fruitless siege, the Corsican army would fall into complete despair. They would either launch a suicidal attack and bury the entire army in Turin, or wisely lift the siege and return to Genoa in disgrace.

Either case would be beneficial to the Kingdom of Sardinia, after all, time was on their side.

"Lawrence Bonaparte, it seems, is nothing special."

Carlo Emmanuel III chuckled and put the young man's name out of his mind.

The old king was still a little afraid of this military genius who suddenly appeared. Whether it was the Battle of Ajaccio and the Battle of Bonifacio in Corsica, or the defense of Valletta Harbor on the island of Malta, this young man had repeatedly defeated the enemy with fewer troops and the weak with the strong, which impressed Carlo Emmanuel III very much.

But when he saw that the Corsican army could only look at Turin across the Po River, Carlo Emmanuel III couldn't help but laugh at himself for overestimating his opponent. Lawrence Bonaparte had gone through great pains to bypass Vittorio's main force, but he was still helpless in the face of the impregnable Turin.

"That kid wouldn't think that Turin is as vulnerable as those earthen fortresses on Corsica, right? It's time to teach this arrogant and immature young man a lesson."

The old king smiled and put Vittorio's report aside, turning to look at a trusted general beside him:

"How is the defense situation in the city? The Corsicans are still not moving, right?"

Carlo Emmanuel III, who was seventy years old, no longer had the energy and physical condition to command the army personally. All he could do was to issue orders in the palace and leave all matters to his trusted subordinates to carry out.

The trusted general nodded. After witnessing the Corsicans' helplessness against the walls of Turin, the general's tone became increasingly confident:

"Everything is normal in the city of Turin. Your Majesty, we have collected the food in the city according to your order, stored it uniformly, and implemented a strict rationing system. In this way, the food supply in the city can probably last for about three months; the people are a little concerned about the rationing system. There are complaints, but they are just rumors and don’t matter.”

You know, as a large city with a population of nearly 200,000, Turin's daily food consumption is an extremely terrifying figure, so the food supply situation is undoubtedly the most important point for the defenders.

The main force of the Corsican army's attack on Turin was too sudden. The Turin Palace did not receive the news until the day before the troops arrived at the city, and Carlo Emanuele III had no time to hoard enough supplies.

In response to this, Carlo Emanuele III had no choice but to immediately order the seizure of food reserves in the city, put them under unified management by the army, and implemented a strict rationing system for 200,000 citizens, so as to maximize the extension of the defense. city ​​time.

Although the people in the city, especially the middle-class citizens, complained about this policy, during the period of military control, their complaints seemed irrelevant. The general only mentioned the people's complaints casually in his report to the king. Complain.

Carlo Emanuele III nodded slightly and was very satisfied with the current situation. As long as the city's material reserves did not go wrong, the Corsican people would not even want to see a stone brick on the streets of Turin.

“About Corsican Dynamics.”

The trusted general continued to report:

"They are indeed a little abnormal. It has been two weeks since they besieged Turin. They have not yet completely surrounded Turin. Instead, they have deployed all their troops on the banks of the Po River. They seem to be building some fortifications. Not only that, They also hired a large number of farmers from surrounding towns and villages to join the project."

"Fortifications? What are they building?" Carlo Emanuele III asked with a frown. The king, who had inconvenient legs and weak body, could not go to the frontline fortress to observe the enemy's movements in person, so he had to ask these generals and officers.

The general was not sure about the Corsican's purpose, but he didn't care about it. He just shook his head calmly:

"It's not clear yet, Your Majesty. We can only watch the enemy's movements on the city wall, but there is a high probability that the bridge will be re-erected to allow the army to pass."

Carlo Emanuele III nodded hesitantly, accepting this statement. He did order the dismantling of all river bridges outside the city two weeks ago to hinder the Corsican army's offensive.

Now that the Corsican army is going to attack Turin, it is reasonable to re-build the bridge.

However, Carlo Emanuele III still had a trace of doubt in his mind. What kind of bridge required the entire Corsican army to be built, and even hired a large number of farmers from surrounding towns? !

Carlo Emanuele III thought hard for a while, but there was no reasonable answer in his dizzy mind. He really couldn't think of what the weak Corsicans could do against the indestructible wall of Turin.

At seventy years old, he is now just a frail old man who fights against death every day. He is no longer as sharp and wise as he once was. Time gave him unparalleled experiences in his middle age, but it also took him away in his old age. He has so much wisdom.