Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

However, Napoleon only had over 20,000 soldiers at his disposal.

Among them, nearly 3,000 were new recruits who had enlisted less than two months ago.

A look of distress appeared on his face. If it were a vast battlefield, he could completely rely on his precise judgment of the battlefield dynamics, using various means to gradually establish an advantage, just like he did at Toulon.

But now, due to his previous misjudgment, he had no choice but to engage in a hard-fought decisive battle with the Austrian Army here.

This was undoubtedly extremely disadvantageous for the numerically inferior French Army.

Napoleon crossed his arms in front of his chest, taking deep breaths repeatedly, his mind racing.

No, there must be a way to defeat the enemy.

I must fully utilize my advantages…

What strengths do I still have?

He suddenly calmed down because he thought of Murat’s Corps.

This elite unit, second only to the direct corps, was highly trained and equipped with the latest caplock guns.

If Murat’s Corps could quickly defeat the enemy’s front line and directly threaten Melas’ command center, it could throw the Austrian Army into command chaos.

Then turn to take care of the enemy on the flanks…

A complete battle plan rapidly formed in Napoleon’s mind. He turned to Lucien and said, “Order Major Juno to lead the Toulouse Second Infantry Regiment and a scattered soldier camp to take charge of the left-wing defense.

“Colonel Serurier will command the Third Infantry Regiment to defend the right wing.

“They must ensure that not a single enemy soldier crosses their line before nightfall!”

He assigned them 2,000 soldiers and 1,500 soldiers, respectively, facing an enemy of 10,000 and 15,000. Although they only needed to hold for two and a half hours, it was still a ‘hell-level’ difficulty task.

Napoleon pointed at the map and continued, “The Rubeier Corps, Murat’s Corps, and all artillery and hussars will immediately concentrate on the center.

“The infantry lines will be arranged here and here, in four-row formations…

“The artillery position will be set here, on this slope, overlooking the entire battlefield…

“We will launch a general attack in 40 minutes.”

4:20 PM.

Through his telescope, Chervoni saw his troops forcing the French to retreat constantly, and a rare expression of ease appeared on his face.

Since arriving in Italy, he had been plagued by the French Army’s various ambushes and raids. Finally, today, he had a chance to confront the French directly.

He turned to his staff with pride and said:

“The fact proves that the French only excel at underhanded tricks. If they fight like knights, these cowards are no match for us…”

The staff had not yet agreed when a sudden dense cannonade erupted from the left-front direction.

Frowning, Chervoni raised his telescope again and soon saw a gap torn open on the left side of his infantry line by cannon fire.

The intensity of the French artillery was evident.

He turned to his staff and said, “Have the cavalry find the French artillery position for me, they must have concentrated all their cannons…”

However, an officer immediately came to report, “General, over ten thousand French troops appeared on our left flank, they seem to be launching a counterattack.”

Chervoni smiled, “The French finally show some courage. Who is the commander facing us?”

“It seems to be that Colonel Bonaparte.”

“The guy who raided Milan?”

“That’s him, General.”

“Very well. I have been waiting for him for a long time.” Chervoni nodded and said to the order officer, “Order the whole army to stop advancing. The three right-wing infantry regiments move closer to the center.

“The regiments of Jonas and Drayton fortify a second line of defense on the left.

“The cavalry, by all means, eliminate the French artillery position for me.”

Despite talking about fighting like knights, he was extremely cautious in his deployment, intending to rely on his numerical advantage for dense defense, waiting for Genoa and Koli to flank and encircle, aiming to annihilate Napoleon with minimal casualties.

Soon, the French skirmishers harassing ahead noticed that the Austrian Army had stopped advancing, and the line formation disrupted by the artillery was quickly reinforced with a large number of soldiers.

However, Colonel Bonaparte had ordered them to continue attacking the enemy before the infantry columns could charge.

Thus, two battalions of skirmishers continued firing at the enemy, using terrain for cover, under the barrage of the Austrian infantry lines.

Although they couldn’t inflict much damage, they effectively drew the enemy’s attention.

After losing over 300 soldiers, more than 20 columns of Murat’s Corps marched to the fast-paced rhythm of military drums, galloping towards the Austrian infantry lines.

While the Austrian soldiers were busy aiming at the French skirmishers popping up here and there like groundhogs, Murat’s Corps columns had already charged within sixty or seventy paces, quickly deploying into a line.

The Austrian officers hastily ordered the soldiers to change their targets, but Murat’s Corps was first to fire a volley.

Their excellent shooting skills combined with the powerful caplock guns created a mist of blood over the Austrian infantry lines, and over a hundred soldiers let out muffled groans, instantly tumbling to the ground.

Murat’s Corps immediately reloaded on the spot, then advanced another ten paces and fired again.

After just three volleys, over 10,000 Austrian soldiers were thrown into chaos by Murat’s 4,000-strong force and fewer than 800 skirmishers.

Meanwhile, the further French infantry lines took the opportunity to advance within a hundred paces, beginning to fill the gaps between Murat’s lines.

Finally, the French front lines united, over 9,000 soldiers forming three rows of infantry lines, continually firing volleys at Chervoni’s Corps.

At last, the three right-wing Austrian regiments arrived, attacking the French lines from the right-front direction.

Murat’s Corps quickly reacted, splitting off 1,000 men to the left, engaging in a shoot-out with the enemy.

Though outnumbered, Murat’s Corps clearly displayed better combat quality than the Austrians, with 5,000 soldiers along with 4,000 Toulouse Army pressing against the opposition of over 14,000 Austrian soldiers.

However, Chervoni also commanded excellently, leveraging his superior numbers to constantly adjust formations, attacking the weaker Toulouse Army, causing Murat’s Corps to occasionally have to divert forces to fill gaps.

Thus, both sides exchanged fire for a full 20 minutes, suffering heavy casualties.

Finally, after another volley from Murat’s Corps, the left side of the Austrian line formation began to crumble.

Soon, the rout spread throughout Chervoni’s Corps, and the plain north of Marengo Village was filled with fleeing Austrian soldiers.

Napoleon saw this through his telescope, a smile appearing on his face, and he ordered an immediate attack on the Melas Command Center south of the village.

However, as Murat’s Corps approached Marengo Village, they found an orderly infantry line before them.

At least five or six thousand men.

Even though the French still had 8,000 troops, after the intense battle just now, the soldiers were physically exhausted, and due to casualties, their ranks were disorganized.

Faced with a well-prepared enemy, signs of fatigue became apparent.