Novel Full Chapter 1325 - 1230: Strategic Shift
Chapter 1325: Chapter 1230: Strategic Shift
Seeing that no one spoke, the Marquess of Wellesley continued loudly:
“The reason why the Blücher Corps wants to enter Switzerland is to break through the Mantua Fortress as quickly as possible.
“However, now we are discussing how to conduct operations in Switzerland!
“Even if we can completely occupy Switzerland under the circumstances where the St. Gotthard Pass is controlled by the French, it won’t have any effect on the overall battle situation.”
The Austrian Chief of Staff Verossi and several officers immediately nodded in agreement, “You are right. We should now concentrate our forces to break through the Mantua Fortress!”
“We cannot get bogged down in Switzerland!”
“Transfer the Kosakov Corps to Verona…”
Wellesley sighed, “No, the core factor in choosing Northern Italy as the main battlefield was that there would be a corps entering Lombardy to launch an attack on Mantua from the south.
“And that factor no longer exists.”
He glanced southward, “What we will be facing is the Ming River and bastions spreading across both banks.”
He raised the stack of battle reports again, “I believe everyone already knows that the French are mobilizing comprehensively, they have even issued a ’Decree of Liberty and Equality!’”
Someone quietly supplemented, “It’s the ’Declaration of Human Rights.’
“Exactly, the ’Declaration of Human Rights.’” Wellesley nodded, “If we continue to drag on in Mantua, the enemy troops we will face will become increasingly numerous.
“Frankly, it’s very likely we’ll never be able to break through here!”
The Duke of York coughed lightly, signaling him to watch his wording with his eyes.
The Archduke Karl, however, frowned and pondered for a moment before nodding, “I must admit, we have indeed fallen into a strategic error before.
“General Wellesley, then please tell me, how should we open up the situation now?”
“It’s simple, abandon Switzerland, leave Mantua.”
Low murmurs immediately rang out in the conference room.
The Archduke Karl looked at the British, “Please continue.”
“We must maximize the advantage of the Allied Forces, which is superiority in numbers. So the decisive battle location must be selected in a place conducive to large corps expansion.”
Wellesley pointed at the map again, “For example, the area around Wurttemberg.
“We can deploy more than 400,000 troops here, launching attacks on the French forces in Baden from multiple directions. And also easily raid the eastern Rhineland.
“Meanwhile, the Duke of Brunswick will conduct diversionary attacks on the lower Rhine River.
“The French will have no choice but to shuttle back and forth between multiple fronts. In this process, they are bound to make mistakes.
“And that is our opportunity.”
The Archduke Karl and Prince Schwarzenberg exchanged looks, both with approval in their eyes.
Wellesley continued, “We can leave 60,000 to 70,000 troops in Mantua to continue the feigned attack. The main corps can maneuver along Austria and Saxon to achieve operational surprise.
“If the French forces in Mantua launch a counterattack, we will abandon Venice and retreat to the Klagenfurt Fortress.”
The Archduke Karl was about to nod and say something, but a Prussian staff officer sitting in the corner quickly stood up and said, “We cannot ignore General Blücher, the Allied Forces must be united!”
Since most of the Prussian army was far from Northern Italy, this major was already the highest-ranking Prussian officer in the Allied Command Center.
“We will all remember General Blücher’s outstanding contribution.” Wellesley said, “In fact, the Allied Forces fighting in Wurttemberg would greatly enhance the support for him more than sending troops directly to Switzerland.
“The French forces are limited, and under threat in Baden, they will have no choice but to withdraw their troops from Switzerland to defend.”
The Archduke Karl seemed to feel embarrassed and coughed lightly, saying, “Ahem, I will send a 20,000 troop army, to distract the French forces in the direction of Basel, in order to relieve General Blücher’s pressure.”
Back then, he insisted on focusing the attack on Northern Italy, Blücher had strongly opposed it, and now it’s indeed unreasonable to let the latter bear the greatest loss.
Wellesley immediately expressed his opposition: “Your Highness, we should not disperse any troops, even if it’s 20,000…”
The Archduke Karl said quietly with some embarrassment, “The loss of nearly 60,000 troops would adversely affect the morale of the Allied Forces.”
Wellesley said loudly, “General Blücher eliminated more than 70,000 French troops in Switzerland, eventually surrounded by suddenly appearing cold. Even so, he still resisted tenaciously.”
The Archduke Karl widened his eyes, but immediately comprehended.
The victories achieved by the Prussian army in Switzerland were unknown to anyone except these high-level officials. So as long as it is properly publicized, it won’t affect morale.
That Prussian major wanted to argue further, but heard Wellesley say, “Even if the Blücher Corps is captured, as long as the Allied Forces can achieve final victory, they can all return to Berlin honorably.”
The subsequent operational meeting went according to the British suggestion for detailed discussions, until twilight had not yet ended…
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Gassen served in the French Coast Guard, working as a gunner, starting his military career. Later he served in the Royal Guards, in 1789, when the French Revolution broke out, he served in the National Self-Defense Force of France. He served in the Upper Rhine Valley and Holland Area, and after that, in 1799, he went to Switzerland, serving in André Massena’s troops, and participated in the Winterthur campaign and the First Zurich Campaign. In August 1805, Gassen was responsible for commanding a division, his troops surrounded the Austrian Army in the Ulm campaign. On November 11, serving under Joseph Mottier, his division acted as the vanguard while advancing to Vienna.
On April 4, 1799, his superior and friend André Massena transferred him to serve in the Danube Region Army, which was stationed in the northeastern Swiss Plateau at that time. There, he was responsible for commanding a brigade, stationed in a small town called Winterthur.
On May 26, the newly appointed division commander Michel Ney began to move to the front lines to command the troops in battle, his units were responsible for protecting the main forces of the French Army. The next day, Baron Friedrich von Hoz led the Austrian Border Defense Forces to the battlefield, the unit has long been battle-tested, with nearly 8000 soldiers, including the 12th “Manfredini” Infantry Regiment, a Hungarian Grenadier Battalion, and six Valdeck Dragon Cavalry Squadrons. In the subsequent conflict, Ney ordered Gassen to lead his understrength brigade to the center of the battlefield, but they soon came under enemy fire suppression. During the retreat, they safely passed through a bridge spanning the Tess River, but the cavalry units responsible for guarding the bridge were also forced to retreat.