Descending On France 1780
Chapter 167 - 160 ordinary morning

Chapter 167: 160 ordinary morning

This morning, Anning’s first question upon waking was, "Has Lasalle returned?"

Yesterday, after dealing with Marquis Lamballe and several military officers, he had looked everywhere for Massena but had not found anyone by that name among the garrison in Savona. Therefore, he had placed his hopes on the troops stationed in Valaz.

He sent Lasalle to Valaz at a gallop to apprehend the officers and casually look for an Italian named Massena, intending to appoint him as a brigade commander directly if found.

As a result, Lasalle left last night and since then has been out of contact, with no one dispatched back to report all night.

Nevertheless, considering Lasalle’s character, Anning felt it quite normal that no one had returned to report and reminded himself to always instruct Lasalle to "report promptly" whenever sending him out on tasks.

—But then again, the reminder might not be effective.

Maybe he got drunk and tossed the reminder to the back of his mind.

In any case, by this morning, Anning still did not know whether he had found Massena.

For this reason, he must be prepared to appoint a reliable person to lead the brigade in Valaz.

But now Anning was short of people; Davout was already leading a division, and Lana was still learning how to fight since he had only become a soldier from being a dye apprentice a year ago.

This was different from the historical time when Napoleon began to rely heavily on Lana, for at that point in history Lana had already been fighting in the French Revolutionary Wars for several years, although he hadn’t undergone formal military training, he was battle-hardened.

Anning was not going to let Lana as a brigade commander at this time. He needed Lana to gain more battle experience by leading the training corps.

That left Anning without any available officers.

Anning currently had two divisions under his name, and both were overstaffed due to a shortage of officers.

The first division was led by Davout, and Anning had originally wanted to assign the second division to Napoleon but he could not bear to part with such a valuable artillery officer like Napoleon.

If he assigned Napoleon to lead the troops, Anning would have to command the artillery himself.

Eventually, the second division was handed over to a sergeant brought by Bertier, who claimed that this man named Laharpe was a talented military leader.

Anning vaguely remembered a General Laharpe in the Napoleon Chronicles, but he was unfamiliar with the person and unsure if it was the same one.

As for military ranks, it was now the year 1792, four years before the start of the Napoleon Chronicles. Due to the urgent circumstances, there was no limit to the promotion of officers as they promoted those who were capable, hence leading to rapid promotions for the capable.

In conclusion, Anning followed Bertier’s advice and handed over the second division to Laharpe, unsure if this was the person from the historical records.

Since it was someone recommended by Bertier, he shouldn’t be too bad.

Regarding the newly recruited ten thousand men, theoretically, they should form a new division. Anning had initially planned to promote Massena on the spot once found, but since he was nowhere to be found, Anning had to consider another candidate for the position of division commander.

If all else failed, he could only leave it to Napoleon.

Napoleon would undoubtedly be capable of commanding a division, and perhaps he might realize his destined role in some battle, bringing history back onto its correct path.

At that time, Anning would definitely indulge himself, clinging to Napoleon’s coattails.

It had been over a year since Anning last indulged in idleness; besides being busy, there was none of the leisure of earlier times.

As Anning pondered, a messenger soldier arrived, "Report!"

Anning: "Come in! Has Lasalle found Massena?"

The messenger hesitated for a moment: "Uh, no. General, it’s a report from Division Chief Davout. The opposing Argento Division seems to be moving down from the mountain this morning. Captain Davout is preparing to arrange the formation to meet them."

The messenger, who possibly had been a messenger in the military before, was used to conveying orders and news for generals and almost misspoke but corrected himself midway.

Anning: "Next time I go to Paris, I must promote my officers."

Bertier: "Just the officers?"

Anning: "Yes, what else could I do?"

Bertier shrugged: "You didn’t say, so I wouldn’t dare to."

Anning: "Alright, let’s focus on the battle situation again. Davout has already engaged, where is he?"

The messenger immediately pointed to a spot on the map: "Here, Nikino Mountain!"

Bertier immediately placed a marker there, then positioned the symbol representing the Argento Division next to the battle marker, opposite Davout’s marker.

Anning: "Davout has twelve thousand men, which should be sufficient to handle the Argento Division."

Bertier: "According to the reconnaissance reports, Nikino Mountain doesn’t allow for more troops to be deployed, a division is about the limit."

Anning pointed to another road leading to the mountain area: "Where does this road lead? Can it circle around to the rear of the Argento Division?"

"You can ascend the mountain from here, heading north toward Altare, and then proceed along the river valley to reach the back of Montenotte, where the Argento Division is stationed. Additionally, going west from here leads to the Austrian stronghold of Karcali."

Anning stroked his chin while looking at the map.

At that moment, he fully remembered; this area was the site of Napoleon’s first battle after entering Italy according to Napoleon’s biography.

At that time, Napoleon defeated the coalition of Austria and the Sardinian Kingdom with the Italian legions, a group of troops lacking supplies and with low morale.

Although the Sardinian Kingdom is not participating in the war now, it is completely feasible to replicate the first stage of the campaign, after all, the terrain is the same.

Anning: "I now order Laharpu to immediately take his men, climb the mountain along this side path, and advance at the fastest speed, striving to reach Montenotte before night falls tonight. Order Davout to keep engaged with the enemy, firmly attracting the enemy at the front!"

While Anning was speaking, Bertier was fervently writing down orders; after completing one, he would shout "For Laharpu" and then hand the order to the approaching Messenger Soldier.

After the first Messenger Soldier left, Bertier bent down to write the second order, while another Messenger Soldier took the place of the former, waiting for the new order to be completed.

"For Davout!" Bertier finally stopped writing and yelled; the Messenger Soldier took the order without any further words and left.

After issuing two orders, Bertier continued with several more orders, all about adjusting logistics and local garrison, making everything clear regarding the defenses around headquarters after Laharpu Division had left.

Anning watched with satisfaction as Bertier translated his strategic intentions into practical operational orders.

He suddenly thought of the scene in the movie "The Great Battle" where 101 gave orders at the train station.

Is this what it feels like to have a capable Chief of Staff? It’s truly wonderful.

At that moment, Bertier looked up: "Should we also send the artillery troops to assist General Davout in the battle?"

Anning: "Yes, let Napoleon go climb mountains too. If all goes well, he can be of use in attacking Montenotte tonight."

Bertier immediately began to write the order.

Anning raised an eyebrow, thinking Bertier really knows how to manage relationships, aware that although Napoleon is just a Captain, he is my confidant, and didn’t issue orders directly but consulted me first.

At that moment, the sounds of troops assembling came from outside the command post, probably Laharpu preparing to depart.

Just then, another Messenger Soldier ran in: "Report! A report from Valaz, enemy Vukcevic Division is attacking Valaz, engaged in fierce battle."

Bertier frowned, immediately turning to Anning to say: "Valaz only has one brigade, also from the former Italian legions, just turned to nobles officers, could it be easily overwhelmed?"

Anning: "It’s possible."

Bertier: "Should we send troops from the former Italian legions to support Valaz? Officers could be selected from the remnants of the knights..."

Anning: "No, the former Italian legions are still in chaos, rashly bringing them into battle is useless. Let Lana and his training teams be responsible for organizing the soldiers to form committees, electing sergeants they trust to lead them.

"Until the reorganization is complete, they are not to be used."

"What about Valaz?"

Anning thought for a moment: "Order the remnant knights and the female cavalry to assemble, I will lead these troops there."

Bertier: "The enemy has at least one division, seven or eight thousand men, leading only the remnant knights and ladies, might not be enough? The terrain by the sea is not suitable for cavalry charges."

Anning: "If it’s not enough, I will arrange a delay formation on the spot to stall the enemy, and then you personally lead the reorganized troops to our aid."

He paused, then shook his head: "Don’t worry, the report from Davout’s side is just about preparing for battle, while the report from Valaz has started the fight, this indicates that the enemy might have marched all night and attacked in the morning, the enemy might not have cannons. Our garrison at Valaz, however, does have cannons."

Bertier still did not feel reassured, "What if the enemy routs our troops in Valaz and captures the cannons?"

Anning was about to reply when suddenly someone outside shouted, "I’m back!"

"It’s Lasalle, he should have been at Valaz last night, go ask him about the situation," Anning exclaimed happily.

At that moment, Lasalle entered with a smoking pipe: "General, we defeated the enemy’s surprise attack! Also, I found that Massena you asked me to look for! He is an extraordinary man, really fierce! Without him this morning, I might have had to run back here embarrassedly!"

"What?" Anning was shocked, "Massena was found? Where is he?"

Lasalle: "He thinks the enemy might attack again and stayed in Valaz to strengthen the defenses!"

Anning: "Quick, invite him over! No, he has to command the defenses, it’s proper I go there! Julian! Bring my horse!"

Anning rubbed his hands excitedly.

Look at my luck, found another fierce general! This lucky draw is too good! I thought I was finally out of luck this time, Massena was still being a small merchant, not yet enlisted.

With Davout in my left hand, and Massena in my right, what else in Italy can stop me? The answer is nothing!

Exciting!

While Anning was excited, Vanni came in holding his breakfast: "It’s time for breakfast."

Anning: "No time to eat, military situation is urgent!"

"I knew, so I prepared something you can grab and eat while riding," Vanni said.

Anning: "Really? Great!"

At that moment, Julian entered saying, "Commander, your horse is ready!"

Anning grabbed the bread and sausage from the tray, eating as he walked out.