Descending On France 1780
Chapter 170 - 163 fierce battle

Chapter 170: 163 fierce battle

Laharpu saw Montenotte Town through his telescope.

Sounds of battle came from the southeast direction, and it seemed very close.

Laharpu made a decisive command: "Vanguard, begin the siege immediately, don’t wait for the cannon!"

The Messenger Soldier immediately dashed off.

Laharpu continued to urge the troops around him: "Put more effort into it! I know you are all exhausted!"

Laharpu’s troops had taken a much longer and roundabout route, bypassing Altare and then turning along the valley to appear before Montenotte.

This route was much longer than the distance Davout’s troops had marched yesterday and today combined.

Laharpu’s soldiers were already worn out, but fortunately, their morale was exceptionally high with a strong will to fight.

Shouts and cries of battle came from the vanguard, Laharpu immediately stopped observing his troops and redirected his telescope towards Montenotte.

He saw the vanguard charging along the valley and then came under fire from Montenotte’s defensive forces.

Montenotte didn’t have what could be called a wall, but only a low barrier.

The defending enemy troops behind the low barrier fiercely shot at the charging blue-coated soldiers.

The smoke from the flintlock gun fire formed strange cloud patches in the valley, pushed by the wind blowing along the valley in the downwind direction.

After the enemy fired two volleys, Laharpu’s vanguard reached the barrier.

Hand-to-hand combat began.

Suddenly, Laharpu saw a group of enemies rushing from the southeast side of Montenotte, charging into the town from another direction.

"The enemy from the front has arrived so quickly? They are this close!" Laharpu exclaimed, then turned his telescope to observe the eastern slope of the valley.

It seemed that although the slope wasn’t suitable for deploying a regular line infantry formation, it was possible to ascend using a skirmish formation.

So Laharpu immediately ordered: "All battalions of the third brigade, ascend the hill in skirmish formation! Flank the enemy!"

The Laharpu Division in the valley immediately changed its formation, the third brigade shifted direction, spread out loosely and started climbing the mountain everywhere.

At this moment, a second wave of enemy troops rushed into Montenotte City under Laharpu’s watch.

The battle situation near the low barrier became confusing; the first wave of troops that entered the city evidently reinforced the defensive troops there swiftly.

Through Laharpu’s telescope, white and blue uniforms were completely mixed together in chaos.

Laharpu: "Second brigade, keep going in! Don’t stop! We have the advantage in number!"

At that moment, one of Laharpu’s staff officers said: "Commander, you should shout ’For the General!’"

Laharpu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to take the staff officer’s advice. He drew his sword and shouted: "For the General!"

The next moment, the troops erupted with a magnificent cheer, responding to Laharpu’s call.

By then, the skirmishing third brigade had finally climbed to the top of the hill and began firing at the enemy advancing along the road from the southeast side of the valley.

Laharpu muttered: "Damn it, if only we hadn’t rushed here so fast and the artillery had kept up! If we could roll the cannon up here, imagine the damage we could inflict!"

**

Davout watched with approval as Laharpu’s skirmishers appeared on the ridge to the side.

In fact, at this time, Davout’s troops had artillery, but he couldn’t find a good position to deploy the artillery unit.

Davout: "If Laharpu charges down from the mountain, at least half of the enemy’s formation could be scattered!"

But Laharpu’s troops were only loosely arrayed on the mountaintop, firing at the enemy on the road below.

Although the distance was a bit far, the enemy was squeezed into a mass in a forced march, so the hit rate should still be quite good.

Davout was frustrated, he immediately called for a Messenger Soldier: "You, cross the mountain, find Laharpu, and tell him to charge!"

The Messenger Soldier left to carry out the order.

At this moment, Davout had given up on the idea of annihilating the enemy. If they charge now and attack from both sides, they could inflict heavy losses on the enemy.

In this way, a large number of enemy troops would be unable to organize for several days and would have to retreat and regroup for a period of time.

However, Lanharp apparently didn’t know the situation here, still intent on fulfilling Frost’s wish to shut the door and beat the dog – to completely devour the Argento Division.

Davout also realized that the problem definitely lay here, pacing back and forth, constantly rubbing his shiny forehead: "Damn it! Why doesn’t Laharpu climb to the top of the mountain himself to observe?"

The current situation was somewhat pessimistic, with Davout’s main force being blocked on the road by the desperately counterattacking Austrian Army. Although they had a numerical advantage, they couldn’t fully deploy their formation.

The main Austrian force was sprinting towards Montenotte.

What Davout needed most at this time was actually radio communication to inform Laharpu of the situation here. Perhaps they could seize the opportunity to launch a flank attack and crush most of the Argento forces.

Unfortunately, there was no such convenience at the time, and the delivery of commands and transmission of intelligence completely relied on Messenger Soldiers running at full speed.

Even if Davout rubbed his bald head to use it as a mirror, he could not figure out a solution.

**

While Davout and Laharpu were in a stalemate at Montenotte, the Austrian Commander Boliue Marshal was summarizing the news of the day.

"According to intelligence from a defected noble officer, a significant part of the enemy force is directly in front of Argento. The enemy faces him with at least a 20 percent superiority in numbers," Marshal Boliue placed a pin on the map.

"Additionally, the scouting troops from Karcali, after today’s reconnaissance of Altare, it is very likely that a considerable force passed through Altare heading towards Montenotte. The Argento Division might be caught in a pincer attack by the enemy."

Condore: "Considering that Karcali’s message was from many hours ago, I think the Argento Division might have already been encircled by the enemy."

Boliue: "Argento is very vigilant, the order I gave him was to fall back to Montenotte if he found more enemies. It’s just uncertain whether he could retreat in time."

Condore: "He will definitely make it, the French Army cannot march that fast..."

Boliue glared at Condore: "So you think the Argento Division is in danger or not?"

Condore was taken aback: "Uh, that is..."

Boliue sighed deeply, he had actually wanted to replace this Chief of Staff long ago, but the face of the Condor Family was too significant, a dismissal was not feasible.

Boliue stared at the map for a long time before saying: "We might as well assume that the majority of the Argento Division has been crushed. Argento leading the remnants in retreat, he could likely organize a defense here."

Boliue planted a pin on the name Diego.

Boliue: "This place has river cover on the flank, and the city is on high ground, backed by mountains. With the positioning on the high ground of the city, they can gain a vantage point from above and won’t have to worry about their flanks. It’s a suitable place for defense."

The old Marshal paused, then began giving orders: "Leave Vukosovich behind, other units move to Diego immediately."