Descending On France 1780
Chapter 204 - 197 Davout patted his head

Chapter 204: 197 Davout patted his head

While the French Army was hastening towards Rivoli, Marshal Von Wumze of the Holy Roman Empire was observing the French Cavalry that had appeared in front of his troops through a telescope.

"Didn’t we chase them away yesterday?" Von Wumze muttered, "How come they’re back?"

Chief of Staff Pence said, "Perhaps the French aim to stick close to us continuously, disrupting our movements. Should we chase them away again?"

Von Wumze pondered for a moment and shook his head: "No, we already lost a Cavalry Captain chasing them away yesterday. Let them loiter here; they can’t possibly pose a threat to our main force. Order the troops to hasten the march—we must reach the Rivoli Plateau today!"

Chief of Staff Pence had a troubled look: "That might be difficult. There’s a lot of snow in the valley; it will affect marching speed."

Von Wumze: "Reports from the front say that Boliue has already been defeated, and the remaining scattered troops are holed up in Mantua Fortress. We must rush to the relief of Mantua Fortress! We need to be quick!"

Pence: "Yes, we must be quick. I will have the troops accelerate their advance."

**

Davout had already arrived at the Rivoli Plateau by this time; he immediately checked the narrow pass between the plateau and the Adige River Valley and burst into laughter.

"No wonder the General insisted we move at full speed to occupy the Rivoli Plateau. With this narrow pass, just give me ten thousand men, and I could hold off an attack by twenty thousand Austrian troops!"

The route from the Rivoli Plateau to the Adige River Valley goes through a Z-shaped slope, and troops holding the plateau could cause huge casualties to enemies climbing the slope simply by throwing stones.

To break out of the valley, the enemy must traverse this deathtrap-like Z-shaped slope before they can even see the small town atop the Rivoli Plateau.

Davout continued to survey the terrain of the plateau and soon concluded.

"To conquer this plateau, merely advancing from the valley, no amount of troops would suffice. We must send a portion of our forces through the northern mountains, attacking from the mountains would leave the troops on the plateau reliant only on a mountain ridge over a hundred meters high."

The Rivoli Plateau is surrounded by a circle of small mountains over a hundred meters high, forming a natural barrier.

However, this range of hills could offer some defense, but it was very limited, after all, they were too short.

If an attack is launched from the north side of the plateau, the defending side would have very limited support.

But attacking the plateau from within the valley would require more than three times the number of troops to have a chance of success.

After having surveyed the terrain of the plateau, Davout suddenly realized something.

"This plateau is suitable for defense by a small number of troops, not for an army with a numerical advantage to launch an attack. Especially against enemies coming from the valley... due to the terrain of the valley, it’s almost impossible to fight an annihilative battle, unless troops are sent through the mountains to seize Trent."

Upon finishing, his aide-de-camp asked puzzledly, "What do you mean?"

"It means that our General might have made a mistake; he should have assigned me to defend here and then the main force to reinforce Lana," Davout said seriously, "No, that’s not right... I see, that’s what the General intended!"

The aide-de-camp was bewildered: "What do you mean?"

"We continue to advance, heading straight for Trent. The General is preparing to ’trap and annihilate the enemy’! Leave behind a small contingent to delay the enemy, and then march straight to Trent. This will be an unprecedented battle of annihilation!"

Aide-de-camp: "Is that so? But the orders from the General were to occupy the Rivoli Plateau."

"If it were just to occupy the Rivoli Plateau, the General would have made a fatal mistake, squandering our advantage in a terrain unsuitable for an assault. Do you think the General would make such a mistake? No, the General has always emphasized leveraging our initiative; we cannot blindly follow his orders."

Anning did indeed say that, but he said so because he knew he wasn’t very capable and had to rely on these famous generals to win battles on their own.

However, Davout clearly interpreted this instruction in a different way.

"So, this is the test that General has given us," Davout swung his bald head decisively, "He only told us to come to Rivoli, then he wants to see if we can see through his true intentions!"

The aide-de-camp suddenly realized: "That’s it! Previously, Captain Bonaparte also ignored General’s command to move on the right flank, and went to the center on his own to shell the Austrian Army! Afterwards, General even rewarded him!"

Davout: "Don’t say that, he is no longer a Captain."

"Sorry." The aide-de-camp shrugged his shoulders.

Davout’s aide-de-camp was a traditional French Army officer, who somewhat looked down on the short fellow from Corsica.

Davout: "So, we leave troops at the entrance of the plateau to block the enemy, and the rest of the troops continue northward, crossing the mountains on the outskirts of the plateau, directly threatening Trent! Right, we need to inform the General of our decision, bring me a pen!"

**

Anning saw the letter sent back by Davout and immediately had the expression of an old man with a smartphone: What the hell is this!

He read Davout’s letter again carefully, then took a sharp intake of breath.

He realized he had made a huge mistake.

He only remembered that in history, Napoleon had struck a heavy blow against the Austrians at Rivoli, but he had forgotten that Napoleon’s defense at Rivoli was a defensive one, and the French Army was at a disadvantage.

On his side, because he sacrificed Lana to resist another enemy force, he had the advantage in troop numbers; he was to fight an offensive battle.

This made Rivoli an unsuitable battlefield, as the terrain was not conducive to launching an attack on the Austrian troops in the valley.

So truly piling up troops on Rivoli Plateau could result in a stalemate with the Austrian Army in the valley, each unable to do anything to the other.

It could be said to be a very big blunder.

If not for Davout giving Anning a way out, this issue might have been stuck.

So Anning immediately started acting, looking at Davout’s letter, he revealed a smile: "Hahaha, worthy of Davout, you’ve grasped my true intention in an instant!"

Napoleon was very curious: "What true intention?"

Anning stuffed the letter to him: "Read it for yourself."

Napoleon quickly read Davout’s letter, then suddenly realized: "So, your real intention is to launch a surprise attack on Trent?"

Anning: "Correct, the mountains to the north of Rivoli are actually not easy to traverse, which is why the Austrian Army chose to go through the Adige River Valley. We have to use this fact to our advantage! Davout’s troops will pass by the Austrian Army troops in the Adige River Valley, with only a high mountain separating the two forces!"

Napoleon was overjoyed: "Brilliant, truly audacious in using troops!"

Anning wiped a cold sweat in secret, that was close, almost revealing the fact that I’m a poor military strategist.

Anning: "Next, we’re going to use nearly the same number of troops as the Austrians to defend on Rivoli Plateau, creating an opportunity for Davout to launch a surprise attack on Trent. In this campaign, we’ve already caught one Holy Roman Marshal, I wouldn’t mind catching another!"

Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m