The sound of fighting came from the southeast, it must have sounded very close.
Laharp made a decisive decision: "Vanguard, start attacking the city immediately, don't wait for the artillery!"
The messenger immediately ran out.
Laharp continued to urge the troops around him: "Work harder! I know you are all tired!"
La Harpe's troops took another farther road, detoured to Altare, then turned around and ran along the river valley to reach Montenotte.
This road is much longer than the combined distance Davout's troops marched yesterday and today.
The soldiers in La Harp were exhausted. Fortunately, the morale of the soldiers was very high and their fighting spirit was strong.
There were shouts of kill coming from the direction of the advance guard. Laharpe immediately stopped observing the soldiers around him and turned his telescope to Montenotte.
He saw the advance guard charge down the river valley and then come under fire from the Montenotte defense.
There is nothing that can be called a wall in Montenotte, only a low wall.
The remaining enemy troops defended behind the low wall and fired desperately at the blue-shirted troops who came up.
The white smoke produced by the firing of the flintlock muskets formed strange-shaped clouds in the valley, and was pushed downwind by the wind blowing along the valley.
After the enemy fired two rounds of volleys, La Harpe's vanguard rushed in front of the low wall.
Hand-to-hand combat begins.
La Harpe suddenly saw a group of enemies galloping toward the southeast of Montenotte, rushing into the city from the other side.
"The enemy from the front has arrived so quickly? They are actually so close!" Laharp exclaimed, then turned the telescope to observe the hillside on the east side of the valley.
It seems that although there is no way to deploy a regular line infantry formation on this hillside, you can climb up it in a skirmish formation.
So Laharp immediately ordered: "All battalions of the third brigade, climb up the mountain in skirmish formation! Shoot the enemy sideways!"
The Laharp division in the valley immediately changed its formation. The men of the third brigade changed direction, formed a loose formation, and began to climb up the mountain through the wild areas.
At this time, the second group of enemy troops rushed into the city of Montenotte under the watchful eyes of La Harpe.
The battle situation in the direction of the low wall became confusing. The first batch of troops entering the city obviously quickly supported the defensive forces at the low wall.
In La Harpe's telescope, the white and blue clothes were completely mixed together, a complete mess.
Laharp: "Second Brigade, keep investing! Don't stop! Our numbers are an advantage!"
At this time, one of Laharp's staff officers said: "Division commander, you should shout 'For Your Majesty the General'."
Laharp hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to follow the advice of his staff. He drew his sword and shouted: "For your Excellency, the General!"
The next moment, the troops burst out with majestic shouts, responding to Laharp's call.
At this time, the third brigade in skirmish formation finally climbed to the top of the hill and began to fire at the enemy on the other side of the hill who was advancing along the southeast road.
Laharp muttered: "Damn it, it's a pity that we ran too fast and the cannon couldn't keep up! If we pushed the cannon up the hill, how much damage would it cause!"
**
Davout saw La Harp's skirmishers appearing on the ridge on the side and shouted loudly.
In fact, Davout's troops had artillery at this time, but he could not find a good location to deploy the artillery troops.
Davout: "If Laharp rushes down from the mountain, at least half of the enemy can be dispersed!"
But Laharp's troops only formed a loose formation on the top of the mountain and fired at the enemy on the mountain road on their side.
Although the distance is a bit far, since the enemies are all huddled together and forced to march, the hit should be quite good.
Davout was so angry that he immediately called the messenger: "You, go over the mountain, find Laharp and let him charge!"
The ordering soldiers responded and left.
At this time, Davout had given up the plan of annihilating the enemy. If he charged now and attacked from both sides, he could defeat a large number of enemies.
In this way, the enemy will have a large number of troops that cannot be organized within a few days, and they will have to retreat for a period of time to repair.
But Langhalp obviously didn't know what was going on here. He still wanted to fulfill Frost's intention of shutting down the Argento division, beating the dogs, and eating them completely.
Davout also knew that the problem must lie in this. He paced back and forth, constantly ravaging his shiny forehead: "Damn it! This Laharp, why don't you climb up the mountain and observe it yourself?"
The current situation can be said to be not very optimistic. Davout's large army was blocked on the road by the Austrian army who was desperate to counterattack. Although they had the numerical advantage, they were unable to form a formation at all.
The large Austrian army is rushing towards Montenotte.
What Davout needs most at this time is actually a radio. By relying on the radio to inform the other side of La Harp's situation, he may be able to seize the opportunity to launch a side attack and defeat most of Argento's troops.
Unfortunately, there was no such convenience at this time. The transmission of orders and information depended on the messengers running at full speed.
Even if Davout could use his bald head as a mirror, he would not be able to find a solution.
**
While Davout and Laharpe were locked in a stalemate at Montenotte, the Austrian commander-in-chief, Marshal Beaulieu, was summarizing today's news.
"According to the information from the defected noble officers, the enemy has a large force in front of Argento. The enemy has at least a 20% strength advantage facing him." Marshal Beaulieu pressed a pin on the map.
"In addition, Carcarre's reconnaissance force, during today's reconnaissance of Altare, is likely to have a sizable force passing through Altare towards Montenotte. The Argento Division may be flanked by the enemy.
"
Condore: "Considering that the news about Calcaret came many hours ago, our Argento division may have been tricked by the enemy."
Beaulieu: "Argento is very vigilant. The order I gave him is to retreat to Montenotte when he finds more enemies. I just don't know if he can retreat in time."
Condoré: "It must be in time. The French army cannot march so fast..."
Beaulieu glared at Condoré: "Then do you think Argento is in danger?"
Condorei was stunned: "Uh, this..."
Beaulieu let out a long sigh. In fact, he had wanted to replace this chief of staff for a long time, but unfortunately the Condoret family was too proud to fire him.
Beaulieu stared at the map for a long time, and then said: "It is better to assume that most of Argento's division was defeated. Argento led the remaining troops to retreat, and he is likely to organize a defense here."
Beaulieu stuck a thumbtack on the name Diego.
Beaulieu: "In this place, the Bomida River protects the flanks, and the city is on high ground. By setting up the formation on the high ground where the city is located, you can gain a commanding advantage. I remember that the slopes here are very steep. In addition, there is a river
, don’t worry about the wings. It’s a good place to defend.”
The old marshal paused and began to give orders: "Leave Vukcevich to defend the direction of Varadze, and the other troops will immediately move towards Diego. I will go too!"