After the Battle of Diego, the Austrian army withdrew its defenses from fortresses and passes such as Carcare.
Beaulieu ordered the Vukcevich division in front of Massena to throw away most of its baggage, and quickly retreated to the defense of Piacenza, an important stronghold on the Po River.
By the time the French vanguard reached Piacenza, the Austrians had already moved everyone's boats to the other side of the river and set up camp on the river bank.
The Austrian army across the Po River numbered about 10,000 people, which was much smaller than the French army.
What's more, the French army had just won a great victory and their morale was at a high level. Under normal circumstances, they should be able to cover it up in one go.
But the Po River stopped the French army.
This river runs in an almost perfect east-west direction on the plain south of Milan, cutting the plain in half.
The river is 70 to 80 meters wide at its narrowest point, and the water depth exceeds the wading depth, so one has to rely on pontoons or ferries to cross.
Therefore, the French army could only watch the Austrian army on the other side of the river and had no choice.
There are three ferries on the Po River, one is far downstream and requires a very long detour, and the other is upstream at Valenza in the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Because the Kingdom of Sardinia has not declared war on France, theoretically Tranquility cannot cross the river via Valenza.
Therefore, the Austrian army placed all its troops in a row on the opposite bank of Piacenza.
On May 15th, An Ning arrived at the south bank of the Po River. Looking at the Austrian troops lined up on the opposite side, he could only frown.
In the Napoleonic Wars, before the Battle of the Po River, Napoleon first conquered the Kingdom of Sardinia and then got the opportunity to cross the river at Valenza.
He arranged a feint battle, and personally led the main force to pretend to cross the river at Valenza. At the same time, he spread rumors to the people of the Kingdom of Sardinia, further strengthening the impression that he would cross the river here.
Then he sent more than half of his army to bypass Piacenza and cross the river.
If the Austrian general, Marshal Beaulieu, had not noticed Napoleon's movements and escaped in advance, Napoleon might have completely annihilated the main force of the Austrian Army on the Po River Plain.
But now, An Ning has no room for this battle, because the Kingdom of Sardinia, which controls Valenza, did not participate in the war.
The front of the entire battlefield was greatly compressed as a result, and An Ning could only cross the river from Piacenza, which was heavily defended by the enemy.
This is not good news. It is too difficult to cross the river to attack by force, and the Austrians immediately began to build fortifications after retreating to the Po River.
Now there is a row of artillery forts erected in front of Piacenza.
Forcibly crossing the river will definitely result in heavy losses.
An Ning rode a horse and stood on the south bank of the Po River, looking at the sparkling river and feeling troubled.
Seeing that he was in trouble, Napoleon suggested: "We can go downstream to cross the river and come back in a roundabout way."
An Ning shook his head: "There are several large north-south rivers on the Po River that divide the plain. These rivers eventually merge into the Po River. Not only is it a long way to go from the lower reaches, but you also have to cross many north-south rivers to get back. "
Napoleon curled his lips and suggested: "Then let's change our thinking. In Valenza upstream, the Kingdom of Sardinia only has a small army defending here. We can raid here and use a way out.
"The Austrians certainly never thought that we would ignore the feelings of the Kingdom of Sardinia and forcefully pass through the Kingdom of Sardinia!"
An Ning: "What about the logistics?"
Napoleon: "The roundabout troops fought with only the food and ammunition they carried, quickly defeated the enemy and then received supplies from Piacenza!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Berthier shook his head: "This is too risky, and there are also diplomatic risks. The Kingdom of Sardinia will have great opinions."
Napoleon: "Let them raise their objections with Paris. What does it have to do with us?"
Berthier still objected, so An Ning spoke up: "Napoleon's suggestion is a good one. It can quickly defeat the enemy in front of you."
Berthier: "General! Aren't you worried about diplomacy?"
An Ning curled her lips.
The Kingdom of Sardinia is not a papal state. The Kingdom of Sardinia has troops. It has tens of thousands of troops that can fight in the field, and it is very close to the French army's supply line on the Mediterranean coast.
If the Kingdom of Sardinia suddenly joins the war and cuts off An Ning's supply line, the situation will be dire.
In Napoleon's war history, he first defeated the Kingdom of Sardinia and then moved to the south of Milan for a decisive battle with the Austrian army.
If you haven't defeated Beaulieu from the front and the Kingdom of Sardinia joins the war, you will really be attacked from both sides.
Of course, there is another solution to that situation, which is to quickly attack Milan and collect supplies in Milan - yes, it is just collecting supplies, not robbery.
An Ning thought for a while and asked Berthier: "Can we communicate with the Kingdom of Sardinia first and ask for military access rights?"
Berthier: "Of course, but this requires sending envoys to Turin, the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and negotiating with them. It is estimated that they will have to be stationed on the south bank of the Po River for more than a month. My suggestion is to take advantage of the current strength of our army.
Advantage, forcefully cross the river.
"The Austrian army lost most of their heavy artillery and baggage. They must not have much ammunition reserves. As long as they attack for a few days, they will retreat because their supplies are exhausted."
An Ning was speechless: "Bertier, Berthier, in your eyes, our soldiers are just numbers on the data? No, we can't waste the lives of our soldiers like this. I want to think about any way to make it faster, easier and more economical."
to break through the enemy's defense line on the Po River."
**
A few days after An Ning was stationed in Piacenza, news of the frontal front came from Paris.
Dumouriez defeated the Holy Roman Empire coalition forces led by Marshal Wumser on the frontal front.
An Ning was shocked when she got the news.
He has been using the historical situation in 1796 to model the current situation, so he thought that the frontal front would continue to be stumbling, and he would have to rely on his brilliant results in Italy to change the situation.
An Ning has thought about the rest of the plot. He defeated Northern Italy and then laid siege to the Mantua Fortress. Austria sent people to rescue the fortress several times in a row, resulting in several great victories.
Finally, the fortress was breached, and he prepared to attack Vienna from northern Italy, forcing the HRE to cease the war, and return Louis XVI and Queen Mary who were hiding in Vienna to France.
In the end, Dumouriez defeated Wumser in a head-on manner! This script suddenly went wrong!
**
At this time, Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire was also discussing countermeasures with his ministers.
Duke Wilm, Prime Minister of the Holy Roman Empire, said to Francis II: "Your Majesty, our army has suffered disastrous defeats in northern Italy and the Rhine direction. The current situation is very unoptimistic. If the two fronts of the French army advance in parallel, the empire will
The military strength will be dwarfed by comparison, and I'm afraid His Highness Carl's army will have to be mobilized.
"In addition, the continuous defeat has also had a huge impact on the empire's prestige, which may affect our stance on the Polish issue!"
Franz II gritted his teeth: "Damn it, how could things in France be so bad!"
Duke Wilm sighed: "That is France after all. Although the domestic revolution has weakened its strength, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse."
In fact, Duke Wilm's statement is wrong. In fact, the revolution improved France's strength, but as a great nobleman, he could not admit such a thing.
Francis II: "What now?"
"The top priority is to have an armistice with France as soon as possible and then send your aunt and uncle back to France."
"Wouldn't this be a problem?" Francis II asked, "They wouldn't..."
"No," Duke Wilm vowed, "your uncle has been away from France for so long, and the French have not deposed the king. Instead, they have shown a tendency to support the Duke of Orleans as the new French emperor. This means that your uncle is in France.
It still has a certain prestige.”
Francis II paced back and forth in the room, and finally clapped his hands: "Okay, let's do it! I have had enough of my aunt's little tricks in Vienna! I immediately wrote to the French National Assembly to express our
Send back the king and the sincerity of the truce!”
**
A few days later, the National Assembly in Paris.
The Girondist Brissot was making an impassioned speech on the podium: "Everyone! With our army's successive victories on the frontal battlefield, especially the brilliant victory of General Dumouriez, the Emperor of Austria bows his knee to us and begs for peace.
Got it!
"But should we welcome back that king and his Austrian bitches? No, never! He has turned his back on France, and we will never welcome back the traitor!
"Just think about that locksmith king and his Austrian ladies, they haven't done anything good in France! We should have a new king!"
"Objection!" Marat shouted, "France is now a citizen's France! We should establish a republic! Just like North America!"
Brissot: "Nonsense! The British established a country of citizens during the Glorious Revolution, but they finally chose to welcome back a king! And now, the power of the royalists is still very strong, especially in rural areas. Everyone still
Need a king!
"For the sake of the stability of France, I propose that we should choose an orthodox heir from the existing king's family tree! Just like the British did after the Glorious Revolution!
"Fortunately, we now have such a suitable candidate, that is the son of the Grand Duke of Orleans! I propose a vote to elect him as Louis XVII!"