Chapter 779: The March to Italy
The Afternoon After the Battle
Marshal Beaulieu was deep in discussion with his staff, strategizing the most efficient way to attack Toulon after securing Vence. Suddenly, an officer burst into the room without even knocking.
Ignoring Beaulieu's furious glare, the officer blurted out in a panic:
—"Marshal! General Dannenfeld's forces were ambushed on their way to Vence—nearly the entire army has been annihilated. His whereabouts are unknown!"
Beaulieu shot to his feet.
—"What… what did you just say?!"
The officer swallowed hard and continued:
—"Also, General Provera was ambushed by the French while retreating. The soldiers who delivered the message said he's now trying to fall back to Vence and is requesting reinforcements."
To be clear, Napoleon had not actually planned an ambush for Provera—he hadn't even known that the Austrians had abandoned Cagnes.
This was purely because Augereau was "too bored" and went looking for a fight—accidentally stumbling upon Provera's retreating troops.
However, from Provera's perspective, it looked as if the French had been lying in wait for him all along. His forces immediately collapsed, and he turned tail and fled.
Beaulieu felt his mind go blank.
The reinforcements meant for Vence were gone.
Provera was running straight toward Vence—meaning his fate was already sealed.
At this point, the entire Austrian campaign west of Nice had collapsed. The combined losses of Provera's and Dannenfeld's forces exceeded 15,000 men.
At the same time, Beaulieu's communication with Vence had been completely severed by the French.
In other words, the 10,000 men under Seibotendorf were now likely stranded with no escape.
Beaulieu had begun the campaign with 30,000 Austrian troops and 20,000 Sardinian allies. Now, over half of that force was gone.
While he still had 25,000 troops on paper, most of the casualties had been among his battle-hardened Austrians—leaving him with mostly Sardinian troops, who were far less capable in combat.
He hesitated for only half a minute before barking at his courier:
—"Order a full retreat to the Cardipona Pass immediately! Tell Marshal Argento to take command of the Royal 7th Infantry Brigade and secure the pass. The Sardinian Camuripi Corps will hold the defenses in Nice!"
—"Yes, Marshal!"
Napoleon's Reaction
Two days after successfully surrounding Seibotendorf's forces, Napoleon received word that Beaulieu's main army had withdrawn from Nice.
He sighed in disappointment.
His plan had been to trap Beaulieu in Nice—but the Austrian marshal had fled with surprising decisiveness.
To be fair, this wasn't entirely Beaulieu's fault. Colonel Colli had set up extensive defenses along the route from Nice to the Cardipona Pass, making it nearly impossible for French cavalry to scout their retreat.
Looking back on the Toulon campaign, this was perhaps the only decision Beaulieu had executed well.
Napoleon immediately left Joubert's corps to finish off Seibotendorf and personally led his main force toward the Cardipona Pass to try to intercept Beaulieu.
However, by the time he arrived, most of the Austrians had already retreated back into Italy.
With Argento stubbornly defending the pass, Napoleon was ultimately unable to stop Beaulieu's escape.
Once Argento himself withdrew into the Alps, the 1,300 Sardinian troops left behind in Nice promptly surrendered.
Two days later, Seibotendorf also abandoned any further resistance and surrendered to the French.
A Decisive Victory
Inside Monaco's castle, Napoleon enthusiastically wrote his report to the Crown Prince:
"The Battle of Toulon has been a complete success. We have inflicted 8,000 casualties on the Austrians, captured 15,000 prisoners, and taken several high-ranking enemy officers, including Generals Dannenfeld, Seibotendorf, and Provera. Among the captives are Beaulieu's own son-in-law, Major Filippo del Carreto, and Sardinian Colonel Camuripi, commander of the Novara Corps."
Yes, in total, Napoleon had either killed or captured 23,000 enemy troops.
A few thousand Austrian soldiers had managed to escape via the beaches southwest of Nice, rescued by British transport ships.
Still, this was a swift and decisive victory.
At the very least, France would no longer face any threats from the southeast.
For Joseph, however, this was merely the first step.
According to his Right Hook strategy, Napoleon was to cross the Alps, invade Sardinia, and strike at Austria's southwestern flank from the Italian Peninsula.
But Napoleon didn't need Joseph to push him.
By the time the prince's commendation reached Toulon, Napoleon had already secured the Cardipona Pass, and Augereau's advance units had begun crossing the mountains.
July 29, 1793
Napoleon, now wearing his brand-new colonel's insignia, rode forward with an air of confidence.
He was about to take his first step in crossing the Alps.
Yes—following his victory in Toulon, he had been promoted to colonel.
Every officer who had participated in the battle had received a promotion in some capacity.
But most importantly, after the swift and effortless victory near Nice, the entire Army of Italy was now fully convinced of Napoleon's command abilities.
With unshakable confidence and high morale, they marched into Italy.
The Alpine Crossing
A few days later, Napoleon tugged his coat tighter against the cold, sniffled, and nudged his mule forward.
He turned to his logistics officer with a deep frown.
—"Are you telling me that the Montpellier Corps still hasn't received their winter gear?"
—"Yes, Commander," the officer replied, shivering. "The military police have already arrested three of their logistics officers, but as you know, recovering stolen funds and ordering new supplies takes time…"
Due to recent climate irregularities, even in August, some Alpine peaks were still covered in snow.
The Mediterranean winds kept the snow line relatively high, but the remaining ice still posed significant challenges.
Even Napoleon's horse had succumbed to the cold, forcing him to switch to a mule for the crossing.
He was clearly irritated.
The Montpellier Corps had over 6,000 men. If they couldn't cross the Alps in time, his offensive force would be severely weakened.
—"How much longer will this take?" he asked.
—"Montpellier's command promises it'll be resolved within two weeks. But, as you know, their promises are not always reliable…"
The Montpellier Corps still operated under the old army system, where senior officers privately purchased supplies and submitted invoices for reimbursement from Versailles.
The General Staff had previously offered to take over their supply management, but Montpellier's aristocratic officers had outright refused.
"Are you joking?! This is a goldmine! By forging receipts, we can bill the government for twice what we actually spend. No way we're handing that over to the General Staff!"
And now, this corruption had resulted in a logistical disaster.
In truth, such issues were common in old European armies.
Prussia and Austria often required months of preparation before launching campaigns—mainly because of bureaucratic inefficiencies like this.
However, Prussia had already begun establishing a General Staff, aiming to eliminate these problems. Historically, Prussia would be the first to develop the modern General Staff system, which later spread across Europe.
At the moment, though, every European army was still scrambling to imitate the French model.
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