Chapter 781: The Struggle for Genoa
Cadibona Pass, on the eastern side of the Alps.
General Dimaupin, the nominal commander of the French Italian Army, felt the warm breeze blowing from the Mediterranean, which slightly relieved the pain in his old bones, nearly frozen from the cold.
He bitterly recalled the order sent to him by the Crown Prince a few days ago and let out a long sigh.
He had thought that his only task would be to stay in Nice without doing much—after all, the young Buonaparte had proven to be an excellent commander, making his intervention unnecessary—but to his surprise, the Crown Prince suddenly ordered him to replace Buonaparte and take command of the army.
At almost 60 years old, Dimaupin had no choice but to drag his aging body over the Alps and put on a show of preparing for an assault on Montferrat, a southern province of Sardinia.
To the north of Montferrat lay Turin. At this moment, Sardinia was in chaos, with Amadeus III desperately pleading for reinforcements from Vienna.
Meanwhile, after his crushing defeat at the Battle of Toulon, Beaulieu had fewer than 7,000 Austrian troops left on the Italian Peninsula. Alongside them were 20,000 Sardinian troops under Colli's command and another 2,000 men stationed in Milan.
With such a small force, Beaulieu wasn't even sure he could defend Milan, let alone reinforce Sardinia.
With no other choice, Emperor Francis II ordered the Swiss Army to assist in Italy and appointed its commander, Melas, to replace Beaulieu as head of the Italian campaign.
When Melas's vanguard arrived in Milan, Beaulieu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With Melas's 30,000 troops, the Italian front was now somewhat stabilized.
At the same time, Amadeus III dispatched an additional 10,000 soldiers to defend Montferrat.
Thus, in northern Italy, the Austro-Sardinian coalition now had a total force of over 60,000 troops.
Meanwhile, Dimaupin had only 28,000 men. Although the General Staff had sent 5,000 reinforcements, Napoleon had intercepted them en route.
However, Dimaupin wasn't too worried.
The Crown Prince's true intention was not for him to actually attack Sardinia, just to put on a show. As long as he was only defending, his forces would be able to hold out for a while.
Moreover, the Austrian troops had just suffered a major defeat and were still demoralized. Even if a battle did break out, they might not pose much of a threat.
One week later.
Dimaupin was enjoying his breakfast—now that he was in Italy, the food was much better than in the mountains—when a staff officer knocked on the door and saluted.
"Commander, we have just received news from Milan: General Melas's army of nearly 30,000 men is marching south toward Montferrat."
The old general took a sip of milk and asked, "How far are they from us?"
"About 50 kilometers."
Dimaupin nodded, stood up, and said, "Order the entire army to assemble. We're marching east."
"East?" The staff officer was surprised. "But there's only Genoa in that direction."
"Yes, Genoa." Dimaupin nodded. "That's exactly where we're going."
According to the Crown Prince's orders—essentially Napoleon's battle plan—if the Austro-Sardinian main force moved south toward Sardinia, Dimaupin was to make a show of launching a full-scale attack on Genoa.
Genoa was the most important port in northern Italy. Almost all supplies shipped from the sea to Sardinia and Milan landed there.
If the French captured Genoa, it would cut off British supplies to the Austro-Sardinian forces.
This was a scenario the Austrian commanders could not afford, and the British would not tolerate Genoa falling into French hands, as it handled more than half of Britain's trade with Italy.
As expected, when Dimaupin's army left Diego and moved toward Voltri, a strategic point west of Genoa, the Austrians immediately became alarmed.
North of Montferrat, in the Austrian camp.
Colli faced his officers with a firm expression. "We must uphold Sardinia's territorial integrity. If Montferrat falls, we will quickly lose the trust of our allies."
Beaulieu, exhausted, shook his head. "If the French capture Genoa, they will be able to threaten Alessandria to the north. We would then have to split our forces to defend three fronts—east, west, and north—which would put us at a severe disadvantage."
Alessandria was a key transportation hub in northern Italy, connecting Milan, Turin, Piacenza, and several other cities.
Colli, visibly irritated, said, "But the stubborn Genoese insist on maintaining neutrality and refuse to let us send troops to help defend them!
"If we attack the French directly, we will have to cross the Alps. By the time we get there, the French will have already taken control of Genoa's port."
The Alps' southernmost region formed a "Y" shape, with Genoa positioned at the lower branch. This meant there were numerous mountains separating Dimaupin's forces from the Austrians.
While these mountains were not particularly high, moving an entire army through them would still take considerable time.
Brigadier General Jean-Baptiste Cervoni, seeing the argument going nowhere, stood up and hesitantly suggested, "Perhaps we should ignore Genoa's neutrality and deploy troops before the French arrive. From Alessandria, we can reach there in a day and a half."
Everyone turned to look at him.
After a long silence, Colli finally said, "But Genoa is a neutral port under the Emperor's protection."
"We would only be blocking the French," Cervoni argued. "Once we drive them out of Italy, we can withdraw from Genoa. I'm sure Britain would support such an action."
The room fell silent again.
Given Genoa's weak defenses, any major power—Austria, France, or even Sardinia—could easily seize control of the city.
Whoever acted first would gain a significant advantage.
Finally, Melas exhaled and nodded. "Fine. It's better than letting the French take Genoa."
"Order the Argenteau Corps to march to Genoa immediately.
"General Colli will continue to Montferrat to block the French from advancing north.
"General Cervoni will cross the Alps and cut off the French retreat.
"This time, we will crush Dimaupin's army at Voltri!"
Meanwhile, in the central Alps.
At the Great Saint Bernard Pass.
A logistics officer saluted Napoleon and reported, "Commander, we should consider waiting two more days at the foot of the mountain.
"Our current food supplies will only last until we cross the Alps. Once we enter Italy, we will be out of rations."
Indeed, Napoleon had climbed halfway up the Cadibona Pass, only to turn back. Instead, he now led the Montpellier Corps, along with a Moulins cavalry regiment and the 5,000 reinforcements recently allocated by the General Staff, in a daring surprise attack from the central Alps.
(End of chapter.)
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