Chapter 817: The New "Big Brother" of Northern Italy
Joseph's decision was not due to any "admiration for General Melas's bravery on the battlefield," but rather because Melas was inept.
If Melas were to return to Austria and remain in a position of command, he would surely continue delivering major victories to France next time they met in battle.
This was more advantageous than detaining him and putting the command in the hands of more capable officers.
At the same time, it demonstrated France's "respect for the knightly tradition," that nobles had the right to ransom their freedom.
First, this could undermine the enemy's will to fight to the death in future wars.
Second, if a crucial French general was captured, he could be redeemed similarly.
Of course, if a heavyweight such as the Duke of Wellington, Archduke Charles, or Kutuzov were captured, Joseph would throw chivalric notions out the window without hesitation.
Alexandria.
Representatives from seven or eight Italian states, including Genoa, Parma, and Sardinia, were invited to observe the French surrender ceremony in the Fountain Square.
In fact, even Tuscany and the Papal States had been sent invitations—but neither responded.
The people of Sardinia crowded the roads lining the square, watching nervously as over a thousand Austrian prisoners marched past.
Only two months prior, these prisoners had been allies of the Austrians. Had the king not switched sides in time, many Sardinians might have been in captivity too.
Meanwhile, Italian girls smiled shyly or enchantingly at the proud French hussars guarding the captives.
Behind the prisoner column was a caravan of over ten horse-drawn carriages.
Leading the procession, a French officer held aloft Melas's signed surrender document.
The carriages behind had their curtains closed, hiding their occupants, but insiders revealed that Melas and twelve other Austrian officers were inside.
After the ceremony, these prisoners would be "politely escorted" back to Vienna, having paid a combined "fare" of 3.9 million francs for the journey.
Behind the prisoners marched hundreds of tall, handsome French hussars followed by artillery and grenadier companies—all elite troops, tall and dignified.
The grand surrender ceremony shocked all of northern Italy.
Once reported extensively in newspapers, along with details of the campaigns, Austria's century-old influence in northern Italy seemed to vanish overnight.
In its place came widespread recognition of French power.
Parma and Modena even sent envoys to Versailles expressing desires to increase bilateral trade and privately congratulated the French king and queen on their great victory.
Two weeks after the ceremony, the French Royal 3rd Infantry Division, two royal horse artillery companies, and over 4,000 freshly trained recruits arrived in Milan.
In total, 16,000 troops.
With these reinforcements, the Italian army grew to over 39,000 soldiers.
After discussion with his ministers, Amadeo III decided to send Lieutenant General Taon with 15,000 Sardinian troops to join the French battle line.
Napoleon, building on Milan's garrison, also recruited over 3,000 Lombard troops under Sérurier's command.
By mid-September, the 57,000-strong French-Sardinian coalition triumphantly left Milan, following Napoleon toward Mantua Fortress.
...
As Napoleon crushed Melas's corps, the British Mediterranean fleet ended its chase of the French Toulon fleet and returned to Gibraltar naval base.
However, the Royal Navy's return was somewhat chaotic.
In the flagship Victory's command cabin, Lord Hood heard faint cannon fire and shook his head irritably, asking the attendant at the door, "How far now?"
Knowing he meant the distance to Gibraltar, the attendant quickly checked with the helmsman and returned. "General, just 60 nautical miles to go."
Hood glanced at his watch. It was already 1:30 PM; they wouldn't reach port today and would face more torment from those damned steamships tomorrow.
Since French merchant vessels had resupplied Genoa, Brigadier General Diciella led a "Mediterranean fast squadron" toward the Barbary coast to join Toulon's forces.
They did not merge directly; Toulon's fleet kept ahead while Diciella tagged closely behind the British.
Though the French fleet seemed chased like strays, unable to enter port for over a month, their frustration was hardly known to others.
French steam launches acted like hyenas smelling carrion, trailing the British fleet and occasionally racing forward to shell the last ship in line before quickly retreating.
One would appear, fire a few shots, then slip away...
At first, Hood sent vessels to chase them off, but soon learned it was useless.
Sending third- or fourth-rate ships, the steam launches circled their powerful main fleet, outpacing the heavy battleships.
Moreover, these battleships struggled to regroup after the harassment.
Hood had to slow the fleet and wait.
This gave the French at Toulon vital breathing room.
They used it to resupply at Tripoli.
Attempts to disperse the steam launches often led to disorder and damage—the "Daring," a third-rate battleship, missed supporting a French frigate and was trapped by steam launches.
The hull survived, but she was badly damaged, with her rear side nearly stripped of planks, losing combat capability.
Later, Hood tried using fast paddle frigates against French warships but lost two such vessels.
French steam launches were far sturdier, and after 20 minutes of confrontation, the paddle frigates' speeds faltered, leaving them vulnerable.
Since then, Hood never again sent battleships to chase the steam launches.
These small craft, though lightly armed, continuously "nibbled" over 50 days, leaving almost every main warship with some battle scars.
(END CHAPTER)
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