Chapter 795 Arrangement of Troops
Ticcheno claims to have tens of thousands of troops, but they did not occupy the important Gotthard Pass in advance.
It seems that either the troops are insufficient, or the commander is arrogant and stupid. In short, there is a high probability that this will be an unequal battle for both sides.
In fact, according to Austrian intelligence, the total strength of Ticheno State is indeed tens of thousands as they said, but in fact these troops have not been mobilized.
Where did this information come from? Naturally, he came from Ticeno. In fact, Franz had already planted thousands of mercenaries and intelligence agents here. It was impossible for him to really put Archduke Karl in danger or die directly in Switzerland.
Of course, theoretically speaking, if Archduke Karl died in Switzerland, this would give Austria a good reason to send troops, but the consequences would be a huge negative impact, and it would also add a disgrace to the war. Generally speaking, the gains outweigh the losses.
In fact, it's not just Ticeno. Franz also deployed manpower in St. Gallen. It is not a problem for Austria to deploy manpower to these two regions. After all, the Germans and Italians themselves are the two largest groups in Austria. nation.
As for the identity of Charles Duchardt, it is also easy to identify. Although Louis-Philippe wrote few autograph letters and few people could identify his handwriting, Archduke Carl happened to be one of them.
Other papers, pens, ink, stationery, and seals are also extremely difficult to copy, so Archduke Karl can conclude that the young man in front of him is the person personally appointed by Louis Philippe.
Similarly, the identity of Archduke Karl is also easy to identify, because the Austrian royal family also has many special items, which generally no one dares to imitate.
And even if you want to imitate it, there is simply no way to do it. Ordinary people have no access to it. Those who have access to it have a high status and will generally not cause trouble for themselves.
Charles Duchardt was very excited to see Archduke Karl. After all, the latter was a legend from the old times.
"Hello, I am Charles Duchardt from Lyon. It is an honor to fight alongside you."
Archduke Karl nodded in response, and then he took out a map and handed it to Colonel Charles Duchardt.
"There may be nearly 10,000 defenders in Ticcheno, but according to the latest news, they still have not captured the Gotthard Pass. So as long as you act fast enough, you can seize this common transportation link between Valais and Ticeno. hub.
Then you can wait for the follow-up reinforcements to take Ticeno State in one fell swoop to open the way for the Orthodox Alliance to connect with the Kingdom of Lombardy and Sardinia. "
The two sides had briefly exchanged intelligence before. Charles Duchardt was not an incompetent person. He understood what it meant to regain Ticeno State at this time.
But what made Charles Duchard even more emotional was that he was the only one of the dozen teams to arrive in Lucerne on time, and the number of people on the Austrian side was obviously much greater than his own.
The so-called Swiss Orthodox Union is worse than I imagined. They are probably not even a militia, and the commander is so stupid that he would choose to throw himself into the trap.
Fortunately, the valley entrance terrain of Friborg is also very unfavorable to the attacker. As long as there are no accidents, it is not a problem for the Orthodox Alliance's army to defend Friborg for several months.
But this war should not have been so passive, but this suited Charles Duchardt. Because he came here to make a name for himself. He wanted to become famous in one battle like Napoleon did in Toulon.
So Charles Duchardt made a surprising decision.
"I don't need reinforcements. Just let them hold the St. Geda Pass. The second wave of the Freedom Alliance's offensive will definitely focus on attacking here."
"How arrogant! Do you know how many defenders there are in Ticeno?"
Heinrich Irabem roared angrily. He was a top student at Theresa Military Academy, and the French boy in front of him actually rejected Archduke Karl's kindness and actually used a thousand men to attack ten thousand in order to show off. The garrisoned province made him even more furious.
Archduke Karl's idea was to detach 5,000 Walden troops, plus 5,000 Valais reinforcements, to cooperate with Charles Duchardt's 1,000 French troops.
Letting a colonel command an army of 10,000 men was already a sign of high regard for Charles Duchardt, but the latter seemed dissatisfied and was so arrogant that he wanted to use one-tenth of his troops to fight the Swiss.
However, what surprised Heinrich Irabem even more was that Archduke Karl actually agreed. Instead of being angry, he asked with concern.
"What about the supplies?"
"No need, our French army has always been defeated by the enemy because of food, and I don't have the troops to protect your baggage troops.
But I need the Congreve rockets in your warehouse, as well as enough explosives and rope. "
"Marshal Ulrich, I hope you will meet Colonel Duchardt's request."
Ulrich Salis nodded and said.
"Come this way, Colonel Duchardt."
"Thank you, Grand Duke." Charles Duchardt took off his hat and saluted again.
"Young man, you look very much like someone I know. I hope you can come back alive and tell your legend to the world."
Archduke Karl's words immediately excited the young man, and Charles Duchardt turned around and bowed deeply again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Grand Duke, and I wish you greater success."
But this sentence also deeply hurt some people, after the French colonel left.
Heinrich Beaim asked reluctantly.
"Why should he compare with Napoleon?"
Archduke Karl looked at the future general of the Austrian Empire with some helplessness and fell into deep contemplation. His incompetent sons seemed to be doing well too.
"Mr. Heinrich, I now need you to lead the troops of Walden and Valais to guard the St. Geda Pass to prevent the Free Alliance from cutting off our retreat."
"Yes" Heinrich Beaim hesitated
"I will ask Mr. Sigwalt to write a certificate for you, and I will send an officer from the Orthodox Alliance to accompany you."
"Yes" Heinrich Beaim replied with a loud voice, because being able to lead tens of thousands of people in combat is definitely an honor for an officer.
"Mr. Amkhed, I hope you can take your people to carry out a raid between the cantons of Aargau and Zurich. You don't need to fight too much. You only need to target the enemy's granaries and arsenals." .
If you encounter the enemy's main force, please avoid it as soon as possible. You can go to other states for harassment. How to do it specifically, I think you know better than me. "
"No problem, His Excellency the Grand Duke. This is our old profession, just wait for the smoke of the Freedom Alliance to rise!"
Tanner Armhold took off his hat and said respectfully.
"I'm waiting for your good news."
"Thank you for your trust, I won't let you down."
Tanner Armhold bowed respectfully and exited the room.
At this time, Archduke Karl looked at his old guard captain.
"Sigismund, it's our turn now."
"Yes, everything is ready, Your Excellency."