Chapter 78 028 It’s so hot! Move that cannon 1 foot to the left!

Chapter 78 028 It’s so hot! Move that cannon 1 foot to the left!

Chapter 78 028 Shame! Move that cannon one foot to the left!
The current concern at the court in Vienna was the growing influence of the Russians in Italy.

However, Francis II was worried about this problem and really forgot that once the Russians were no longer in their alliance, the strait was closed, and when the British had the upper hand on the ocean, the Russian navy could only demonstrate their strength in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea.

Although, there is always a saying in the Russian Navy that Nelson copied the tactics that their Admiral Ushakov used against the Turks.

So the Austrian emperor issued an order for the Austrian army to besiege the fortress of Mantua, which gave the Russian army a rare time to rest and recuperate at this stage.

In the following period, during this hot summer, within half a month, the coalition forces captured the fortresses of Turin, Tortona and Alexandria one after another. The fall of Mantua was only a matter of time.

Suvorov's great victory in Italy also brought him unprecedented honor.

The French were also getting anxious at this point. The tragic defeat that the Austrians had suffered two years ago seemed to have already appeared before them. It was even possible that if they continued to fight like this, the fat man who called himself Louis XVIII would come back.

If this happens, many people in the Directory will probably have to go to the guillotine. At the same time, it must be considered that those who are willing to help Louis XVIII restore the throne will be rewarded accordingly.

For example, if you offer a good price to a Paris banker, he will quickly switch to another boss. This is what they have always done and have been doing for a long time.

That is why, after 1799, France changed its political system countless times in the 72 years.

At this time, problems will arise within the Directory. They need the sword of the Republic and a few innocent people to organize a new government, preferably in the form of a consulate.

Citizen Sieyès valued General Joubert, who was very loyal to the Republic and relatively easy to control and obedient.

He was at the most proud moment of his life. He had married Miss Montholon last year. Now, in order to defend the Republic and establish new achievements, it would be even more convincing, just like General Bonaparte in the Italian campaign.

But Sieyès may not have paid much attention to one thing, which is the unpredictability of fate and the fact that General Jubert actually had a hidden relationship with General Bonaparte.

They were classmates in the military academy and served in the same regiment after being awarded the rank of second lieutenant. Later, they served under General Bonaparte in Italy. Given this relationship, it is not clear whether anyone has escaped from Port Juan, and I am afraid that Joubert may also give up his position in the future.

After all, in parliament, Speaker Bonaparte, General Bonaparte's brother, was there.

The French can now breathe a sigh of relief thanks to the Austrians' miraculous operation.

Emperor Franz really began to worry about his influence in northern Italy. When Suvorov came to Vienna, he brought Paul's edict, stating that the Russian army had to obey the Vienna court in terms of general direction.

He was just like that, and he could also perform micro-management to mobilize the Austrian troops.

The old marshal lost his temper at this time, but he had to obey the orders of the Austrian emperor.

It was for this reason that on June 6, after the complete victory of the battle, he mentioned in his memorial to St. Petersburg the great victory of Trebia and the adverse impact that the Austrian emperor's transfer would have on the entire war situation.

As for the issue of communication nearby, he would write to Razumovsky, the Russian ambassador in Vienna: "His Majesty the Roman Empire hopes that if I have to participate in a battle tomorrow, I will go to Vienna first. The battlefield environment changes rapidly."

Obviously the old marshal was not happy with the micro-management, but he could only discuss this issue in letters to his country's ambassador.

As for the British, they had not started any action in June. However, the British and Russian coalition forces planned to land in August or September. The British certainly did not know that September in the "British Almanac" was in the Netherlands, so it seemed inconvenient to do things. It might be better to change it to June.

Every time the anti-French alliance came close to success, it always failed because of its own inconsistent goals.

The Second Anti-French Alliance was most obvious. For example, at this time, the performance of Francis II makes people feel outrageous.

On the battle formation of the Mantua fortress, Emperor Franz, his brother Archduke John, and a group of court officials were all there.

Archduke Joseph, who had just returned from a failed blind date, found this scene very funny.

The task assigned to him was to prepare to return to Hungary, replenish troops and supplies to the front line, and begin to appease the emotions of the Hungarians.

Going to the rear to run business was what Archduke Joseph liked to do.

He also knew that his military ability was definitely not as good as his elder brother Archduke Karl, but it was still stronger than his elder brother the Emperor and his younger brother Archduke Johann.

"Your Majesty, I think we should lay siege to Mantua in this way. It is always our Austrian artillery and engineers who can capture this fortress."

The Russian army went to Alexandria and besieged the fortress there. The progress in Mantua was actually much slower.

"Why aren't the guns placed in front? Directly facing the gate?"

"Your Majesty, according to General Kray's report, we will face French artillery fire here. They have hundreds of cannons in the fortress. We must be more careful. For example, in the past, when our Austrian army was trapped here, the French attack was not fast and was delayed for a long time."

"That won't do. General Kray, put the cannon here. We will face the French artillery fire wherever we go. We move one foot to the left. This is an order. Remember this order and pass it on to General Kray!"

"Your Majesty, who should be sent?"

Francis II appointed Archduke John's adjutant to deliver the message, and brought a personal letter from the Austrian Emperor.

Another problem was a letter from Prince Württemberg, a German strongman who was 211 cm tall and weighed 200 kg. His son William had behaved badly recently and was not suitable for serving in the Austrian army, so he hoped to be allowed to go to Russia.

Franz thought about this and finally approved it.

In the Austrian court, personal conduct is still taken seriously.

After all, when the empress was still alive, because her husbands were always cheating, she organized noble ladies to catch the adulterers in Vienna and to keep the noble ladies and young ladies chaste, at least before they got married. They didn't like the drama in the Russian court, but they still respected Tsar Paul and his wife. After all, the Tsar and his wife had ten children, and they had never heard of any scandals like those of the great Russian nobles.

Of course, Petit Four is also a princess of the Austrian court and has been targeted many times in Paris and Versailles.

In fact, William, the adopted son of Prince Württemberg, was quite familiar with Archduke Joseph and expressed great sympathy for the failure of Archduke Joseph's blind date with his eldest cousin.

"My cousin Alexandra is a great beauty. She writes great poetry and has even translated poetry. She knows a lot. It's a pity that Your Highness didn't have any sparks with her."

"But for such a beautiful princess, she was not able to come to my palace and become my most beloved wife. Maybe it was also a kind of luck for her. William, you know, my former sister-in-law, your aunt, and my brother were very loving. When my brother was critically ill, she was pregnant and never left him. It's a pity that she didn't have the blessing. My brother recovered from his illness, but she and my niece both passed away."

"Why do you have such a bad feeling?"

"It's not a premonition, but our palace is not what it seems. When my grandmother was here, perhaps for the girls, Schönbrunn Palace was a place that could bring them happiness and joy, but what about now? My brother is a good man, but he does many things inappropriately. I'm afraid he will suffer if he changes the deployment like this. I don't know much about military affairs, and I don't think I can achieve such a great victory as the one in Italy, but forget it in the future. I guess one thing about your going to Petersburg."

"Your Highness, what did you guess?"

"This letter comes in the name of your aunt the Queen. I think it's about Alexandra. You are her cousin. If you really want to have this blessing, you must cherish it and not talk about it as you do to the outside world."

Archduke Joseph knew about the "scandal" of the Prince of Württemberg. In the German courts, big and small, there were always some people like this: the son had a bad relationship with his father, and he was the first heir, and then he committed all kinds of rebellious acts.

His grandmother's cousin, who liked to seize other people's territory, had done it before.

He himself was a gentle nobleman, and the previous emperor Leopold II liked him very much when he was alive.

However, this was of no use. The random nature of the Austrian court was too outrageous. Karl, the son adopted by Leopold's sister, and Joseph had better abilities, but the other sons were all rare fools.

Joseph and William left Vienna together, and they were going to Budapest together, and then William would cross the Carpathian Mountains to Russia, to St. Petersburg.

William didn't think of this. He didn't care about Joseph's reminder, but if this really happened, he would listen to Joseph's advice. No matter which aunt he was with, he had to be an honest person and correct some bad habits.

However, he also felt that Joseph was a pity, but also very lucky. Such people can always display their talents. At least in Budapest, he was able to unite those Hungarians and make them loyal subjects of the Habsburg dynasty. Moreover, such a friend with noble character, modesty and prudence should also have a good girl to marry him.

As for his cousin, it was really not suitable for her to come to Vienna. After all, what he saw around Archduke Joseph and Archduke John was exactly the same as what was being played out in the court of Vienna.

The fact that there are more jesters like this than in St. Petersburg is indeed very worrying. At least he heard that the favorites of his uncle the Tsar in St. Petersburg still have to work very hard to please their own emperor.

Everyone here is pursuing their own interests. As long as their Caesar is happy, even if the interests of the court are damaged, it seems to have nothing to do with them.

Such people are always indispensable in the monarch's court.

The siege of the fortress of Mantua was not smooth. General Cray's artillery was redeployed, but several of them were destroyed by the French before the truce. The artillery position that was changed by order of the emperor himself became a sitting duck for the French soldiers.

To do this, he had to abandon the close-range position in front of the gate and place the 12-pounder guns and siege guns that could fire larger shells at the back, where the French army could not easily reach them.

Because of these lengthy battles, the fortress of Mantua finally went through a siege, forcing the French to "honorably surrender" with their military flags, rather than the complete victory that Cray wanted.

In the eyes of the veteran, such a victory was not as good as the battle of Verona, which finally defeated the French.

After all, the military flag was captured in that battle.

The Russian army's siege of the Alexandria fortress went relatively smoothly. General Galdan, who was guarding the fortress, laid down his weapons and burst into tears.

Many Russian soldiers who saw this also felt embarrassed, as they had clearly surrendered under "relatively honorable" conditions.

When Solovyov saw it, he felt that this scene did not look like Italy in 1799, but Paris in 1940.

Now only the French homeland is under threat, and the nearest Allied soldiers are still near Turin, but the mountainous area there is not suitable for operations.

Obviously, the French people's ability to withstand stress in this era is not that strong.

After capturing the fortress, the Russian army began to commend the officers who had made meritorious services.

Solovyov originally thought that he would receive a Russian medal, but he did not expect that after Prince Bagration was awarded the medal, it would be his turn.

"To Captain Mikhail Soloviev, Acting Commander of the Combined Grenadiers Battalion, for distinguished service at Bergamo, Basignano, Marengo and Trebbia."

Or perhaps his military rank was too low, so his achievements in capturing a French commander-in-chief and saving Archduke Constantine were only rewarded with a Knight's Medal of the Order of Malta.

However, this honor was included in the commendation order issued before the Battle of Trebia, and was included in the batch of knightly medals signed by the Tsar himself.

In the era of Tsar Paul, the significance of this medal was even greater than that of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle. If one could obtain that medal, a person of low status would automatically be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

However, this backdoor left by Peter the Great was never officially implemented until the demise of the Russian Empire.

The Knight's Medal established by Paul has another meaning, representing the highest honor and the spirit of the Knights Templar during the reign of Tsar Paul.

And I have to say that compared with Russia's fancy medals, the medal of the Order of Malta is still very beautiful.

(End of this chapter)