Chapter 88 Devil's Bridge and Unscientific Slap in the Face
Chapter 88 Devil's Bridge and Unscientific Slap in the Face
A month ago, when Massena sent the Lecourbe Division to Amsteg to cut off the important trade route from the Gotthard Pass to the north into the Alps, this move had already caused concern among Archduke Karl. He planned to build two pontoon bridges across the river, but the operations ultimately failed.
Then, despite repeated requests from the Russian military command to delay the action, the Austrian emperor changed the deployment and forced Archduke Karl to evacuate, regardless of the situation on the battlefield.
The fighting in Zurich had officially begun on September 9, but Suvorov was not aware of it. After Bagration's column broke through the French defense line from the front, he saw the winding mountain road ahead.
However, he did not repeat what Werosser did yesterday and scolded his Austrian staff. Instead, he rode on his horse and looked at the winding mountain roads and towering peaks.
"Kids, I've been to many places in my life, but I've never seen such treacherous terrain!"
Verosa accompanied him and said to the old marshal: "Marshal, we must go forward from the St. Gotthard Pass. This is also the only way from Milan to Zurich. We can only move forward after we seize the bridge over the river ahead and pass this gate of hell."
"Yes, this is the 'gate of hell', but with the help of the children, these officers and soldiers, we can get through it!"
He even pointed forward with his cane, referring to his own performance art yesterday: "If we can't get through here, bury me next to that bridge! And what is this bridge called?"
"The locals call it the 'Devil's Bridge'. We asked the captured French officers and they said they didn't destroy the bridge in order to lure us into the mountains and trap us to death."
"They are some cunning foxes. If they set up cannons on the other side of the tunnel, it will be difficult for us to get through!"
"They're not hunters this time?"
"They are not the hunters now, we are. This is a dangerous game."
In the letter Lecourbe had sent to Masséna late the previous night, he had not yet mentioned the loss of the Gotthard Pass, but he was optimistic that he could delay the Russians there.
Now that the Russian army has reached the tunnel and the Devil's Bridge, they can delay here for another day. At the same time, he also considered that it would be best to stop the Russian army here.
But he overlooked two things: one was the bravery of the Russian soldiers, and the other was that two battalions of the Austrian army had already reached the back of the Blisten Mountain.
In the morning when Le Courbe wrote to Massena again to report the battle situation, the Austrian army had approached Amsteig, which they had lost more than a month ago.
The Austrian attack caused some trouble for the French, especially the Austrian light infantry that went into the mountains. Many of them were mountain people from some places in Austria. They were used to walking on this kind of road on weekdays, which caught the French by surprise.
But their fighting power was really limited, and they were quickly driven back to their starting point by the French army with bayonets. Only some bridges and roads were partially destroyed, making it impossible for the French to defend on the front with peace of mind.
However, the Russian army's advance speed would not be too fast on the dangerous road, especially in order to capture tunnels and bridges and prevent sabotage by the French.
However, the first round of attack was not smooth. Many Russian soldiers who rushed forward were beaten to a pulp by grapeshot. There was only a 4-pound gun blocking the way, which could be reloaded quickly. There was a small team of soldiers next to it who were firing in formation to supplement the firepower. This way, a continuous firepower could be formed, preventing the Russian soldiers from getting close.
At the same time, the "Devil's Bridge" is indeed a very dangerous road, but it still has a story behind it.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, the tunnel is only 100 Archins (71 meters) away, but our soldiers paid a heavy price to attack there. We cannot recklessly conduct a bayonet charge."
"I know that. What's the name of this river down there, Veloso?"
"It's the same damn Reuss River as yesterday. The French are not leaving us any supplies now. They are abandoning their weapons there and continuing to flee to the next position."
Werosser also roughly calculated that they could not see the Austrian light infantry crossing the mountain to attack the French army's flank, and the news was difficult to get, but counting from the time when the artillery fire started over there, the coalition forces had been attacking for three hours, but with very limited results.
I won’t go into details about the tunnel.
In this situation, Suvorov gave orders to the grenadiers and musketeers who were serving as reserves, under the command of Count Nikolai Kamensky.
This is the youngest son of Marshal Kamensky. Although he is known for his strict military discipline like his father, he is different from his father and brother. He is willing to share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers, and therefore is very popular.
During the Italian expedition, Suvorov attached great importance to him because of his bravery in combat, but no one cared that he was the son of an old enemy in the army.
"Tell Kamensky that it's his turn now. We'll go under the Devil's Bridge. Although there are cliffs there, there is also a hillside that can only be seen from a high place."
After sending the messenger, Suvorov turned to Solovyov.
"Misha, you attack from the front. After Kamensky moves, cover the Cossacks and grenadiers from the front. The bridge is not broken. The Cossacks on foot are making a 'wooden bridge'. Go, son, God bless you."
Then he made the sign of the cross and began to mutter something to himself.
The roads in the Devil's Bridge and the tunnel are both dangerous, but there are actually a few small paths between the cliffs that can be walked through, which shows that there is always a way out.
The Russian infantry on both sides also began to climb the mountain spontaneously, but because the mountain itself was too steep, some soldiers fell down the mountain.
Such casualties were inevitable. Even Suvorov, who was known for his swiftness in commanding his troops, shook his head after seeing this.
"They are fighting for me and for victory. We must win this battle!"
Finally, after the French army's ammunition was almost exhausted, a battalion of infantry rushed over to the tunnel and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the French, and finally drove the French away.
As for the Devil's Bridge, the "gate of hell", more than 200 people led by Kamensky the Younger attacked from the canyon, catching the French off guard. After paying a considerable price, they occupied a passage and attracted the French artillery fire.
"Well done, Nikolay, well done! This is Marshal Kamensky's son, a brave and good man!"
However, the gap he opened was faced with an attack from a battalion of light infantry of the French army stationed there, resulting in heavy casualties.
However, it was he who attracted the French firepower and gave the Russian troops on the Devil's Bridge an opportunity. There were even lightly armed officers who jumped over the broken bridge with only a pistol and a rapier. This scene stunned some French soldiers!
"These Russians are crazy!"
If it were an ordinary army, they would have let the Russian army go long ago. After all, the opponent was fighting like crazy and they would definitely not be able to defeat them.
However, these French soldiers fought back and rushed forward. Many of the Russian soldiers who were laying wooden boards on the broken bridge were knocked down by them, and some Russian officers who rushed over were also shot and killed.
But the bridge had already been built, and a battalion of the Moscow Grenadiers, which was at the forefront, set up their artillery on the Devil's Bridge, and finally they had fire support.
The Austrian army ran back, and Le Gourbe realized that if he didn't run away, he would be doomed before he could lure the enemy deep into the territory and lure the Russian army to death.
His choice now was to continue defending the Devil's Bridge, but to destroy all the equipment that could not be taken away and continue north along the Reuss River to the next position.
Such a despicable way of fighting really made the Russian army, which was eager to move on, helpless. When the flag of the Guards Jagdpanthers passed the Devil's Bridge, it was still not a happy thing.
Most of the French troops fled again, and the Russian army itself suffered heavy losses. Most of the more than 200 people brought by Kamensky and the subsequent troops that came through this gap were killed or wounded.
It was a miracle that the Count himself was unharmed.
Moreover, the French did not leave any valuable spoils for the Russian army, except for the flag of a battalion in the rear.
Subsequent troops passing by reinforced the wooden boards on the stone bridge, allowing artillery vehicles and a large group of troops to pass.
Seeing that the roads in this area were extremely dangerous, Suvorov sent the 200 engineers with him to the tunnel and the Devil's Bridge to provide protection.
The subsequent battles of that day were characterized by the French retreat and the Russian attack. After breaking through several dangerous passes in succession, the French retreated to Seedorf and Altdorf.
The old guide told Suvorov that the road ahead would be easier after passing Altdorf.
But the French kept fighting and retreating, making it impossible for the Russian army to catch them, which was indeed a headache.
Suvorov was well aware that they were stalling for time. If they were just trying to stop the French, the Russians might have already trapped the French on the mountain road and they might have been wiped out.
The French did not expect that after they sent an artillery up the mountain, the Russian army also went up the mountain, and the Austrians even got behind them and kept harassing their flanks.
This would put the French army in danger of being wiped out, so Le Courbe wisely chose to continue retreating.
After another day of fighting, the Russian army finally opened up the middle section of the road to Zurich, and the French troops in the mountain stream retreated to the mountain pass on the flank.
This made the Allied Forces headquarters, which continued to advance, not optimistic. While the French had cleared the way, according to the reconnaissance of the Cossack cavalry, there were still many French troops stationed ahead.
All in all, the Russian army did not have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength. In fact, the French army that they encountered from the Gotthard Pass already had more than 10,000 troops. If there were other troops ahead, the Russian army might be at a disadvantage.
At the same time, there was no news at all from the Austrian troops left behind by Archduke Karl in the north.
Especially on September 9, after the Russian army captured a mountain pass on the way to Zurich, neither the Russian nor the Austrian army in Zurich sent any messengers to contact them.
There is no need to say more about this, because the old soldier Massena defeated the Russian army on the main battlefield himself, and Soult on the flank defeated the Austrian army that came to support him at the mountain pass.
Suvorov, unaware of this, continued to advance and even sent out an advance Cossack detachment.
Solovyov served as the liaison officer of this force. After crossing a series of mountain passes, he could already see the edge of Lake Zurich.
"Captain, Zurich is ahead, but it's really quiet here, and we haven't seen any of our people, but..."
"You don't have to tell me, I saw a group of French soldiers there, and we have more people than them!"
Solovyov himself rode forward, and so did the commander of the Cossack detachment.
Their plan was to persuade this French force to surrender, just as they had done at Amsteg, where the French soldiers who had no time to retreat surrendered.
The French troops in front had only a dozen men, all of them chasseurs. Even their leading squad was larger than this group.
"French, you should surrender to us immediately! Your General Le Gub has been defeated by us in the battles from the St. Gotthard Pass to Amsteg. Marshal Suvorov's troops have arrived. Your defeat is only a matter of time. We Russians treat prisoners well!"
"Go to hell, Russians! Our General Massena has already defeated all the Russian soldiers in Zurich. Your defeat is only a matter of time. I think you speak French well, Russian boy. Maybe General Massena will assign you an interpreter! Hahaha!"
It was a good opportunity to show off and get slapped in the face, but instead he got slapped in the face. The French army had already won in Zurich, and this had to be reported immediately to Marshal Suvorov.
"Don't get entangled with them at this time. Let's go back and report first."
The first reaction of both sides was to go back and report to their superiors.
Suvorov realized that it was no longer possible to move northward. Going to Zurich would not only be meaningless, but would also put the 20,000 troops who were short of supplies into danger.
So he issued a new order, asking the troops to retreat eastward, with Rosenberg, who had already reached St. Vito, to cover the rear, while the main force would head towards Liechtenstein from the eastern pass.
According to Werosser's plan, if everything went well according to this marching route, the troops would reach Liechtenstein in early October and be safe.
During this period, one problem that needed to be worried about was that Massena, the old soldier, would not be satisfied with just defeating Korsakov's troops. He would also pursue the victory, mobilize his main forces, and lock Suvorov in the mountains as well. This would be a great victory that could reverse the entire Swiss battlefield and the entire war situation in one fell swoop.
(End of this chapter)