Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

August 28, 1798.

The small town of Vipava on the southwestern border of Austria.

Under a lush lime tree, a small wooden table was set up. Archduke Karl, adorned with three medals, sat upright next to it. With a quill in hand, he wrote in the war journal: Continue pre-war preparations. The French people also have no training or movements. A mundane and dull day…

As he finished the last word, he suddenly heard the rapid sound of hoofbeats from the east, and a faint smile appeared on his solemn face.

A major officer arrived.

He saluted Archduke Karl with a hat and then handed over a document. Just as he was about to speak, the latter interjected: "Formal declaration of war?"

"Yes, Your Highness." The major stood at attention, "At nine o'clock this morning, His Majesty the Emperor signed the declaration of war."

"Call me Commander. Where are the logistics supplies I requested?"

"They have all been delivered to the Klagenfurt Fortress, Sir Commander."

"Very well." Archduke Karl stood up and loudly instructed the courier, "Order the entire army to cross the Soca River tomorrow morning.

"Colonel Milius will first clear the towns around Udine.

"Order General Willemze to occupy Tormezo as quickly as possible…"

The Soca River is a small river on the border between Austria and Venice. In fact, at this time, more than 5,000 Austrian soldiers had quietly built fortifications on the west bank to support the main force at any time.

General Wilmze, on the other hand, led 15,000 Austrian troops stationed on the northern side of the Julian Alps in Zaga Town, where a valley can lead to northern Venice.

According to Archduke Karl's plan, his main force would attract the French Army's attention in Udine, while Wilmze's surprise force would take the opportunity to penetrate deep into Treviso in the heart of Venice. After that, he could choose to flank Udine from the west or continue westward to control Verona.

Archduke Karl suddenly recalled his embarrassing retreat from Verona back in the day and couldn't help but press firmly on the hilt of his sword.

Last time, he was dragged down by Alvinczy's foolish command, but this time, as the commander-in-chief, he would thoroughly wash away the humiliation inflicted by the French people!

Early the next morning, hundreds of thousands of Austrian troops began to cross the river in grand procession.

Under Archduke Karl's meticulous command, over a hundred cannons were positioned at optimal locations, providing cross-cover for soldiers crossing the river. The corps crossed the pontoon bridge in an orderly manner and immediately deployed into defensive formations.

However, until two days later, when Karl's main force had fully entered Udine, the French people, aside from sending cavalry to take a look, made no attempts to intercept.

Archduke Karl used a telescope to observe the tranquil Po River Plain and said to his aide Radetzky, "The French people missed their best opportunity.

"If Napoleon were here, we likely wouldn't find it this easy."

Radetzky smiled and replied, "Unfortunately, he was exiled. That was truly a foolish decision."

Archduke Karl nodded slightly and instructed, "Order both flanks to advance simultaneously, and have the cavalry expand the reconnaissance range.

"Additionally, update me on the progress of the Vilmze Corps as soon as possible…"

Before he finished speaking, a courier came briskly, stood at attention, and reported, "Sir Commander, the Milius Corps has occupied Cheviniano.

"General Willemze encountered slight resistance at Tormezo. He indicated he should be able to occupy it by tomorrow afternoon."

Archduke Karl struggled to maintain a serious expression, but excitedly tapped the palm of his hand with the handle of his riding crop.

Cheviniano and Tormezo are respectively located on the south and north sides of Udine City, which means that the Austrian Army had already formed a siege around Udine without bloodshed.

He immediately turned and headed towards the tent, "Lieutenant Colonel Radetzky, summon all senior officers for a meeting immediately!"

On September 5th, 70,000 Austrian vanguard troops launched a siege on Udine.

Meanwhile, the Milius Corps maneuvered to the west of Udine, attempting to cut off the French Army's retreat.

More than 40 cannons targeted the French Army's defense line outside the city and roared, while the French artillery's counterattack seemed weak and feeble.

The bombardment lasted an entire day. The next day, Austrian infantry lines launched attacks on the French Army from three directions simultaneously.

The Austrian Army's new weapon, the "Wind Gun," exerted immense power with a terrifying fire rate of 1.5 seconds per shot, almost instantly breaking the will of the French infantry.

The French Army's frontal defense line on the east side was the first to collapse, followed by the right wing, then the left wing…

On a tall tower outside Udine City, Colonel Victor put away the telescope and complained to the aide beside him, "They were fighting well, why did they suddenly stop?"

The aide was still holding up the telescope, saying, "They're reloading the guns, Sir Commander. After firing 60 times, they run out of gas canisters. It takes about 20 minutes to redistribute the gas canisters."

Victor shook his head helplessly, "What a foolish weapon… At this rate, how long will the battle last?"

"Who knows?"

Due to the high rate of fire of the Wind Gun, soldiers found it difficult to control their trigger fingers, depleting two gas canisters in just a few minutes.

Then they had to stop and wait for the carts with gas canisters to arrive.

At this time, a courier climbed the tower to report to Victor, "Sir Commander, the aerial reconnaissance camp has spotted Austrian troops approaching from the west. About 6,000 of them, 5 kilometers away."

"Well, the show must end as well." Victor nodded, "Order the Venice Corps to remain in the city for defense, and the others to retreat to Pordenone in tiers."

Indeed, the over 10,000 French troops in Udine were there to "boost the confidence" of Archduke Karl. Since the Austrian Army began crossing the river, they had been closely monitored by the French Army.

Yesterday, the French artillery, with the aid of balloon targeting, deliberately missed all shots, creating the illusion of being suppressed by Austrian artillery.

Today's act was for the Austrian infantry to be invincible and quickly break through the Udine defense line.

By the afternoon of the next day, the first Austrian skirmisher camp rushed into the French Camp in Udine, only to find several hundred Venetian soldiers wearing military uniforms identical to the French Army, who knelt in terror to surrender.

Under the constant "warnings" from the balloons, Victor had safely evaded the intercept from the Milius Corps and had already retreated over ten kilometers away.

In Udine City, Archduke Karl glared fiercely at the report of capturing 800 people and glared at Milius.

However, it was the first major victory since the start of the war, so he didn't further reprimand him, and immediately began planning the attack on Verona.

Once Verona was conquered, Mantua Fortress would be the only strategic point left in all of Northern Italy.

Ten days later, as Vienna received the news of the great victory at Udine, Archduke Karl also received intelligence from operatives in Sardinia — the Crown Prince of France, personally leading 30,000 elite French troops, was heading to Northern Italy to direct the defense.