NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1203
Huo Ce understood that he was referring to Switzerland's reluctance to abandon its neutral stance by refusing passage to the Allied Forces.
On the contrary, he smiled, "You have completed your mission, leave the rest to me."
A few hours later, 30,000 Prussian-Austrian Alliance troops launched an attack on Zurich.
Although Switzerland is known for producing mercenaries, its own army consists of only two to three thousand men, and they lack artillery.
The Swiss garrison only resisted until noon before giving up.
Subsequently, dense numbers of Allied soldiers entered the city.
It should be noted that Zurich's entire population at this time was just over twenty thousand.
Huo Ce and Blucher took a brief rest in the city, and the next morning, they set out in two directions according to the previous plan.
Huo Ce's twenty thousand Austrian troops moved towards Lausanne to launch an attack on the interior of France from there.
Meanwhile, Blucher's main force prepared to enter Northern Italy through the St. Gotthard Pass.
There, he would receive logistical support from Sardinia, and then collaborate with Archduke Karl to launch a pincer attack on the Mantua Fortress.
Up to this point, the French had not yet responded to the Allied Forces' actions in Switzerland.
...
Saint Petersburg.
Winter Palace.
Alexander I was browsing the serf reform plan compiled by his Chief Secretary, Speransky, with a constant satisfied smile on his face.
Soon, he reached the last page, looked up, and praised Speransky, "Only someone with your vast knowledge and a liberal soul could draft such a perfect plan."
The latter quickly bowed slightly, "It's nothing, Your Majesty.
"If you find no issue with it, perhaps we could set a formal proclamation date so that Count Kochubey and I can plan its specific implementation..."
"Implementation?" The young Tsar handed the reform plan back to Speransky, shocked, "Why implement this?"
The Chief Secretary was stunned, "Your Majesty, but you just said it's a 'perfect plan'."
"Indeed, it's perfect." Alexander I nodded, "But what about the interests of the nobles? It's unfair to them."
Speransky was almost in tears.
He was about to make another attempt when the Tsar's attendant entered, placing the daily routine war report on Alexander I's desk.
The Tsar casually opened the report and immediately stood up, sternly instructing the attendant who had not yet left the room, "Get Count Voronzo to see me at once!"
Since the European battlefield was quite distant from Russia, he held the latest compilation of the European Continent's battle situation from the past half month.
[The Netherlands surrendered, with the British Army preparing to head south to Flanders...]
[Archduke Karl captured Venice, forcing the Crown Prince of France to personally garrison Mantua Fortress...]
[80,000 strong Prussian-Austrian forces seized Switzerland, posing a constant threat to eastern France...]
[Picton's Corps harassed eastern Rhineland, keeping the French Baden Front Army firmly contained in Karlsruhe...]
In just under a month since the war began, the Allied Forces have already achieved overwhelming dominance.
As long as the Allied Forces achieve a breakthrough in any of these aforementioned battlefields, the war would end swiftly.
Driving Speransky away, Alexander I paced the room irritably, silently blaming himself:
This time was a major miscalculation! Previously, France achieved astonishing results mainly because the British were unwilling to fully commit, and Prussia and Austria distrusted each other, leading to flawed strategic deployment.
This time, with England, Prussia, and Austria fully committed, how could France withstand them?
His intention had been to await a clearer picture of the war situation, then ally with the likely victor to reap the greatest benefits by deploying forces.
But unexpectedly, the situation developed so rapidly. Current indications suggest France might not last two months.
If he fails to place his bet before the Allied Forces secure victory, he would end up with nothing!
Russia's Foreign Minister knocked and entered, bowing to Alexander I, "Your Majesty, you asked for me..."
The Tsar anxiously asked, "Lord Hawkesburg hasn't left Saint Petersburg, has he?"
"No, Your Majesty," Voronzo replied, "He plans to return to England next week."
"Excellent," Alexander I ordered, "Meet with him immediately to discuss our country joining the Anti-French Coalition.
"Try to keep all the conditions he mentioned unchanged if possible; If not, a slight concession is fine. But financial aid cannot be reduced, and our interests in the Balkan Peninsula must be preserved!"
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Not everything has been written yet, please refresh half an hour later to see more. My apologies, says the little author.
In early 1800, tasked with commanding the Western Army in the Vendee, later in July, he commanded the Reserve Second Corps in Dijon. In August, he replaced Massena as the commander of the Italian Army Corps. Initially, he achieved some success, but while crossing the Ming River, due to indecision, he nearly led Dupont's division to disaster; as per his order, the corps had to cross the river at two locations: General Dupont commanded the right wing between the woolen mills on the Wolta River and Pozzallo Village; Brüna personally commanded the left wing crossing near Montbrello. When this latter part of the troops faced difficulties crossing the river, Brüna ordered a twenty-four-hour postponement, although the right wing starting to cross at another location was already engaged with a much stronger Austrian Army. It was only thanks to the timely arrival of General Sue that disaster was averted. Napoleon commented on this, "The Italian campaign showed the limitations of Brüna's genius." However, he still successfully advanced to Bolsano, forcing the defeated Austrian Army to sign an armistice, exiting the anti-French war. Exiled to a lesser position in 1801, Brüna was elected as a member of parliament. From 1802 to 1804, he served as ambassador to Turkey, where he exerted little influence as his diplomatic abilities were not as effective there as they were in Switzerland and Piedmont, backed by bayonets. This was essentially a "diplomatic exile" due to Brüna being a known republican military leader, which Napoleon didn't want interfering with his ascension. In Turkey, he received the news of being awarded the rank of Imperial Marshal, at age forty-one. Unlike Jean Victor Moreau, he did not rise to oppose the imperial regime but quietly accepted the established fact. Facing opposition from the Allied Forces, Brüna in his middle years in May 1804, was appointed an officer of the Legion of Honor. In 1805, he commanded the Coastal Defence Army, leading a feint attack force composed of the third battalions from the Austrian front to pin down the British army. In 1806, Brüna served as the Governor of the Hanseatic City. In 1807, he led a corps to besiege and defend the Kolberg Fortress on the Baltic Sea's coast, where Prussian General Gneisenau resisted desperately but was eventually forced to surrender. In July, he struck against the Swedish Pomerania Province. With the British forces aiding Sweden withdrawn to attack Denmark, an ally of France, the Swedish forces were defeated by Brüna in the Battle of Stralsund, and the French army occupied Pomerania in August.