Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Udino greeted Massena excitedly, saying, "General, just as you predicted, we defeated the enemy in just one night."

Massena smiled and shook his head, "This is just a detachment of the enemy. The real battle has not yet begun."

Although Udino had only slept for three hours, he was still very excited, "General, Huo Ce should have fled to Zurich. I'm confident we can catch up to him within two days!"

Massena merely patted him, "You've done excellently already, there's no need to be so hasty now. The soldiers also need a bit of rest."

Udino quickly said, "But he might escape Switzerland, you let me..."

"Don't worry, he won't get away," Massena said calmly, "Someone will intercept him there."

"Ah? You mean General Dawu?"

"Hmm, it's actually General Sailu Li'er. He should be near Basel by now."

Udino widened his eyes, "How is that possible? I remember he was supposed to be in Karlsruhe."

The Swiss campaign had already started, so Massena had nothing more to keep secret, "Do you know why His Highness the Crown Prince deployed three armies to Karlsruhe?"

"Well, why?"

The three armies consist of over 100,000 soldiers, absolutely the strongest force right now.

Udino suddenly thought of his own troops, weren't they just separated from the First Army?

"So, more than just us were separated from the Baden forces?"

Massena nodded, "Indeed. His Highness gathered heavy forces in Baden to deter the Allied Forces from attacking there lightly.

"But actually, we quietly left there a month and a half ago, and General Sailu Li'er led the Fourth Army with 30,000 soldiers, retreating in batches to Belfort, from where he headed to Basel."

Udino frowned, "To reach Basel from northern Switzerland, you must go through the Freiburg Fortress; it will be difficult to conquer it with 30,000 troops in a short time."

Massena smiled, "You forgot about Bolante. On its east side, there's a fractured river valley crossing south side of Jura Mountain. You know, since July, it's been dry, and the riverbed is hard enough for cannon carts."

Udino widened his eyes. He had heard of that route, but before June each year, the valley was flooded and impassable. Even in dry periods, the valley is rugged and very difficult to traverse.

Additionally, gangs often haunt that area, so merchants prefer to detour around Freiburg, so "Freiburg is the necessary path to Basel" has become habitual thinking.

But the Bolante valley is not impassable.

As long as traversing the 60 to 70 kilometers of rough terrain, one can reach Switzerland's traffic hub Basel. From there to Zurich is smooth sailing, taking three days of normal marching.

Of course, this plan is also very risky.

If the Allied Forces heavily defend the east side of the valley, Sailu Li'er will be stuck in a narrow terrain and attacked.

Thus, Massena must quickly move north, assist him in breaking through the blockade, and then swiftly move south to block the Allied Forces' path to Lausanne.

However, there has been no discovery of enemy forces on Basel's side, indicating the Allied Forces hadn't even considered France could use Switzerland as one of the main battlefields.

Udino's eyes began to light up.

The Allied Forces in Zurich didn't leave much defensive force, and once Sailu Li'er's Third Army occupied there, it would mean cutting off the retreat routes of Blucher and Huo Ce's corps in Switzerland.

That's 80,000 troops! Oh, no, now there's less than 70,000, with surely over 10,000 captured or killed last night.

And General Massena would guard the road to Lausanne, trapping these Allied Forces within Switzerland.

"Wait!" Udino suddenly thought of something else in alarm, "The enemy can still go through St. Gotthard Pass and from there enter Lombardy..."

Northern Italy.

In front of Mantua Fortress, the Prince's Royal Guard Grenadier Battalion lined up in a straight line, sitting proudly on horseback, with flags bearing the Dolphin and Fleur-de-lis emblems fluttering every ten meters.

Such a majestic troop could even be seen from a few kilometers away.

In the commanding room on the second floor of the fortress, Bertier was holding the latest battle report to brief the Crown Prince:

"...On the evening of the 3rd, General Massena launched a surprise attack on Huo Ce's corps camp, capturing over 3,500 enemy troops and killing at least 4,000. Many bodies were washed away by the river, making it difficult to count.

"Estimated that Huo Ce's corps now has less than 8,000 soldiers.

"Subsequently, General Massena established defenses in Bill.

"On the morning of the 5th, General Sailu Li'er arrived in Zurich and, with the help of the Swiss Rebel Army, easily seized the city.

"However, Huo Ce's whereabouts have not been found, it's likely he went to join Blucher.

"According to the Prussian Army's marching speed, they should now be near Altendorf."

Altendorf is the largest town on the north side of St. Gotthard Pass, from here, one day can reach the pass.

Joseph nodded, "General Ney is all deployed, right?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Bertier nodded, "He had already led the Royal Ninth Infantry Division and the Fourth Artillery Battalion to Como a week ago."

Ney's corps only has 13,000 soldiers, but it's more than enough to defend the St. Gotthard Pass.

These over 10,000 soldiers spread out semi-encircled on the outside of the pass, cannons pre-aimed at the valley, forming crossfire; not even 70,000 Allied Forces, let alone 170,000, should think they can break through.

"Very good." Joseph smiled, "Also keep an eye on Sardinia."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph continued, "At the current speed of the Allied Forces, they should arrive in Lombardy within half a month. I guess Carl Carl Ludwig might launch a fierce attack on Mantua by then to divert our attention."

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The Limmat River in Zurich, Switzerland, is a major river originating at the northern end of Lake Zurich, flowing northwest through Zurich city center, dividing the city into the new town on the east bank and the old town on the west bank, eventually merging into the Aile River north of Brug, covering a total length of 35 kilometers [1-2][4-5]. Its name originates from the historical merger project of Linth and Maag Rivers, completed in the early 19th century. Main tributaries include the Sihl and Reppisch Rivers, flowing through towns like Dietikon and Wettingen [5-6]. The Limmat River has over ten hydropower stations, harnessing Swiss water power [2][5-6]. Attractions along its banks include City Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady, its riverside architecture and water scene create a unique landscape, supporting public boating activities, and known as Zurich's "mother river."