The Fox of France

Chapter 96: Crisis (4)

In order to bluff, General Delacroix announced that he had an army of up to a hundred thousand soldiers under his command. He hoped to use this number to intimidate his enemies and, at the very least, dent their morale. But Napoleon was not one to be easily intimidated. In fact, when he heard that number and saw the terrified expressions on his subordinates' faces, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Why are you laughing, General?" a slightly graying young officer named Louis-Nicolas Davout asked.

Davout was a year younger than Napoleon, but due to his brave actions in battle, he had already risen to the rank of captain. He was one of the "stronger" mid-level commanders specially assigned to Napoleon by Joseph and Carnot.

Napoleon smiled and replied, "Davout, Vandzia is one of the poorest regions in all of France. How can it support an army of a hundred thousand? If Delacroix really had a hundred thousand soldiers, we wouldn't need to prepare for battle like this. Everyone should go back to sleep. Because before his army reaches us, they'll have starved to death without food."

Although this answer didn't completely ease the tension among his officers, it did alleviate it somewhat.

"So, General, how many rebels do you think Delacroix has?" Davout asked again.

"Ah, that's a good question," Napoleon said, crossing his arms and pacing. "If I were Delacroix, I would bring at most twenty thousand men that's already the limit Vandzia can support. If there were more, they might hold up for a short while, but in the long run, their logistics would fail. And if they ventured too far, their supply lines would become a problem. But from the intelligence I've received, that fool has brought forty thousand men."

"Forty thousand? General, we only have five thousand men, and from previous battles, the rebel forces have proven to be formidable," another lieutenant named Charles Orlans spoke up.

"Orlans, you're right. At least in Vandzia, the rebels have shown good combat capabilities. They're like our own guerillas, fiercely brave when fighting in their home territories. But if they leave their homes, it's a different story. Moreover, they have some clear and hard-to-overcome weaknesses."

Napoleon surveyed the room before continuing, "The rebels' training level is far below ours. In previous battles, they've mostly been able to engage in ambushes and skirmishes. Their equipment is limited, lacking in cannons and qualified artillery. This means their ability to break through fortifications is quite limited. Their supply lines are insufficient, so as long as we hold key positions and constantly harass their supply lines, defeating the rebels is only a matter of time."

"What if the British support them?" Orlans asked.

"The British would find it hard to assist them because although Vandzia is near the sea, it lacks any decent ports. With only those little fishing ports in Vandzia that can accommodate small boats, how much can the British really bring ashore? Of course, troops can land, but the more troops land, the more strained their supplies become. So, we are certain to hold them off here in Angers."

This analysis boosted the morale of the officers. Napoleon then arranged the defensive preparations and adjourned the meeting.

After the meeting, the officers returned to their respective units to prepare for the defense, while Napoleon kept Davout and Orlans behind.

"Davout, Orlans, you both did well today," Napoleon said with a smile. It was clear that today's conversation had been planned between the three of them.

"General, the Constitutional Friends' Club reports that royalist activities in the city are increasing. To counter external enemies, we must ensure internal stability. With the enemy forces approaching, should we first clear out the royalists in the city?" Davout brought up another matter.

"Let the municipal council handle such matters; we are a fighting force and should not get involved in these affairs," Napoleon shook his head.

Davout furrowed his brow slightly, thinking, "If the Constitutional Friends can control the municipal council and address this matter, why involve the military? There are probably many royalist sympathizers in Angers. But, with the General's intelligence, he must understand this. Why is he taking this approach?"

Davout was still young and as he pondered, his expression changed unintentionally.

Napoleon, though young, was astute. He saw Davout's suspicious look and then said, "Davout, Orlans, come and look at the map."

Napoleon led the two to the map, pointing to it, and asked, "From a purely military perspective, where do you think we can strike the enemy to inflict the most damage?"

Davout and Orlans were momentarily stunned. What did this mean? Hadn't they agreed to defend Angers?

However, Davout quickly understood and thought, "This guy is really audacious, and... cunning!"

Angers was too close to Vandzia, and even if they held off the enemy here, a well-organized retreat was possible. But if the rebels continued to advance north and were halted around Le Mans, they might not have a safe retreat. If the battle went poorly, relentless pursuit might leave the enemy with very few survivors.

But to lure the rebels north to Le Mans, Angers had to be sacrificed. Politically, that was almost unacceptable. Davout immediately grasped the reason for Napoleon's decision to allow royalist activities to continue in the city.

"General, are you suggesting we abandon Angers?" Davout asked after thinking it through.

Napoleon did not answer but continued, "Our troops are still in the city; the royalists won't dare to act recklessly. We'll rely on the city's defenses for a while, and when our supplies are running low, we'll hand over the city's defense to the National Guard. We'll move outside the city, preparing to launch a counterattack. It's at that point that who knows what might happen...

Then our army will turn towards Le Mans. The enemy will have some cannons due to the capture of Angers, which might give them a false sense of 'we have siege capabilities.' Capturing Angers alone isn't enough to alter the overall situation, so they'll likely continue moving north.

Then we can confront them here, defeat them, and pursue them relentlessly, leaving them with no way to return!"

"General, will higher authorities approve such an operation?" Orlans asked with wide eyes.

"This plan has been personally approved by General Carnot but must remain strictly confidential. Furthermore, there are many royalists in Angers. Let them show their true colors first. Besides, there are many royalist sympathizers in the city. Think about it; once the rebels suffering from logistic shortages enter the city, what might they do? Let them experience royalist education and the care from the Bourbon family, isn't that a good thing? So General Carnot fully supports this plan," Napoleon said, spouting a series of nonsense.

If Carnot knew what Napoleon was up to, he would probably rush over overnight and give Napoleon a stern lecture. Even Joseph, who was technically his superior, didn't anticipate Napoleon's maneuver. He'd be thinking, "You're no longer a staff officer, why are you more scheming than when I was a staff officer?"

However, both Davout and Orlans were just mid-level officers, unaware of Napoleon's fake royal order. Instead, they felt a strong sense of determination from Paris to completely resolve the Vandzia rebellion. Simultaneously, they felt an inexplicable satisfaction and happiness knowing that their superior was just as audacious as they were.

A few days later, General Delacroix's large army approached Angers, and the battle erupted. In the initial skirmishes outside the city, the rebel forces pushed back the defense led by Napoleon, gradually advancing towards Angers.

Although the rebels suffered heavier losses in the outside battles, thanks to the intelligence provided by the royalists within the city, Delacroix learned that the government forces numbered only slightly over five thousand and their supplies were dwindling. So, despite the minor setbacks outside the city, he wasn't too concerned.

However, the subsequent siege of Angers posed a challenge for Delacroix. Part of the defending forces was stationed within the city, while the rest was on a small hill outside. Both positions were well-fortified and could support each other. The presence of these forces prevented a complete encirclement of Angers, meaning that even if his assaults succeeded, the enemy would probably manage to escape. Given the marching capabilities of his troops, pursuing a retreating enemy would be challenging.

"These rebels are cowards. We haven't even fought much, and they've prepared such a secure escape route!" Delacroix couldn't help but complain. He also realized that, with an enemy force several times his own, no one would disregard securing a retreat.

The other challenge was the poor siege capabilities of his troops. Delacroix lacked sufficient artillery, and his soldiers were poorly trained for siege warfare (in fact, they had hardly received any training at all). In contrast, the government's blue-coated forces had an abundance of artillery and fired as if gunpowder were free. Therefore, despite their low hit rates, his troops had suffered losses in the past few days, while their progress was limited.

"Keep fighting like this for a few more days, and their gunpowder will run out. A poorly trained army tends to waste ammunition recklessly. Maybe while I'm complaining about the training of our troops, their little kid general is also complaining about the poor marksmanship of his troops," Delacroix thought.

Inexplicably, General Delacroix began to feel a strange sense of camaraderie with Napoleon.