In the days that followed, Napoleon issued an order to his corps commander, General Lannes, to launch an offensive against Ott's forces stationed at Turin. The objective was clear - to force Ott into a retreat and regroup with the main Austrian army led by General Melas.
Napoleon aimed to deal a crushing blow to the Austrian forces in one swift stroke, concentrating his own army of sixty thousand soldiers.
On June 9th, 1800, General Lannes, supported by division commander Victor, executed the offensive attack against the Austrians in Turin. The clash of bayonets and the deafening sound of musket fire filled the plains as the Battle of Montebello erupted.
Despite the Austrians' formidable resistance, Lannes and Victor displayed exceptional tactical prowess and courage, leading their troops with unwavering determination. The French forces fought fiercely, driven by the determination to achieve victory and support Napoleon's grand strategy.
As the sun began to set, the French gained the upper hand. General Lannes boldly led a cavalry charge that shattered the Austrian lines, causing chaos among their ranks. Simultaneously, Victor's division executed a well-timed flanking maneuver, catching the Austrians off guard.
With coordinated attacks, the French turned the tide of the battle decisively in their favor. Ott's forces were left with no choice but to retreat. The victory at Montebello was a pivotal step in Napoleon's plan to isolate and defeat the main Austrian force.
News of the triumph swiftly reached Napoleon at his headquarters. He received the reports with satisfaction, knowing that his commanders had executed his orders with precision.
"General Lannes and Victor have performed admirably," Napoleon remarked to his General Staff. "Now, with Ott in retreat, it is time to execute the next phase of our plan."
Without delay, Napoleon ordered his forces to march towards Alessandria. The French troops moved swiftly, buoyed by the triumph at Montebello, drawing ever closer to a momentous encounter with the main Austrian army, commanded by General Melas.
June 14th, 1800, saw the arrival of the French forces at Marengo, where they prepared for the impending confrontation.
The difference of this battle from the battle of Marengo in his original world is that the initial confrontation was a French defeat. The reason is that they were outnumbered due to Napoleon scattering his forces, blocking roads to cut off General Melas' retreat.
At that time, Napoleon didn't know where General Melas' forces were located, his absence had led him to believe that Melas was escaping, so he detached his forces to more than a half in an effort to block all possible escape routes. Unfortunately, this strategy backfired, when he realized that Melas is not escaping, but rather would face him head-on.
But in this world, Napoleon knew that Melas would try to fight him, as confirmed by his intelligence reports. So, he did not scatter his forces as he did in his real world; instead, he gathered them all—fifty-seven thousand soldiers.
His infantry commanded by his Corps commanders, Lannes, Victor, and Desaix, already formed a formidable line, stretching across the plains. The cavalry, under the leadership of Joachim Murat, stood ready on the flanks, prepared to execute swift maneuvers.
The French held a clear numerical advantage as the Austrian forces numbered only 30,000 men with 100 cannons, whereas Napoleon's forces comprised 57,000 men with 200 cannons. The odds seemed to favor Napoleon, but he was not one to underestimate his opponents.
As the morning sun rose on June 14th, 1800, the French forces at Marengo braced themselves for the impending battle.
Napoleon stood atop a small hill, overlooking the vast plains where the armies were arrayed. His keen eyes scanned the terrain, evaluating every possible advantage and identifying potential pitfalls. He was determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past but to lead his troops to a decisive victory.
At the same time, General Melas positioned himself with a view of the battlefield, analyzing the French formations and contemplating his own strategies. He knew that he had to make the most of his limited resources and leverage the terrain to counter Napoleon's larger army.
The Battle of Alessandria began with a barrage of cannon fire, as both sides sought to gain an early advantage. The earth trembled under the relentless pounding of artillery; some shots hit their marks, while others whizzed past above the heads of the soldiers.
Ten minutes later, Napoleon's infantry marched towards the Austrian's defensive lines.
But as they got to the riverbanks of the River Bormida, the French infantry halted their advance. The reason, they couldn't get across the river without getting shot by the Austrians who were relentlessly raining down musket balls upon them.
"If we only have weapons we used in Egypt, this would have been easy," Napoleon said as he lowered down his spyglass.
"I couldn't agree more, Your Excellency," Murat nodded in agreement. "We couldn't build a pontoon bridge because the Austrians would quickly try to destroy it."
Napoleon sighed. "Well, this isn't something we should worry about when we have more cannons than them. For our soldiers to cross the river and beat the Austrians in Alessandria, we need to neutralize their cannons."
He pulled out a note and a pencil, beginning to make calculations for the trajectory of the cannons. He knew that if they could accurately hit the Austrian cannons and disable them, that would create an opportunity for the French to cross the river.
His note began to fill with projectile motion and range equations, as Napoleon meticulously calculated the angles, initial velocities, and distances required to hit the Austrian cannons accurately and precisely. He factored in the range of the enemy cannons, the elevation of the terrain, and the speed and direction of the wind.
Ten minutes later, his calculation was finished.
Napoleon called out to his Chief of Artillery, his former aide-de-camp during his Italian campaign.
"Marmont, I want all our artillery units to adjust their cannons to these specified coordinates," Napoleon said, handing Marmont the note.
Marmont carefully studied the note, absorbing the calculations made by Napoleon. His experience as Chief of Artillery and his familiarity with Napoleon's methods allowed him to quickly grasp the significance of these precise instructions. He nodded in acknowledgment.
"Consider it done, Your Excellency," Marmont replied.
As the orders spread through the ranks, the French artillery crews sprang into action. They calibrated their cannons based on Napoleon's calculations, aligning them with the specified coordinates and adjusting the angles of fire.
Once the adjustments were complete, Napoleon gave the signal to commence firing. The French cannons roared to life, and their thunderous barrage of shots and shells rained down upon the Austrian positions. The precision of Napoleon's calculations was evident as the French artillery accurately targeted the enemy cannons, causing considerable damage and disarray among the Austrian ranks.
In response, the Austrians attempted to adjust their positions and retaliate, but Napoleon's timely counter-fire kept them pinned down and unable to effectively respond.
Thirty minutes later.
"Your Excellency, the Austrian cannons are disabled!" Murat exclaimed.
A satisfied smile spread across Napoleon's lips as he heard those words. He turned to Marmont again and signaled to change their target, this time, the Austrian infantry.
The French artillery crews acted swiftly, recalibrating their cannons as per Napoleon's instructions. With a well-coordinated effort, the cannons were now aimed directly at the Austrian infantry lines.
As the thunderous barrage resumed, the Austrian infantry found themselves under a relentless assault of shot and shell. The once-ordered ranks began to crumble, and chaos ensued within the enemy ranks.
"They are routing," Napoleon remarked as he peered through his spyglass. "Murat, prepare your men, you will join Lannes, Desaix, and Victor, and cross that river."
"Understood, Your Excellency."
***
Meanwhile, the Austrian war council in Alessandria was shocked at the turn of events on the battlefield. General Melas and his advisors were now facing the grim reality of their precarious situation.
"I have never seen the French use cannons that accurately. It disabled our cannons! Without them, this battle is as good as lost," a senior Austrian officer voiced out.
"There's just no way we can defeat the French; they have the numbers, and they are now threatening to cross the river as we speak," Ott interjected. "Now I understand why they didn't pursue me in Montebello. They want to crush our main army here."
As things were about to get depressing, a young Austrian messenger entered the war council.
"Urgent news! The French forces in Genoa are now reorganizing and are heading towards us," he exclaimed, trying to catch his breath from the haste of his journey.
A shocked expression crossed the war council's faces as they processed the information. In order to counter Napoleon, they had to raise the siege of Genoa, where they would hopefully defeat Napoleon and turn their attention back to Genoa, waiting for reinforcements. But now, with the French forces in Genoa marching towards them, their situation has become even more dangerous. With two forces converging upon them from both sides, their chances of winning the battle seemed increasingly slim.
"What should we do?" One of the senior officers asked worriedly.
"Surrender?" Ott suggested. "That's the only logical option I see, General Melas. Instead of having thirty thousand men be slaughtered here, why not negotiate terms of surrender? We might still have a chance to salvage something from this situation."
"And the Austrian Empire is going to suffer another defeat from the French?" Melas retorted sharply.
"Be reasonable, Melas, you can't go on, not in this condition," Ott replied, dissuading Melas from taking unreasonable risks. "We must face the reality of the situation. We have been defeated. Offer a ceasefire and negotiate terms of surrender before it's too late. This is the most pragmatic approach to salvage what we can from this dire situation."
The weight of Ott's words settled on the war council, and a heavy silence filled the room. General Melas, despite his initial reluctance, realized that further resistance would only lead to unnecessary loss of life and the potential destruction of what remained of the Austrian forces.
"So I too will fall before Napoleon," Melas sighed in resignation.
"We still have an army in Germany, as long as they are not defeated, Austria can still fight," Ott said.
"Fine…" Melas conceded. "Let's talk to the French."
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