Garibaldi did not attack Torre Pellice, whose defenses were relatively weak, as the French had guessed. Instead, just as he had written in his letter to Bellevue, he really did lead the Guerrilla Force to the outskirts of Savigliano.
Of course, Garibaldi wasn't foolish enough to send those farmers, who had only just picked up guns, to attack a heavily defended city. The guerrillas merely dug trenches outside it.
The French commander in the city was thoroughly perplexed.
"Surrounding it without attacking? What are these country bumpkins up to?"
The head of the Sardinian puppet troops standing nearby was just as confused.
"Weren't they going to attack the city?"
"Don't talk nonsense! Do you think I don't know they're going to attack? Stay at your post, Passan!"
(Passan is a derogatory French word, similar to "nigger," used to describe someone ignorant and lowborn.)
The French troops in Savigliano had long been prepared for battle. The moment those Italians charged, the heavy guns atop the walls would blast them to pieces.
But the guerrillas outside showed no sign of attacking, even after a long wait. The French commander inside the city was beside himself with anxiety.
"What are they waiting for?"
"Why don't we go out and find out? See what they're really up to?"
The head of the Sardinian puppet troops suggested with a grin, but the French commander immediately gave him a tongue-lashing.
"Passan! Our reinforcements are almost here! Are you telling us to leave the city and go out there to die? What are you really after?"
Meanwhile, the reinforcements for which the defenders of Savigliano had been pining walked straight into an ambush.
In fact, Garibaldi's original plan had been to lay siege to the city and ambush the relief force. His guerrillas lacked heavy weapons, making