Nationalism could bring those German monarchs over, but whether they were willing to contribute would depend on Franz's abilities.
Switzerland, Lucerne.
After Dufour's forces were reinforced, they numbered 130,000. At the same time, he heard some good news: for some unknown reason, the League of Orthodoxy had disbanded an army of tens of thousands.
According to intelligence from Lucerne and elsewhere, Dufour estimated that the League of Orthodoxy had 60,000 to 70,000 troops in total. That meant they now had fewer than 50,000.
The League of Orthodoxy's decision to disband its troops also revealed that its supplies were running low.
Moreover, although the League of Orthodoxy had opened a route through Ticino, reinforcements from the Kingdom of Sardinia and Austria had yet to arrive. And after capturing Ticino, the volunteers touted by the French seemed to have stopped moving.
There was more good news: the Reuss River had frozen solid, and soldiers and warhorses could cross it. At last, he could launch a full-scale offensive.
To the League of Orthodoxy, the same news spelled disaster.
"How can they have so many men?"
Marshal Ulrich Salis clutched the intelligence report in disbelief, then turned to the state representative who had insisted on disbanding the new recruits.
"Siegwart! Look at the mess you've made! The enemy has more than three times our strength on the main axis of attack, and Zug still has over 40,000 men! How are we supposed to win this war?"
Constantine Siegwart felt unjustly blamed. There had been no major battles for weeks, and tens of thousands of mouths needed feeding.
Besides, Archduke Charles had been using those new recruits for training or as laborers. It seemed the front didn't need them much.
Rather than keep those recruits as combat troops, they might as well serve as logistical