In autumn and winter, rainfall in the Italy area increases, and the river surface in the Arno River is wider and faster than in summer.
The section where Vitus is located is in the middle reaches. There is no stone bridge, so it is troublesome to forcefully cross the river.
Pisa near the west coast and Florence upstream have stone bridges, but the defenders built Bridgehead on the south bank. Even if Vitus captures the south bank, the enemy can set up artillery on the other side to block the entire bridge deck.
"This battle is unwinnable."
Vitus Let the main force stay in nearby towns and wait for heavy artillery to be brought in from the rear.
On September 27, Boranov led a group of the Attica Legion to the west coast.
The Livorno in front is the most important port of Florence, with complete internal port facilities. French Army abandoned most of the ten places on the south bank of the river and only sent troops to garrison here.
Boranov asked people to go in and persuade them to surrender, and the reply they got was:
The defenders must hold on for two months, otherwise the commander will face severe punishment after the war.
He said angrily, "French Army has no control over the sea and cannot use this port. They are guarding here because they just don't want us to use it."
Livorno developed rapidly during the Di Maggio period and had a solid and thick stone city wall. In the past two years, Medici widened the moat outside the city, making it ten steps wide, significantly increasing the difficulty of attacking.
Moreover, this place is located on the coast and has abundant groundwater. If trench blasting is used, there is a high probability of water seepage in the tunnel, which will seriously hinder the efficiency of the attack.
After swearing a few Rus words, Boranov left an army to guard here and dig a new trench to cut off the city's connection with the outside world.
There is an ancient fortress three miles to the south called Antignano. French Army abandoned this castle and the fishing village below.
The natural conditions of the fishing port are very poor, and the water depth is not enough to berth large and medium-sized ships, but Boranov has no choice but to let the soldiers cut down trees and build piers, cranes and other dock facilities.
The logging site is located on the east side of the hillside. The vegetation here is dense, and the pine trees remain green. The dense crowns of the chestnut trees gradually turn yellow, and some of the thorn balls hanging on the branches split, revealing the dark brown chestnuts inside.
The weather is getting colder, chestnuts are falling from the branches one after another, and the tracks of wild beasts can be seen in the forest. They do not want to miss this last opportunity to forage and store fat for the winter.
In the distance, several villagers swung long poles to knock on the branches, and then picked up chestnuts underneath. Seeing a group of strange soldiers arriving, the villagers immediately fled deep into the woods.
"It's chestnut season again."
Many years ago, Boranov was enshrined as a guard officer in the interior of Anatolia. Every autumn, military households went into the mountains to collect chestnuts, and hereditary officers went hunting with muskets.
Now that I think about it, this was the most leisurely period of his life. He hunted, planted vegetables, and fished on weekdays. While on duty at the outpost, he would carry books and newspapers borrowed from the library to pass the time.
"The tree is falling!"
With a shout, a thick chestnut tree fell suddenly, its branches scraped against nearby branches, and large leaves and chestnuts fell off.
Later, more than a dozen soldiers gathered around, tied the trunk with ropes, and tried to drag it toward the coast.
At dusk, a large clearing was cleared in the woods halfway up the mountain. The soldiers built a bonfire with felled pine wood, then used flint to make a fire and ignited the pine needles and branches on the bonfire.
The twigs crackled and exploded, and the dark smoke column rose to a certain height in the twilight, and was finally blown away by the evening breeze.
The purpose of this bonfire is not for heating or cooking, but to transmit messages to the sea.
A second bonfire was set up fifty steps away, and a third bonfire was set up fifty steps further north. Mountain Battalion specially assigned a squad of soldiers to take care of the bonfires and keep them burning at all times.
This job is not easy. The soldiers need to take turns to keep vigil at night and be wary of poisonous snakes and insects in the mountains.
After staying up until the early morning of the next day, someone yawned and handed over to his companions, then walked deep into the woods to check the noose trap set last night.
"There's a fat rabbit here!"
The sergeant carried the expired rabbit back to the small bonfire used for cooking, and skillfully peeled off the rabbit skin, which can later be used as a scarf for keeping warm in winter.
He cut the rabbit meat into small pieces and stewed it with chestnuts in an iron pot. The soldiers nearby gathered around and looked expectantly at the mouth of the meat in the pot.
"Wait a minute, there's still meat here." A soldier came running down the mountain, holding up a deer calf in his right hand. "The company next door caught a deer, and I traded them a small piece of truffle for the deer leg."
The official Shi Guan reluctantly took the calf, which had little meat at all. He peeled off the deer skin, used a dagger to pick off a small amount of deer meat and threw it into the iron pot.
"You are at a disadvantage. Truffles are a favorite spice among the upper class. They are sold in markets. The larger ones can be sold for several silver coins, and they are more expensive in big cities.
You recruits lack experience. If you encounter any strange trophies, you must inquire more before selling them.
Two years ago, I was fighting in Serbia. When I was cleaning the battlefield, I found a pendant. Someone offered me two silver coins to buy it on the spot. I refused.
Waiting until the war was over and the troops went to Thessaloniki to rest, I took the pendant and ran to the jewelry store on the south side of the square. How much do you think that thing is worth?"
The sergeant deliberately paused for a moment, then slowly said to the three recruits, "Five Florin! The most valuable thing is that gem. During the rest period, I used the money to eat, drink and have fun, and my life was more comfortable than the officers."
Two days later, a ship Eastern Roman Empire Cruiser passed by this coast.
The battleship is several miles away from the coast. From the lookout's perspective, three slender smoke pillars rise slowly and are blown inward by the sea breeze.
Lu.
He took a telescope and observed carefully. He saw that a large camp had been built on the coast below the hillside, and he could not see the specific pattern of the flag.
"There is something going on at the shore, you have to get closer to see clearly!"
The lookout's voice reached the deck, and the chief mate rang the ship's bell and ordered the crew to prepare for battle. Then he controlled the steering wheel and sailed slowly toward the green coastal hills.
As the distance got closer, they could clearly see the flag of the camp: a red flag, a yellow cross, and the letter β in each of the four areas.
Captain Eastern Roman Empire was confused. "Where did these stupid donkeys come from? Are they disguised by the enemy?"
At this time, Army noticed the appearance of the warship, and some soldiers waved on the beach. The captain confirmed that there were no coastal defense guns on the beach, so he asked the ship to approach again and stop in the water 700 steps away.
After exchanging signals, the captain understood the identity and number of this friendly force. "They landed on the east coast in early September and rushed to the west coast in less than a month. Did they fight so fast?"
Since there were friendly forces on the shore, Cruiser put down a Longboat and paddled staggeringly towards the beach. The trestle here is still under construction, and more than 20 wooden piles have been installed in the shallow water area, waiting for the bridge deck to be laid.
Soon, Boranov met the captain of Cruiser.
"Army came from the east coast. The condition of some sections of the road is very bad. We only carried the light Field Gun, which lacks the ability to attack critical difficulties. The purpose of building a temporary port here is to obtain artillery from the navy. How much inventory does Corsica have?"
The captain grabbed his hair, "At the beginning of the year, we recovered the southern part of Corsica and attacked Porto Vecchio from the land direction. Army used twenty
Door Siege Cannon. Subsequently, this batch of artillery has been stored in the warehouse. If you need more, you can only mobilize it from Sicily Island."
Boranov told the other party, "You go to Corsica to transport the artillery, and by the way, let the idle ships in the port go to Palermo. Move quickly, Your Majesty is in a hurry to use it!"
Hearing that the emperor was at the front, the captain panicked. He proposed to unload the battleship's cannon, but Boranov refused.
Maneuverability was not considered when casting naval guns, and craftsmen deliberately increased the weight in exchange for better range and reliability.
Moreover, the naval gun's gun mount is low and unsuitable for transportation in the wild, further weakening its traveling speed on land.
"Don't waste time. The nine-pound naval gun of Cruiser is not powerful enough to be effective in Siege Warfare. What is needed for siege is a heavy artillery of more than 18 pounds. On the other hand, the maneuverability of the naval gun is too poor to be useful in the field."
Boranov treated the captain to a meal of venison and then sent the guy away.
October On the third day, early morning.
Two Cruiser and a transport ship sailed to this coast and found that the trestle was still under construction. The captain stopped the ship in the shallow water area and lowered the anchor.
Next, the operations of the three ships were similar: hoist the artillery to Longboat, and then let the sailors paddle the famous Longboat to the shore. This was repeated many times until all the cargo in the ship's hold was transported to the coast.
A naval lieutenant colonel told Boranov: "All the artillery that can be transported is here: twenty Siege Cannon, six Nine-Pounder Cannon, twelve Six-Pounder Cannon, and twenty Three-Pounder. Now, there are only some coastal defense guns left in the south of Corsica.
Ten days later, Palermo's reinforcements will arrive on the ship. In addition to artillery, there are probably other supplies. I heard that Sicily Island has not started a war recently, and many supplies are not needed..."
In the afternoon of the same day, the navy's report was sent to the headquarters.
At this moment, Vitus is faced with two pieces of news.
The good news is: the third echelon is on its way and is expected to arrive at Siena tomorrow.
Counting this group of troops, the field force that Vitus can mobilize reaches 37,000. The quantity and quality are much higher than those of the French Army on the north bank of the river. The bad news is: Naples's enemy troops have been assembled and are about to head north!
For a long time, French Army coach Richmond has been staying in Naples. The east coast is very close to Epirus, and the sailing time is only one day, making it the most suitable landing place for Greece people.
Now, Richmond has passed multiple verifications and confirmed that Greece's main force is behind Tuscany. He personally leads the main force to advance to the north, with an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers.
Vitus is about to face the danger of being attacked from the north and the south.
He told Holy See's special envoy Rodrigo: "Rome's defenders must play their role. In the final analysis, this is a war on your territory. It is impossible for us to do all the work!"
"There are tens of thousands of people on the other side, how can it be effective?"
The special envoy is very aware of Rome's situation and does not believe that his side has the ability to stop French Army.
The city has six thousand Knights Hospitaller people (including mercenaries), two thousand Italy mercenaries, two thousand local Militia, and one thousand Switzerland mercenaries.
The special envoy has seen the military appearance of Greece's field troops. Compared with the two, Rome's garrison is basically inferior.
He advised the emperor not to have too much hope in the defenders, "Knights Hospitaller can really fight only two thousand, plus one thousand Switzerland mercenaries, and the other armies will make up the numbers. If these three thousand people are defeated, Rome will be unable to defend!"
Vitus marked several locations on the map, "I'm not asking you to fight decisively. I'm sending troops to garrison key areas and send some people to harass their supply lines."
My fleet is meeting the Austrian and Polish coalition forces of Slovenia. As long as this force arrives, we will regain our numerical advantage19
After the special envoy left, Vitus scratched his hair irritably.
Rome The defenders are unreliable, the Austrian and Polish coalition forces are not much better, Italy Militia the city-states are even more hopeless.
If I had known this, I should have transferred Imperial Guard (First Legion) as well. Their combat effectiveness is weaker than the remaining legions, but slightly stronger than Auxiliary Brigade, so they can be put to use.
"The straight-line distance from Naples City to the Arno River is nearly four hundred kilometers. There is heavy rainfall in autumn and the road conditions are very poor. It is expected that the enemy will take more than half a month to walk. In any case, these two groups cannot be allowed to converge!"
The next day, Vitus led the guards through the hills and eastward to the upper reaches of the Arno River.
The main urban area of Florence is located on the north bank of the Arno River. Four stone bridges have been built to connect the south bank. The urban area south of the river is small and protected by city walls, making it very difficult to attack.
Hundreds of steps away, at the top of the hill, Pauli used a telescope to observe his dreaming hometown. He was shocked and angry to find that his mansion and factory had become French Army's residence.
Sensing the emperor's arrival, Pauli hurriedly asked, "You want to attack the city? This will cause too many casualties. Why not try another way?"
Of course, this is just Pauli's excuse.
What he actually cares about is his own property. If his brother-in-law bombards him from across the river bank and fires hundreds of Rocket, the entire city will suffer!
"No, there is no force attack." Vitus was preoccupied with war and had no time to discuss it in detail with Pauli.
After personally exploring the hilly areas on the south bank of the river, he held a military meeting and decided to go south first and then north:
The main force went south to meet Richmond, and the partial division intercepted the Florence army.
Looking at the senior military officers in the room, Vitus said someone's name, "Xerxes, you take Tuna Legion to stay in the north. The requirement is to hold off the enemy. There are more hills here, so I will give you two extra Mountain Battalion, one Marine Battalion, and Florence Militia is at your disposal. Your mission is not to let the enemy pass...
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Vitus led the main force southward to deal with Richmond as soon as possible.
Judging from the numbers alone, his southward troops numbered 27,000, and the Rome defenders numbered more than 10,000. Each locality had its own Militia, whose number was no less than the French Army main force.
However, the combat effectiveness of the Holy See army is extremely poor. If you hand over key tasks to this group of people, who knows how big a trap will be created?
The fourth wave of landing troops was the Austrian and Polish coalition forces, and their role was also limited.
"The wider the territory, the more garrison troops are needed, occupying most of the troops. The standing army is 200,000, and less than 40,000 are actually engaged in the decisive battle. After this battle, Central Administration will form an additional legion."