"Clearly, the French had realized that our main offensive was aimed at Northern Italy." Archduke Karl swept his gaze over the officers in the conference room. "Their Crown Prince was on his way here. And the French Army's morale would be revived by his arrival."
He turned and tapped Mantua on the map. "So, before he arrives with reinforcements, we must capture every area north of Mantua!"
The Austrian Army's surprise attack had achieved excellent results, catching the French completely off guard. Next, they had to expand their advantage as much as possible.
Archduke Karl swiftly began arranging the subsequent battles:
"The Würmser Corps on the right wing will advance along the Alps and quickly seize Trento and the regions west of it.
"The Milius Corps on the left wing will be responsible for attacking Padua. There should be a French Army Infantry Division there...
"Prince Schwarzenberg, lead the 12th Guards Division and the 15th Division to push into the western side of Verona..."
After a brief three-day rest, the Austrian Army launched a full-scale offensive, fiercely attacking several key towns north of Mantua Fortress.
Much like the earlier Battle of Udine, the French Fifth Army Corps stationed in Verona and elsewhere had no ability to withstand the Austrian Army, which outnumbered them several times over, nor the dense volleys of Wind Guns that fell like torrential rain. They retreated continuously from the Belluno line.
In barely more than half a month, the Austrian vanguard had reached the northern bank of the Mincio River—where Mantua Fortress's cannons could already be seen.
The Crown Prince of France had finally arrived in Mantua as well, bringing the defenders there to around 100,000 men.
Of course, that was merely a bluff.
In reality, Joseph had brought fewer than 3,000 soldiers.
At that time,