On the training grounds south of Mantua Fortress, Moreau and more than a dozen officers stood at the front, with nearly a thousand soldiers representing those who had taken part in the deep raids into Venice behind them.
To their left, the tall representatives of the Crown Prince's Guard Grenadier Battalion stood with heads high and chests out, brimming with spirit.
Yes, they had indeed participated in the raiding operation. Although they had not fired a single shot throughout, they were equally qualified to receive the Crown Prince's commendation.
Joseph walked before every officer and soldier, pinning medals of different grades onto them according to their performance on the battlefield.
Moreau's raid might have seemed to yield little. They had probably eliminated only ten to fifteen thousand enemy troops, and counted together with those they had routed, the total was just over twenty thousand. Yet its contribution to the entire campaign could not be overlooked.
Their actions had greatly delayed the Austrian Army's offensive tempo, helping Mantua Fortress survive its most dangerous stage.
At present, the Allied Forces' Swiss strategy had failed completely, and Sardinia, that "bomb" hidden in the shadows, had also been defused. This allowed France to concentrate all its forces at Mantua for defense.
The entire Fifth Army Corps had suffered almost no losses. With the addition of the 12th Infantry Division, the forces of the Italian states, and the Spanish Army, Mantua now had more than eighty-five thousand troops.
Although the Austrian Army had nearly one hundred and sixty thousand men, attacks on its rear had crushed morale, and it had essentially lost any chance of storming such a heavily fortified fortress.
France could obtain supplies from nearby allies such as Milan and Parma, while Archduke Karl had to transport logistics from distant Klagenfurt. In a