Joubert had studied the terrain around Alexandria on the way here as well. At this, he immediately said, "It looks like Melas intends to attack Pavia to the north."
Napoleon, however, hesitated.
He could not say where the problem lay, but he felt that everything had gone a little too smoothly.
It made him deeply uneasy.
So he said again to Garda, the cavalry battalion commander, "Send someone to carefully verify the situation on the Bormida River, then report back to me."
"Yes, Commander!"
Garda accepted the order and left, personally leading half a company of Rangers to the east bank of the Bormida River.
Before long, through his Telescope, he saw a large number of Austrian engineers working frantically. The bridge deck on the west side had already vanished, exactly matching what his men had reported earlier.
But thick trees crowded the riverbank, making it difficult for him to see clearly. So he took the risk of riding closer to the bank for a nearer reconnaissance.
However, when he was still more than a kilometer from the bridge on the north side, a string of cannon blasts suddenly thundered from the Austrian Army positions.
An oak tree beside him was struck by a shell and snapped cleanly in two. Splinters of wood sprayed across the Rangers.
Garda nervously glanced at the jagged, vicious stump, then hurriedly raised his Telescope toward the bridge. The bridge piers on the west side seemed to have been dismantled as well.
The distant cannon fire rang out again. He did not dare hesitate any longer and immediately wheeled his horse around, retreating.
At the French Army camp, Napoleon looked at Garda. "Are you certain even the bridge piers were dismantled?"
"I am certain, Commander," the latter said firmly. "At least four main supports are