Napoleon had only a little over 20,000 soldiers under his command.
Nearly 3,000 of them were recruits who had enlisted less than two months ago.
A bitter look appeared on his face. If this had been a broad battlefield, he could have relied on his precise grasp of the situation and used every means available to gradually build an advantage, just as he had at Toulon.
But now, because of his earlier misjudgment, he had no choice but to fight a head-on decisive battle with the Austrian Army here.
For the outnumbered French Army, this was undoubtedly extremely unfavorable.
Napoleon folded his hands across his chest and kept taking deep breaths as thoughts raced through his mind.
No. There had to be a way to defeat the enemy.
I need to make full use of my advantages...
What advantages do I still have?
He suddenly regained his composure, because he had thought of the Moulins Legion.
This elite force, second only to the Directly Subordinate Legion, was highly trained and equipped with the latest percussion cap guns.
If the Moulins Legion could swiftly crush the enemy at the front and directly threaten Melas's headquarters, it could throw the Austrian Army's command into disarray.
Then he could turn around and deal with the enemies on the flanks...
A complete operation plan rapidly took shape in Napoleon's mind. He turned to Lucien and said, "Order Major Junot to lead the Toulouse 2nd Infantry Regiment and one Skirmisher Battalion in defending the left flank.
"Have Lieutenant Colonel Sérurier command the Third Infantry Regiment in defending the right flank.
"They must ensure that not a single enemy soldier crosses their lines before nightfall!"
He assigned 2,000 soldiers to one and 1,500 to the other, while they faced 10,000 and 15,000 enemies respectively. Though they