Desaix gave the order without hesitation: "Fourth Infantry Regiment, launch a counterattack at once. Fifth Regiment, outflank them from both wings. cavalry squadron, stand by behind the Camp." The Orderly Officer accepted the command and left. A staff officer hesitated slightly. "commander, there are only two companies of the Austrian Army. Perhaps there is no need to deploy so many troops..."
Desaix said firmly, "If the enemy dared to provoke us openly, they must have an ambush waiting. We must go all out!"
In truth, the so-called "enemy force" consisted of just over seventy Intelligence Bureau agents. They carried large numbers of flags and War Drums, making them seem far more numerous from a distance. Soon, the Corsican Legion launched a full-scale attack and pursued the enemy.
Along the way, soldiers kept finding Austrian Army flags and weapons, as though a surprise attack had gone awry.
A few hours later, the French Army discovered another temporary Austrian Camp. Just as colonel Desaix had said, more than two thousand soldiers must have been stationed here. Of course, all of this had been arranged in advance by the Intelligence Bureau.
Following the script, Desaix sternly denounced the Austrians before his soldiers, declaring that they had plotted to attack the Udine garrison and that they had to be wiped out to defend the French Army's honor.
Yet they reached the border between Venice and Austria without catching the enemy.
Just as the staff officer was considering whether to advise the commander to withdraw, a tremendous roar of cannon suddenly erupted from the woods ahead. "The Austrians are ambushing us here!" Desaix appeared furious as he shouted, "Have the Skirmisher Battalion attack from the flank. Watch out for enemies on the wings."
He had kept the cavalry in the rear the entire time, afraid