Two hours later, Anning chatted with his entourage while galloping along the Adige River Valley.
The terrain in the valley was relatively flat, and during the flood season, the Adige River carved out a considerable expanse of flat riverbank. Although there was snow now, the horses didn't slow down much on this kind of terrain.
From a distance, Anning could see the black smoke rising from the Austrian army's burning tents.
Opposite the black smoke, the flow of the Adige River next to it also became much more turbulent, probably due to the Austrian army burning their camps, causing some of the snow to melt.
At noon, Anning met up with Lasalle, who had gone ahead on reconnaissance.
"You tell me, why did the Austrians suddenly start retreating?" Anning asked Lasalle while calming his horse that was eagerly stomping its hooves and gently patted the animal's neck.
