Chapter 804: The Information War of the 18th Century
"Occupied Leuven?" Davout was the first to react, exclaiming with delight, "That's excellent! Now the Prussians and Austrians can no longer send reinforcements directly into the Southern Netherlands!"
Lefebvre quickly agreed. "They only have one route left—north through 's-Hertogenbosch—to reach Brussels in a wide detour."
Davout pondered the Crown Prince's words and added, "That also means the Duke of York cannot retreat east toward Gelderland. He's practically cut off!"
Yes, although the Duke of York's rear was nominally supported by the Dutch, everyone automatically discounted that.
The Dutch could at best provide supplies for the coalition. Their soldiers were almost worthless in combat. Their most "elite" units had once been under Davydovich, and even then they performed miserably. Now, those ten thousand men were still holed up in Ghent to the west, completely cut off from the Duke of York.
Joseph nodded. "Meanwhile, we can draw reinforcements from Wallonia and Flanders.
"Then we'll continue pushing north—toward The Hague, even Amsterdam.
"At the very least, we must secure the northern territories for the Flemish Republic, so that Brussels can truly remain safe in the long term."
The officers became visibly excited—the Crown Prince was planning to invade the Netherlands directly! This was reminiscent of the glories of the Sun King's age.
But their excitement was mixed with unease.
After all, their forces were still outnumbered, and the French troops, in particular, were stretched thin. Launching an offensive could prove extremely risky.
Lefebvre, ever the cautious one, suggested, "Your Highness, perhaps we should wait until the new recruits in Paris finish basic training. If we dispatch another 5,000 men north, we could ensure greater safety."
Joseph calmly shook his head. "You must believe in the strength of the Flemish.
"Once we reach Antwerp, we'll soon gather tens of thousands of Flemish volunteers.
"When the time comes to strike the Netherlands, they will fight even more fervently.
"We can equip them with the weapons captured from the Austrians, and let them handle much of the logistics themselves.
"As for the new recruits in Paris, send all of them to Italy. The pressure on that front is far greater."
France's population base allowed for an easy conscription rate of about two thousand recruits per month.
With recent victories in both the Southern Netherlands and Italy, public enthusiasm for enlistment had soared.
However, Joseph didn't want to throw undertrained soldiers onto the battlefield as cannon fodder. He also worried that conscripting too many able-bodied men would harm domestic productivity, so he deliberately kept recruitment moderate.
Since completing France's land and tax reforms, the country, though not yet capable of matching the explosive mobilization speeds of the historical First Empire, could still muster seven to eight thousand new soldiers monthly if needed.
Just as Joseph finished speaking, an officer hurried into the tent and handed a military dispatch to Lefebvre. He whispered, "General, this just arrived from Freiburg."
Lefebvre broke the seal, glanced briefly, and turned to Joseph. "Your Highness, five days ago Wurmser led thirty thousand Austrians southward—presumably to reinforce Mantua."
Thanks to France's extensive semaphore network, built at a cost of over four million francs—with lines stretching north to Namur in the Southern Netherlands and south to the Alpine passes—Austrian military movements reached Joseph with minimal delay.
Of those five days, four had been consumed getting the information smuggled out of Freiburg, Austria's westernmost territory. Though close to France, the Black Forest range still lay in between. Delivering intelligence across that terrain in just four days was extraordinarily efficient.
All the officers turned toward Joseph. Murat's face was one of astonishment. "Your Highness, you were right—our Italian front truly needs reinforcements."
Lefebvre frowned. "It seems the Austrians intend to retake Milan.
"If Wurmser himself is heading to Italy, then sending just a few thousand recruits to Colonel Bonaparte will definitely not be enough."
Joseph narrowed his eyes. "Who is commanding the Austrian army in Freiburg right now?"
Lefebvre checked the dispatch. "It's Count Baillet von Latour, Your Highness."
"Him…" Joseph drummed his fingers lightly on the table in thought. "It seems we'll need to adjust our overall plan."
Latour was among Austria's premier commanders. Historically, he had performed well during the Rhine Campaign, but against Moreau he would be outmatched.
Lefebvre asked, "What are your orders, Your Highness?"
Joseph looked toward the map, his finger tracing southeast to Mantua—the last Austrian stronghold in northern Italy. His tapping stopped abruptly. "Transfer the Royal 3rd Infantry Division from the Moreau Corps to the Italian front. Also, give Bonaparte three companies of Royal Horse Artillery—and those few thousand new recruits as well."
Everyone froze in shock.
They had expected reinforcements for Italy—but this was excessive!
The Royal 3rd Infantry Division was the core of Moreau's corps. With it gone, how was he supposed to hold Basel?
Lefebvre quickly protested. "Your Highness, isn't that too risky? If Latour forces a crossing of the Rhine, Moreau's line—"
Joseph nodded. "I understand your concern.
"But this time, we'll make full use of our information advantage and turn the entire front into one coordinated system."
The officers exchanged puzzled looks. Information advantage? Coordination? They understood the words separately, but not together.
Joseph noticed their confusion, and his smile deepened.
Of course—it was the 18th century. No one yet understood the idea of information warfare.
He patiently explained, "We have the Chappe semaphore system. Messages between our theaters can reach one another within three to five days at most. The enemy, however, needs twice that time. That is our information advantage."
He was, in fact, understating it. Within France, communications between commands could be delivered in under half a day—the only delay being the time it took a rider from the front lines to reach the signal tower.
Joseph continued, "I predict that once our Italian forces go on the offensive, the Holy Roman Emperor will likely transfer more troops from Freiburg to reinforce Mantua.
"If that happens, Moreau will face almost no pressure—and might even be able to counterattack.
"If, on the other hand, Latour ignores Italy and focuses on Basel, Moreau can abandon the Rhine line and withdraw to defend Lorraine.
"In either situation, the Austrians in Italy will be crushed by Colonel Bonaparte.
"After that, he can either besiege Mantua or bypass it entirely and march straight north toward Venice.
"Meanwhile, we'll redeploy some of Masséna's troops back to Lorraine for defense.
"The point is this: whatever the enemy does, our information moves faster. We'll strike first where they are weakest and always be one step ahead of them!"
(END CHAPTER)
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