In the land of the East, Durovski's people remained in Turin, undergoing technical training, while Vebitzki's men, having completed their theoretical studies and reconnaissance training, left France and headed to Italy for their practical experience.
Napoleon had already established himself in Italy and launched an offensive against the Austrian territories in Lombardy. With the deadly accuracy of the Bonaparte rifles and captured Italian cannons, he pushed the Austrian General Beaulieu into a series of retreats. During negotiations with the Kingdom of Sardinia, Napoleon compelled them to open the crossing at Valenza on the Po River. This condition was shared with the Austrians, as the Kingdom of Sardinia had lost confidence in its ability to regain lost territory and relied on the Austrians. They realized that unless the Austrians won, Piedmont would be forever separated from them.
Upon receiving this news, General Beaulieu wasted no time and concentrated all available forces near the Valenza crossing. In earlier skirmishes, he had already grasped the significant disparity between his forces and Napoleon's. Thus, the Po River became his last hope to halt Napoleon's advance.
Napoleon also brought his large army near the Valenza crossing, frequently dispatching small units to reconnoiter the river. He portrayed an image of preparing for a full-scale crossing, and the intermittent small-scale conflicts between the two sides never ceased.
These smaller confrontations greatly dampened the Austrian soldiers' morale. Firstly, the enormous gap in weaponry heavily favored the French, as their rifled muskets were quick-firing and highly accurate, making it nearly impossible for the Austrians to lift their heads. Furthermore, following their victory over the Kingdom of Sardinia, Napoleon's cavalry weaknesses were addressed. French reconnaissance cavalry, armed with revolvers, left the Austrian cavalry bewildered in these small skirmishes.
Since their entry into Italy, the army's morale had soared, not just due to victories but also because half their pay could now be received in silver coins rather than paper notes. In the years prior, their pay had been primarily in notes, which had suffered heavy inflation, rendering them almost worthless. With half their pay now in silver, it felt like suddenly being able to exchange French francs at a two-to-one rate for silver dollars. Soldiers received more substantial pay, and their spirits soared. Many of them couldn't resist writing letters home, encouraging their brothers to join them in Italy as volunteers to assist the French army in its battle for the country. The content of these letters varied, but one phrase was almost always identical:
"Here, the enemy is clueless, and the pay is excellent. Come quickly!"
Under this pressure, in order to guard the riverbank, General Beaulieu had no choice but to concentrate every available force near the Valenza crossing. On one hand, he sought to intercept the French at Piacenza, but when he realized his troops couldn't match the speed of the French advance, he quickly decided to retreat across the Adda River and use it as a defensive line.
General Beaulieu's decision was highly regarded by his subordinates. Through the series of small-scale confrontations with the French, everyone had come to realize one crucial fact: the French infantry, with their rapid-firing muskets, excelled in open field battles, and they were not to be underestimated.
Furthermore, the Adda River offered superior defensive terrain compared to the Po River. With its swift currents and treacherous shallows, there were hardly any suitable crossing points for a large army. The most suitable bridge for large-scale troop movement was the sole crossing. Once the army had retreated across the river and the bridge destroyed, they might have lost a substantial portion of the Lombardy region, but at least they could temporarily secure half of Lombardy.
Napoleon, however, had realized the bridge's significance. As soon as he crossed the Po River, he sent Dagu with a unit of cavalry infantry to capture the bridge. He anticipated that General Beaulieu would directly confront him and planned for the French to achieve victory, cutting off the Austrian retreat route. But he didn't expect General Beaulieu to retreat so decisively.
So when Dagu and his cavalry infantry arrived at the bridge, they found the Austrians had already crossed it.
Dagu assessed his small force of merely five hundred soldiers against the Austrian group of at least twenty thousand, including Italian mercenaries. Furthermore, the retreat of the Italian mercenaries seemed disorganized.
Dagu realized this was their opportunity. If the Italians crossed the bridge and the Austrians blew it up afterward, it would be a much more challenging task to cross the river. Thus, he quietly descended from the small hill, gathered his soldiers, and ordered them to immediately form a skirmish line to engage the Italian mercenaries.
The French swiftly attacked the Italian mercenaries, and gunfire erupted. However, something unexpected occurred. Initially, the Italians held their ground for a brief moment, but then, abruptly, they fired shots into the air. Confusion spread among the Italian mercenaries, and they didn't resist but instead rushed toward the bridge, eager to cross it.
"Are these Italians perhaps a bit too adorable?" Dagu couldn't help but exclaim, witnessing this bizarre scene. The Italians on the bridge pushed and shoved each other, cursed, and inexplicably fired shots into the sky. Taking advantage of this chaos, Dagu's troops easily reached the bridge.
Most of the Italians guarding the bridge either fled across it or surrendered. Dagu found an Italian mercenary officer who spoke French and asked him why the Italians behaved this way.
"The Austrians had planted explosives on the bridge, and they ordered us to cross it immediately. Our task was to ignite the explosives. But after the gunshots earlier, a group of Austrian cavalry suddenly approached the bridge. They were not here to defend it, the cursed Judas; they intended to blow up the bridge without caring if we crossed. Those accursed Judases!"
Upon receiving the report that the French had secured the bridge, General Beaulieu was almost overwhelmed. However, he quickly regained his composure, realizing that his artillery was just behind him. He ordered the artillery to be pushed forward and started pounding the bridge with solid shots to cover the retreat.
The accuracy of the solid shot was far from ideal, but General Beaulieu managed to concentrate over fifty artillery pieces, creating a tremendous barrage directed at the bridge. The French forces who had just crossed the bridge couldn't withstand the assault, and they retreated back to their side of the river. However, the French rifled muskets were too sharp for the Austrians to overcome. Every time the Austrians attempted to launch a suicide mission to cross the bridge, they were pushed back.
Dagu coordinated his troops, blocked the bridge's surroundings with rifle fire, and deployed a squad to defuse the explosives planted beneath the bridge. However, due to the Austrian artillery blockade, reaching the other side of the bridge proved exceedingly difficult.
By evening, Napoleon's main force had finally arrived at the bridge. The sun was setting, and the two armies stood face to face across the river.
That night, Napoleon gathered his officers and assigned them tasks for the next day's battle, preparing for a breakthrough of the Austrian defense. Despite controlling the bridge, he was surprised to discover that General Beaulieu had moved ahead of him once again. In the dead of night, Beaulieu had ordered the firing pins of the large cannons to be removed, leaving behind over fifty heavy cannons. With his troops, he retreated.