Chapter XX Meeting of the Allied Forces
Coincidentally, on the second day after the Toulon Front re-formed its combat plan, the coalition forces opposite convened a summit on the Fearless, one of the main battleships of the British Mediterranean Fleet.
"Generals, let's have a meeting now. We will not wait for the representatives of the Kingdom of Piedmont." General Ohara, the commander of the coalition forces, announced helplessly after taking out his pocket watch for the fourth time. "The topic of this meeting is to discuss the future coalition forces' action strategy. Adjutant of the Staff, explain the plan to all generals."
"As for the order, commander." The colonel's staff officer stood up respectfully, came to the Toulon map behind him, and said:
“…
At present, the main force of the French rebels besieging the harbor is still the newly established Toulon Front. The actual number of people participating in the war is no more than 20,000. The entire legion is isolated from the Franc Mountains and divided into two parts. The Eastern Front Division has a total of 6,000 people. It is commanded by Lapuap, who escaped from Toulon. It is confronted with our army on the front line of the Franc Cross and Lamarge Fort. The rebels have more than 10,000 divisions on the Western Front. The commander is the commander-in-chief of the rebels. The defense line is on the side of the Pom Fort and the Little Gibrotto Fortress controlled by our army.
…
The entire rebel army had only more than 100 artillery pieces, and even fewer large-caliber artillery pieces, which could not pose an effective threat. The huge fleet of the coalition forces at sea could reinforce the defense of various fortresses at any time.
…
Not long ago, the rebels on the Western Front launched an attack on the Little Gibrotto Fortress, but were defeated by the troops commanded by the brave General Gonzalez. There was no major move later, except for a brief artillery firing near the Malibosque Fort.
…
At present, due to the rebel blockade, the food supply in Toulon is completely dependent on the sea. With the increase in the number of troops stationed, the originally heavy transportation lines have become even more overloaded. Food in cities is becoming increasingly short of food and people are unstable. Mobs snatching food can be seen everywhere. Although they try their best to suppress it, they are at risk of deterioration.
…
The plan of the coalition commander was to break out from Toulon, raid the rebel base along the Fortress of St. Antoine, seize the baggage warehousing in Oliul, and seize the supplies; then bypass the rebels stationed in Italy, meet with the Piedmont army, and garrison on the Durons River to spend the winter, and wait until the spring of the next year, and then recover the entire Provins Province for His Majesty Louis XVIII.
…
All of the above are the strategic analysis and action deployment formulated by the coalition command." The colonel's adjutant finally ended for more than half an hour of explanation.
"Thank you, my colonel. Now, let the generals express their opinions and opinions." Ohara seemed extremely generous, which was a bit unlike his previous arbitrary style.
"Please allow me to add that the commander-in-chief of the rebels has been replaced. An Oriental named Andrew has driven Dorpu away and is commanding the entire legion. Finally, I only represent His Majesty the King of France and his most loyal subjects. I am very grateful to the Commander-in-chief for his wise decision. I hope that the coalition forces can eliminate the rebels under your leadership, let the king's flag fly in Paris, let the nobles restore their legitimate rights and interests, and let the whole Europe get rid of the shadow of revolution and return to peace." The speaker was Lieutenant General Trogov, the commander of the French Mediterranean Fleet, who was hated by countless French people and sentenced to death by the revolutionary court, quickly interjected. The ugly appearance on his face made everyone present uncomfortable. Of course, General Ohara, who was flattered by him, was squinted happily, looking forward to the glory that was coming.
"Andrew, an Oriental, isn't he the former special envoy of the rebels? That guy from the Qing Dynasty. After hearing the introduction of merchants from the Oriental, they all like to hang a braid on the back of their heads, just like women. Haha, can such a person fight? I dare to swear in front of my mother's grave that the bastard named Andrew must be a coward. I only need one regiment to fight to his base." General Pinto of Naples said contemptuously and immediately resonated with other generals.
"Yes, I also heard about the quirks of that country." General Gonzalez of Spain followed.
"I would rather cut his braids." Gibrotto's commander also shouted, but his speech was obviously not welcomed by the Spanish. He turned his head and turned his back to the person who spoke. The damn lackey, Gonzalez cursed in his heart.
"Ha, it's a pity that as far as I know, the commander of the rebels has no braids. But the tail of a flea needs to be cut off." Torino commander Bronchi seized the opportunity to tease the Naples and spit out mean words.
Of course, the Turins had to mock the generals of Naples. First, the wars were often launched between the two Italian kingdoms. The Turins suffered a lot of losses because of their weak strength in primary and secondary, so they hated the king of talismans in front of them. Second, the Naples troops had failed one after another since the beginning of the Battle of Toulon, and fled back to the Toulon Fortress in terror; Third, they had a deep personal grudge with Pinto, which was the latter who had robbed his family's caravan. The national hatred and family hatred were intertwined, and Bronchi did not fight with it, because the British continued to provide money and goods.
"Bastard, are you scolding that?" The Naples were angry.
"No matter which one I say, he understands it himself." The Turin people didn't care.
"Cowardly Turin people, do you dare to duel with me?" The Naples stood up and prepared to catch Bronchi.
"Come on, I've been waiting for this day. I'm going to cut off your head and avenge my poor nephew." The Turin also jumped up, kicked the chair without being outdone, pulled out the sword, and pointed it straight at Pingtu.
It seemed that due to the influence of two Italian dog fights, the Spaniards began to face the Gibrottos. At first, the two sides were just looking at each other with hatred, and then they escalated. Both the Spaniards and the Gibrottos were about to draw their swords and confront each other.
The two fights will be staged at the same place and at the same time.
"Enough, enough, stop me, and I will order you in the name of the commander-in-chief." Ohara, who was in a very good mood just now, shouted furiously and called a few guards, "People come, take away their weapons for me. This conference room is not your fighting field."
At this time, the French traitor watching the battle heard the rebuke of the commander-in-chief and quickly stood up to help his master to appease the two pairs of troops. After losing his weapons, the generals of various countries finally surrendered to the majesty of the boss, hated the other side again before returning to their position in disappointment, and both vented their anger on the seat.
General Nelson, who sat on the side, was silent and quietly sitting in his position. At first, he was still listening to everyone's speeches, and from time to time his keen eyes glanced at the coalition commanders. Soon, he felt a little disappointed. The pragmatic fleet commander did not hear any constructive words, and even a decent opinion was not present. The speakers were all ignorant, arrogant and arrogant guys, especially his commander, who dressed like a commander, but what he said and did was not much better than the Naples who were betrayed by the human-headed and vicious Neapolis. Why did the Imperial Navy minister send him to Toulon to participate in the war and act as a subordinate of this embroidered pillow? Alas, I really regret coming to the meeting. Instead of listening to nonsense here, it would be better to go to the deck to watch the sailors' training. Now, I watched a wonderful civil and military campaign for free, and why did the French shells blow them all to death.
"General Nelson. Talk about your thoughts." Ohara calmed down a little and found a silent compatriot. Although he understood that the proud naval officer was not convinced or even disgusted with his leadership, Ohara had no other choice. Could it be that the four parties who were duel just now perform again?
"Commander-in-Chief, I have no objection. My mission is to eliminate the rebels' maritime fleet and ensure the smooth flow of Toulon and his allies. The former has been completed by General Trogov, and there are no obstacles to the subsequent tasks. But your combat plan is the behavior of infantry and artillery, and does not involve the fleet I command. If you want to say it, I just hope that you can strengthen your defense of the various fortresses and forts on the Rassein Peninsula. I dare to conclude that the real danger comes from there." Nelson did not want to say it, but for the sake of officer honor, he raised it straightforwardly.
"Fleet Commander, I'm asking you what you think about my offensive plan, not how to defend." Ohara was a little unhappy, thinking Nelson was making fun of himself.
"I still have no objection, Commander-in-Chief. However," Nelson wanted to continue, but was interrupted by his superior.
"Okay, in order to cooperate with my attack, I hope the general can dispatch 1,000 people to the ashore to cooperate in the battle." Ohara showed off and expressed his true purpose.
"Sorry, I can't. My soldiers are sailors, they can only stay on the boat and not go ashore. If you insist on my cooperation, you can carry all my warships to Oliul, so that the Mediterranean Fleet can do anything for you." Nelson was extremely annoyed when he heard someone's idea of attacking the officers and soldiers of the fleet, and he became ignorant of his words.
"You, you, are too presumptuous." The commander-in-chief was angry and excitedly couldn't speak. If his reason was not still there, he would have drawn his sword and asked for a duel.
"Okay, what are you dissatisfied with? Just tell the Secretary of the Navy. All the things you should say are finished. The fleet still has a lot of affairs waiting for me to deal with. Sorry again, I must leave the venue first." After a simple military salute, Nelson turned around and left. As soon as he left the door, he called the adjutant who was guarding the door and ordered: "End the daily training immediately, and all the officers and soldiers immediately conduct a comprehensive inspection of the fleet before the battle, and be ready to evacuate Toulon at any time if necessary. Damn, I always have a bad premonition these two days."
The despicable Ohara went wild again and cursed at the departure Nelson. However, when he finished scolding, he had enough scolded and was tired, he still issued a combat order: at dawn tomorrow, he personally led 3,000 British Army and 4,000 Naples troops to attack the French rebel base camp in the direction of Oliuer.
Chapter completed!