Chapter 138: The Second Peace Negotiation
"Inform Davout and Murot to rally the troops for another attack. This time, I don't want land; I want casualty figures!" Napoleon declared firmly.
"Yes, Prime Minister! I'll arrange it immediately," Muira nodded and promptly left.
On the front lines in Tyrol, the pursuit of the Austrian army by the French continued unabated. Despite the great victory at the Battle of Tyrol, where the French had routed the Austrians, there were still at least 60,000 to 70,000 Austrian stragglers remaining within the Italian territory. This represented a significant threat to Italian security, and the French were constantly seeking opportunities to eliminate them.
Recently, the peace negotiations between Napoleon and the Austrians had created such an opportunity. Napoleon decided to immediately intensify the attack on the Austrian stragglers. This would ensure Italian security and simultaneously exert pressure on the Austrians at the negotiating table, killing two birds with one stone.
...
Now, the remnants of the Austrian army were huddled together. A cavalry division and eight infantry divisions of the French had formed a encirclement around them. Although the encirclement was not completely tight, it was enough to trap the Austrians. Given their lack of war supplies, even if the French allowed them to retreat, they wouldn't have enough food to survive.
In order to minimize casualties, the French did not immediately launch an attack after surrounding the Austrian army. Instead, they concentrated all their artillery fire on the Austrian positions. Napoleon hoped that this method would continuously weaken the Austrian forces and also strike at their remaining morale.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Hundreds of cannons on the French lines roared, and shells whistled through the air toward the Austrian camp. Each explosion sent up bursts of orange fireballs in the Austrian camp. At this moment, the Austrian troops could only cower in their rudimentary fortifications, trembling and praying that the shells wouldn't land on their heads.
"It's been five days already. Can these Austrians hold out any longer? According to our estimates, they must have nearly exhausted their food supplies!" Moro, the commander of the Second Infantry Division, stood on the artillery position, observing the French bombardment through his binoculars, muttering to himself.
"General, the Austrians have run out of food, and their ammunition is also running low. So I believe they won't hold out much longer," a French officer reported.
Upon hearing the officer's words, Moro nodded. That was exactly his assessment as well.
"General, urgent orders from headquarters," at that moment, a staff officer hurriedly approached Moro. He handed over a letter anxiously.
"Orders from headquarters? What does Prime Minister Napoleon want from me?" Moro questioned, puzzled, as he received the letter. Then, he opened it and carefully read through its contents. However, as his gaze roamed back and forth across the letter, his expression grew increasingly grim. Eventually, his face became so dark it seemed like it could drip water.
"General, what's the matter?" seeing Moro's distress, a nearby officer inquired.
"England has sent someone to mediate. However, the Austrians have made outrageous demands. They not only demand our withdrawal from Italy but also demand one hundred million Austrian guilders in compensation," Moro angrily said, tearing the letter to pieces. The excessive demands made by the Austrians were evident from this.
"What? Are those Austrians out of their minds? Don't they realize that we have the upper hand now? How dare they make such demands? So, General, did Prime Minister Napoleon agree to their demands?" the French officer couldn't comprehend the situation upon hearing Moro's words.
"What do you think? How could Prime Minister Napoleon agree to such unreasonable demands? But these Austrians are truly audacious. Do they think we are easy to bully? But thankfully, Prime Minister Napoleon has given me the latest orders," Moro, filled with anger upon hearing the Austrians' outrageous demands, wished he could lead his soldiers to beat them up right now.
"All troops, listen up! We need to intensify our attack on these Austrians. Effective immediately, double the firepower from the artillery. Let's give these Austrians a good lesson," Moro commanded passionately.
The Italian War was the largest land-based conflict since the 19th century, involving the two most powerful land armies in Europe, France and Austria. Therefore, from the outset, this war captured the attention of the entire European populace. While it appeared to be a conflict solely between France and Austria, in reality, many other countries were passively involved. The most typical example is Britain.
On one hand, Austria was Britain's ally on the continent, and the British did not want to see the Austrians suffer too much in this battle. On the other hand, the strength of the French army aroused fear among the British. With France now at the gates of Rome and Naples, which was a pro-British nation, many Britons feared that if provoked, the French might launch an offensive against Naples without any regard. This was something nobody wanted to see.
Therefore, the British had been hoping to mediate in this war. Only by achieving a ceasefire at this moment would be most beneficial to Britain.
Thus, in this strange scenario in Italy, where the French and Austrians, as the belligerents, showed little interest in ending the war, it was the British, who were not directly involved, running around trying to halt the conflict.
If an uninformed observer saw this, they might actually believe that the British were genuinely striving for peace.
So, less than three days after the previous peace negotiations collapsed, Sir Tom, the British diplomat, once again arrived at the French command headquarters for negotiations.
"Napoleon, it's a pleasure to see you again. I hope I'm not interrupting your afternoon tea," Sir Tom approached Napoleon gently and respectfully.
"No, no, not at all. Sir, what brings you here this time?" Napoleon was pleased by the Britishman's courtesy, sensing respect in his actions. This was the prowess of British diplomats; they always found ways to build rapport regardless of the circumstances.
In the process of becoming the Empire where the sun never sets, many believed the credit belonged solely to the navy. However, at least half of the accolades should be attributed to British diplomats. The maturity of British foreign policy led to the emergence of numerous outstanding diplomats. They contributed tirelessly to British actions. During the era of Napoleon's conquests in Europe, it was through the efforts of British diplomats that the historical six anti-French alliances were formed, ultimately defeating Napoleon.
"Prime Minister Napoleon, after our persuasion, the Austrians have agreed to lower some of their demands," Sir Tom said with a smile. However, his smile appeared somewhat forced. Clearly, even if the Austrians agreed to make concessions, their retreat was likely quite limited.
"Oh? Sir, I wonder what the new demands from the Austrian side are?" Napoleon asked with interest, curious about what kind of concessions the Austrians would offer.
"After our persuasion, the Austrians are willing to make some concessions. However, due to their significant losses on the battlefield, they demand that France must compensate them. They have reduced their demand from the previous 100 million Austrian guilders to 80 million," Sir Tom said, staring at Napoleon, awaiting his response. He hoped Napoleon would give a positive reply, but he knew the likelihood was small.
The likelihood was as small as the entire Royal Navy fleet being submerged by the waves tomorrow.
Upon hearing this, Napoleon was stunned. At that moment, he doubted his own ears. Was this considered a concession by the Austrians? They reduced it by only 20 million guilders, and this was supposed to be a concession? Besides, France was the victorious side; where in the world was it reasonable for the victor to pay reparations to the defeated?