Joubert studied the topography around Alexandria on the way, immediately saying, "It seems Melas intends to attack Pavia to the north."
Napoleon, however, was somewhat hesitant.
He couldn't pinpoint the problem, but felt that everything was going a bit too smoothly.
This made him uncomfortable.
So he said to Garda, the cavalry camp leader, "Please send someone to carefully confirm the situation at the Bormida River, and then report back to me."
"Yes, Commander!"
Garda obeyed and personally took half a company of cavalry scouts to the east bank of the Bormida River.
Soon, through the telescope, he saw large groups of Austrian engineers busy at work, with the western bridge deck already gone, just as previously reported.
However, the trees near the riverbank made it hard to see clearly, so he risked approaching the riverbank for a closer inspection.
Yet, when he was still over a kilometer away from the northern bridge, cannon fire suddenly erupted from the Austrian positions.
