Chapter 813: The Last Three Hours
Among the French cavalry, a few who understood German heard the battalion commander's shout and immediately shouted together.
Grouchy had only intended to boost his own morale, but his shout unexpectedly produced remarkable results.
The Austrians had been truly frightened by Napoleon's previous victories.
Especially on their left flank, where nearly half the soldiers had fought at Toulon. They immediately remembered that every time the French suddenly attacked, they would quickly be defeated.
Thus, the "Toulon veterans" were the first to flee.
Seeing this, Melas's troop from Switzerland also believed they were about to be ambushed by a large French force, and they immediately turned to retreat.
In this manner, over seven thousand Austrian soldiers were driven into chaos by fewer than a thousand French Hussars, and the entire Austrian left wing began to collapse.
Ozeri responded swiftly, gathering all his troops to the north, which further intensified the defeat of his forces.
Melas's central army, seeing the French suddenly retreat, burst into joy and rushed into Sant'Illiano to report their victory.
Outside Marengo village, Melas almost simultaneously received reports that he had seized Sant'Illiano while his left flank was under a large-scale French attack.
These two pieces of news combined led him to only one conclusion—Sant'Illiano was abandoned by the French deliberately.
Their aim was to distract his forces and to strike from the north.
He hurriedly ordered Cervoni to lead all reserves to establish a defensive line northeast of Marengo and command his central and right-wing troops to retreat immediately to avoid being encircled.
At 1 PM, with formations ready for a decisive battle, Melas confirmed after repeated reconnaissance that only the existing less than 6,000 French troops and 1,000 auxiliaries were nearby.
He immediately became furious and ordered a renewed attack on Sant'Illiano.
But after such continuous back-and-forth, his soldiers were exhausted. It was only after 3 PM that they finally reached Ozeri's lines again.
Seeing the densely packed Austrian troops approaching, both Ozeri and Marmont felt an overwhelming sense of despair.
After fighting all morning, their forces had suffered heavy losses. Fewer than five thousand soldiers could still fight, and morale was plummeting.
Grouchy's cavalry battalion was still full of fighting spirit, but facing more than fifty thousand Austrians, they had no hope of victory.
It was clear that once the enemy launched a determined attack, their entire line would be breached.
Weary, Ozeri mounted his horse and rode before his soldiers, shouting at the top of his voice:
"In three and a half hours, darkness will fall. The night will force the Austrians to retreat.
"These last hours will determine the future of all northern Italy!
"I will stay here, near the enemy—together we will witness the future!"
"Listen—no one can defeat us!"
The exhausted French soldiers responded in unison:
"Yes, three more hours!"
"We will not be defeated!"
"Hold on…"
From afar, the Austrian attack horns sounded.
Soon, the infantry line of over fifteen thousand men from the Argenteau Corps appeared less than four hundred meters away. Under the cover of artillery, they advanced toward the French defenses.
Ozeri indeed kept his promise, standing firm amidst enemy bombardment, leading his men at the forefront.
His morale was bolstered by the support of his troops, and they successfully repelled the first attack wave led by Argenteau.
But on both flanks, over twenty thousand enemy soldiers were closing in for encirclement.
Two and a half hours remaining until nightfall...
Ozeri looked at the enemies advancing from the north. Although unwilling, he knew his troops had reached their limit and he could no longer hold on.
Just as he was about to consider retreat, distant cannon fire suddenly sounded from far to the north.
He froze. That range was beyond his line of defense.
There was only one explanation—someone was attacking the Austrian flank.
Reinforcements had arrived!
Indeed, the Austrian attack slowed down. Argenteau's corps began to regroup northward, leaving only a small number to hold Ozeri's forces.
Minutes later, Grouchy's cavalry charged into the scene with the long-awaited news: "It's Colonel Bonaparte! Our main force has arrived!"
Ozeri's troops cheered, and their lines, which had begun to break, quickly became orderly again.
Meanwhile, Melas was deeply anxious.
He had just received a report from Argentau that over twenty thousand French troops had emerged from the northwest.
Fortunately, Argentau responded quickly, adjusting his formation to avoid being flanked, and preventing the collapse of his wings.
Oseri tightly gripped his staff, then turned to Cervoni and said:
"You will lead the reserve army to support the north immediately."
"Yes, General."
Melas then looked toward the courier and ordered:
"Order the Argentau Corps to attack the French left from Castelceriolo.
"Colloi's corps will strike the enemy's right along the Bormida River.
"The Royal Moravian Cavalry will cooperate with General Cervoni's attack—crush the enemy before nightfall!"
All units were being pushed into the fight.
He didn't know how many reinforcements the French still had, so he must drive back the enemy as fast as possible and then march toward Lodi.
North of Marengo.
When Napoleon heard that Sant'Illiano was still in Ozeri's hands, he relaxed slightly.
On the way here, he had been blaming himself continuously.
He had misjudged Melas's movements, redeploying troops north of the Tanaro, giving the enemy an opportunity.
Fortunately, Ozeri had held for a day and a half, thwarting Melas's eastward advance. Without that, France's strategic situation would have deteriorated sharply—he would have had to storm Lodi, and once Wurmser's corps arrived in northern Italy, Austria would have an overwhelming troop advantage. Future battles would become impossible.
While Napoleon was lost in thought, Joubert's courier hurriedly rode up and reported loudly:
"Commander, over twenty thousand enemies are preparing to attack from the front! The colonel requests reinforcements immediately!"
Joubert's corps held the central front, with fewer than eight thousand men.
Napoleon was about to send the Moulins Corps when two more couriers arrived one after another:
"Commander, at least ten thousand enemies are advancing from Castelceriolo!"
"The Colloi Corps is flanking us on the right with about fifteen thousand troops!"
Napoleon frowned. Forty-five thousand Austrians attacking at once—Melas had thrown everything he had into this battle.
(END CHAPTER)
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