"Chapter 130: Trapping Turtles in a Jar 2"

"Damn it! How could this happen? Didn't I already instruct him? Kacha is crucial, there must be no loss whatsoever. How could it still be attacked by the French? Quickly, summon Anatoli to see me," Grand Duke Karl almost shouted out these words.

"Grand Duke!" Shortly after, a disheveled Austrian officer arrived at Karl's headquarters. This man was Colonel Anatoli, the commander of Kacha.

"Anatoli, what exactly happened? Tell me truthfully, was Kacha attacked by the French?" Karl's emotions instantly surged upon seeing Anatoli, and he grabbed the colonel's collar, questioning him intensely.

"Grand Duke, we were subjected to a fierce attack by the French cavalry. Kacha has fallen completely; all our supplies in the city have been destroyed by the French," Colonel Anatoli reported to Karl.

"What? Anatoli, you idiot! How did you defend Kacha? You let it be attacked by the French. What am I supposed to do with my two hundred thousand army now? Let them all starve?" Karl roared.

"Duke, I... I..." Anatoli tried to explain further, but Karl rudely interrupted him.

"Anatoli, you don't need to say anything more. If you want to explain, go to the military court and explain yourself," Karl waved his hand, and immediately two guards stepped forward to apprehend Anatoli.

"No... Please, Grand Duke, give me another chance..." Anatoli, now in the grasp of the guards, pleaded desperately, shaking his head and shouting, trying to change Karl's mind. But as he was pulled farther away, Karl remained silent.

"Grand Duke, what should we do now? Should we continue the attack on Tournai?" General Othmar asked.

The other commanders, faces full of fear, also stared at Grand Duke Karl, knowing what it meant once the supply line was cut off. Though there were still over two hundred thousand Austrian troops gathered under Tournai, without weapons, ammunition, and food, they had no way to continue fighting.

"We must attack. We must launch an attack. If we don't take Tournai, we are finished. Only by taking Tournai can we obtain supplies from the French. Only after getting the French supplies can we continue fighting!" Grand Duke Karl shouted loudly.

For Austria, it seemed they had reached their last resort. If they couldn't succeed, they were doomed.

Immediately afterwards, Archduke Charles quickly unified his thoughts and reinforced the march towards Turin. In order to break through the French defense lines, Archduke Charles nearly committed all of his main forces. Except for a small number of troops left to guard the camp, the rest of the army joined the attack.

This placed immense pressure on the French forces. Despite Turin's fortifications, it was still just a city, and each Austrian assault, with fifty thousand troops thrown into the fray, formed a sea of humanity. Now, the Austrian army was putting forth its utmost effort, demonstrating just how fierce their assault was.

The fierce Austrian attacks created enormous pressure, which was fully felt by the French defenders in Turin. Every soldier on the French lines had already given their all, yet despite this, the defenses of Turin were on the brink of collapse.

"Send out all the troops! In this battle, we must withstand the Austrian assault. Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain," Napoleon said solemnly inside the command post. He knew that Austria was now fighting desperately, and the French army must do the same, or they would be unable to stop Archduke Charles's attacks.

"When will Muira and Desaix's reinforcements arrive?" Napoleon immediately asked.

"Sir, I have already contacted Generals Desaix and Muira. They will definitely arrive by early evening," replied Lannes.

"Good, tell Desaix and Muira to hasten their pace," nodded Napoleon. If Muira and Desaix arrived, they would bring over ninety thousand fresh troops, which would be extremely helpful in surrounding the Austrians.

Austria's all-out attack put the French defenses under fierce pressure. Numerous Austrian soldiers, led by junior officers, launched fearless attacks. However, their assaults were doomed to fail. Faced with the powerful firepower of the French, launching a densely packed attack was nothing short of suicide.

The battle continued unabated, with neither side willing to retreat, until evening.

By evening, French cavalry finally appeared outside Turin. Muira's cavalry charged forward, with Desaix's infantry division closely following behind them.

At this moment, all available French forces were mobilized, posing a significant threat to the Austrian army's rear. If the Austrians continued to focus their main forces on the attack on Turin, their own homeland could be at risk of being taken. In that case, the Austrian army would be doomed.

"General, the French, the French cavalry is here. They're coming from all sides, it's all French cavalry," a junior officer burst into the tent, his face full of fear as he reported to Archduke Charles.

"What? French cavalry? How is that possible? Where did the French get cavalry from? Could it be that the French reinforcements have arrived?" Charles exclaimed.

The ninety thousand French reinforcements had always been his concern. Despite the Austrian army's main attack at the Turin battlefield, and breaking through two French defense lines in succession, his vigilance had not diminished.

He knew that the French reinforcements were like hungry wolves. Once Austria showed weakness, they would immediately come to Turin and launch an attack.

"Damn it! Order the entire army to prepare for retreat!" Charles couldn't afford to delay any longer and immediately issued the order. He knew that his main forces were all fiercely attacking Turin, and now he had only a guard regiment by his side, which was no match for the French troops.

However, Charles still underestimated this French force. Now, his troops had become the main target of the French cavalry attack. Not only were Muira's cavalry deployed, but also Desaix's ninety thousand reinforcements, which had surrounded them from all sides, aiming to annihilate Charles completely.

"General, there are too many French cavalry, more than three times our number. We simply can't break through!" a major general reported to Archduke Charles. He was the commander of Charles's guard regiment.

"Even if we can't break through, we must! Otherwise, we are doomed. Since we can't break through to the east, then we must go north!" Archduke Charles said grimly.

Originally, he had wanted to break through to the east. In that case, he could escape from here and return to Venice.

However, the east was naturally the main area where the French were defending. It was impossible for Charles to escape back to Austria. In this situation, Charles had no choice but to change the direction of the breakout.

Heading north from here would lead to the neutral country of Switzerland, where he could return to Austria from Switzerland.

"Ratatat! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

French soldiers continued to fire incessantly at the Austrian army, a steel storm of dense bullets and shells enveloping Archduke Charles's guard regiment, exacting a heavy toll on the Austrian troops.

Attempting to break through, the Austrians collided with an invisible wall, resulting in severe casualties.

"Ratatat! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

French soldiers fired at the Austrian army, a steel storm of dense bullets and shells enveloping Archduke Charles's guard regiment, directly inflicting heavy casualties on the Austrian troops.

Attempting to break through, the Austrians collided with an invisible wall, resulting in severe injuries.

"Neigh!"

Before dying, the horses neighed, with numerous shot horses screaming and collapsing to the ground. Austrian cavalry on horseback were thrown off and turned into mincemeat by the charging horses from behind.

Countless Austrians were thrown by the shock waves from the exploding shells, their feet trapped in the stirrups, causing their panicked horses to gallop wildly, dragging the Austrian cavalrymen to their deaths.