Chapter 99: Vasily Surrenders

"Bang!" A loud explosion rang out.

At this moment, French soldiers ignited the cannons, and the shells flew towards the terrified Austrian soldiers. Upon impact, a huge explosion occurred, demolishing both soldiers and the city gate.

"Charge! Attack into the city!" 

After breaking through the city gate, all French soldiers were excited. They shouted as they stormed into the city, swearing to kill all the Austrians.

The French were now so enraged by the massive casualties that they no longer cared about surrender. Any Austrian who dared to resist would be killed on the spot or obliterated along with their positions by artillery.

The frenzied French assault filled the Austrians with fear from the depths of their hearts. Combined with their successive defeats, the morale of the Austrian army had been greatly affected.

Subsequently, in the following battles, the remaining Austrian forces were completely trapped in a church within the city.

"Stop the attack! Send someone over to negotiate their surrender," commanded General Lannes on the battlefield. He gestured repeatedly to cease the assault. While he could have easily annihilated this unit, doing so would unquestionably cause unnecessary casualties among his own troops.

"The losses today are already too great. There's no need to send more soldiers to their deaths."

"In addition, do not rest during this period. Go inform the artillery to move the cannons here. If the enemy refuses to surrender, we'll conduct a direct artillery bombardment and eliminate the Austrians," Lannes continued, issuing his orders.

"Yes!" A French diplomat received Lannes' orders. After a brief preparation, he raised the white flag and began to slowly walk towards the Austrian position.

Inside the church, all Austrian soldiers gathered there, each wearing a look of despondency. Some even sat there dumbfounded without their weapons.

"General, we have no way out," reported Vasily's adjutant inside the church.

"General, what should we do next?" asked Vasily's staff officer. Shortly before, Archduke Karl had returned to Venice. Therefore, Vasily was now the highest commander inside the city.

"Ah..." Vasily sighed helplessly upon hearing this. Originally, he felt a sense of relief when Karl left because it meant that Tunnay would now be under his control.

But now Vasily realized that Karl had treated him as a pawn. Karl knew that Thun would likely not hold, so he handed it over to Vasily to deplete the French forces. Poor Vasily, he was sold out and ended up counting money for others!

"General Vasily, a French envoy is coming over. It seems they want to negotiate," Vasily's adjutant suddenly spoke, just as Vasily was resenting his own foolishness.

"Negotiate?" Vasily immediately stood up and looked outside, indeed seeing a man in French military uniform waving a white flag approaching.

"Let him in. I want to see what Napoleon wants to talk to me about," Vasily said.

At this point, he was cornered and did not want to die in vain, so talking to the French might be the only option.

Inside the church, all Austrian generals gathered together, their eyes tightly fixed on the incoming French diplomat. They wanted to know what the French could possibly want at this stage.

"Who are you? What are you here for?" Vasily asked coldly, addressing the man in front of him.

"I'm Thor, a French diplomat. I'm here today under the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte to negotiate with you," said Thor, the French diplomat, confidently facing the daunting Austrian military.

"Negotiate? What for? Both armies are already in a fierce battle. What's there to negotiate at this point?" one of the Austrian commanders, seemingly a colonel, responded.

"You're right! The two armies are fighting fiercely, causing heavy losses on both sides. But that's exactly why I'm here today. The losses have been enough. It's time to put an end to this meaningless spectacle," Thor said slowly.

"What does Napoleon intend to do?" Vasily asked after a moment of contemplation. He knew he was now a trapped animal, with hardly any room for negotiation. If Napoleon wasn't worried about heavy casualties from a direct assault, he might not have even considered negotiating.

"Napoleon Bonaparte hopes for your unconditional surrender. Of course, after surrendering, we will ensure your safety and dignity. Once the war is over, we will release you immediately," Thor replied to Vasily's inquiry, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

Napoleon's guess was right—Vasily's determination to resist was not strong. This increased Thor's chances of persuading him significantly.

"What? Unconditional surrender! How is that possible!"

"Frenchman, you are insulting us."

"Dream on if you think we'll surrender."

Upon hearing Thor's words, all the Austrian officers present became immediately agitated. They began accusing and verbally assaulting Thor. Some even raised their weapons, intending to kill Thor outright.

Watching the Austrian officers in front of him get worked up, Thor's expression remained unchanged. He knew these men were just venting their incompetence. It was nothing serious.

"General Vasily, I believe you understand the current situation. At this point, negotiations are the best option. I forgot to mention—our cannons outside the church are ready. If your forces do not agree, we will have no choice but to open fire," Thor said calmly, looking at the Austrian officers. The might of the French army was his confidence.

"General Vasily, please decide quickly. We have one hour before our troops will commence the attack. By then, we may no longer have a chance to negotiate," Thor added.

"The French are going to attack! They have brought their cannons," one of the officers exclaimed.

"Damn it, this is a French trick. They pretend to negotiate with us, but in reality, they are buying time to deploy their cannons," the Austrian commanders inside the church became increasingly agitated. Outside the church, the sight of the menacing French cannons turned their faces pale. The church was no match for the bombardment of the French artillery.

"Sigh!" Seeing this, General Vasily sighed in resignation.

...

That evening, General Vasily, the Austrian commander, stepped out of the church, representing the last over 10,000 Austrian troops defending Mantua, to surrender to the French.

In the end, Vasily did not have the courage to die for his country. He was a count of the Austrian Empire, raised in luxury from a young age—how could he bear to die? His only hope now was to wait for the war to end and for Napoleon to fulfill his promise to release him. After he returned, he knew he could no longer hold high military positions like now, but over the years, he had accumulated considerable wealth, so he would not have to worry about food and clothing in the future.

With the surrender of the Austrian army, the Battle of Mantua ended. In this battle, the French casualties exceeded 18,000, nearly the loss of two infantry divisions. The French losses were mainly due to urban combat, which also gave them a wealth of experience in urban warfare. The next time they fought in urban areas, they would not be as embarrassed as they were now.

Of the 50,000 Austrian defenders in Mantua, apart from more than 12,000 who surrendered, the rest were all killed. After Vasily surrendered, all Austrian troops in the city lost their command, and scattered Austrian troops had no more resistance. Eventually, they walked out of their positions and surrendered to Napoleon.

With Milan and Mantua falling into French hands one after another, the situation of the Austrian army in Italy became even more critical. Napoleon had taken control of the situation in this battle.