Isola della Scala - 3 April 1848, Mid Morning
The General Staff meeting had been introduced by Ferdinando at the beginning of the mobilization: after a couple of months it was still much of a work in progress. There were more a dozen people around the big table in the ballroom of Villa Pindemonte, and Ferdinando looked at them one by one: Henri d'Orleans, Gen. Bava, Major Carlo Griffino of the Bersaglieri (1), Major Luciano Manara (2) of the Lombard Volunteers, colonel Giuseppe Montanelli (3) of the Tuscan Student Volunteers (still with his left arm in a sling after being wounded in Trentino), general Carlo of Bourbon-Parma (a late addition decided by Ferdinando not without some doubts), Frigate Captain Emilio Graziani (4) of the Republic of St. Mark, Captain Augusto di Cavour (promoted again, and aide-de-camp to the Prince), a handful of majors and captains recently added to the General Staff and to the Quartermaster Staff and...
"Welcome to Villa Pindemonte, gen. Menabrea (5)" The Prince smiled warmly at his old teacher and friend "I am quite happy to see you here, you're just the man I need. I will need to speak to you later about the political situation in the Cispadanian Duchies, but let me also tell you that you are hereby appointed Quartermaster General: I need a reliable man in charge of supply and logistics issues: the next phase of the war is going to put even more pressure on us, since it will be fought in Eastern Friuli and Dalmatia".
A hubbub of surprised comments around the table: Friuli was not a surprise, the advance guard of De Sonnaz's Corps had almost reached Udine, but Dalmatia was quite a surprise.
"We will deal with Friuli and Dalmatia later on, though. As of now, I would ask you to put me abreast of the situation in Veneto and Trentino".
Henri nodded to gen. Bava, who stood and used a wooden pointer to indicate on a large map spread on the table:
"The main concentration of Austrian troops, around 10-12,000 strong, is holed up in Verona. They have been very quiet for the duration, and never tried to sortie from the city, not even when we called for the surrender of Peschiera, which yielded two days ago.
It was a wise decision for them, since they couldn't hope to prevail, given our concentration of troops at the Ponte di Zevio on the south of Verona and at Valeggio, between Peschiera and Verona on the north. We are currently negotiating the surrender of Legnago and Mantua, the two southernmost fortresses of the Quadrilateral. Legnago could have been stormed easily, an old fortress which couldn't put up a serious resistance. Mantua is much stronger, but the Austrian garrison is less than 5,000 men, and couldn't held the perimeter of the fortress. I anticipate that both fortresses will surrender within a few days. At this stage, we control both the crossing of the Po near Mantua and the road to the Brenner pass, along the western shore of lake Garda. Our troops have entered Trentino, under gen. Alfonso Lamarmora, and have advanced without encountering serious resistance up to Trento, which is in our hands. Unfortunately, a further advance northward was stopped north of Salorno, some 30 km short of Bolzano, where our advance guard was ambushed by Austrian Jaegers shooting from the woods and a couple of batteries on the slopes of Monte Corno. I have to commend the behavior of the Student Volunteer Regiment, which charged with bayonets the Jaegers in the wood, and allowed the advance guard to retreat to Salorno. Colonel Montanelli here " a respectful nod in his direction " was wounded leading the countercharge".
"That was very well done, colonel Montanelli. I spoke with some of your students in Zevio just yesterday, and they impressed me with their courage as well as with their respect for you".
"I thank Your Highness on behalf of my volunteers".
Gen. Bava took up again the narrative: "Gen. Lamarmora is confident that he can force the narrows north of Salorno, but he will need more men and guns".
"Tell him to stop, and fortify the position at Salorno. I am not sending more men into that meat grinder, the more so since I am sure that the Austrians will have fortified their positions by now. It would have been nice to push up to the Brenner pass, but there's not any real strategic gain to be achieved. We control the road to the Brenner, no Austrian army can march down to relieve the garrison in Verona, and this is what it matters. It would have also been nice if Gen. Lamarmora had deployed scouts in advance, to avoid being mousetrapped, but that's spilt milk."
"I will convey the message and your orders, Your Highness. Now, looking at the east, we are controlling all significant bridges and crossings on the Adige and the Piave rivers. The population is friendly, and we have liaised with the provisional governments of Treviso and Belluno: the supply situation is a bit tight, but manageable. Our advance guard has crossed the Tagliamento, securing the bridges, and is expected to be in Udine and Palmanova day after tomorrow.
The reinforcements ordered by Your Highness have started the march 2 days ago, and should start the crossing of the Adige right now.
No organized Austrian troops appear to be present west of Isonzo, but general Nugent is reported to be in Gorizia with 12-15,000 men".
"Very well." The prince started speaking again " The information I gathered in Venice matches pretty well with your report. The fortress of Palmanova is held by insurgents, and it is important that our troops are ready to support them if necessary. Udine has declared its willingness to rejoin the Republic of Saint Mark, and the same has been done by the other cities of Veneto and Friuli. General Durando has crossed into Veneto, and is marching towards Friuli with 6,000 regulars and 4,000 volunteers: I met him in Venice, and we are in agreement on the strategy to be implemented. General d'Orleans, you will be in command of the eastern front. Secure bridgeheads across the Isonzo if possible, but refrain from attacking entrenched enemy positions. You will have numerical superiority, so you'll be able to feint and threaten to encircle them. I spoke early of logistics: they will come by sea, which means that you'll need to secure a good harbor. Monfalcone should do the trick, given the sea superiority that the Serenissima is enjoying, and the fact that Nugent cannot cover it without leaving his secure hole in Gorizia. If the situation is well in hands, you are authorized to send probing forces towards Trieste and Istria, the Venetian navy will support amphibious operations. Don't forget, however, that your main objective is to keep general Nugent bottled in Gorizia, and to defeat him if he tries to leave the city. Liaise with Gen. Durando when he arrives: he was a Sardinian officer until a few years ago, there will be no difficulty. Liaise also with the irregulars in Cadore as well as in Udine: they can protect the mountainside, provide you with guides, conduct raids in Austrian territory. General di Borbone, you'll be under the command of general d'Orleans. Your lancers will be very useful for scouting and raiding, but no cavalry charges unless d'Orleans orders it.
Last war theatre: Dalmatia. After the successful mutiny in Pola, a squadron of brigs was sent to Zara, to assess the situation in Dalmatia: they took the harbor by stealth, neutralized the harbor batteries and secured the other ships there. The day after they supported the insurgents in the city, and now Zara is free. The same brigs raised the flag of insurrection all along the coast: Sebenico, Spalato, Trau, Ragusa, Pregasto have been freed, with little or no resistance from the small Austrian garrisons. The Serenissima and the kingdom of Sardinia have joined forces to secure the freedom of Dalmatia, and general Durando has agreed to join this fight, sending a mixed force of regulars and volunteers to Zara under general Ferrari (6). Venetian ships are transporting them across the Adriatic. General Alessandro Lamarmora and two regiments of Bersaglieri have also departed for Zara. Gen. Lamarmora will command this theatre, and will operate in accordance with the political instructions of Signor Tommaseo, Provveditore per la Dalmazia. Some 7,000 volunteers from the papal States have remained in Ferrara, as a strategic reserve: they may be shipped to Friuli or to Dalmatia, or to... Never mind, to Friuli or Dalmatia, as I said, depending on how the events unfold.
We are coming close to achieving a victory that no one could anticipate or even hope: I have the utmost confidence in you all
Footnotes:
- Captain Griffino fought with distinction at Goito IOTL; he does the same ITTL, and is promoted to Major
- Major Luciano Manara, Milanese patriot and insurgent. OTL he died in 1849, gallantly fighting in the defense of the Roman Republic against the French troops of gen. Oudinot. ITTL his future may be more rewarding
- Giuseppe Montanelli, university professor and moderate democrat, commanding the Student Volunteers regiment. IOTL he was wounded at the battle of Curtatone and Montanara, where the Volunteers stopped Radetzki's attempt to relieve the garrison of Peschiera. ITTL he's still wounded, but in Trentino
- Emilio Graziani, fictional brother of captain Leone Graziani, who is in the provisional government of the Republic of Saint Mark
- Luigi Federico Menabrea, Commander of the Military Academy in Turin. Well known artillerist and sapper. He's back from a tour of the duchies of Parma and Modena
- General Andrea Ferrari, an old war horse who started his career in the Napoleonic war, and subsequently fought all over Europe and North Africa with distinction. He's in charge of the volunteers, since he's a fervent democrat