Descending On France 1780

The red troops, they belong to the Italians.

This color was personally designated by Frost.

Initially, the Italians wanted to change the color, but as Frost became more formidable in battle and his fame grew, plus the Italian economy began to improve under his consolidation, raising the living standard of the common people, the issue of changing colors was never brought up again.

Now, the mighty red army marched with great momentum.

Several officers of the Red Army rode their horses to Massena, dismounted, and saluted, "General, the combined forces of the Italian Sardinian, Milanese, and Venetian troops await your orders."

"This is our French war; you don't need to get involved," Massena said with his hands behind his back. "You have no obligation to participate."

The red-coated colonel shook his head: "We do, General. Frost has said that our freedom must be defended by ourselves, and we no longer wish to be ruled by the Austrians. We Italians aspire to an independent nation, a country for the Italian people!

"We must be able to resist the Austrian troops without relying on France."

The red-coated colonel paused, then added, "And achieve the ability to resist France without depending on anyone else, so we can experience true freedom. Therefore, we must get used to war, learn the art of war."

Massena pursed his lips, asking, "What's your name?"

"Giovanni Domenico Garibaldi, once a captain, living in the Sardinian Kingdom. Frankly, I'm not yet adept at commanding troops on land, please give me a chance to practice!"

Massena nodded, "Alright, you'll have that opportunity. I'll also be frank with you; we do indeed lack sufficient force to deal the enemy one final blow. How many men do you have?"

"An entire fifty thousand, General," Giovanni declared proudly, standing tall, "All men from Northern Italy, we long to stain our bayonets with the blood of the Austrians!"

Massena: "Oh? So should I regard your forces as a new army made up of citizens, or an army from the old Kingdom?"

No sooner had these words fallen than someone in the passing troops loudly exclaimed, "We are free citizens!"

Then a burst of echoes from the Italian troops: "Yes! Citizens!"

"Let us advance in skirmish formation; we will surely not retreat!"

It seems that Frost's theory about citizen armies not easily crumbling is now well known in Italy.

Massena: "Empty words are useless; we will soon find out what kind of troops you are! Chief of Staff, arrange their engagement in the assault."

The Chief of Staff immediately saluted, "Understood! Rest in place for now; officers, come with me."

**

About an hour later, the Italians joined the attack.

Watching the red line of the Italian formation advance, Massena suddenly quipped, "Imagine if Austria goes republican in the future, and they field a troop in white uniforms, could we then set up our attacking formation in the colors of the national flag?

"The French Army on the left flank, the Austrians in the center, the Italians on the right, what do you think?"

The Chief of Staff laughed outright, "That's a sight I'd love to see; it would certainly scare every Monarch in Europe into wetting their pants."

Massena also laughed heartily, and just then, he heard singing drifting from the Italian lines.

"Singing too... they've learned this as well."

When attacking, the French Army likes to sing, a tradition started by Frost, typically, they would sing Hymn of Rome.

However, the song the Italians were singing was quite upbeat, not as majestic as the Hymn of Rome.

The Chief of Staff listened carefully and commented, "It's a tune you came up with, sir, seems to be about an Italian soldier bidding farewell to his woman."

Massena: "Typical Italians, can't forget about women even when heading into battle."

The Chief of Staff glanced at Massena; the entire French Army knew Massena was a womanizer who would seek out beautiful girls for sleep upon arriving at a new place.

It was even a cheeky joke among the troops that if you needed to find the General urgently in the morning, just knock on the doors of all the widows in town, and you'd be sure to find him.

But the Chief of Staff didn't mock the General.

Massena: "Oh, the Austrians have started firing, good, there is no sign of wavering from the Italians. However, whether they are a Citizen Army or not will be judged by their performance in a bayonet fight."

The hallmark of the French Army was that its skirmishers wouldn't rout and they didn't fear bayonet combat, having won against the Austrians many times with bayonets.

The Italian Red Line charged the Austrian positions, and the bloody bayonet fight began.

It seemed the Austrian Army had also developed a resistance to bayonet charges; they didn't immediately retreat, and the red and white forces became intertwined on the battlefield.

Finally, the white retreated.

Massena clenched his fist: "Good! Very good! The Italians are indeed competent! Far more so than the Austrians! Continue the attack! Take back all the remaining positions!"

However, as soon as Massena had spoken, he saw people start to run back from the remaining Austrian positions.

"What the hell?" Massena muttered in confusion.

Chief of Staff: "Perhaps seeing so many fresh Italian troops join the battle has finally broken their morale?"

**

At this moment, the Austrians were shouting:

"It's red! The red legions of Rome! The Roman Legions have come!"

Indeed, Austrian soldiers who had been stationed in Italy for a long time, even the poorly educated brutes, knew that the Roman Legions were red.

Moreover, logically, if the Roman Legions appeared, that man should also be there.

"Frost! Frost is here with the legions of Rome to attack us! We can't win, run for it!"

"Our army is defeated, our army is defeated!"

And just like that, the Austrians retreated!

Massena couldn't fathom that he had won in such a manner!

**

At Schönbrunn Palace, Franz II's face turned green as he received the report.

"Frost appearing in Italy? Impossible, Alvizi had reported that he was by the Danube River! How did he get to Italy?"

The disheartened Austrian commander in Italy said, "But my soldiers saw Frost's Eagle Flag, and the Roman Legions."

Franz looked up, glaring fiercely at him: "What legions?"

"The Roman Legions..."

Franz turned doubtfully to look at the Holy Roman Empire's double-headed eagle emblem hanging on the wall of his office.

"Tell me again, which legions?"

"The Roman Legions!"

Franz grabbed a globe from the table and threw it to the ground: "I am the Emperor of the Roman Empire! My legions are the Roman Legions!"

The Italian legion commander hesitated to speak.

Franz burst out angrily: "Are you trying to say that we are neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire? Is that what you want to say?"

Imperial Chancellor: "He didn't say that..."

"He clearly meant to!"