6. Bluff and Brains When Brawn Won’t Do
French generals Lannes and Murat casually ambled to the Tabor Bridge, and behaved in a carefree manner. As confused Austrian guards aimed their muskets at their breasts, Murat and Lannes laughed and expressed their pleasure at the “just concluded” armistice and peace treaty. Once they reached the bridge’s far side, still seemingly without a care in the world, the French generals asked to see Count Auersperg, and wondered if he had already gone to attend the peace signing ceremony. As a messenger was sent to fetch Auersperg, Lannes and Murat chatted with the guards to divert their attention from the French soldiers casually crossing the bridge. An Austrian sergeant correctly suspected that Murat and Lannes were trying to pull a fast one, so he lit the fuse to the rigged explosives in order to blow up the bridge.
