There were several routes that Suvorov's army could take to intervene in Switzerland. Farthest east was the route past Lake Como and over the Maloja Pass, though it involved a large detour. The next route farther west was over the Splügen Pass at elevation. Both of these routes could accommodate wagons and cannons. The route farthest to the west was across the Simplon Pass. The good road over it was not built until 1805. Suvorov decided to take the Gotthard Pass because it offered a well-known and direct route to a rendezvous with Korsakov and Hotze. The pass had a pack road which could be used by a mule train, but wagons and medium cannons were out of the question. The Gotthard Pass was known to be occupied by the French and it appealed to Suvorov's instinct for direct action. The Allies hoped to assault the Gotthard Pass as early as 19 September.