Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1319 - 1224: Intimate Allied Forces Comrades
Chapter 1319: Chapter 1224: Intimate Allied Forces Comrades
The already faltering Russian Army frontline utterly collapsed under this heavy blow.
Four to five thousand soldiers screamed and ran in disarray, but the French Army’s columns continued to fire round after round with mechanical precision.
A large number of Russian soldiers suddenly fell forward while running, which terrified those who narrowly escaped death; their malnourished bodies astonishingly ran at competitive levels.
Vorotov, knowing his soldiers’ habits well, immediately abandoned the idea of regrouping the routed troops and fled toward the rear with a dozen guards.
Two kilometers to the east, Suvorov listened to his staff reporting the still-formulated unit numbers, occasionally interrupting them to issue orders: “These two regiments equipped with British muskets, place them in the center…”
“Yasov’s regiment is down to half its soldiers, let it be the reserve force…”
Under his strong organizational command, the Russian Army’s vanguard that withdrew earlier started reorganizing, even forming battle lines on the southern side.
Just then, the bedraggled Vorotov arrived in haste under the guard’s protection.
Suvorov didn’t even ask him how the battle went; he immediately shouted to the order officer: “Order Hanasky’s and Marlenik’s regiments to hold their ground and intercept the enemy. Everyone else, regroup immediately, abandon all baggage vehicles, and head to Wiedensville.”
He muttered softly, “God, I hope it’s not too late.”
Vorotov’s corps lasted only about an hour before collapsing, prompting Suvorov to reevaluate the combat effectiveness of the French Army confronting him.
The assessment was that with his own disordered army, it was absolutely impossible to stop them.
The best option was to swiftly cross the southern part of the town before the French Army in Wiedensville reacted, then move north between Lake Zurich and Lake Valen’s narrow flatlands.
Once they reached the north side of Lake Zurich, they could return to Innsbruck via the St. Gallen Pass.
An hour and a half later, Suvorov rushed eastward with over twenty thousand Russian soldiers.
However, Sailu Li’er’s response time exceeded his expectations.
That afternoon, his cavalry at the front crashed into the French defense line.
Unable to attempt a breakthrough—Massena’s Army was immediately pursuing from behind—any delay in engaging Sailu Li’er would trap him in a pincer assault.
He frowned in thought for a moment, then told the order officer, “Turn the whole army south.”
Vorotov exclaimed in shock, “Marshal, sir, the south leads to Lake Lucerne. We’ll have no way out.”
Suvorov glanced at him and turned his reins, “By timing calculations, the Blucher Corps should be crossing the lake now.
“Now he must retreat, while we can use the Prussian boats to head to the south of Lake Lucerne.”
Of course, subsequently, he and Blucher would also be blocked by the French Army in Altendorf, but that was better than being completely annihilated here.
The Allied Forces behind would undoubtedly try to rescue them, still giving them a considerable chance to break free.
On the other side, the ten thousand Russian soldiers commanded by Rosenberg had only walked less than five kilometers when a French infantry brigade cut them off.
Disinterested in fighting, he left two to three thousand as cannon fodder for the French and kept fleeing towards Schilren.
However, suddenly fire bursts flickered on the small hill ahead, and a dozen cannonballs swept through his ranks.
The mobile speed of the French Cavalry Artillery Battalion was astonishing, bypassing directly to his front.
The Russian army immediately started panicking, as cannons typically indicated the presence of enemy main forces nearby.
In fact, at that time, only one regiment of dragoons, merely 1500 men, was covering the Cavalry Artillery Battalion.
But Rosenberg, seeing his soldiers uncontrollable and glancing at the French Army behind, ordered his staff to take his sword and surrender to the French.
Meanwhile, between the mountains on the west side, Gorchakov fortunately escaped the interception of the French Army—as the north-south-oriented ridge shielded him, the hot air balloon on the east side conveniently couldn’t spot him.
Aside from over a thousand rear guard infantry caught by the French, Gorchakov’s corps succeeded in escaping the Reuss River basin by the afternoon the next day, entering Alo City a day later.
By then, he still had eight to nine thousand soldiers by his side.
…
West of Altendorf.
Blucher was loudly scolding his soldiers, urging them to speed up.
Due to food shortages, for nearly a week, his soldiers could only eat two-thirds of the usual black bread and potatoes, then fill their stomachs with clover seized from Swiss villagers.
This weakened their physical strength, taking nearly three days instead of the planned two for the marching route.
At this moment, Prussian cavalry brought Colonel Weilotter, responsible for coordinating with the Russian Army, in front of him.
Upon meeting him, Weilotter immediately anxiously urged him, “Commander, Marshal Suvorov is in an unfavorable position in the fight against the French. Please head to the north shore of Lake Lucerne as soon as possible to provide assistance. Mainly prepare enough boats.”
Blucher immediately frowned.
The Russians had come to help him break through, yet now needed his assistance.
Previously, he had collected all the fishing boats near Lake Lucerne, and soldiers made plenty of rafts, enough for his 70,000 men to reach the north shore within a day.
He was about to order the officer beside him to send cavalry to deliver boats to the Russians but suddenly narrowed his eyes and spoke to Weilotter, “Please tell me about the situation on the north shore.”
“Ah? Okay.”
After the Austrians briefly described Suvorov’s attack by Massena and the eastern side’s interception by Sailu Li’er, Blucher immediately instructed him, “Please go back and inform General Suvorov that I will arrive in at most a day.”
As Weilotter disappeared, Blucher immediately told his order officer, “Order the whole army to return to Altendorf.”
Huo Ce, wide-eyed beside him, questioned, “What are you doing? The Russian army will be…”
Blucher interrupted him, “If we bring the Russians to Altendorf, we will be encircled by the French Army again.
“And now, the French main forces are entangled with Suvorov, unable to bother us. We have at least three to four days of free operational opportunity.”
“But…”
Blucher continued, “We’ll proceed from the Mouten River Valley to Glarus. Then climb over Roschitok Mountain, and through the gap between Lake Zurich and Lake Valen, leave Switzerland.
“Exchanging a few worthless Russians for our excellent soldiers is very worthwhile.”
Yes, as a Prussian, he would gladly see more Russians die. Once they defeated France, Prussia and Russia would likely have some disputes in places like Courland.
Indeed, as Blucher anticipated, the French never came searching for their troubles.
Four days later, his army successfully arrived at the foot of Roschitok Mountain.
[Due to the double monthly tickets at the end of this month, please hold off on voting for monthly tickets for now, save them for the end of the month for double rewards. The little author is very grateful!]
