Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1346 - 1251: The True Decisive Battle
Chapter 1346: Chapter 1251: The True Decisive Battle
The battle process was completely one-sided.
The Austrian Army’s rear disrupted the central troops, the flanks suffered heavy blows, the soldiers were running around from start to end, and then kneeled to surrender.
The gunfire gradually subsided in less than three hours.
Moro rode past the smoke and blood-filled woods, watching the soldiers escort groups of captives to the open space on the west side.
He frowned and asked the aide beside him, “How many enemies were captured?”
The latter hurriedly opened the files in hand and began calculating.
Moro sighed helplessly, “An approximate number is fine.”
“Uh, there should be nearly ten thousand.” The aide replied, “Only one Cavalry Corps escaped. The prisoners from the leaping soldiers side have not been transferred here yet.”
Moro nodded, “Take only the officers. Release the ordinary soldiers on the spot after disarming them.”
He was well aware that the main force of the Allied Forces could arrive at any time, and his soldiers, after a long march, were nearing their physical limits and would find it difficult to extricate themselves once entangled by the enemy.
These Austrian soldiers scattered within Thuringia and Saxon could not possibly regroup within a few months.
An hour later, Moro’s Corps, with over three hundred Austrian officers, headed southeast.
Ney spurred his horse to catch up with Moro and whispered, “Are we heading to Pegnitz to rest? Oh, it’s too close to the enemy; let’s head directly to Sulzbach.”
Moro shook his head, “That would lose the support for Victor.”
Victor’s Corps carried limited logistical supplies, and it would be difficult to obtain replenishment after maneuvering north of Wilmze. The main force needed to find opportunities to reinforce them.
Ney frowned, “But Carl Ludwig would definitely dispatch a large army to trap us.”
“Isn’t that exactly our goal?” Moro pointed northward with his whip, “Let everyone rest in Pegnitz for half a day, and then we’ll return to Bayreuth.”
…
South of Bamberg.
In the temporary command center of the Allied Forces, Archduke Karl frowned as he looked at the British before him, “According to the report from Prince Heixinggen, there are at least 40,000 French Army on his side.
“Yesterday, Baron Dennifield encountered a far larger enemy again in Kunshofen Village. Together with the 20,000 who slipped into Saxon, there should be over 100,000 French Army near us.
“I have reason to believe that the French are preparing to engage us in a decisive battle in Bavaria.”
Well, he didn’t even consider that the French Army could move over 40 kilometers in a day, only thinking there were two armies.
The Marquess of Wellesley took a deep breath, trying hard to keep his tone calm, “Marshal, the Russian Army’s offensive on the Baden line has already slowed down.
“We can’t waste time here. Once new recruits in France are massively replenished to Karlsruhe, we will lose the best chance to defeat them.”
Actually, the Kosakov Corps didn’t suffer a huge loss in Schneid Town, losing only over 6,000 — the British had borne most of the brunt of the firepower, with casualties exceeding 10,000 — but that ferocious and almost cold-blooded bayonet countercharge by the French recruits severely hit the morale of the Russians.
Since that battle, the Russian Army’s attacks had become cautious, and they hadn’t dared to attempt their favorite bayonet charge even once.
Archduke Karl hesitated for a moment, then finally ordered, “Prince Schwarzenberg will lead the army to Nuremberg.
“The Bajahaza Corps to defend Coburg.
“The Napeg Corps to defend Fuchheim.
“If we can annihilate 100,000 of the French Army within Bavaria, it would still be a destructive blow to France.”
With his deployments, the Allied Forces formed a tight defense line from northern Bavaria to Saxon, also cutting off Moro’s Corps’ path back to France.
It should be said, Archduke Karl’s tactics had no flaws.
Successfully executing this large-scale encirclement could make France, already at a manpower disadvantage, even more strained, and also use a great victory to boost the morale of the Allied Forces.
Wellesley hurriedly said, “But Baden…”
Archduke Karl motioned for him to sit down, “We can hand over all the garrison troops in Freiburg to Sir Graham’s command.”
As Austria’s stronghold guarding Switzerland and the Rhine River, Freiburg had always stationed over 15,000 soldiers.
Currently, with the Allied Forces maintaining a comprehensive offensive, Freiburg essentially faced no threats, so it was appropriate to deploy these troops to the Baden front.
…
Just as the main 300,000 Allied Forces were besieging Moro, the unremarkable Oreluo Army was moving between Kassel and Bamberg in Sur.
This nearby area was filled with small principalities of the Holy Rome, belonging to Austria’s back garden, so it was hard to acquire useful intelligence here.
However, under the restraint of Surt’s and Moro’s two armies, they had not encountered any substantial Allied Forces blockade yet.
Mula galloped against the marching column all the way to Ogero’s side and loudly said, “General, my men have found that Prussian Army has entered Weimar. Some forces are also stationed in Jena.”
Ogero had the aide bring a map, took some quick measurements, and immediately ordered the Order Officer, “Everyone needs to speed up. Must reach the vicinity of Weimar before tonight.”
The Hussars hadn’t found any enemy presence in Weimar yesterday and had conducted reconnaissance more than ten kilometers north of Weimar.
This means that the Prussian Army should have just arrived today.
If we move quickly enough, we can launch an attack before the enemy establishes a solid defense line.
At this moment, Ogero didn’t even know how many enemies they were facing, but he knew he must defeat them because his only target was Berlin.
kilometers north of Weimar, William III rubbed his sore thigh and subconsciously frowned. This was the first time he’d traveled so far with the army, and it was already difficult enough to keep up.
Marshal Mellen Dorf looked at the young King and gestured towards the carriage not far away, “Your Majesty, do you want to switch to the carriage?”
William III resolutely shook his head, “No, I am the commander of the army now, and the warhorse is my partner.”
At this moment, a cavalryman rushed over, raised his hat to him, “Your Majesty, a merchant near Sur said French Army passed by the outskirts this morning.”
Marshal Mellen Dorf immediately frowned.
Three days ago, the French were over 100 kilometers away, and they have reached Sur so quickly.
Luckily, we set off early, or else Weimar-Jena might have been seized by the French.
You must know that beyond here is an endless plain, and we would have no choice but to battle the French in the field.
He bowed to the King and said, “Your Majesty, I’ll handle Weimar’s defense myself; you should return to Naumburg.”
“No, I will personally watch from the front lines as you defeat the enemy!” William III said proudly.
