Chapter 1250: The Art of Infiltration
February 5, 1799.
Beside a patch of forest in eastern Hesse-Kassel.
Soult lifted the long branch he held, squinted for a moment, nodded with satisfaction, and then began tying a string to the thinner end of the branch.
A handcrafted fishing rod quickly took shape.
As he started to attach the hook, an aide-de-camp trotted up from behind and stood at attention beside him, announcing, "General, the Prussian army arrived in the western outskirts of Korbach this morning."
"Yes, I know," Soult replied, nodding and testing the feel of the fishing rod.
To his right, Lieutenant Colonel Lannes, reluctantly fishing, abruptly tossed aside his worm can and stood up excitedly. "General, let's attack at once!"
Soult, however, smiled and held him back. "No, our mission today is to fish."
Lannes immediately grew anxious. "But if we delay any longer, the Prussians will occupy Kassel!"
Soult glanced at him, speaking calmly. "You must trust General Augereau."
"Huh?"
Soult exhaled, explaining patiently, "You should remember that our strategic objective is to cover Augereau's Corps as they break through near Coburg.
"The more we want the Coalition Forces to overlook them, the more we must appear to be the main axis of attack.
"Indeed, we, who are currently striking towards Anhalt, are the enemy's greatest threat."
Lannes slowly sat down, picking up the bag of worms. "So, if we actively attack the Duke of Brunswick's army, we'll reveal that our true intention is merely to block them."
Soult nodded. "The Coalition Forces would then likely re-evaluate our main attack vector and turn their attention to General Augereau."
He finished setting up his fishing rod and cast his line into the small stream before them. "Rest assured, the Duke of Brunswick won't remain hidden in Kassel; he'll move as swiftly as possible to intercept us.
"We just need to wait for him along the way."
Lannes recalled something else and asked, "If that's the case, why didn't you have General Lefebvre's Legion join us earlier? I mean, that would make us appear even more like the main assault force."
Soult chuckled. "From the Duke of Brunswick's perspective, Lefebvre's Legion is merely trying to hold him in place for us."
Lannes immediately understood. 'How could the "main attacking force" not have covering troops?'
Soult continued, "Of course, I'm also concerned that the Duke of Brunswick might flee after being ambushed."
Currently, Lefebvre's Legion, appearing 'slow and sluggish,' was positioned southwest of the Prussian army, feigning an attempt to pin down the Duke of Brunswick but failing to locate him.
In reality, he was following Soult's instructions, always maintaining his position southwest of the Prussian forces.
...
Southwest Saxony.
Pegnitz, a town 38 kilometers south of Bayreuth.
Ney listened to his aide-de-camp's enemy intelligence report with a frown, then turned to Moreau. "It seems the enemy has deduced our objective. In that case, we'll have to detour via Weiden."
Victor immediately objected. "That's too risky. If the Coalition Forces suddenly move south, we'll be trapped on the western side of the Šumava Mountains."
"I think it would be better to turn southeast directly, feigning an attack into Austria from Passau. Wurmser would surely follow suit."
Moreau smiled and shook his head. "Our mission is to pin down the entire Coalition main force, not just Wurmser's Corps."
Victor's expression grew serious. "General, are you truly planning to go through Weiden? The terrain there is simply too..."
Moreau shook his head again. "Of course not."
Before Victor could even sigh in relief, he heard the commanding general continue, "We're heading straight for Bayreuth."
The officers around him instantly looked at him in surprise.
They certainly had the confidence to defeat Wurmser's Corps of 80,000 strong.
Although Moreau's Legion comprised only 65,000 soldiers, they had long established a psychological advantage over the Austrian army through a series of previous campaigns; they would dare to fight even 100,000 enemy troops.
However, to decisively defeat 80,000 enemy troops, the battle would have to last several days. If Wurmser chose to hunker down defensively from the start, he might even be able to delay them for half a month.
Meanwhile, the Coalition Forces' main contingent was just over 50 kilometers away in Bamberg, capable of reaching Bayreuth with reinforcements in just two days.
Seeing no one speak, Moreau pointed to the map and smiled. "How many enemy troops do you think are in Bayreuth?"
"At least 80,000," Lieutenant Colonel Nansouty said without hesitation. This figure had been confirmed multiple times by the Hussars.
"No," Moreau immediately shook his head. "There are 40,000, 25,000, and 15,000 enemy troops there."
Indeed, the Coalition's Bayreuth defensive line stretched over 18 kilometers wide; only such a broad front could effectively block Moreau's Legion.
Along such an extended front, there were bound to be gaps between the various corps.
The three figures Moreau cited corresponded to Wurmser's main force, as well as the troops under his command: Kray's Corps and the Prince of Hechingen's Corps.
And between these three forces, there was a gap of 4 to 5 kilometers.
For large-scale corps operations involving tens of thousands of men, this was practically shoulder-to-shoulder.
But in Moreau's view, it was already wide enough.
After the skirmishes in Venice, his understanding of the Outflanking and Interpenetration Tactic was undoubtedly among the very best of all French generals.
Moreau tapped the enemy positions marked on the map with his finger. "If you were Wurmser, which corps would you consider least likely to be attacked?"
Victor pondered, "It should be Kray's Corps."
Kray's Corps was situated between Wurmser's main force and the Prince of Hechingen's Corps. Attacking here could easily lead to a disadvantageous situation where the Austrian forces on both flanks would perform an internal pincer attack.
"Exactly," Moreau nodded. "Therefore, we will choose to break through right here."
...
The next morning, at 10 AM.
The Prince of Hechingen, commanding the left flank of Wurmser's Corps, received a cavalry report stating that six to seven thousand French troops were passing several kilometers to the east.
The Prince of Hechingen looked at his aide. "The French are planning to bypass our defensive line via Weiden."
"Yes, General, but it's likely not their main force."
"Perhaps a vanguard corps," the Prince of Hechingen mused, then ordered, "First, inform General Wurmser. Move two regiments towards East Weiden; if they encounter French forces, try to delay them as much as possible."
"Yes, General."
Half an hour later, two divisions of Moreau's Legion swiftly passed through the narrow gaps on either side of Kray's Corps at extreme speed.
To maintain concealment, they marched without even beating drums, keeping their banners furled as much as possible, relying entirely on the soldiers' marching experience to hold their formation.
At their most dangerous point, they were only about two kilometers from the Austrian forces on their flanks.
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