Chapter 1253: The Strongest Prussian Army
The next morning, French artillery suddenly appeared on the southeastern flank of the Prussian defenses at Weimar. A concentrated barrage quickly blasted a gap dozens of meters wide in the Prussian right wing.
Immediately, Augereau personally commanded a skirmisher swarm, launching a fierce assault on the enemy's front.
Across a battlefield over three kilometers wide, more than 5,000 French soldiers advanced rapidly in a loose but highly organized formation.
Soon, the Prussian infantry lines unleashed their first volley when the two sides were about 90 yards apart, but most of the bullets flew between the loosely arrayed French soldiers. The few who were hit were largely spared injury by their bulletproof inserts.
The drumbeat among the French skirmisher swarm abruptly paused. The soldiers immediately sought cover behind nearby bushes or rocks, then peeked out to aim and fire.
They did not perform volleys—that was a tactic used by smoothbore muskets to increase the chance of a hit. The accuracy of rifled muskets was sufficient for individual soldiers to fire precisely. Especially these seasoned French veterans, who generally had thousands of rounds of shooting experience, their marksmanship was undoubtedly superb.
A mist of blood instantly rose from the Prussian defenses, with at least nearly 200 men struck down.
The Prussian army had also received bulletproof inserts provided by the British, and every elite soldier of the Brandenburg Guards Corps was equipped with this protection.
However, the Minié balls fired by the French army, due to the expanding effect of their hollow base, achieved excellent gas sealing and spun at high speed, resulting in over 30% higher penetration than ordinary bullets.
This caused at least 70% of the bulletproof inserts worn by the Prussians to be pierced, and the confidence the soldiers had gained from this advanced protective gear instantly vanished.
In fact, this was still at a relatively long range. Within 60 yards, Minié balls could essentially completely penetrate British-made bulletproof inserts.
The drums in the French skirmisher swarm began to beat again. Soldiers rose, swiftly reloaded their ammunition—their loading speed even faster than the Prussians opposite them—then moved forward five paces in unison, and took cover again.
The Prussian soldiers on the defense line felt extremely uncomfortable, as if they were foolishly standing perfectly straight, taking hits, and when it was their turn to shoot, they struggled to find any decent targets.
Just as the French skirmisher swarm closed to within 50 yards of the enemy, signs of disarray began to appear in the Prussian positions.
Augereau was about to order the columns, which had been preparing for some time, to charge, when he suddenly heard a roar from the high ground east of Weimar.
Marshal Möllendorf had actually noticed yesterday that this high ground was excellent for positioning artillery, but it was late by then, and he thought the French army couldn't arrive so quickly, so he told the artillery to set up positions the next day.
Unexpectedly, Augereau launched his attack early in the morning, and the Prussian artillery scrambled to drag their cannons onto the high ground.
Five twelve-pound cannonballs ripped through the scattered French skirmishers. Although they were widely dispersed, several men were instantly annihilated.
Augereau gritted his teeth and loudly ordered the skirmisher swarm to press forward, then instructed Murat to lead the Hussars in a surprise attack on the enemy's artillery positions—a head-on charge with columns in this situation would likely result in heavy casualties from artillery fire.
However, at that very moment, the Prussian defensive line, which had begun to falter, suddenly stabilized for reasons unknown. The soldiers, who had been timidly keeping their heads down and even preparing to turn and flee, straightened their bodies again and let out cheers.
As the French skirmisher swarm advanced to just over 30 yards from the enemy, Augereau personally witnessed their volley kill at least three hundred men, yet the Prussian soldiers immediately shouted and retaliated with a volley of their own.
Their morale was unbelievably high.
At such close range, the French bulletproof inserts were likewise unable to withstand percussion cap musket fire, and dozens of soldiers immediately fell, struck down.
The Prussian cannons on the eastern high ground continued to roar. Augereau, seeing he couldn't break the Prussian line and knowing that continuing to wear down his forces like this would only lead to heavier casualties, had no choice but to order the skirmisher swarm to retreat.
He turned to look at the Hussars, who were forming ranks, silently wishing for Murat to successfully shatter the enemy's artillery positions.
Just then, a light blue hot-air balloon slowly ascended from behind his flank. Because the steam-powered inflation pump carried by Augereau's Corps had broken down during the journey due to a carriage overturn, it took the high-altitude reconnaissance battalion over an hour to prepare for launch.
Augereau, while directing the rotation of the heavily damaged companies with reserve forces, soon glimpsed Murat's cavalry battalion circling east, quickly disappearing behind a stand of trees.
Meanwhile, the hot-air balloon gradually rose to over 600 meters in the air. The officer in the gondola, as if discovering something crucial, suddenly began signaling frantically to the ground.
Before long, a staff officer, holding the newly deciphered report, rushed up to Augereau, gasping for breath: "General, the high-altitude reconnaissance battalion has spotted black eagle banners south of Weimar!"
Augereau seized the report in surprise. Indeed, he saw phrases like "black eagle banners" and "deep blue uniforms, bearskin hat guards," and his heart instantly pounded.
The black single-headed eagle was the "Prussian Eagle," a symbol typically associated with the royal standard, and "Prussian blue" was the uniform of the royal guard. All of this indicated that William III was very likely in Weimar!
'No wonder the Prussian will to fight here is so high,' Augereau immediately realized, understanding the unusual scene he'd witnessed.
He then frowned deeply. 'If that's the case, breaking through the Weimar defensive line quickly probably won't be easy.'
His gaze suddenly sharpened. He turned to his staff officer and declared, "Tell Murat to forget the artillery positions for now. Have him await orders on the enemy's left flank.
"Order the Eleventh and Fifteenth Skirmisher Regiments to assemble on the eastern flank, preparing for a column charge.
"Colonel Masson will command the other units, including the reserves, to launch a frontal attack.
"Quickly!"
The Prussian army had only arrived in Weimar yesterday, and their defenses were not yet complete. He had to seize this opportunity to resolve the battle here.
And while William III in Weimar could boost Prussian morale, he was also the Prussian army's Achilles' heel!
Forty minutes later, the French army, having barely rested, launched another fierce frontal assault, enduring the Prussian artillery fire.
The Prussians swiftly replaced their fallen soldiers on the defensive line. The Brandenburg Guards Corps, the foundation laid during Frederick the Great's most glorious period, always maintained exceptionally high morale.
A battle even more brutal than before immediately erupted.
Masson soon sent the pre-arranged signal to Augereau via the Chappe signal vehicle. This indicated that he had successfully completed his diversionary task.
Augereau immediately led nearly 3,000 soldiers from two regiments, formed into dozens of columns, and charged the Prussian left flank.
Comments