Chapter 1265: Full-Scale Rout
The skirmish lasted only a brief hour and a half before Milius's vanguard, over 10,000 strong, was annihilated.
Fortunately, Milius's marching column was extremely stretched, with over 10 kilometers separating his front and rear detachments, which allowed him to lead his main force in an escape to the east.
Nördlingen, a city in western Bavaria.
The city's officials, including the president of the Chamber of Commerce and the Commissioner of Police, were enthusiastically leading citizens in throwing confetti and cheering loudly to the sound of a marching band.
Column after column of imposing French soldiers marched down the middle of the street. The procession was so long that Nördlingen's officials were already too exhausted to raise their arms, and the rear of the column was reportedly still 3 miles south of the city.
In a coffee shop at the street corner, a middle-aged man dressed as a craftsman watched the endless stream of cannons passing by, quietly counting, "40, 41, 42..."
"My God, has our city been occupied by the French?"
His words immediately made the other customers in the shop tense. A few years prior, Moreau had easily routed the Bavarian army, and Ney had even laid siege to Munich.
The shop owner glared at the man, annoyed. "Don't talk nonsense. The French are here to help us."
A minor noble sitting in the corner interjected, "Haven't you heard? Austrian and Saxon armies invaded Amberg over a month ago, and His Majesty has officially declared war on them.
"That means the French are now our allies."
Although the Franco-Bavarian Mutual Defense Treaty had been signed several years ago, Bavaria had kept it under wraps to avoid Austrian censure.
In fact, according to the treaty, Bavaria should have sent troops to participate in the war as soon as the Anti-French Coalition declared war on France.
However, Karl Theodor was advanced in age and hesitant to get involved in the war. Joseph, for his part, didn't care much for Bavaria's small army, so he allowed the delay.
In reality, Bavaria had previously provided supplies to Moreau's Legion in secret, which could be considered a form of treaty fulfillment.
Now that Prussia had surrendered, and the French army was winning consecutive victories and even launching a counteroffensive, it would be unthinkable for Bavaria not to openly join the war.
In fact, opposing Austria had long been Bavaria's national strategy. Austria sought to unify the Holy Roman Empire, and Bavaria was a higher priority target than Prussia, being easier to deal with. Historically, Bavaria and Austria had clashed multiple times.
Two days after 180,000 French troops passed Nördlingen, the vanguard of the French Sixth Army, commanded by Davout, encountered enemy forces north of Wassertrüdingen.
The Prince of Schwarzenberg led the main Austrian forces, tasked with a direct assault on Baden, and therefore commanded over 150,000 troops.
A fierce engagement immediately ensued between the two sides around Wassertrüdingen.
It proved that with the French army holding a numerical advantage, the Austrians had no chance whatsoever.
In just one morning, Davout achieved a breakthrough at Gerber village on the eastern flank. As the gap in the line widened, the Prince of Schwarzenberg was forced to begin a retreat.
By the time the Brunswick Legion, arriving from Kassel, reached the battlefield the next day, Wassertrüdingen was already entirely under French control.
It's worth noting that the main forces engaging the Austrian army were the French Sixth and Seventh Armies. Just a month and a half prior, they had been raw recruits, yet they held their own against the elite Royal German Legion without losing any ground.
The war to defend Baden over the past month had indeed been brutal. France suffered its heaviest casualties since the war against the Anti-French Coalition began, but this also allowed the soldiers to mature rapidly.
Nuremberg.
Coalition Forces General Headquarters.
Archduke Charles gravely observed the assembled officers before him, then spoke in a low voice after a long pause, "190,000 French soldiers... where did they even come from?"
Just half a month ago, Coalition Forces intelligence indicated that there were only about 90,000 French troops along the Baden front. Even if the French had already amassed a large army in Paris by then, it would be impossible to deploy 100,000 troops to the front lines in just two weeks!
And bear in mind, these were only the French forces on the main front.
Five days ago, Milius encountered over 30,000 enemy troops in Coburg.
And just this morning, intelligence arrived stating that nearly 50,000 French reserve troops in Stuttgart were preparing to move to the front.
Adding Moreau's Legion, trapped in Amberg, Victor's Legion, harassing Saxony, and Augereau's Corps, controlling Prussia, the total French military strength now reached a staggering 330,000!
This didn't even include the Prussian army that had defected to France, or the Bavarian army that had declared war on the Coalition Forces just a few days ago.
In other words, the Coalition Forces had completely lost their numerical advantage...
The Duke of York stated, "Clearly, the French have been concealing their forces. We must be wary of their larger schemes."
However, the Austrian Chief of Staff, Weroether, stood up. "Marshal, I believe we should capitalize on the dispersed French forces and concentrate our strength to first crush their main force at Wassertrüdingen."
A mild voice from across the conference table countered, "Perhaps stabilizing the front lines is what matters most.
"Soult's army in the north could move south at any moment, placing immense pressure on our flanks. If our frontal assault fails to break through quickly, the situation will become dire.
"Don't forget, we are currently operating in enemy territory. My supply convoy was attacked by Bavarian local forces just the day before yesterday."
The Duke of York nodded. "General Kutuzov is quite right. We should avoid a decisive battle with the enemy within Bavaria.
"It would be best to retreat to the Leipzig-Dresden line, establish a standoff with the French there, and then shift our main offensive north to deal with Prussia first."
News of Hanover's occupation by French forces only reached Nuremberg yesterday — because Chappe's signal towers in Prussia were no longer transmitting information for the Coalition Forces, British spies had to travel on foot through central Germany to report the situation to the Coalition Forces General Headquarters.
The Duke of York, as a British Prince, was furious. To reclaim the King's ancestral lands, they first had to find a way to bring Prussia back into the Anti-French Coalition, or there would be no land route connecting to Hanover.
Weroether clenched his fists, declaring loudly, "We are at a turning point in the war! We absolutely cannot retreat, or we will completely lose our chance at victory!"
'If Joseph were here at this moment, he would surely give Weroether a thumbs-up and say, 'That's the spirit, go all-out.''
Kutuzov maintained his harmless expression. "Until the battlefield situation becomes clear, solid defense is the correct choice."
"No, we must continue to exert strong pressure on the enemy!"
Just as the argument escalated, a staff officer entered, handing a battle report to Weroether.
The latter opened it, scanned its contents, and cold sweat immediately beaded on his forehead. "Yesterday morning, 40,000 French troops occupied Augsburg."
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