Chapter 1266: Legion of Merit
All the officers in the Coalition Forces' command post couldn't help but frown. Another enemy army had suddenly appeared?
Archduke Charles turned to Werther:
"Which unit is the closest? Send them immediately to reinforce Augsburg!"
Before Werther could reply, Kutuzov rose and walked to the map. He frowned, studying it for a moment, then suddenly picked up a pencil and drew an arrow on each side of the small flag representing the main French force, located southwest of Nuremberg.
Then, he drew a downward arrow from Soult's Legion's position in the north, and next, he drew a line north of Augsburg in the south.
Finally, he connected all the arrows.
All the Coalition generals stared at the map, their eyes widening.
Centered on Nuremberg, a massive C-shaped encirclement had formed.
"That's the French objective," the Russian commander sighed, gesturing with his hand to indicate the distance. "Unless something unexpected happens, in about a week, we'll be assaulted from three directions simultaneously."
"No," he countered. "Judging by the French army's previous marching speed, we have five days at most."
Kutuzov stared at Nuremberg's position:
"This is hardly a good place for a decisive battle."
Nuremberg was merely a city the Coalition forces passed through during their advance on Baden. While prosperous, its location in the middle of a small basin made it extremely unfavorable for large-scale defensive operations.
The Duke of York immediately spoke up:
"As I've said, we should retreat to Saxony now and establish a defensive line. There are only 30,000 French troops to the north; we can easily repel them."
"Wait!" Archduke Charles exclaimed, striding quickly to the map. He frowned, staring at the French forces positioned near Augsburg for a long moment before turning to Werther. "What if this enemy force doesn't march north, but continues east instead?"
Werther froze instantly.
East from Augsburg, along the Isar River, lay Passau.
Just a few years ago, Moreau, with fewer than 20,000 French troops, had surged through there into Austria and thrown everything into chaos. Now, the French forces at Augsburg numbered over 40,000. If left unchecked, even Vienna might not be safe.
"This... this... we must set up defenses at Passau..."
To Austria's west stood the Bohemian Mountain Range and the eastern Alps. The only passage through these mountains was the Danube River, and Passau was a crucial city guarding that mountain pass.
Archduke Charles shook his head repeatedly, his expression tormented. If they didn't retreat to defend, Austria itself would face an immediate and immense threat. But retreating would mean abandoning all the German territories west of Austria, and all the gains made in this Anti-French Coalition war would instantly be wiped clean.
Seeing his distress, Kutuzov quietly reminded him:
"Marshal, when the Prussian army joins the fray, we will be in even greater danger."
Archduke Charles nodded grimly. It was no longer a question of gains, but of how to deploy their defenses to ensure Austria's safety.
He took a deep breath, recalling the positions of the various Coalition legions.
The closest force to the south of the battlefield was Kutuzov's 30,000 Russian troops. They had just passed Linz in western Austria and could reach Landshut, east of Augsburg, to set up defenses in three days at most.
He looked at the Russian commander:
"Please proceed to Landshut to intercept the French forces..."
Kutuzov, however, shook his head without hesitation:
"Marshal, you know my men have traveled thousands of kilometers from far away; they are utterly exhausted and have no fighting strength left."
The old fox, upon hearing that Korsakov's Legion's advance on Baden had been stalled, realized that the Coalition's war efforts might not be going well, so he began to find all sorts of excuses to delay.
A journey that should have taken just over 20 days, he deliberately stretched into a month and a half, perfectly avoiding the "Baden meat grinder."
Now, the Austrians wanted him to intercept the French army with an inferior force, clearly using him as cannon fodder. He wasn't about to foolishly rush into that.
Archduke Charles felt a surge of frustration.
Previously, both Suvorov and Korsakov had seen their armies almost completely annihilated due to his orders, so he truly couldn't force the Russians to comply again.
He could only tell Werther, "Order Mikhalevich's Corps to make a forced march to Landshut. They must hold off the enemy for at least five days."
He then turned to the Duke of York. "Please coordinate with Milius' Corps to defend Erlangen."
This was a town north of Nuremberg, situated right on the edge of the basin.
The Briton remained silent but offered no refusal.
Archduke Charles let out a sigh of relief and continued to issue orders:
"Order Prince of Schwarzenberg to leave 40,000 men as a rearguard. All other units are to immediately proceed to Passau. Every legion must arrive within five days."
"Yes, Marshal!"
...
Outside Nuremberg.
Amidst the stirring military music, Joseph pinned a Golden Fleur-de-lis Medal onto Moreau's chest, declaring sincerely:
"You and your legion have made outstanding contributions to this victory. Allow me to express my highest respect. All soldiers of France will be proud of you!"
Moreau saluted sharply, stating in a loud voice:
"The glory belongs to France, and even more so to you, Your Highness."
In this surprise attack on Prussia, Moreau annihilated the fewest enemy troops, yet his contribution was the greatest.
Leading 65,000 soldiers, he single-handedly held up over 200,000 Coalition forces for nearly a month and a half.
During this period, he had two excellent opportunities to breach the enemy's lines.
However, to keep Archduke Charles's attention, he chose to continue operating near Bayreuth and was eventually encircled at Amberg.
It was crucial to remember that during this time, he could only obtain meager supplies from Bavarian towns, with almost no ammunition replenishment.
Just three days before the Coalition forces' general retreat to Passau, his artillery shells had run out completely, forcing his soldiers to chisel rocks to use as cannonballs.
Among the 40,000 soldiers who held their ground at Passau, casualties exceeded 5,000. Yet they never allowed the enemy to break through their defenses, gaining the French army over a month of crucial time.
In this battle, over 400 men from Moreau's Legion received the Iris Medal, 22 of which were Golden Fleur-de-lis.
Moreau was also promoted to General.
The awards ceremony didn't conclude until the afternoon. As Joseph, Moreau, and other officers discussed their operations in Bayreuth and walked toward the command post, Berthier suddenly hurried over, carrying a Chappe signal tower document:
"Your Highness, yesterday afternoon, General Masséna was ambushed by enemy forces near Landshut. After adjusting his deployment, he routed the ambushers by noon today.
"However, according to his cavalry's report, a large number of Coalition forces have been spotted setting up defenses in Passau. He is now accelerating his march there."
Joseph nodded:
"Archduke Charles has a surprisingly keen sense of smell this time."
Berthier frowned:
"Your Highness, if the main Coalition forces have already returned to Passau, it might be difficult for Masséna's Legion alone to breach their defenses."
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