Chapter 199: Napoleon's Quartermaster
In reality, André still severely underestimated the young men's recklessness.
Among the thirty large horse-drawn carriages brought by the more than 1,200 police cadets, twenty-two were dedicated to artillery support, including dragging cannons and transporting ammunition.
As for logistics and baggage, they had cut nearly every possible corner!
Each soldier's backpack contained eleven pounds of hardtack, three and a half pounds of dried meat, four pounds of oats for their military horses, and two bags of wine. This constituted their entire provisions.
Meanwhile, the Moulins Legion finally completed its transition from encampment to marching order nearing midday, and the army began to move slowly.
This was even after André, having heard his younger brother's "intelligence" yesterday, had preemptively ordered officers to leave behind all bulky luggage like wardrobes and dining tables.
In truth, for an army of the old style, their speed was already remarkably swift.
But all things are relative.
By this time, the police cadet corps had already covered nearly ten kilometers.
An hour later, the police cadets halted by a small creek sixteen kilometers away. After setting up a perimeter, they lit bonfires on the spot and warmed their portable rations.
At 8:15 PM, the police cadets, wrapped in blankets spread on the grass, slept soundly under the starlit sky. <span>RaŇοSS|Ё</span>
The next morning, after a quick breakfast, they were almost immediately on their way.
Meanwhile, the Moulins army was still all in a fluster, packing up tents and loading carriages. Occasionally, officers who had slept poorly without their mattresses could be heard grumbling softly.
André could no longer see any sign of his opponents, but the tracks on the ground indicated that the police cadets had passed through long ago.
Around three in the afternoon, two scouts, their eyes shadowed with fatigue, rode back to the Moulins Legion. André, too curious about how the police cadets were solving their provisions issue, had dispatched them to track and observe overnight.
"So, they carried over fifteen pounds of food with them?" André looked at the scout in surprise. "Adding weapons, ammunition, and bedding, wouldn't that be nearly thirty-five pounds of load?"
"That seems to be the case, sir."
"They're practically monsters..." André clicked his tongue. 'To carry so much baggage and still move that fast!'
He then suddenly thought of another issue: 'Wait, even if the soldiers carried their own rations, what did their horses eat?'
People usually assume that military provisions primarily consist of food for the men. However, in reality, the bulk of logistical supplies is feed for the horses.
Warhorses expend enormous energy during wartime, and it's impossible to allow them to spend hours grazing on pasture like a farmer's horse. Grass has very low nutritional content, so horses would have to eat continuously for several hours to be full, a luxury the army couldn't afford.
Furthermore, during a march, it's difficult to guarantee that grass will be available everywhere.
Therefore, military horses primarily relied on logistical transport of hay and concentrated feeds like oats. Their consumption far exceeded that of human rations.
A person could barely sustain themselves carrying a dozen pounds of hardtack, but you couldn't expect a horse to carry hundreds of pounds of fodder, could you?
The two scouts exchanged glances. "Sir, they brought some concentrated feed, but mostly they were feeding their horses at nearby farmhouses."
"They even procured half of their firewood from the farmhouses. Oh, and they replenished some wine too."
André's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "They're cheating!"
He immediately summoned a messenger, ordering him to catch up with the police cadets and lodge the strongest protest on his behalf.
Another day later, the messenger returned, bringing a police academy instructor with him.
Upon meeting André, the instructor politely explained, "Esteemed Lieutenant Colonel, we are operating strictly according to standard supply regulations, absolutely not cheating."
André almost burst out laughing in exasperation. "Are you suggesting that plundering from farmers is a standard supply regulation?"
"No, you've likely misunderstood," the instructor quickly said. "Our quartermasters paid for everything, even slightly above market price."
What he didn't say was that if it weren't for the current widespread food shortages, supply regulations would allow soldiers' rations to be requisitioned on the spot.
André waved his hand. "This is still cheating. If war broke out, would your troops carry no supply wagons at all, relying entirely on buying food from farmers?"
The instructor nodded seriously. "That's correct. Although sometimes we also hunt game to supplement our provisions..."
"That's absurd! How can such a supply method be reliable? What if there are no farmers nearby?"
"The situation you describe is unlikely to occur. Throughout all of Europe, where would you fail to find villages from which to forage? Besides, the soldiers also carry emergency rations."
"This..." André was momentarily stunned.
That's right, even in barren places like Switzerland or southern Hungary, it wouldn't be difficult to find villages capable of supplying tens of thousands of soldiers.
Wouldn't that mean they could shed a great deal of heavy and vulnerable logistical vehicles, making the army light and swift? No wonder the police academy personnel moved and marched so quickly!
In fact, this was the "foraging on the spot" logistics model that Joseph had borrowed from Emperor Napoleon.
Emperor Napoleon, who later swept across Europe with unparalleled success, owed half of his achievements to this unique logistical mechanism.
As is well known, in warfare, especially between major powers, one of the most critical factors determining victory or defeat is logistics. There's even an extreme saying: 'War is logistics.'
Emperor Napoleon creatively abandoned the numerous baggage wagons favored by European aristocratic armies, forbidding officers from carrying heavy luxury items. He even discarded time-consuming and cumbersome items like tents. Food and drink were sourced entirely from villages along the route; if rain or snow was too heavy for outdoor rest, soldiers could make use of village houses.
Consumed items were paid for at market price to the farmers. The money spent this way would even be far less than transporting provisions over vast distances, and the farmers would receive greater compensation.
As for fighting abroad, the army's expenses might be even lower.
Of course, while this model sounds simple, its implementation requires a comprehensive and systematic operational approach.
For example, quartermasters needed considerable professional expertise, knowing where to find provisions and how to communicate with farmers.
In the direction of the army's advance, messengers had to be sent ahead to inform villages along the route to prepare provisions. This necessitated very scientific calculations of provision consumption.
And how were the collected provisions to be quickly distributed to the companies?
Furthermore, how would villages whose food had been requisitioned receive redistributed food through local administration, to prevent farmers from running short themselves?
Joseph had only understood the general principles of these matters from documentaries he'd watched in his past life; the specific supply regulations still needed to be refined by officers through continuous practice.
However, this logistical mechanism also had significant limitations. For instance, Emperor Napoleon suffered greatly in the barren and hostile lands of Russia precisely because he relied on local provisioning. As a successor, Joseph would naturally take proactive steps to avoid similar situations.
André could only reluctantly see off the police academy instructor, then gathered his own officers to consider whether his army should also adopt this "foraging on the spot" logistical model.
This was also one of Joseph's purposes in having the Moulins Legion conduct exercises with the police cadets. As a military force he could trust, he hoped André could learn advanced concepts from the cadets to enhance his troops' combat effectiveness.
Five days after leaving Tousy Town, the police cadet corps successfully arrived in Paris, pre-emptively "occupying" the pre-designated high ground for the exercise, and then proceeded to conduct a detailed topographic survey of the surrounding area.
André, on the other hand, marched for another four full days before arriving, breathless, to face a defensive position that had been fortified by the "enemy" as if cast in iron.
However, André was, after all, a veteran tempered by battle. Facing an extremely unfavorable situation, he calmly gathered his officers to discuss and deploy tactics against the enemy.
At dawn the next day, the Moulins Legion assembled before the police cadets' position, forming a three-deep infantry line formation.
Watching from a distance, Berthier lowered his telescope and sighed to Dubois beside him with some regret, "The cadets missed the optimal opportunity for attack."
The latter nodded. "Indeed. The Moulins army had just completed a forced march yesterday afternoon; they were at their most exhausted. A direct assault then could very well have secured an instant victory."
Berthier said, "They were still reluctant to abandon the advantageous terrain they had secured. These young men are full of drive, but they are still quite lacking in practical combat experience."
Soon, André ordered a frontal infantry assault, while three Six-Pounder Cannons of the Moulins army roared from a slightly higher mound on the west side, covering the infantry's charge.
However, the police cadets were well-prepared; their artillery immediately returned fire. As the academy's cannons were positioned higher and included an 8-pounder Cannon, they had a longer range and quickly suppressed the opposing artillery.
The distance between the opposing infantry gradually closed to within a hundred paces. The police cadets' line formation fired the first volley—occupying the high ground and possessing percussion cap muskets with longer range, firing first was not an issue.
Both sides' soldiers used projectiles made of pine wood, which would shatter immediately upon gunpowder impact, causing no actual harm. However, the jarring crack and the pervasive gunpowder smoke still sent every soldier's adrenaline soaring, making it feel as if they were on a real battlefield.
After advancing a bit further, the Moulins Legion also began to return fire. The gunfire grew denser, and soldiers were constantly being declared "fallen" and removed from the field.
To André's great surprise, the young police cadets' marksmanship was in no way inferior to that of his veterans. Furthermore, enhanced by their percussion cap muskets, their firing rate was consistently two beats faster than his side's.
As the Moulins army continued to suffer casualties, the commanding officer at the front finally gave way and issued a retreat order.
From the police cadets' position, a blue flag bearing the Crown Prince's emblem immediately rose. The drummers and flag-bearers of each company then stepped three paces forward, and the hurried beat of an attacking drum began.
The police cadet infantry immediately advanced.
The attacked Moulins army scattered even faster. Before long, their second line formation was exposed before their opponents.
The police cadets immediately changed formation: the first line formation transformed into columns, while the second line took on the task of frontal fire.
As several infantry columns charged within twenty paces of the Moulins army, the latter could no longer resist and began to break into a disorderly rout.
The police cadets' drums quickened, and the second row of infantry in line formation also cheered, bayonets fixed, charging towards the enemy.
The Moulins army's last infantry line had already begun to retreat, now falling back to the flat ground below the high point. Just over ten minutes later, seven full companies of police cadets were upon them.
Somewhat strangely, the Moulins army showed no panic. Instead, officers guided the routing soldiers to disperse to both flanks, while the final infantry line unleashed a fierce volley.
Simultaneously, three cannons appeared on the Moulins army's flank, beginning to shell the approaching police cadets.
Evidently, these cannons had merely feigned inability to withstand the opposing suppressive fire earlier, secretly relocating to this position.
André smiled, turning his head to wink at a messenger.
The latter immediately ran to the flag-bearer and loudly conveyed the order.
Minutes later, the Moulins army's cavalry squadron rounded the mound on the eastern side of the battlefield, thrusting directly behind the police cadet infantry lines, which had pursued too deeply.
Meanwhile, the Moulins army's first two infantry lines, originally routed, quickly reorganized and converged from both sides.
It was then that the police academy instructors realized the opponent was luring them deeper. Seeing that their main infantry force was about to be encircled, they immediately committed all reserves and cavalry to the battle, preparing to extract their infantry through close-quarters combat.
Once a chaotic melee ensued, it would be difficult for the exercise's evaluators to effectively assess casualties.
Ultimately, Berthier, concerned about potential accidents during a bayonet charge, halted the fighting between both sides half an hour later.
At this point, the Moulins Legion had "lost" over 200 men. Although the police cadets had fallen for the trap, they had gained a significant advantage in the preceding firefight, and their ferocity in the melee was no less than their opponents', resulting in slightly fewer "casualties".
After a day of rest, Berthier's army also arrived to join the drills. The three-way practical exercise was in full swing and would continue until the end of the month.
...
In the office of the Industrial Planning Bureau.
Joseph reviewed the practical exercise report submitted by Berthier and others, nodding with a smile. "These cadets have good military aptitude, but they still need to gain more real combat experience."
He then looked at Friant and said, "Cadets who perform exceptionally well in the exercise can be allowed to graduate early and join Berthier's army as junior officers."
"Yes, Your Royal Highness. Lieutenant Colonel Berthier and I also believe that some of them are in no way inferior to aristocratic officers."
As they spoke, Eman knocked and entered, bowing to Joseph. "Your Royal Highness, a message just arrived from Marseille stating that His Majesty the King of Spain has sent you three shiploads of grain, which docked in the port ten days ago."
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