Chapter 298: The Decisive Battle of Rochefort
Chapter 299: The Decisive Battle of Rochefort
"Send a dispatch to Vienna reporting our victory; the Liège rebellion has been suppressed." General Wurmser wearily raised a hand toward his adjutant. "His Imperial Majesty must be growing impatient."
He then looked at the Austrian soldiers forming ranks and entering the city of Liège. "The two regiments that led the main assault today will remain here to rest. Everyone else, depart immediately. You must reach Waremme before tomorrow afternoon."
Waremme was a vital passage to Southern Brabant, over 40 kilometers away.
Six days after entering Liège province, the large Austrian army, continuously harassed by rebels, finally captured the city of Liège, achieving its first major victory since the war began.
However, General Wurmser found no joy in it. The progress was far slower than he had anticipated, and by now, the Prussian army had likely already reached the vicinity of Brussels.
This meant his plan to besiege the Brabant rebels and ambush the Prussians was now impossible to execute.
Furthermore, in today's battle against the Liège rebels, he had still failed to annihilate the main rebel force. About 3,000 rebels decisively abandoned the city and fled towards Waremme, leaving fewer than 800 dead or captured in Liège.
Adding to his troubles, the situation with Colonel Muziel's Legion was also dire. After three days without news from Muziel, Wurmser suspected something was wrong and dispatched a cavalry company north to investigate. The cavalry finally returned yesterday, reporting that Muziel had not yet managed to occupy Tongeren.
He took the reins from an attendant, about to mount his horse, when he suddenly saw a scout galloping towards him. A frown immediately creased his brow.
The scout was approaching from the south, but the enemy should have been to the north.
The scout spotted the commanding general twenty meters away and immediately shouted, "Urgent intelligence! Rebels spotted in Rochefort—at least 5,000 strong!"
General Wurmser's pupils contracted. 'How did those rebels end up in the south?'
Rochefort was only a two-day march from Luxembourg, which was an essential route for transporting supplies from both Austria and France.
If Luxembourg came under rebel attack, his logistical supply lines would immediately be in jeopardy.
He anxiously glanced towards Brabant, hesitating repeatedly, before finally sighing heavily and instructing the dispatch rider, "Assemble the entire army and march towards Rochefort. Oh, and order Colonel Muziel to abandon Tongeren and immediately proceed to Waremme to prevent the rebels from escaping back into Brabant."
"Yes, General!"
Just as the Austrian army grumbled and began to march south, not far northwest of Rochefort, outside the city of Namur, the Duke of Brunswick, commander-in-chief of the Prussian army, galloped past the endless Prussian formations, waving his hand and shouting, "Move your damned legs! If we reach Rochefort by tomorrow, glorious victory will be ours!"
At over seventy years old, he was truly a picture of vigor despite his age.
He had been galloping and shouting encouragement for nearly twenty minutes straight. Finally, both he and his horse ran out of stamina and stopped, panting.
Marquis Blücher rode up from behind, offering a canteen to the Duke of Brunswick. "Marshal, have some water. A message just arrived from Rochefort; the Netherlanders are ready, over 12,000 strong."
The Duke tilted his head back, taking several large gulps of water, a smile playing on his lips. "Where did that lawyer, Van der Noot, find so many people?"
"The Dutch sent 200,000 gold guilders and a significant amount of weaponry. The Netherlanders quickly armed a large number of their citizens."
200,000 Dutch guilders, equivalent to 2.5 million livres, clearly demonstrated the extensive support the Dutch were providing their Netherlandish compatriots.
Blücher then hesitated slightly. "Marshal, is it truly safe for us to abandon Brabant? The Austrians are only three days' march away from there."
The Duke of Brunswick gave his horse's reins a shake and calmly replied, "That old fox Wurmser never dares to take risks. Even if Brabant had no soldiers at all, he wouldn't abandon Luxembourg to attack it."
Two days later, the Austrian army arrived at the outskirts of Rochefort. General Wurmser then received a report from his scouts: at least 20,000 Prussian troops and tens of thousands of Netherlandish rebels were spotted to the southeast.
Wurmser's heart immediately tightened. The Prussians' march speed far exceeded his expectations. He had expected to face only rebels, certainly not to fight a decisive battle here.
Fortunately, his extensive experience commanding large armies prevented him from neglecting reconnaissance, thereby avoiding the predicament of an ambush.
He immediately pulled out his map, pointing to a flat, open area diagonally ahead. He said to his adjutant in a low voice, "Deploy the troops here at once. Have Winkler lead his skirmisher regiment to establish forward outposts. Be wary of a Prussian surprise attack."
"Yes, General!"
However, as the Austrians began to form ranks at the position Wurmser had designated, fifteen cannons suddenly appeared at the very front of the Prussian lines, unleashing a fierce bombardment on the Austrian army.
Winkler's Legion, the elite of the Austrian army, stood firm at the edge of that open ground, enduring the artillery bombardment. Behind them, the line infantry, encouraged, also began to rapidly form ranks outside the enemy's cannon range.
The Prussian cannons fired for a full 30 rounds, but due to the dispersed positions of the skirmishers led by Winkler, they caused just over 200 casualties. Meanwhile, the Prussian vanguard, under threat from the Austrian skirmishers, was unable to directly assault the main Austrian force.
General Wurmser finally waited for his main force to fully deploy, then immediately ordered his artillery to return fire. Winkler's Legion was his ace, and every casualty pained him deeply.
Through his telescope, Wurmser finally noticed that the front of the Prussian position appeared to be a line formation composed of Netherlandish rebels.
A wave of joy surged through him. The Duke of Brunswick had made such a rookie mistake—entrusting the crucial main battlefront to such an untrained, amateur force. Once they were breached, it would cause a total collapse of the Prussian army!
Wurmser decisively ordered his dispatch rider, "Command Schröder to immediately launch a full assault on the enemy's line formation! Send Berg's grenadiers forward as well, and cavalry, protect both flanks."
"Yes, General!"
In the 18th century, the Southern Netherlands—the area that would later become Belgium's Brabant region—was divided into two large parts: North Brabant, which included Brussels and was slightly larger, predominantly Dutch-speaking; and South Brabant, a smaller, French-speaking area. Together, North and South Brabant formed the most prosperous core region of the Southern Netherlands.
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