Chapter 300: Persistence and Collapse
Over ten thousand Netherlands rebels formed two long, narrow infantry lines on the gentle slope. Each line was three ranks deep, with soldiers packed tightly, and from a distance, they presented a respectable appearance.
However, their hodgepodge of uniforms and the flintlock muskets of varying models in their hands all testified to the fact that they were nothing more than a hastily assembled, ragtag army.
In fact, their infantry lines had taken a full six hours to form, starting at dawn that day, and were only barely organized. The Dutch commanders were utterly exhausted, their legs cramping from the effort.
When these motley troops saw the dense Austrian lines begin to move in the distance, and numerous skirmishers, like a swarm of ants, deftly approaching them, their hands began to tremble almost uncontrollably.
Behind them, over a thousand Prussian soldiers continuously shouted, "Keep calm, don't do anything!"
A priest in the Netherlands ranks also muttered a reminder to the soldiers beside him, "Don't think about anything later; just reload as fast as you can. Then listen for the drums."
When the fastest Austrian skirmishers appeared about sixty meters in front of the Netherlands line formation, they began to take cover behind tall grass and rocks, firing at the Southern Netherlanders.
Several musket balls whizzed through the air and struck the line formation. Immediately, soldiers cried out, collapsing to the ground, writhing and twitching in agony.
The Prussian soldiers behind them roared, "Don't move! Move the fallen! Keep the ranks tight! Quick!"
As the main Austrian force continued to approach, the skirmishers began to spread out to the flanks, clearing the central battlefield.
The Prussian officer, estimating that the two infantry lines were less than seventy-five meters apart, ordered the Netherlanders to begin reloading.
Orderlies on horseback relayed the reloading command, while drummers beat out a specific cadence for reloading—soldiers operating their weapons to this rhythm could maintain maximum loading efficiency.
The Austrians continued their advance, and even when they were forty-five meters from the enemy, they still showed no sign of ceasing fire.
The Netherlands line formation finally broke. The overwhelming pressure of nearly ten thousand men bearing down on them left the soldiers' minds blank; they only wanted to drive these men away by any means necessary.
Sporadic gunshots erupted across the line formation. The commanding Prussian officer, fearing the ragtag troops would simply waste all their ammunition, had no choice but to order a full volley.
Chaotically, after half a minute of "volley fire," the Netherlanders' positions were shrouded in black gunpowder smoke, but the results were extremely limited; the Austrians continued their advance in neat formation.
It wasn't until the two sides were thirty-seven meters apart that the Austrian army finally halted. Accompanied by a rapid drumbeat, the soldiers raised their flintlock muskets.
"Fire!"
At the Austrian commander's order, a vast expanse of muzzle flashes erupted from the infantry line, and the furious volley fire "punched" hundreds of small gaps into the Netherlander line.
The Netherlands priest shrieked, "Don't be afraid! Keep reloading! For your families, for driving out the Habsburg tyrants, hold your ground, everyone!"
Their encouragement seemed to work. Though their hands and feet trembled, the ragtag troops managed to reload. Then, gritting their teeth, they raised their muskets, awaiting the Prussian officer's command.
On a distant hilltop, General Wurmser frowned as he observed the battlefield through his telescope.
His brave grenadiers had unleashed more than ten consecutive volleys at the Netherlanders, killing at least a thousand men, yet the enemy showed no signs of breaking.
Behind the Netherlands infantry line, there was another defensive line of infantry. And further back, there should be Prussians.
'These damned rebels! Why are they still standing there?' he cursed under his breath. As he pondered whether to commit more skirmishers to tear into the enemy's flanks, he suddenly heard the hurried hoofbeats of a scout rapidly approaching.
He had just turned his head when he heard the arrival gasp, "Gen-General, the Prussians are outflanking our right wing."
Before Wurmser could react, his chief of staff rushed over, telescope in hand, exclaiming in alarm, "General, there's a disturbance among the cavalry on the left flank; it seems enemy forces have appeared there."
Wurmser's face instantly turned ashen. 'It seemed the Prussians weren't behind the Netherlands infantry line after all. That Brunswick fellow actually used his main force to launch a surprise attack on both his flanks!'
He forcefully waved his staff and barked at an orderly, "Order Schrodder to break through the enemy's center at all costs, as quickly as possible! As long as we shatter their infantry lines first, victory will be ours!"
In the grand pitched battles of this era, the central defensive line was like the human torso. Once breached, commanders would have nowhere safe to stand. Hampered by poor communication capabilities, if a commander had to move quickly to evade enemy attacks, his orderlies would immediately lose track of him, causing the entire army to lose command.
Furthermore, losing the central battlefield meant that the artillery and cavalry had no safe space to prepare and reorganize. For these two branches, which required extensive preparation, this was tantamount to losing their combat effectiveness.
Therefore, as long as the frontal engagement was won, losses on the flanks were negligible.
The grenadier corps on the right flank of the Austrian infantry line pressed forward even more fiercely, returning fire while enduring the Netherlanders' musket balls.
Finally, after suffering heavy casualties, they tore a gap in the left side of the Netherlands line.
Austrian skirmishers, like sharks scenting blood, immediately swarmed towards the breach and continuously targeted non-commissioned officers and drummers to further sow chaos among the enemy.
Wurmser watched the first Netherlands infantry line break and scatter. He clenched his fist excitedly, then anxiously looked to his right flank, where the faint sound of Prussian cavalry hoofbeats could already be heard.
The combat effectiveness of Austrian cavalry was inherently inferior to that of the Prussians, and he had just detached some to the left flank, so they wouldn't be able to hold off the Prussians for long.
He rotated his telescope again. 'In his heart, he anxiously urged Schrodder to break through the Netherlanders' second defensive line as quickly as possible.'
Meanwhile, Duke Brunswick lowered his telescope and said to an orderly with a relaxed expression, "Go tell the Netherlanders that if they just hold out for another fifteen minutes, the Austrians will be driven from this land."
He could estimate the speed of his main force, and by now, they should have engaged the Austrian right flank.
Indeed, his cavalry was merely a diversion. He had committed fourteen thousand main Prussian troops to outflank the Austrian right wing—that was his killer mace!
After this period of engagement with the Southern Netherlanders, he had gained a profound impression of their resilience.
Although these ragtag troops had low combat effectiveness and couldn't even form proper ranks, their morale was incredibly high. Perhaps it was their pursuit of so-called freedom that made them willing to die to drive out the Austrian Emperor. Especially the priests, each one seemed to be awaiting ascension to heaven, facing any enemy without fear.
Thus, he made his assessment: while these Netherlanders could never defeat the Austrian army outright, they could very likely hold Wurmser in place.
On the distant battlefield, the second Netherlands infantry line, already riddled with holes, though appearing on the verge of collapse, persisted and did not break.
Even many of the Prussian overseers behind them were killed by stray bullets and began to show signs of disarray, yet they still stood their ground, clumsily reloading with trembling hands, firing wildly at the Austrians, until musket balls claimed their lives, but they never budged...
Meanwhile, the Austrian right flank had been utterly crushed by the overwhelming Prussian forces.
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