Chapter 322: The Guide to the Netherlands
Advanced weaponry, coupled with extremely high training levels and soaring morale, meant that the Guards Corps, disguised as Austrians, would certainly gain a significant advantage over Prussian soldiers in terms of firepower!
Thus, from his vantage point on the rear high ground, Bischoff watched through his telescope as more than 800 "Austrians" shattered his line infantry of nearly 1,000 men...
The enemy had charged forward in columns, and despite his own side having fired two volleys first, they still couldn't withstand the rapid and concentrated firepower.
Soon, Bischoff's expression grew even grimmer.
Having been overly confident earlier, he had positioned his second line of infantry too far forward. Now, with the first line routed, they crashed straight into the rear lines, throwing them into disarray.
Line infantry tactics of this era never "went all-in" by deploying all soldiers in a single line. Instead, they were divided into several lines—usually three, with each line of infantry three ranks deep, which was the most stable combat formation of the time. In advantageous situations or desperate circumstances, this might be reduced to two front and rear lines, to pack more soldiers into each.
This arrangement ensured that if the front line of infantry suffered an unexpected setback, the line behind it could immediately move up, and the routed infantry could regroup behind them. This prevented the collapse of an entire battle due to a single line's break—which sometimes occurred due to a disgruntled officer, or one who'd drunk too much the night before.
Lieutenant Colonel Artmann, observing the battle from a distance, saw Bischoff's regiment on the verge of collapse and hastily ordered the reserves forward to assist, secretly relieved that he had kept a reserve force, and also sent a messenger to request cavalry support.
Lefebvre also watched through his telescope as the Guards Corps valiantly charged, routing the Prussian line infantry, who outnumbered them. A smile played on his lips. But then he glanced at Leo's army, which lagged behind, and shook his head internally.
Just as the Guards Corps began to unleash two or three volleys at the Prussians' second line of infantry, Lefebvre saw more Prussian infantry arriving as reinforcements from the rear.
After a brief assessment, he ordered the advanced Guards Corps infantry to withdraw.
He couldn't tell if the Prussians still had reserves. If they did, pushing too deep with inferior numbers could lead to encirclement by the enemy, potentially in conjunction with a cavalry flanking maneuver—his own cavalry, having expended considerable energy in the previous rapid assault, might not be able to keep up with the enemy's.
The Crown Prince had ordered him to hold this position until noon the next day.
Until then, he absolutely could not afford to lose too many troops.
Moreover, the main Prussian forces could appear at any moment, which would lead to an extremely difficult and fierce battle, and he had to be ready at all times.
Upon seeing that the "Austrians" weren't pressing their advantage, Artmann breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly ordered Bischoff to retreat and reorganize his soldiers to set up defenses, merely keeping a watchful eye on the enemy on the opposite slope.
An hour or so later, dusk fell, and both sides withdrew to their camps for the night.
Blücher received news from the front that Artmann's attack was unfavorable, which greatly puzzled him. 'How could Leo suddenly become so formidable?'
'It must have been Artmann's command error!' he concluded mentally, intending to severely reprimand the Lieutenant Colonel upon his return. He then frowned at the fading light, but had no choice but to temporarily suppress his anger and wait for dawn.
Meanwhile, 10 kilometers away, the main force of the Guards Corps continued its rapid march, still illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun.
Since they had remained outside the reconnaissance range of the Prussian Hussars, Blücher was still unaware of this army of over ten thousand men.
However, Joseph knew that continuing forward meant they could encounter the Prussians at any moment.
It wasn't until darkness had fully descended that the Guards Corps set up camp near a flat wooded area. Joseph and the officers of the General Staff lit lamps and discussed battle plans in their tent until late into the night—new intelligence from the front had arrived, necessitating corresponding adjustments to their tactics. This was one of the advantages of the General Staff command system; even if the supreme commander wanted to be lazy, the staff officers would drag him into "overtime" with them.
"Your Highness, since Lefebvre has gained an advantage," Berthier proposed, looking at the Prussians' long, narrow marching column on the map, "we can afford to be more aggressive."
He pointed to the east of Wanseler Town. "We can send a cavalry unit to attack the enemy's rear, and the rest of the troops can penetrate the Prussian army's center."
"Although Lefebvre's Legion might suffer relatively heavy losses, I believe he can definitely cut off Blücher's path to the west. We can then complete a pincer attack on the main Prussian force!"
Joseph, however, pressed down on his hand pointing at the map and smiled. "General, we don't need to be in such a hurry to annihilate the Prussian army."
"In fact, if Blücher makes a mistake, we should even actively let him go."
"I've already made contact with Henry Vonck; he's the one we'll use to 'let them off the hook.'"
Henry Vonck was the conservative leader of the Southern Netherlands rebels. Currently, due to differing opinions on the future path of the Southern Netherlands, he had been sidelined by the liberal Vandernoot and had almost fallen out of the core of power.
Berthier didn't dwell on the term 'let them off the hook'—the Crown Prince often came up with peculiar phrases, and he was used to it—but looked at Joseph with great surprise, asking:
"Your Highness, why would you let the Prussians go? Are you concerned about political implications?"
Joseph adopted a mysterious expression and intentionally lowered his voice:
"If Blücher's army is gone, we'll have no reason to enter the Southern Netherlands. He is, after all, our 'guide.'"
"Huh?"
Joseph ignored the Chief of Staff's confusion and turned to address the other staff officers:
"Our primary objective is to reclaim Luxembourg, and the losses of Lefebvre's Legion must be kept to a minimum."
"With that in mind, let's discuss the operational deployment details again."
"Yes, Your Highness."
...
The next morning, Blücher personally rode through various parts of the camp, urging his soldiers to break camp and depart as quickly as possible. He was now very worried that after Bischoff's defeat, he wouldn't be able to hold back Leo.
Nearly an hour later, the Prussian army finally struck their tents, arranged their wagons neatly on the road, and then began to move slowly to the beat of drums.
Blücher looked at the still-rising sun and was quite satisfied with this pace. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the main force would be able to launch an attack on Leo around three in the afternoon.
What he didn't know was that Joseph had already set out with the Guards Corps more than 40 minutes earlier—having no tents and camping in the open, the Guards Corps began marching almost as soon as it was light enough to see, and their supply wagons were less than half the number of the Prussians'.
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