Chapter 324: The Strong Resilience of the Southern Netherlands Uprising Army
At 10:30 AM, Marquis Blücher, the Prussian commander for the Southern Netherlands, received a report from his vanguard: they had linked up with Altmann's Corps and spotted the Austrian defensive lines.
Blücher was inwardly pleased; if Leo's Austrian forces couldn't escape, his battle in Luxembourg would essentially be over.
He was just about to order a full-scale assault on the Austrians when he saw several Hussars galloping frantically toward him, shouting from a distance, "Report! General, a large enemy force has appeared about half a kilometer to the south! Their exact numbers are unknown, but there are at least seven to eight thousand men!"
Blücher immediately frowned. 'Where did this enemy come from?' he wondered. He had spread his scouts out over a kilometer, almost reaching the town of Diekirch, and had received no reports of any other army.
Even the Austrian forces defending Diekirch couldn't have marched that far in half a day, only to suddenly appear right in front of him!
A reconnaissance range of nearly 15 kilometers—he had certainly been cautious enough, but he hadn't anticipated facing the Guards Corps, with their unbelievably fast marching speed.
Another Hussar added, "General, judging by their uniforms, those appear to be Frenchmen."
Blücher felt a wave of confusion. Frenchmen? How was that possible?
Just a few days ago, he'd received a report from intelligence stating that the French forces assembling at Verdun were headed for Silesia. How had they suddenly, without any warning, diverted to Luxembourg?
Yet, these damn Frenchmen were already very close; he had to take action.
After having the scouts mark the position where the French army was spotted, Blücher's expression darkened. To prevent Leo from escaping, he had ordered his army to rush toward the Austrians at full speed, causing his soldiers to form a long, narrow east-west formation.
And the French had appeared precisely in the dead center of that long line!
If he continued to assault Leo's Austrian forces, his midsection would inevitably take a heavy blow from the French. Although he had numerical superiority, if his front and rear divisions were cut off, they could easily be annihilated separately.
A staff officer beside him murmured, "General, we should temporarily disengage from the Austrians..."
Blücher shot him a glare, gritting his teeth. "We absolutely cannot let Leo escape!"
Austria had cultivated influence in Luxembourg for decades, establishing deep roots. If Leo managed to drag out the fight with him in the Luxembourg-Liège area, his deployment to Silesia would be repeatedly delayed.
He scanned the map, pinpointing his own forces, and suddenly his eyes lit up. "God be praised, the Netherland Uprising forces are currently directly in front of the French!"
He looked at his staff officer. "They're a tough bone to chew!"
"Issue orders for Bachaus's regiment to assist Altmann in a full assault on the Austrian forces. The battle must be concluded before 2 PM!"
"Yes, General!" the orderly replied, rapidly taking notes.
Blücher tapped the base of his riding crop on a mountain pass on the map. "Have the Netherland Uprising forces deploy here and hold back the French at all costs."
He then pointed to the rear of his current formation. "Dietlinde's Corps will immediately turn south. The Netherland Uprising forces only need to hold out until 3 PM at most, by which time Dietlinde will be able to arrive at the French left flank from the west."
Based on the Southern Netherlands Uprising Army's performance in his previous battles against Wurmser's Austrian forces, these fanatical liberals were incredibly resilient. Especially their clergymen, who could continue fighting in a Line Formation for over ten minutes, even with a severed arm!
At that time, less than 10,000 Netherland Uprising forces had stubbornly held their ground against the main Austrian army for nearly five hours, until the Duke of Brunswick completed his troop deployment and formed an encirclement around the Austrians. Even then, they hadn't broken.
Currently, although the Netherland Uprising forces numbered only 5,000, using the narrow terrain, it was highly probable they could hold up seven to eight thousand French troops for about four hours.
Moreover, he would leave some cavalry and artillery to support them, making the situation easier than last time.
This was still the most conservative estimate; if Altmann could quickly defeat the Austrians, they could also encircle the French from the east.
A staff officer on the side suggested, "General, should we send cavalry to harass the French and slow their advance?"
Blücher nodded. "Have Hilde take six cavalry squadrons to conduct harassment."
The quality of the Prussian army was now far inferior to the era of Frederick the Great. Only the cavalry, composed almost entirely of Junker nobility, still had respectable combat effectiveness; many times, they alone could sway the tide of the Prussian army's situation.
Blücher then issued deployments for the artillery and main Dragoon forces, and the orderly swiftly relayed his orders to the various units.
The Prussian army, originally arrayed in a long, narrow marching column, responded immediately.
The 5,000 Netherland Uprising forces in the middle of the column formed ranks near the mountain pass to block the French. Bachaus's Corps at the vanguard continued to advance, aiming to annihilate the Austrians with the utmost speed. Hilde's Corps, originally in the rear, turned ninety degrees and rushed directly toward the French left flank.
At the same time, Blücher positioned all his artillery on the slopes flanking the Netherland Uprising forces, to prevent the French from quickly breaking through the defenses. Another ten Dragoon squadrons, totaling about 1,500 men, were maneuvering on the French right flank, ready at any moment to engage.
It could be said that his deployment, given his numerical superiority, was textbook perfect and virtually flawless.
However, Prussian military textbooks had never featured a unit like the French Royal Guard Legion.
Thus, his knowledge and experience might very well become a massive pitfall.
...
Approaching noon, around 12 PM, the main force of the French Royal Guard Legion had arrived less than two kilometers outside the mountain pass Blücher had fortified.
While referred to as a mountain pass, this area was actually quite wide, with a flat area about three kilometers wide between the low hills on either side.
However, by choking off the middle section, the flanks would become impassable—a slight alteration in the enemy's formation would allow a diagonal line to cut off the marching column, with cavalry naturally sweeping up any units separated from the main force.
Berthier observed the enemy infantry line formation in the pass through his telescope, then turned to Joseph. "Your Highness, it seems the Prussians are quite confident. They intend to attack Major Lefebvre while simultaneously engaging us in a decisive battle."
There were two infantry lines in front, and an experienced commander could estimate with a glance that they comprised no more than 6,000 men.
This was clearly not Blücher's main force.
There was only one possibility: the Prussians had divided their forces.
Joseph smiled and nodded. "That means their scouts haven't accurately determined our numbers."
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