Chapter 359: The Collapse of Charles II
"Please inform Mr. Vonck that France remains firmly committed to the establishment of the Southern Netherlands as an independent nation." Joseph said with a smile, gesturing to Viscount Flotte. "Just as he suspects, our army is indeed pursuing the Dutch forces.
"Oh, and thank you for the oats you brought, as well as the valuable intelligence."
"It is my honor to be of service to you and your great army," Viscount Flotte said, his face flushed with enthusiasm, adding a few more compliments before bowing and exiting the military tent. He didn't suspect why the French army would be chasing the Dutch in Ghent.
Indeed, he had just delivered over a dozen carts of oats, an extremely valuable feed for warhorses, along with news that the Hanoverian army near Brussels had turned south.
As a Southern Netherlander born in Zwevegem, who had spoken French since childhood and aspired to a French lifestyle his entire life, he had always hoped that Wallonia would be incorporated into France. That way, he could become a genuine Frenchman.
So, upon learning that the grand French army was nearby—his serfs had told him when they tried to repay their debts with French paper currency—he immediately brought oats and wine himself to "support the army."
Of course, Joseph didn't pay for the supplies from such a wealthy man. He was confident that Viscount Flotte wouldn't miss a sum of ten to twenty thousand livres.
With this shipment of oats, the Guards Corps could reduce the time spent on local resupply, thereby increasing their marching speed by several degrees.
In fact, ever since they had arrived in the southern Southern Netherlands, similar "heaven-sent supplies" had been pouring in, so much so that there was even more wine than they could carry.
He walked to the map on the table, pointing to the south of Brussels. "Enemy movements have been spotted from Jiali town to Waterloo town, which suggests their marching column is at least 6 kilometers long."
A staff officer from the corps immediately added, "This might be a good opportunity for us to launch an attack!"
Joseph also looked at the map, but he hesitated. The hussars hadn't yet reported the specific enemy situation, and he was quite far from the Hanoverian army. Rushing into a decisive battle immediately would still carry significant uncertainty.
He suddenly tapped Antwerp on the map with his finger and smiled. "We'll go back there one more time!"
...
East of Brussels, Major Masson grabbed a hussar who had come to report on the enemy, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Are you sure? The Dutch are still near Waterloo?"
"Yes, Major," the hussar confirmed. "I personally saw Dutch cannons and numerous tents."
Another hussar nearby added, "We also heard the town shoemaker say they were still doing business in the Dutch camp yesterday afternoon. The Hanoverian army had already moved south by then."
"Excellent!" Masson gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. There was at least half a day's march separating the Dutch and Hanoverian armies, which was the perfect opportunity to execute the "infiltration" tactic His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had spoken of.
He waved his hand at the messenger. "Order the entire army to immediately force-march towards Waterloo!"
"Yes, Major!"
A few hours later.
General Bronckhorst glanced at the listless marching column beside him, shaking his head with a sense of helplessness. Anyone who had to march back and forth three times in less than a week would be utterly fed up.
He was about to deliver a speech to boost morale when he saw several hussars galloping towards him, looking agitated. From a distance, they shouted, "Report! General, enemies spotted to the northeast, less than 3 kilometers away!"
Bronckhorst frowned. He knew there had always been a French detachment hovering nearby; Marshal Charles II had even sent cavalry to drive them off. But those Frenchmen had always kept their distance, seemingly only performing reconnaissance, so they hadn't paid much attention.
He asked the hussar, "Is it the same French detachment from before?"
"It seems to be them," the hussar nodded, quickly adding, "But this time there are more of them, probably over a thousand men."
Bronckhorst suddenly felt as if he had swallowed a fly. A thousand enemy troops certainly couldn't be ignored, but his own marching speed was already slow. Such an encounter would likely leave him even further behind Charles II.
He testily ordered his staff officer, "The entire army is to halt its advance and form a line formation on the open ground south of the town to meet the enemy!"
"Yes, General!"
The French army's speed was much faster than Bronckhorst had anticipated. In less than an hour, French skirmishers began assaulting the Dutch supply convoy.
He immediately deployed his infantry in a line formation, trying to squeeze the French forces to the west. However, the latter showed no desire to engage in a prolonged fight. Amidst the chaos, they launched a counterattack against the Dutch vanguard, killing sixty or seventy men, then vanished southwest without looking back.
Bronckhorst initially worried about a French ambush and waited for several hours in full readiness before finally confirming that the enemy had truly departed.
Exasperated, he then sent cavalry in pursuit, but they encountered a French infantry line formation that was already prepared, forcing them to retreat hastily.
Bronckhorst subsequently ordered his subordinates to tally the losses. He felt a slight relief upon learning that casualties were fewer than a hundred, in addition to losing some food and tents.
He checked his pocket watch; after all that commotion, it was almost 5 PM.
He then looked at the soldiers who had been standing in line formation all day and had no choice but to order the entire army to return to Waterloo town to rest, continuing their march to Liège tomorrow at noon.
Meanwhile, Charles II, who was on a forced march, heard about the Dutch army being ambushed by the French and immediately had a bad feeling. Although Bronckhorst reported only a thousand French soldiers, who knew if that was merely the vanguard.
After long discussions with his staff, he cautiously decided to dispatch one infantry regiment and three squadrons of cavalry to Waterloo to support the Dutch.
As long as his main force could link up with Blücher, they would have more than enough troops, so detaching fewer than two thousand men would have virtually no impact.
Less than half a day after Charles II's reinforcements departed, the Southern Netherlanders from Brussels delivered another piece of "bad news": the French army had suddenly changed direction and returned to Antwerp.
For a moment, Charles II wanted nothing more than to rush directly to Liège, destroy the Austrian army in Rennes first, and then return with Blücher to deal with the damned Frenchmen.
But he knew that the French cared nothing for the fate of the Austrian army, while the survival of the Southern Netherlands parliament was something he absolutely had to consider.
After cursing for more than ten minutes, he ordered the Hanoverian army to turn north again and march back to Antwerp.
Less than two days after his troops had left, the infantry regiment previously sent to support the Dutch reported back, stating they had been ambushed by French forces on the way and suffered several hundred casualties.
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