Chapter 454: The Elixir of Immortality
Maurice unconsciously rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, the white line formation had mostly appeared, comprising at least seven or eight thousand men!
The Saxon soldiers, who had been "bullying the weak" just moments before, were startled. As the frontline officers began to order their troops to halt and reform, dozens of horses swiftly pulled cannons to their front-flank, unhitching and setting up the artillery less than 150 meters away.
Just a few minutes later, seven 6-pounder cannons roared at the Saxon infantry. Iron balls swept precisely through the soldiers' ranks, leaving a trail of severed limbs and mangled bodies.
The Saxons, who had been fighting lackadaisically just a moment ago, were instantly disoriented. Being shelled so closely was simply terrifying.
Before the Saxon cavalry could react, the 6-pounder cannons were re-hitched to their carriages, circled widely behind the French infantry, and reappeared on the other flank of the Saxon infantry.
The elusive cannon fire completely disrupted the Saxons' rhythm. Infantry hit by shells scattered to minimize losses, while officers elsewhere pulled on ropes, shouting orders for their soldiers to form neat ranks to face the approaching French infantry line.
After more than 20 minutes of this maneuvering, the Guards Corps' infantry line had advanced to less than 75 meters in front of the Saxon position, whose formation remained crooked and disorganized.
In the era of line formations and massed fire, confronting an orderly line with a disorganized one was undoubtedly an invitation to slaughter.
The Guards Corps preemptively fired a volley from a distance of 50 meters. Although this range was somewhat far, it was a sound tactic against a disorganized enemy—firing first could further disrupt their efforts to reform.
As expected, the Saxon soldiers instinctively began to return fire after being attacked. Due to the recent cannonade, their officers were still busy reforming ranks and couldn't stop the soldiers.
Disorganized firing was inherently unlikely to cause significant casualties, and any stray bullets that did hit their marks were largely deflected by the bulletproof inserts worn by the Guards Corps.
Thus, men continually fell within the Saxon ranks, while the French army opposite them advanced nonchalantly to less than 25 meters away.
Suddenly, a Saxon soldier gasped, "That medicine is real! They can't die!"
His words immediately sparked immense panic:
"God, that medicine actually exists!"
"How can we fight them?"
"No! We can't win this, we're finished..."
It turned out that when Driesen's troops had returned to the Prussian Coalition camp earlier, they had fearfully told others that the French army possessed a miraculous medicine capable of instantly healing gunshot wounds. They claimed that after being shot, a Frenchman would only need to swallow a pill from their mouth to stand back up within a minute.
Previously, Saxon soldiers had scoffed, believing the Prussians were just making excuses for their defeat. But now, they all believed it.
After another volley, the Saxon soldiers began to turn and flee, with even some junior officers joining the rout—they too had witnessed shot Frenchmen rise again. How could they possibly fight this battle?
In reality, most high-casualty exchanges of fire between infantry lines occurred within 30 meters. However, because the Guards Corps seemed almost 'invulnerable' at longer ranges, it had a profound psychological impact on the Saxons. By the time close-range exchanges began, their hands were shaking, and with slightly increased casualties, their morale utterly collapsed.
The constant close-range shelling by the Guards Corps' horse artillery only accelerated this process.
Similar to what had happened with Driesen's corps, the routed soldiers of the first infantry line quickly affected those behind them. The second infantry line engaged the Guards Corps only briefly before fleeing as well, followed by the third...
In just about 40 minutes, the Saxon corps' three line formations, comprising over 13,000 soldiers, began a desperate flight northward.
Berthier watched the black-clad soldiers scatter across the hills and felt a touch of frustration. Most of the cavalry had been sent to cover the retreating Austrian forces, leaving him with only six cavalry companies, which were needed to protect the infantry's flanks. He didn't even have any cavalry for pursuit.
The Guards Corps rested for an hour on the spot, then continued its advance northward.
At this point, they stood squarely in the middle of a breach in the Austrian defensive line, cutting off the Prussian forces that had penetrated into Austrian-controlled territory.
The Duke of Brunswick soon received news of the attack on the Saxon army and immediately frowned, leaning over his map.
Although he didn't know where this French force had emerged from, Maurice's report indicated they numbered only a little over ten thousand. He merely needed to immediately divert troops to block them.
He turned to his orderly, "Order General Andreas to immediately proceed to the breach and intercept that French detachment."
He considered it, feeling it wasn't secure enough, then added, "Move Auguste's corps there as well."
These two corps totaled over 16,000 soldiers, and with the cavalry assigned to cover them, the force approached 18,000 men. He held a significant local numerical advantage and was quite willing to commit troops.
Berthier, too, quickly received intelligence that two Prussian armies were on their way. At this point, he was close to completely sealing the breach in the Austrian defensive line, yet he ordered without hesitation:
"The entire army will turn and assemble on the gentle southwestern slope, preparing to meet the approaching enemy."
The aide beside him hesitated. "General, but that would mean abandoning the defensive line we've just secured."
"The Crown Prince once told me never to forget our established strategic objectives." Berthier patted his shoulder. "We are here to annihilate the main Prussian forces, not to help Marshal Lacy reclaim a defensive line."
The aide paused, then quickly stood to attention and said, "Yes, General!"
When Andreas and Auguste's corps arrived at the breach in the defensive line, the French forces that had attacked the Saxons were nowhere to be seen.
Then, the Saxon army's previous ordeal was replayed—
Horse artillery suddenly unleashed close-range bombardments, and the Guards Corps' infantry line appeared on their right flank, rapidly advancing to close quarters.
These Prussian soldiers had also heard the legends of "the elixir of immortality." Now, after several rounds of face-to-face volleys with the French, they too were gripped by terror.
The battle concluded around 4 PM. Andreas's men managed to retreat northward under staggered cover, while Auguste's corps was completely routed.
Berthier did not order a pursuit. Instead, he commanded the entire army to immediately return to the breach in the Austrian defensive line, begin deploying cannons, and dispatch soldiers to block key transportation routes.
The Prussian corps that had previously penetrated the western side of the defensive line were now completely cut off within Austrian-controlled territory.
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