Chapter 755: Attack! Attack!
Outside Mavene Town, thousands of French soldiers had formed several line formations, gazing menacingly at the small town.
Seven or eight cannons had been incessantly pounding the Austrian troops inside the town with artillery fire since early morning.
Count Radezky was agitated by the cannon fire, but he personally inspected the defenses nonetheless.
As the vanguard for Prince Coburg, he had not only failed to capture Wavre, but had also lost nearly half his forces to the sudden appearance of the French army.
This small town was the only foothold north of Wavre. If he lost it again, the Prince would likely send him to a court-martial.
Fortunately, he still commanded nearly 6,000 soldiers. After scouting for the better part of the day, he had confirmed that the French forces attacking him numbered only slightly over 6,000.
Though the French had fought ferociously yesterday, he believed that with his full commitment to defense, he could hold out until Prince Coburg's main army arrived tomorrow.
After an impassioned address to his soldiers, Count Radezky returned, breathless, to his command post, and instructed a messenger:
"Send another man to report the situation here to His Highness, the Prince."
South of Brussels.
Uccle Town.
Prince Coburg, leading the main force of the Austrian Southern Netherlands Army, was slowly advancing south.
They were nearly 20 kilometers from Wavre, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they would arrive there by noon tomorrow.
Prince Coburg, mounted on his horse, frowned as he spoke to his Chief of Staff, Karl von Leibrich, who rode beside him:
"How could the French have appeared in Wavre so quickly? Did they fly here?"
Austria had ruled the Southern Netherlands for over eighty years, and with many Flemish people living in Wallonia, they had ears and eyes throughout the region.
He was therefore quite certain that just four days prior, no French forces had yet entered Wallonia.
Yet the French had managed to travel from the Lille border to Wavre in just three days.
That was a journey that would normally take nearly six days!
Leibrich replied:
"Marshal, perhaps it's merely a detachment of French cavalry."
If it were purely cavalry without supplies, that marching speed would be understandable.
Prince Coburg shot him a glance. "General Radezky's report states that the French also brought cannons."
He then waved a hand dismissively. "Ultimately, his reconnaissance wasn't thorough enough to detect the French forces in advance. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so severely beaten."
The Chief of Staff nodded. "Indeed, Marshal. General Radezky had a numerical advantage."
As they spoke, an officer approached them, handing an urgent dispatch to Prince Coburg's aide.
"Marshal, this just arrived from Count Radezky."
Prince Coburg scanned the report, then handed it to Leibrich.
"The French are actually continuing their attack on Radezky's corps."
The latter took the report and saw that it was largely Count Radezky's desperate plea for reinforcements, clearly indicating the immense pressure the French were exerting on him.
He looked at the Prince and said, "The French are likely attempting to capture Mavene Town to expand Wavre's defensive perimeter.
"Do you think we should dispatch a cavalry battalion to reinforce him?"
Prince Coburg pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
"Cavalry alone won't be enough.
"The French have clearly been blinded by their successful raid yesterday, which means we now have a good opportunity."
"You mean?"
"The French have committed all their forces to besieging Mavene Town, so Wavre's defenses must be quite depleted right now.
"We should try our best to eliminate them near Mavene Town, and then Wavre will be ours for the taking."
Based on the intelligence he had gathered, he knew that over 20,000 French soldiers had entered Wallonia.
Clearly, only their vanguard had arrived at Wavre so far.
If these troops had held Wavre until their main force arrived, the Austrian army would have faced a difficult siege.
Even with a decisive numerical advantage, the Austrians could very well have been stalled north of Wavre.
But now the French had rashly abandoned Wavre to attack Radezky's corps, and he had to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Prince Coburg immediately ordered:
"General Gruber is to lead the Pilsen Corps, the Grenadier Battalion, and all cavalry to Mavene Town with utmost speed. From there, he is to either encircle the French forces, depending on the situation, or directly seize Wavre."
The Pilsen Corps was the only unit in his army brought directly from Austria proper, and the Grenadier Battalion was elite. These were all soldiers capable of rapid marches.
As a Prince from Thuringia, his rise to the rank of Marshal in the Austrian army indicated his definite competence in military command.
At this moment, he decisively committed all his elite units.
Soon, over 6,000 Austrian infantry and 4,000 cavalry began to detach from the main army, heading south at top speed.
Prince Coburg watched as this raiding force disappeared from his sight, then turned to Leibrich and ordered:
"Order the entire army to accelerate its march. We must reach Wavre before nightfall. If General Gruber is held up by the French, we can launch an attack on Wavre tomorrow morning."
With an army of 40,000 at his disposal, his mind was consumed with how to capture Wavre as quickly as possible, and how to then advance on Namur. He never once considered that his opponent had no intention of defending in the first place.
At two in the afternoon, Gruber's raiding force had reached a point 4 kilometers north of Mavene Town.
Prince Coburg's main force was already nearly 7 kilometers behind them.
Prince Coburg repeatedly tapped his warhorse with his riding crop, the animal maintaining a trot almost continuously. It was foreseeable that after today's march, it would need at least a week to recover its strength.
Just then, a resonant bugle call suddenly echoed from the west.
Prince Coburg immediately frowned. Before he could even ask, a Hussar galloped up, shouting urgently at him:
"The French! A large number of French troops have been spotted on the western flank, at least ten thousand men!"
Prince Coburg was instantly stunned.
Count Radezky's position reported 6,000 French soldiers, so where had these 10,000 men materialized from?
But he had no time to ponder these details now. He hastily barked at Leibrich:
"Quick! Order the entire army to regroup into a defensive formation!"
His orders were quickly relayed. The Austrian soldiers began to form ranks, all in a fluster, but at that moment, most of the officers hadn't yet figured out where the enemy attack would come from.
And most critically, Prince Coburg's earlier command for the entire army to rush to Wavre at top speed had resulted in a significant distance opening up between the highly trained corps and the less well-trained ones.
Viewed from above at this moment, the Austrian main force was a thin line stretching for 5 kilometers.
Meanwhile, a French force, 3 kilometers away, was driving straight towards the middle of that thin line.
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