Chapter 757: A Pleasant Surprise
Nine kilometers south of Ukkel, French soldiers in white uniforms systematically formed up.
Oddly, the over 4,000 soldiers on the northernmost flank wore light gray uniforms, clearly the style of the Walloon Police.
Indeed, the "French army" that was currently menacing Count Radetzky outside the town of Marbais was actually the Walloon Police disguised in French military uniforms.
Having suffered a crushing defeat the day before, they were no longer fit for combat, but they could still stand in formation.
This was why Count Radetzky kept reporting to the Prince of Coburg that the main French force was prepared to attack Marbais at any moment.
Joseph had used this method to conceal over 4,000 French soldiers.
Afterward, he ordered the Royal Fourth Infantry Division to march rapidly overnight.
The Fourth Division finally reached Wavre at three in the morning—even such a top-tier European unit saw over a thousand men fall behind after half a night's march.
This morning, Joseph had Lefebvre lead 13,000 soldiers who still had the stamina to quickly advance north and launch a surprise attack on the Prince of Coburg's forces.
He had never even considered that he would suddenly be attacked by 10,000 French soldiers.
Lefebvre's gaze swept over the weary, dark-eyed soldiers, and he sighed inwardly.
'These lads marched 25 kilometers yesterday, then another 8 kilometers overnight, slept for only about four hours, and continued for another 9 kilometers this morning to reach this position. Their physical exhaustion must be immense,' he thought.
He cracked his riding crop, galloping past the soldiers, and declared loudly:
"Yes, I know you are all extremely tired, perhaps even struggling to stand still."
He turned sideways and pointed his riding crop toward the east: "But the enemy is just as exhausted. To reinforce Radetzky's corps, they've been force-marching since this morning, and their formations are now in complete disarray.
"I want you to hold on and show those Austrians what true men are made of! Let them watch in terror as your iron will crushes them completely!"
He abruptly drew his saber, raising it high above his head, and proclaimed proudly: "You are the Crown Prince's Guards Corps! You are the finest soldiers on the continent! You will overcome all!"
Yes, although they had been reorganized into the Royal Fourth Corps, the soldiers still took pride in the "Guards Corps" and privately continued to refer to themselves as such.
Upon hearing "Guards Corps," the soldiers immediately lifted their heads, their previous exhaustion replaced by excitement and fervor.
Lefebvre reined his horse around and charged toward the Austrian army in the east: "In the Crown Prince's name! Crush them!"
Tens of thousands of soldiers immediately followed, letting out a thunderous roar: "In the Crown Prince's name!"
Their bodies seemed to forget their fatigue, as they marched to the beat of drums, striding toward the Prince of Coburg.
Of course, this was also a result of their exceptionally rigorous physical training. Otherwise, no matter how much they were motivated, it would be useless if their bodies simply couldn't endure.
But the new French army was accustomed to regular 5-kilometer weighted runs, so they could still "squeeze" out some residual strength at this moment.
In contrast, the Austrian soldiers had only force-marched less than 10 kilometers this morning, and their stamina was already largely depleted.
The Prince of Coburg's response was not untimely. As the French army covered the final three kilometers, he had already rallied five infantry regiments and completed his line formation on the western flank.
Lefebvre had no other choice; the terrain around Brussels was flat, and three kilometers was the shortest distance that wouldn't be discovered by Austrian reconnaissance cavalry.
In fact, had the Prince of Coburg not been rushing, they would have needed to maintain a distance of at least six kilometers to avoid detection.
However, given the disarray caused by the Austrian army's forced march, three kilometers was sufficient for concealment!
The first to attack the Austrian army were not Lefebvre's cavalry or infantry, but the cannons.
Although Joseph had not brought any horse artillery this time, to avoid dispersing his offensive forces along the Rhine River, the Royal Artillery Battalion's marching speed was by no means slow.
Ten 6-pounder cannons began firing from several hundred meters away from the Austrian army. This was almost the maximum effective range of these cannons.
However, at this moment, Austrian soldiers were running everywhere in front, so with the Royal Artillery Battalion's shooting skill, there was no need to worry about accuracy.
As cannonballs continuously streaked through the air, screams echoed incessantly within the Austrian ranks. Apart from the over 7,000 soldiers who had already formed up, the other soldiers still scrambling to gather around their colors became even more chaotic due to the lack of officer discipline and the deadly impact of the cannon fire.
On the Prince of Coburg's side, most of his artillery was still positioned further back in the column, with only three cannons able to return fire at this time.
After more than ten minutes, twelve French infantry columns, covered by a skirmisher battalion, appeared in front of the Austrian infantry line and began to accelerate their charge.
"Stand your ground! Don't move!"
Austrian officers shouted desperately, but the fire from just over 600 French skirmishers caused their line formation to waver.
Immediately after, the French columns arrived one after another at a position about seventy-five meters from the line formation, halted, and began to deploy into battle lines.
In just half a minute, several battle lines, each over a hundred meters long, appeared before the Austrian infantry. The skirmishers simultaneously and instinctively filled the gaps between the lines, providing supplementary firepower.
"Advance!" Following the officers' command, the battle lines of 6,000 French infantrymen, accompanied by the beating of drums, pressed toward the opposing line formation.
When the two sides were about forty-five meters apart, the Austrian army finally could not hold back and unleashed a volley first.
Thirty to forty French soldiers were struck by bullets, but protected by their bulletproof inserts, fewer than ten were actually wounded.
The pace of the French drums quickened, and the battle lines surged forward about nine meters. It was then, on their officers' command, that they simultaneously raised their percussion cap muskets.
"Aim—"
"Fire—"
Dense muzzle flashes enveloped the entire line. Because of the closer distance and the French army's superior marksmanship, blood and gore splattered across the Austrian line formation, with over a hundred men falling to the ground.
"Reload—"
In fact, no officer's command was needed; the French soldiers performed the actions of setting the musket, loading powder, and ramming it down almost purely by muscle memory.
Due to their more practiced reloading skills and the simpler loading steps of percussion cap muskets, just as the Austrian army finished reloading and raised their weapons, the French quickly aimed back at them.
'To think they had advanced an extra nine meters!'
The two sides fired volleys separated by two or three seconds, and tens of thousands of lead bullets crisscrossed.
The bulletproof inserts once again proved their immense value.
Over 150 more Austrian soldiers were struck and killed, while the French suffered only about forty casualties.
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