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Chapter 757: First Victory

The extremely lopsided exchange of fire lasted for six volleys—or, more accurately, the French army unleashed six volleys, while the enemy managed only four.

Coupled with the French artillery's fierce bombardment, large gaps quickly appeared in the Austrian line formation.

No one knew who was the first to turn and flee, but their panic immediately drew the surrounding Austrian soldiers into a rout. In just a few minutes, the entire infantry line formation dissolved into chaos.

Prince Coburg frantically ordered the second infantry line formation behind them to advance, but to his surprise, the French battalions quickly converged into a dozen or so columns. They surged through the scattered Austrian soldiers, directly charging the second Austrian line formation that had just been ordered to hold.

The Austrian soldiers in the rear were completely unprepared. Even as the French columns deployed, many of them were still following the previous order—to move forward and take over the defensive line from the retreating soldiers. More soldiers, however, halted, ready to counterattack.

Thus, before the French forces, a crooked and disorganized infantry line formation materialized.

The outcome of the battle was never in doubt.

If even a well-ordered Austrian infantry line formation couldn't withstand the ferocious assault of the French Royal Army, a chaotic one stood no chance.

In less than twenty minutes, Prince Coburg's newly organized infantry line formation disintegrated once more.

Prince Coburg had originally hoped to hold out until Gruber's elite troops could withdraw—he had issued a retreat order to Gruber the moment he spotted the French—but he never imagined the French army would be so fierce, shattering his forces in just ninety minutes.

Without allowing for argument, a dozen or so bodyguards helped Prince Coburg onto his horse, covering his retreat toward Brussels.

However, after they had ridden merely two or three kilometers, they saw chaos ahead as well, indicating that Davidovich's Dutch legion had also come under attack.

Prince Coburg's vision instantly blurred.

The French had somehow conjured so many troops, and now Brussels itself might be in danger.

He hastily ordered a turn southeast, galloping towards Leuven.

He had no idea that only four cavalry companies, a mere 450 men, were attacking the Dutch legion—Joseph's entire cavalry force brought to the Southern Netherlands.

When Prince Coburg's main force came under attack, he immediately ordered the Dutch to converge on his position. However, the Dutch legion's discipline was even poorer than the Austrians', and after Davidovich urged them to hasten their march, they quickly fragmented into over a dozen scattered groups.

When the French cavalry appeared, the Dutch immediately fell into a panic. Without even attempting to organize a defense, they began to scatter and flee in disarray.

The fleeing soldiers spread the news of 'a full-scale French offensive' to even more people.

Just like that, Davidovich's vanguard of nearly ten thousand soldiers was sent scrambling by merely four cavalry companies.

This, in turn, fed Prince Coburg misinformation, making him believe that the Dutch forces trailing him had also encountered a large French contingent, thus prompting his decision to divert his retreat to Leuven.

Meanwhile, Lefebvre watched the Austrian soldiers scatter like headless chickens, finally letting out a sigh of relief. At the same time, his admiration for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's decision soared.

If they had followed his original plan to staunchly defend Wavre, even under the most favorable circumstances, they would still be locked in a desperate struggle with the fully assembled Austrian army right now.

He was confident he could command 20,000 French troops to crush the more than 40,000 Coalition Forces, but in a positional battle, as long as Prince Coburg didn't make a mistake, the fighting would likely drag on for at least a week, or even longer.

Yet now, including their march, he had defeated the Austro-Dutch Coalition in just half a day.

He then instructed the orderly, "Have Reynaud's regiment stay to pursue the routing enemy. Everyone else, gather immediately and return to Wavre."

"Yes, General!"

Lefebvre knew that currently, Wavre was defended by fewer than two thousand French soldiers, all of whom were exhausted from the march, along with four thousand Walloon Police.

There was a possibility that Prince Coburg's vanguard might not return to reinforce, but instead risk attacking Wavre directly.

Therefore, Lefebvre's safest course of action was to immediately lead his main force back to Wavre. While this might allow many Austrian troops to escape, it would at least block any Austrian forces advancing on Wavre and ensure the town's safety.

When Lefebvre's main force had advanced less than four kilometers south, a reconnaissance cavalryman suddenly reported to him that nearly ten thousand Austrian soldiers were approaching from the front...

Five hours later, Lefebvre finally, and with considerable effort, routed the nine thousand Austrian soldiers under Gruber's command.

The reason the battle lasted so long was that the Austrian army possessed a large cavalry force, while Lefebvre had no cavalry at his disposal.

Whenever Gruber found himself at a disadvantage, he would use his cavalry to harass Lefebvre's flanks and rear, causing him considerable headaches.

The situation only resolved once the four cavalry companies that had attacked the Dutch legion arrived as reinforcements.

Part of the credit also went to Gruber's thousand Dutch cavalrymen—had they not suddenly routed, exposing the Austrian cavalry's flank, the battle might well have continued until the following day.

Wavre.

In a room within the Chamber of Commerce administrative building, Joseph perused the military dispatch sent by the Rhine Front Army. He raised a hand, gesturing to Eman. "Please prepare a cup of tea for me, thank you."

Clauzel and Eman exchanged a glance, then anxiously looked out the window. Clauzel bowed to Joseph. "Your Highness, perhaps you should go to Namur or Mons first; it would be safer there."

It was no wonder he was so anxious; at this moment, Wavre held only 300 of the Crown Prince's personal guard, and two thousand soldiers too exhausted from their march to fight.

If Lefebvre failed to rout Prince Coburg's main force, and the Austrian army advanced south, His Royal Highness would be in an extremely perilous situation.

Joseph took the teacup from Eman's hand and smiled. "I have absolute faith in my army."

He wasn't merely seeking an adrenaline rush, either.

For one, he knew the caliber of the Austro-Dutch Coalition, especially the twenty thousand Dutch troops, who likely couldn't even defeat three thousand fresh French recruits. He had laid so many traps to deceive Prince Coburg that, with Lefebvre launching a surprise attack, victory was practically guaranteed.

Second, he had also deployed numerous reconnaissance cavalry around Wavre; if any Austrian forces truly approached Wavre, he would still have ample time to leave, as there were no enemy troops to the southwest.

Just as Clauzel was about to press his case further, an officer excitedly burst through the door and saluted Joseph, declaring, "Your Highness, General Lefebvre has achieved victory.

"The general routed the Austrian army south of Uccle, and Josiah led approximately five thousand fleeing soldiers toward Leuven.

"Davidovich's Dutch legion has retreated back to Brussels.

"General Lefebvre also routed Gruber's corps on his return to Wavre. In total, over four thousand men were killed or captured..."

Joseph glanced at the clock, a hint of surprise in his eyes. It was barely half past five.

He had initially expected the fighting to last until the day after tomorrow, but he never imagined such a swift victory!