Chapter 838: The War Crown Prince
The soldiers were excitedly discussing the menu for tonight's dinner when the sudden, sharp blasts of bugles echoed from all directions.
It was the signal for an enemy attack.
Seconds later, the company commander hurried past the defensive line with his flag-bearer and drummer, shouting orders at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, grab your rifles! Get your bulletproof inserts in place and fall in!"
"Stay sharp, men! This will likely be the Prussians' final assault of the day!"
The sergeant hurriedly urged everyone to complete their battle preparations. He glanced at his pocket watch and spat out a curse. "Those bastards... it's already four-thirty and they're still attacking. If this keeps up, Mademoiselle Delvaux's Banquet might head off to another battalion!"
The soldiers' eyes instantly turned red with frustration.
Field kitchens couldn't cook after nightfall because the glare of the fires would serve as perfect target markers for enemy artillery.
The fighting here was likely to last until dusk, which meant the meal carts wouldn't be coming their way if they didn't wrap this up quickly.
André gritted his teeth. "Aim true, every one of you! we have to drive the enemy back before it gets dark!"
"God willing, don't let Mademoiselle Delvaux's Banquet leave..."
Ten minutes later, over a thousand Prussian skirmishers approached rapidly from the south under the cover of artillery fire.
Behind them followed more than thirty infantry assault columns.
However, the Prussians were shocked to find that the French forces to the southeast of Eschdorf were exceptionally fierce today. To a man, they seemed to have gone mad, completely ignoring the incoming shells to desperately pour lead into the advancing ranks.
The Prussian frontal assault was immediately blunted. But due to their massive numerical superiority, their flanking units to the east soon began their envelopment.
This was the terrifying reality of numerical advantage in large-scale warfare.
Normally, five thousand elite troops have a high probability of defeating ten thousand enemies. But when the scale of the army grows to fifty thousand, dealing with a hundred thousand enemies becomes incredibly difficult.
It wasn't a simple matter of ratios.
When a hundred thousand men deploy across a battlefield, they occupy an area several kilometers wide. The smaller force simply cannot cover such a vast expanse, and because the front line is so long, you can't even see the enemies in the distance.
Once the battle begins, you might repel the enemies directly in front of you, only to realize that your flanks have been surrounded without you even knowing when it happened.
This was why the larger the campaign, the more it tested a commander's ability. Often, a commander had to rely on experience and intuition to judge the enemy's movements and maneuver forces in advance to counter them.
But this time, as the Prussian flanking force approached the French lines, two French skirmisher battalions repelled them with an unusually savage counter-charge, so fierce that it even disrupted the formations of the Prussian infantry following behind.
Those Prussians closest to the French lines thought they heard the opposing soldiers shouting something other than the usual "In the name of the Crown Prince!" Mixed in were cries like "For dinner!" and "Beef stew!"
And so, the soldiers on the Eschdorf line, their fury at maximum levels, repelled the Prussian assault before five-thirty.
The evening sun still hung precariously on the horizon.
André, Aurore, and the others soon spotted the rising smoke from Mademoiselle Delvaux's Banquet and burst into happy song.
As the Prussian army launched its final wave of the day, Masséna finally caught sight of the banners bearing the Crown Prince's crest to the north of Eschdorf.
He quickly signaled the military band to begin playing, straightened his uniform, and hurried forward with his guard to greet the arrival.
"Your Royal Highness, it is a great honor to meet you here." Masséna bowed low before the Crown Prince's horse, hand over his chest. "However, we are very close to the enemy lines here. It is quite dangerous. Perhaps you should..."
Joseph hopped down from his horse and tossed the reins to Clauzel. Stepping onto the carpet of fallen leaves, he walked forward and patted Masséna on the shoulder, gesturing toward the nearby military band. "I'm here to fight a war. Don't bother with this kind of pageantry in the future."
Masséna had served in the old royal army for years. He had only entered the Paris Police Academy for advanced studies after Joseph returned to France from Silesia. Consequently, he had never campaigned with Joseph before and was unfamiliar with his style and habits.
Masséna nodded quickly. "Yes, Your Highness, I shall remember that. Nevertheless, I still suggest that it would be safer for you to relocate to the headquarters in Wiltz."
Joseph turned and offered a thin smile. "The enemy isn't in Wiltz. I'll say it again: I'm here to fight a war. How can there be a war without danger?"
He understood the importance of the Rhineland perfectly.
This was the true key to controlling the entire German region, and it was also the breakthrough point for the Coalition to invade France.
Whichever side won here, whether France or the Anti-French Coalition, would seize the absolute initiative for the entire war.
That was why he had personally accompanied Lefebvre's Legion to Luxembourg. Even if he didn't participate directly in the command, his presence alone would bolster morale.
Masséna had no choice but to follow, saying respectfully, "With you leading us, France will surely achieve a glorious victory!"
Joseph didn't take the bait. He looked toward the distance where the sound of artillery echoed. "Tell me about the situation in detail."
"Yes, Your Highness." Masséna knew that the Crown Prince had led armies in many campaigns across the continent, so he stopped trying to dissuade him. He mounted his horse alongside Joseph and began his report.
"Our defensive line has remained stable along the Eschdorf to Consthum axis. However, Ferdinand has massed nearly a hundred thousand troops here, so the defensive pressure remains very high.
"Fortunately, Oudinot's legion crushed the forces of Thuringia and Lower Hesse at Neuerburg. Otherwise, we would be facing another thirteen thousand enemy troops on this front."
Joseph nodded slightly.
Masséna's deployment was tactically sound. He hadn't chosen to hide behind the walls of the Luxembourg fortress but had instead created strategic depth on the Ardennes plateau. This had given Oudinot the opportunity to strike the enemy's rear. Had he stayed bottled up, Oudinot would have been surrounded even if a raid succeeded.
Masséna continued, "As for the Luxembourg fortress itself, General Berthier is leading three regiments of the Royal First Infantry Division and the Champagne Legion—a total of thirteen thousand men—in its defense.
"They are facing a coalition of forces from Hanover, Mainz, Trier, and other states, totaling over fifteen thousand. There shouldn't be any surprises there."
Hanover's main army had already been crippled by Joseph during the Brabant uprising. Their current combat effectiveness was roughly on par with that of Lower Hesse or Thuringia.
As for small states like Mainz, their military strength was negligible.
Therefore, defending Luxembourg City was indeed not a difficult task.
As Joseph and Masséna passed through the town of Eschdorf, they could already see the smoke from the front lines in the distance.
Joseph flicked the reins, urging his horse to a faster pace. He glanced at Masséna. "The issue of manpower will soon be alleviated. I've brought you thirty-six thousand reinforcements. They should arrive here by tomorrow."
"Thirty-six thousand?" Masséna's eyes lit up as he asked excitedly, "You've brought the entire Southern Netherlands Army! Does that mean the Royal Fourth Infantry Division is among them?"
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