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Chapter 846: A Brilliant Victory

"To the east?" Blücher frowned. "Have you forgotten that Trier has already been occupied by the French?"

Scharnhorst hurriedly replied, "General, the number of French troops is limited. They must be rushing to Cologne now to seize the crossings.

"The forces left behind should be concentrated in the city of Trier and the fortress of Koblenz.

"As long as we move fast enough, we have a chance to pass through Trier near Kastellaun, traverse the Palatinate, and retreat across the Rhine to the east bank from Mannheim."

Kastellaun was a town located between Trier and Koblenz, and the terrain there was flat and easy to traverse.

Blücher hesitated for a few seconds before gesturing to the messenger. "Pass the order: the entire army turns toward Kastellaun."

On the other side, when Saint-Hilaire led his army to the banks of the Our River, he found that Blücher had already crossed and departed.

In truth, he could not be blamed for negligence. Usually, the Our River would not freeze at the end of October. It was the extreme weather of this year that had saved the Prussians.

Saint-Hilaire and his staff held a brief consultation and unanimously agreed that Blücher must have fled toward Cologne—the only crossing in the northern section of the Rhine still controlled by the Coalition.

He immediately accelerated his march north but failed to find any trace of the Prussian army. Just as he began to doubt his judgment, the forward cavalry returned to report that they had discovered the British at Düren, engaged in a fierce battle with the Walloon Legion.

Near the dense forest east of Düren.

The Duke of York watched the retreating British defensive line through his telescope, struggling to maintain his royal composure. He turned his head to ask the staff officer beside him, "How much longer until the Prussians arrive?"

"According to the messenger officer, they should arrive before noon today."

Before the staff officer could finish his sentence, the Duke of York noticed a shift in the French formation.

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "What time is it now?"

"Ten-thirty, Your Highness."

"Clearly, General Blücher is moving much faster than you estimated," the Duke of York remarked. "Send the order: prepare to coordinate with the reinforcements and launch a counter-offensive against the French."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

However, just as the staff officer was about to turn away, a cavalryman rushed over in a panic, shouting, "Your Highness, a large number of French troops have appeared to the south! At least fifteen thousand men!"

The Duke of York's face instantly turned pale, and even the telescope in his hand fell to the ground. "How... how can they be French..."

Before two in the afternoon, Saint-Hilaire, in cooperation with the Walloon Legion, broke through the British defensive line. Tens of thousands of British Lobsterbacks knelt in the open fields. From a distance, it looked like a vast forest of maple trees in late autumn.

However, Saint-Hilaire soon received bad news—the Duke of York had not been found among the prisoners. He must have taken advantage of the chaos to flee toward Cologne.

Saint-Hilaire immediately led his troops north in pursuit. Capturing the Cologne crossing had originally been one of his primary objectives.

But when he arrived at Cologne without stopping, he found that the Austrian army had already established defenses there.

Facing a solid fortress built in an extremely perilous position, Saint-Hilaire had no choice but to let his soldiers rest in place, waiting for the Walloon Legion to catch up before attempting an assault.

The next day, before the Walloon Legion arrived, he instead met Soult's forces.

After Soult had taken control of Mainz, he was also focused on Cologne, the last crossing on the northern Rhine, and had rushed there without a moment's delay.

The combined forces of both sides, along with the Walloon Legion, totaling over thirty thousand men, began a fierce assault on the Cologne fortress.

Three days later.

Bastogne.

Joseph was reviewing the battle reports sent from Mainz when Eman entered, knocking on the door with a messenger in tow.

The Crown Prince's personal steward had a beaming smile. "Your Highness, Captain Vidal has brought incredible news."

Joseph merely smiled at the messenger. He had received so many victory reports over the past few days that he had developed something of an immunity. "Please, tell me which legion has achieved victory?"

Captain Vidal bowed respectfully, handed the report to Eman, and then spoke in an exaggeratedly loud tone:

"God bless France!

"Your Highness, the main force of Ferdinand's army has surrendered. Colonel Masséna has captured more than twenty high-ranking Coalition officers, including the Duke of Brunswick, along with a total of over forty thousand Prussian and Bavarian soldiers."

Joseph's immunity vanished instantly.

"Fantastic!" He pumped his fist, shouting excitedly, "God bless France!"

The guards inside and outside the room also heard this staggering news. They threw their hats into the air, jumping and cheering. "Haha, we won!"

"This damned war is finally going to end!"

"It ends with our brilliant victory!"

"God bless France!"

It was no wonder everyone was so emotional. This major victory meant that the main Coalition force on the west bank of the Rhine had been completely annihilated!

After this battle, the entire Rhineland region would be under full French control, and the Anti-French Coalition would have no strength left to fight back.

Moreover, looking at the results of this single campaign, it was enough to shake the entire European continent.

Since the French launched their counter-offensive, nearly seventy thousand Coalition troops had been killed or captured.

One must realize that in the eighteenth century, without advanced reconnaissance, a defeated side could easily break into small groups and escape under the cover of night or terrain.

Being able to wipe out over sixty percent of the enemy's strength was absolutely rare. The layout, planning, and execution of this campaign would undoubtedly find their way into the military textbooks of every nation in the future.

Captain Vidal waited for everyone to calm down before bowing to Joseph again. "Your Highness, Colonel Masséna hopes you can travel to Rothausen to preside over the surrender ceremony."

Joseph thought for a moment and nodded. "That is very necessary. We shall depart immediately."

A victory of this scale required a grand surrender ceremony. Firstly, it would boost the morale of the army and the entirety of France. Secondly, it would demonstrate France's power to all of Europe, enhancing its international influence.

Three days later, when Joseph arrived at Rothausen, he saw only endless prisoner-of-war camps, but did not see Masséna.

Berthier, who came to welcome him, explained, "Your Highness, Brigadier General Masséna was concerned that the enemy might reinforce the defenses of Cologne. He led the main force there the day before yesterday."

Indeed, after surrounding and annihilating the Duke of Brunswick's army, Masséna had been promoted to Brigadier General, with the commission personally signed by Joseph.

Berthier continued, "At the same time, our army has launched simultaneous attacks toward the Palatinate, Mannheim, as well as Aachen and Geldern to the northwest."

The Rhine Army's bold decision to split its forces would not lead to being overstretched, because there was virtually no resistance left in the entire Rhineland region.

In the direction of the Palatinate and Mannheim, sending just over three thousand men was enough to secure an easy occupation.

Meanwhile, Masséna was still able to concentrate over seventy thousand troops to lay siege to the Cologne fortress.