Chapter 862: Entering the Strategic Counteroffensive Phase
The artillery battery closest to the southern entrance of the fortress suddenly fell silent.
The charging French infantry, bolstered by the sight, quickly fanned out into skirmisher formations. These troops, belonging directly to the legion, had undergone extensive training in light infantry tactics.
As the French unleashed their first volley, the enemy forces near the entrance began to retreat toward the east.
Immediately after, the French shifted their fire toward the fortress gates to prevent any Austrian reinforcements from sallying out.
However, the response was swift. The cannons and flintlock muskets atop the fortress ramparts began to bark furiously. In an instant, over a dozen French soldiers were struck down, their blood staining the earth as they fell in the line of duty.
The French battalion commander shouted to rally his men, "Hold your ground! Major Vasseur's reinforcements will be here any moment! This gap will be our gateway into the fortress!"
Gérard wasted no time, leading a squad toward a heavy artillery position located at an oblique angle. Even before they reached the gun's blind spot, they raised their rifles and began picking off the crew.
In less than twenty minutes, the two French infantry battalions had suffered more than two hundred and sixty casualties. Yet, they remained stubbornly rooted at the southern entrance, preventing the Austrian defensive line from closing the breach.
At that moment, the thunder of hooves echoed from the distance.
The dragoons dismounted swiftly before the fortress, dressed their ranks, and launched a fierce assault. Simultaneously, the horse artillery deployed their pieces, concentrating their fire on the enemy troops clustered near the breach.
Over eight hundred dragoons seized the outer embankment of the southern side—the outermost wall—with almost no resistance.
The garrison within the fortress was reeling from the suddenness of the onslaught. Compounding their chaos was a total lack of unified command; the reserve forces in the barracks failed to emerge to bolster the defense.
Once Major Vasseur's infantry regiment arrived, the tide of battle became irreversible. A massive wave of Austrian soldiers began to abandon the fortress and flee.
At three in the afternoon, while Soult was inspecting the newly captured fortifications, a deafening cheer erupted from the surrounding troops. "Look! The Austrians are retreating!"
"Haha! Cologne is ours!"
"Victory belongs to France!"
"Vive la France! Long live the King!"
Soult hurried to one of the fortress towers. Even without his telescope, he could see the Austrian soldiers swarming like ants, abandoning the last fortress to the east and retreating toward the pontoon bridges spanning the river.
He merely offered a faint smile. 'Count Clerfayt is a wise commander.'
With Prussia having withdrawn from the war, Cologne was destined to be starved of reinforcements. After all, the Mantua Fortress in Italy was currently besieged by Napoleon, and since that location was much closer to Vienna, Austria would inevitably prioritize its strength there.
Without support from the other fortifications, this final stronghold would have soon seen its supply lines severed. A single fortress could only cover a limited width of the river; the French could easily use well-placed artillery batteries to blockade any supply ships attempting to dock.
Cologne was no longer defensible.
Before dusk settled, the two thousand Austrian soldiers left to guard the rear surrendered under the pressure of Davout's legion.
On the opposite bank, Clerfayt gave the order to burn the pontoon bridges.
Three days later.
Soult was reviewing the recently compiled list of captured spoils when a messenger hurried toward him. The man raised his hat in salute and said, "Lieutenant Colonel, General Berthier requests your immediate presence in the war room."
"Very well, I am on my way."
Twenty minutes later, Soult arrived at the temporary regional headquarters located on the eastern side of Cologne Cathedral.
The conference room was packed. Nearly every officer with the rank of major or higher was in attendance.
Berthier signaled for him to take a seat. Once he confirmed everyone was present, he announced in a loud voice, "His Majesty the King has issued a commendation to honor our recent victory!"
The officers stood as one, saluting in the direction of Paris. "May God protect the King."
Berthier then took a commission from a copper tray held by an aide and declared, "By the personal decree of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Colonel Masséna is hereby promoted to the rank of Brigadier General."
Amidst the cheers and congratulations, the routine commissioning ceremony proceeded quickly.
Berthier picked up a second commission. "By the personal decree of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Lieutenant Colonel Saint-Hilaire is promoted to the rank of Colonel."
Another round of applause followed.
Berthier continued down the list.
"...Jourdan is promoted to the rank of Colonel."
"...Major Soult is promoted to the rank of Colonel."
"...Major Davout is promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel."
It took Berthier over four hours to read through the thick stack of promotion orders. Nearly every officer who had participated in the campaigns stretching from the Southern Netherlands to the Rhine received some degree of advancement.
Far away in Italy, Napoleon and a large group of officers were likewise receiving promotions.
One could say that in the wake of this war, the galaxy of military stars that would define the Napoleonic era was already beginning to take shape.
Berthier had the aides remove the wine used for the celebration and gestured for the jubilant officers to settle down. He then spoke with gravity:
"Now, let us attend to official business."
"The General Staff has decided to merge the Southern Netherlands Army and the Rhine Army into the Northern Front Army."
"The entire force will rest and refit in Cologne for half a month."
"In mid-November, General Masséna will take command of the First and Second Royal Infantry Divisions, along with three Royal Cavalry Battalions and the First and Second Royal Horse Artillery Battalions, and proceed to Alsace."
"There, they will rendezvous with Moreau's Legion, cross the Rhine at Basel, and march on Freiburg."
This force assigned to Masséna numbered only about thirty thousand men. Joseph did not expect this detachment to achieve a decisive victory on its own.
However, once Masséna crossed the river at Basel in the southern Rhine sector, he only needed to capture Freiburg to directly threaten Bavaria.
To the west of Bavaria, there were virtually no natural defenses to speak of. Furthermore, nearly a third of the Bavarian army had been lost during the Battle of Luxembourg.
Masséna's thirty thousand troops would be a thorn in Bavaria's side.
At the same time, Masséna could draw supplies from nearby Baden. As a member of the Mediterranean Security Organization, Baden was duty-bound to provide logistical support, allowing the French to operate in the Bavarian region for an extended period.
This would leave Elector Karl Theodor of Bavaria with no choice but to beg Austria for aid.
And that was a move that would leave Austria caught between a rock and a hard place.
If Austria refused to send reinforcements, Bavaria would be forced to seek a separate peace with France, depriving the Anti-French Coalition of a vital German state. Simultaneously, Austria's prestige as the leader of the Holy Roman Empire would suffer a crushing blow.
But if Austria agreed to send reinforcements, they would have to draw troops from the Italian front.
Currently, Napoleon was making significant gains at Mantua. If Wurmser's forces were further depleted, the Mantua Fortress would likely collapse.
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