Napoleon in 1812 - Chapter 152

The battlefield’s law that those controlling the variables would win was a formula that Napoleon had never forgotten since he took over.

The most important variable that penetrated the entire battlefield, the Orime wetland, was the presence of Polish garrison forces. Depending on how quickly they could join, the situation could be 180 degrees different.

Napoleon thus issued the following instructions even before the Polish garrison departed. First, they would separate the main forces from the corps preparing to go to war. Second, the main forces would march as fast as possible with minimal armaments.

Napoleon calculated the joining of Polish troops from the beginning and organized the situation here to suit him. First, a warehouse disguised as a village was set up between the Polish garrison and the Orime wetland.

The advance troops of the garrison marched quickly with light equipment and arrived at the warehouse, where they were provided with military supplies to arm themselves. The Austrian, Polish and French all did the same.

This dramatically reduced the time it took to march, allowed them to be immediately deployed to the battlefield without taking any other action, and led to the Coalition’s misjudgment.

‘The Coalition’s command must have misjudged the pace of the reinforcements’ march. The proof is that the timing of the general offensive of their whole army was delayed by one day so they could fight on a battlefield that was more favorable to them.1

In other words, the Coalition made the mistake of misjudging that the rest of the Union’s troops were marching relatively late and slowly, without noticing the presence of the main forces that started marching earlier.

Napoleon, who saw through this in the late evening, adopted a simple strategy. It was to hold out as much as possible by putting up a defensive posture in the key points, and to limit the consumption of the troops to a minimum unti I the reinforcements arrived.

This was the context and preparation stage for a massive counterattack after the arrival of the garrison. Napoleon was on the verge of a victory in the war, successfully accomplishing all his tasks.

Surrounding the detached Prussian army that came into the lion’s mouth and eating it was only one of these processes,

“Your Majesty! There was a change in the enemy formation. They seem to have noticed the presence of our reinforcements.”

“Only now? It’s a little late.”

Upon receiving reports from the chief of staff, Napoleon climbed on the watchtower and examined the enemy’s movements with a telescope. The Coalition forces had been advancing and maintaining the offensive by enclosing the Central Army.

Therefore, their formation had to be changed in order to deal with the new reinforcements arriving, The Coalition formed separate units to respond to this and turned their battery around, displaying an elbow formation.

They still had not given up the offensive here. Their judgment itself was not wrong, and Napoleon would have done the same.

‘But they are very slow to respond. As expected, organizations with multiple heads are bound to waste time with unnecessary discussions.’

They had already gone ‘all-in’ to kill each other. They could not get bitten in their back, If they had turned around, Napoleon would have chased them.

The Coalition leaders were aware of that. So as long as they saw even the slightest possibility, they would not give up or surrender.

“This is a messenger from Archduke Karl to Your Majesty.”

“Well.”

Austria’s main forces had newly joined the battlefield and were putting pressure on the left side of the Coalition forces.

They were about 30,000 elite troops, fully armed and that had not engaged in any skirmishes yet. They represented an enormous strategic value at this point.

The officers seemed anxious to put the Austrians on the battlefield at any moment. But Napoleon’s idea was a little different.

“Instead of replying, try to deliver my words. Don’t take the offensive, stay in line and wait and see.”

Karl Ludwig would know what he meant.

The Austrians had just arrived on the battlefield. If the Coalition forces were anxious to receive them, the Austrians were also anxious to fight right now.

Other countries in the Union had fought fiercely on major battlefields together with France. This was an act of increasing the stake by investing human and material resources in the Great War, and after the war, a corresponding price would be returned.

The Great War was turning out to be a victory for the Union. The countries in the Union were slowly looking forward to their rewards.

The same was true of Austria, Even after the end of the war, it would be necessary to establish an influential military force to assert their interests and demands,

Austria had the second-highest rank in the Union after France, but was unable to make remarkable achievements except for a few skirmishes across Poland, so it was particularly heated up.

“This is nothing but Napoleon’s cheap political maneuver to keep us in check!”

“Your Highness, we don’t have to obey his orders. The Austrians have been involved in the Great War as an independent army.”

The only command they had received from Napoleon was ‘stand by on the spot1. Austrian generals and officers who heard it did not hide their anger.

No matter how long France and Austria had been enemies, no matter how carefully they had acted in the beginning of the war, they could not accept it.

How could he try to keep them here? He could not prevent them from joining the fight on the Union’s side just because he had won before! It was Karl Ludwig, who had remained silent until now, who calmed the anger of his officers.

“Once again… The fact that I didn’t meet Napoleon as an enemy is a great blessing to my men and to me.”

“Your Highness?”

“Gentlemen. Don’t you see the other side of the elaborate strategy contained in this message?”

With the addition of the Austrian reinforcements, the war situation, which had been uncertain between the two sides, was leaning toward the Union. If he were a general commander, he would have ordered the entire army to attack and expand by following the long-standing principle of war: ‘if you are stronger than your enemy, risk fighting, and if you are weaker than your enemy, strengthen your defense’.

But Napoleon was different. He knew that the Coalition had already crossed the Rubicon. The presence of reinforcements running here was also a factor that prevented the Coalition from stopping the fight.

In other words, the Coalition forces had to fight whether they wanted to or not. And as soon as possible, As a result, Napoleon created a board capable of attracting his opponents while solidifying his defense even though he had ‘dominant power’.

‘It’s a bog you can’t get out of.’

Using a situation in which his enemies were forced to attack, he solidified the position of a relatively advantageous defender and forced his opponents to make harsh choices.

If the enemies in the quagmire floundered and exhausted their strength, he would harvest them with the reaper’s scythe that was hidden. It was a really sly strategy. The evaluation of cheapness and cruelty in war was the best compliment in a way.

“As soon as their whole army turns to counterattack, it will be our army that will deal a decisive blow to the Coalition.”

Britain, France, and Prussia had made military progress. Austria was also strong.

Karl Ludwig ordered thorough preparation, believing that the upcoming battle was a historic one that would prove that Austria’s blade had not become dull. The end was drawing near. The world after the war would be very different from now.

The Austrian army emerged from the western part of the wetland. They would join the battlefield in two hours at the latest. This was more than a day earlier than the arrival time expected by the Coalition command.

Even Arthur Wellesley, who was not easily surprised, could not hide his cold sweat as soon as he confirmed the presence of the Austrian army.

He had no way to figure out what magic it was. He did not have time for that. Only a clever move could overcome this difficulty. Arthur Wellesley decided to take the risk.

“Let’s hide who they are. No, let’s tell the soldiers that they are our reinforcements, The victory of the war is just around the corner.”

“Your Excellency! How could we…i That’s the way to get caught in two hours!”

Despite the cries of the officers, Wellesley shook his head with a stern look.

“If we don’t get over that hill anyway, we will lose and the Coalition will collapse. Therefore, raising the soldiers’ fighting spirit even if it’s false and illuminating their hope for victory will be a way to raise the odds even a little. I’ll take all the responsibility as the commander. Just follow me.”

Wellesley immediately mobilized all the reserves he had cherished so far.

The heroes of the British Army such as the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot , called the ‘Black Watch’, the British Royal Guard, and the Connaught Rangers gathered together.

Russian and Swedish forces were not excluded. It was a fateful showdown where they could not lose. In this situation, saving power was a foolish option.

King Karl XIV gave away all but the 1st Regiment of the Swedish Royal Guards, and Alexander I sent the entire Guards Division, including the Pavlovsky Life Guards Regiment.

Prussia also invested all of its remaining rear reserve forces, forming the best strike forces of four countries that had never been seen before and would not be in the future. And Rowland Hill took command of this strike force.

Rowland Hill nodded heavily, looking at his stiff-faced superior. Hill volunteered for the mission himself, Even if it was a dangerous mission that could endanger his life, even as a general, Hill was willing to throw his body for his country.

The two, who had been on the battlefield together for a long time, understood each other without having to speak out. Rowland Hill risked his life in the next assault. Wellesley respected and trusted his subordinate.

Britain’s future and glory were at stake. If they lost this fight, they would not be able to live like before. Rowland Hill entrusted his lieutenant with his written will. So that it could be sent to his family if he died.

Rows of soldiers appeared in Hill’s sight as he rode his horse. British, Russian, Prussian, and Swedish. The various armies of different countries, languages, and cultures did not harmonize well at first, but soon began to unite as one group.

As expected, it was like an army where only the best of each country’s troops were united. The morale of the strike force was very high. Because the soldiers heard that the approaching army was their rei nforcements. They believed that this charge would confirm the victory of the Great War and end the Napoleonic era.

Rowland Hill closed his eyes. His whole body was heavy as if a lump of lead was hanging from his chest. And yet Hill, being a British general, commander of the strike force, exclaimed:

“The victory of the Coalition is just around the corner! Soldiers! Fight to the last for the honor of your country! I will be with you in life, in death and in glory!”

Behind him, the elite armies of the Coalition began their march one after another. May this charge change the flow of history. Hill looked eagerly forward.

A major attack by the Coalition forces began. First of all, they dispersed the firepower of the French battery with the majestic rush and maneuver of the cavalry, and then immediately deployed their best fighters.

“Uraaaaaaaaaaaa-!!”

In the battlefield, where shells poured in, the Coalition strike forces walked without losing speed. The victory of the war was within reach. A historic moment had arrived that would bring down the genius of war and the hegemony of the continent. Their morale soared to the sky.

Singing military songs in their respective languages and lyrics, the elite corps of the four countries united and shouted for the glory of their homeland. Now even the Guards were marching with them, and messages arrived on both sides saying that they would attack the French. Their morale soared further and further.

The soldiers of the strike force had no doubt that Napoleon Bonaparte’s myth would collapse here. Even Rowland Hill, who knew the real situation, thought, ‘If I can do this well, it’s worth trying’.

“The frequency of shelling is less than expected. After all, they don’t seem to be able to afford to give the Austrians military supplies.”

“The situation is pretty good. If we succeed in destroying the enemy’s central forces, we will be able to achieve a historic reversal.”

Even the lieutenants who knew the situation quietly uttered these words and sprouted hope. The supply line of the Union was much longer than that of the Coalition.

Still, the Union had not suffered any disruptions in supply. The Coalition forces tried to harass their supply convoys with the Cossack cavalry, but they could not do much damage… However, the Union’s supply capacity seemed to have reached its limits now.

“One of the French light artillery regiments is currently fighting with the 1st Division of the 2nd British Corps, and the other is facing the Russian army in the northwest.”

The French light artillery, which had previously emerged in a flurry and subjected numerous Coalition soldiers to shelling,wasnot herenow.

“We searched the area thoroughly and found no explosives hidden in the ground. It looks like we can advance safely.”

There was none of the unidentified weapons used by the French in this battle that had destroyed the red coats and theIndianmercenaries. Strangely enough,

the whole situation had gone to the advantage of the Coalition strike forces. Hill felt a certain fateful attraction in it.

Richard the Lionheart had defeated Saladin with a single charge, overturning an unfavorable battlefield. The thousand-year-old wall of Theodosius had been taken down by the Ottomans by the mistake of one garrison.

As such, sometimes wars were completely reversed or the impossible was made possible due to something mysterious.

Could it be said that this was one of these historical moments? Full of confidence in victory, Europe’s best elite forces would break through the depths of the enemy line?

“Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory-!!”

The Congreve rockets in the rear were fired at the same time and tormenting the French artillery. The striking force defeated the Union’s infantry regiments, breaking through the second trench.

If they went a little further, they would see the command headqua rters of the Central Army and of the entire Union’s army. Now their goal was really just around the corner. There seemed to be no army to stop the striking force moving in a desperate manner. But…

♬♪♩♪- ♪♬♬~ ♩♬♪♪-

“Right. There’s no way you guys aren’t coming out.”

The French Imperial Guard appeared with the distinctive sound of its military band. Among them, the soldiers at the forefront were the Old Guard.

France’s strongest, most elite troops and the best elite strike group of the Coalition faced each other in the smoke of the battlefield.

TL notes

And here’s the last chapter! The novel is on hiatus and I don’t know if/when the author will continue it. Thank you for your support and thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this novel as much as I did!