The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria’s Mandate of Heaven - Vol 3 Chapter 37

January 4, 1843

England, London, 10 Downing Street

The heavy news that the French army sent troops to siege Namur spread to England, which made the Prime Minister Viscount Melbourne breathe a sigh of relief.

“For God’s sake, those **** French old men nearly blew my heart out. Thank goodness the German Confederate Army is as low as ever.

Even though they have been planning for this day for decades, they still failed miserably in the end. Now I really want to take a closer look at the faces of the German kings and grand dukes, but what we should do at this time is to immediately urge the procrastinating Russians to get off the field and join the war as soon as possible. ”

The rest of the cabinet members nodded in agreement, but unfortunately the British commissioner who had rushed to St. Petersburg to deliver the letter was still on his way.

At this time, although the Netherlands joined the German Federation, the French army was advancing too fast; if they directly captured Namur and then captured Liege, it would not only mean that Belgium was restored, but it would even cut off the connection between the Netherlands and the German region. Contact method.

And this made the Anglo-Saxons, who are proficient in balance, have to sweat for the German Confederation. After all, if the latter loses too quickly, it will directly affect their strategic plans and money-making plans.

Belgium, outside Brussels

Although Leopold I has not yet signed his name on the armistice agreement, Albrecht still received the king with the highest standard of etiquette. The other party was indeed a tough guy as rumored. Although he was captured, he was still full of confidence in the battle situation.

“Grand Duke Albrecht, I admit that your army’s marching speed is far beyond my expectations. But have you ever thought about it, if the French army sends troops to cut off your retreat at this time, will you be in the near future? To end up in the same fate as me?”

“Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. Even if hundreds of thousands of pigs are guarded in the Walloon area, 20,000 French troops will not be able to catch them in three days.”

Albrecht was confident about this, because France could only throw one corps of troops into the area within a week.

From the analysis of the information currently available, only Prussia’s military strength in this area has reached two armies. Counting the one army invested by the country and other states in the near future, the total force will soar to about 150,000.

Coupled with the fact that they had previously occupied most of the strategic locations in the Walloon region, it was even more difficult for the French to cut off the retreat of the German Confederate army.

What’s more, my nephew repeatedly assured himself that as long as the plan to attack Belgium went well, France would not dare to attack.

Leopold I was a little surprised by the other party’s insights on the current situation.

“Are you kidding me? How could there be hundreds of thousands of troops? Could it be that your soldiers can fly?”

Albrecht just smiled and replied.

“It’s more interesting to solve the mystery by yourself…” But before the words fell, a messenger rushed over in a hurry.

Because he walked too fast and didn’t pay attention to his feet, he accidentally tripped over the threshold of the camp and fell down. His face was stained with blood from the wound, and he looked embarrassed. The terrified soldier looked at the Belgian king in amazement.

“Let me avoid it for a moment. You can talk about it.” Leopold I stood up with a smile, and it was clear to him what the scene just now meant. The unfavorable factors of the enemy are definitely good news for himself and the kingdom.

Albrecht glanced at the orderly very displeasedly. He knew that the military situation he was about to announce might be detrimental to his own side, but he didn’t want to make others ambitious, so he said indifferently to the adjutant.

“Just read it here, don’t hide from His Majesty the King.”

“Yes, Your Excellency the Grand Duke!” The adjutant took the document and was immediately at a loss after just looking at it twice. He saw fine beads of sweat oozing from his head and pulled the neckline, then leaned over and whispered to the superior whispered.

“Grand Duke, I am afraid that the words on this report may be read without dignity.”

At the moment of emergency, Albrecht did not have the energy to go around in circles with his subordinates, so impatient, he threw the coffee cup on the table angrily.

“Why do you say so much, let you read it, just read it happily!”

“Yes! The Second Army, Third Army, Fourth Army, and Fifth Army of the German Confederation Volunteers were all defeated in yesterday’s battle. His Excellency Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, the deputy commander of the coalition forces, was trapped in Namu Er, rescue is urgently needed. The report is over!”

After listening, Albrecht’s eyes darkened and he almost fainted. The development of the situation was beyond his expectation.

This started two days ago, when the French army sang and slammed all the way, which made William Friedrich Ludwig lose face, so he decided to gather a large army to encircle him.

At this time, his chief of staff, Mao Qi, was keenly aware that the opponent’s troops were in full swing, and if the Prussian army took the lead, it would be irresistible.

More importantly, the Austrians, who have been in the limelight since the start of the war, have basically suffered no losses. Once there is any major mistake on their own side, I am afraid it will be difficult to explain it to Berlin.

Ever since, Moltke had a whim and planned to use the Saxons as human shields, and then the Prussian army who checked for leaks would go up to cut the wheat. What’s more, the morale of Saxony’s third army was already in a strong state at this time, especially after the Austrian army advanced all the way, it also wanted to compare with it.

It’s a pity that the ideal is plump, but the reality is skinny. The old Moltke’s conspiracy was easily noticed by General Freyton of Bavaria, and he explained to his colleagues that the move was because the Prussians wanted to use the hands of the French to weaken their German states. power of the country.

After learning the truth, the morale of the Saxon army dropped to freezing point in an instant. They didn’t want to be cannon fodder for the Prussians, so they excused their inability to fight on the grounds that the soldiers were not acclimatized.

Then the envoy of the Prussian army was ordered to rush to the camp of the Bavarian army. The opponent’s fourth army, General Frieden, was an old fritter. Of course he knew the intention of the visitor, but he was cunning and did not directly refuse but cried poorly, asking for more money, food and equipment. .

Although the Prussian side felt a bit at a loss, it was still more cost-effective than being cannon fodder.

So old Moltke made a jealous and dangerous encirclement and suppression plan. He planned to use Bavaria’s Fourth Army to withstand the French attack in front, and then let Hannover’s Fifth Army lead a motley army to outflank the right flank. The Saxon Third Army Lead a motley army to outflank the left flank.

Finally, the Prussian Second Army completed the final blow to the French army, encircling an army that was deeply isolated by the French army with a strong force of six armies.

This kind of tactical gamble has a lot of components, but once it is successfully executed, the benefits are also huge.

Old Moltke has often formulated this kind of military adventure strategy in history, but you can see how dangerous and full of loopholes his tactics are afterward analysis.

His tactics often require strong execution, but who would have thought that he would wait until the siege began and the Bavarian army would stand still, and let the French break through their own defense line.

The French army who drove straight in directly caught the Prussian army by surprise, and then the Hannover Fifth Army who came to rescue was dispersed by the latter’s rout.

Immediately afterwards, the great retreat occurred, and the rest of the motley crew of the German Confederation were also involved in the defeat. Faced with the defeat of the army, the Bavarian and Saxon armies naturally did not want to repeat the same mistakes.

As a result, the French army of only 20,000 people gained a lot. It not only defeated the encirclement and suppression army of the German Confederation, but also successfully besieged the main forces of the two Prussian armies in the city of Namur~www.mtlnovel.com~It was like touching the dominoes Even the Austrian officers and soldiers in charge of stationing the Liege Fortress were hit, and had to send someone to Vienna overnight for help.

(The Liege Fortress is in the east of Namur, which is the rear fortress of the German Confederation

Wallonia, outside Namur

To be honest, Jean Durde was more cautious at first, but after these days of successive victories, he felt a little smug, and felt that he could be compared to the soul of France like Napoleon, and maybe he would go one step further and become the Caesar who unified Europe .

However, although the army of the German Confederation was vulnerable, this proud general encountered a new problem, that is, logistical difficulties.

However, in his eyes, this is not a big problem at all, because Napoleon the Great had already set an example with practical actions.

After thinking it through, Jean Durde immediately ordered the soldiers to plunder in situ. You must know that many soldiers joined the war at that time not for military pay, but for robbery.

After all, the income obtained through the latter channel is far from comparable to the pitifully small military salary, not to mention the opportunity to do some things that they usually dare not do.

The result was howls in Wallonia. Soldiers of the German Confederation Volunteers who had crossed the border before at least regarded them as Luxembourgers or Austrian Netherlands.

In addition, Grand Duke Albrecht took the lead in purchasing supplies with money, so the military generals of other states were also embarrassed to sing the opposite and maintained relative restraint.

However, the arrogant French soldiers who had just won did the opposite, without any restraint or worries at all. They ravaged the area as victors and laid the groundwork for their future defeat.

Of course, Jean Durd didn’t know how many volunteers there were in the German Confederation until this time.