"Is it the reinforcements from Vienna?" a staff officer asked the question that was most pressing on Blucher's mind.
A hussar immediately shook his head and said,
"No, Commander, by the looks of the flags, it should be the Leao Legion."
Blucher couldn't help but frown slightly—Leao should only have less than two thousand soldiers left, where did he suddenly get a few thousand men from?
His staff officer also thought of the same question and turned, saying,
"General, could it be that he brought all the garrison troops from Luxembourg City?"
"But that doesn't add up..." Blucher said halfway, then suddenly seemed to remember something, quickly signaling his staff officer to fetch a map and asked the hussar to point out the location where the enemy was spotted.
When he saw the scout point to the area directly north of Diekirch, his eyes narrowed sharply,
"No, the Austrians are trying to escape! Leao must have not only called away the garrison from Luxembourg City but also the troop strength of the surrounding cities."
"Escape?" the staff officer asked with some surprise, "Why would he..." Discover exclusive tales on freewebnovel
Blucher revealed a cold smile:
"I guess he's trying to bypass us, using all the troops of Luxembourg to launch a surprise attack on Liege. If he succeeds, we can only temporarily abandon Luxembourg City and head back west to pursue him."
"That will buy time for the Vienna reinforcements."
"General, should we intercept him?"
"Not just intercept," Blucher, who always liked to charge in fiercely, immediately said to the orderly officer, "Cancel the rest period, the entire army must assemble immediately."
"Order Christel's unit to continue the attack on Diekirch. After taking Diekirch, he is to march directly for Luxembourg City. If I'm not mistaken, that place should no longer have a garrison."
"Yes, General," the orderly officer said quickly, taking notes.
Blucher tapped his finger on the map over a hilltop on the northeast side:
"Have Aichendorf drag the cannons up there to set up a position."
Leao's troops would have to pass by that area on their way to Liege. If the cannons were set up midway up the hill, they could deliver a crushing blow to the Austrians from above.
Blucher continued:
"Alterman Corps must march east immediately at speed to cut off the Austrians."
"The cavalry will keep harassing the enemy from behind to slow them down, but without my orders, do not initiate a strong attack."
He proudly flicked his horsewhip, exuding great confidence:
"I will personally lead the main force in a painful strike against Leao! What follows will be the cavalry's 'performance' of pursuing a defeated enemy."
Whether Leao intended to escape or launch a surprise attack on Liege, Blucher's morale was high, and with an absolute advantage in troop strength, it was an excellent opportunity to annihilate them there.
Silesia was the place where he could make his mark; Luxembourg was not worth wasting his time on.
But Blucher failed to realize, his current deployment had stretched the Prussian army into a long line from west to east, leaving their flank completely exposed to the south.
...
On a narrow path less than ten kilometers to the east side of the Prussian main forces near Luxembourg, the Austrian Commander Leao looked nervously at the middle-aged man beside him:
"Major Lefebvre, your scouts have just spotted Prussian hussars."
He glanced at the marching troops alongside him, slowly advancing:
"Normally, the Prussians will catch up to us quickly. And we have less than four thousand men here..."
But Lefebvre revealed a smile:
"If that's the case, you may have made a great achievement, General."
"But," Leao looked back over his shoulder and swallowed hard, "the Crown Prince's main forces are still in Diekirch, and we can't possibly hold out before he arrives."
Yesterday afternoon, when he learned that the Prussians were on the verge of Wincel Town and was scared, he suddenly received news that the Crown Prince of France himself was coming with an army of 20,000 to reinforce. He was so excited he almost cried.
He had already received orders from the Emperor and knew that the French Army would come, but he did not expect them to arrive so quickly—according to news sent from Vienna, the French Army should have set out from Verdun two days ago, and it usually takes about five days to travel from there to Dixie Town.
What he didn't know was that with the terrifying marching speed of the French Royal Guards Corps, a forced march of two days covered over fifty kilometers!
Subsequently, Leao nearly cried again.
This time, it was out of fear.
The first order the Crown Prince of France gave upon seeing him was to have him immediately lead troops to maneuver to Blucher's left flank and set up defenses on a nearby low hill.
Blucher had a full 17,000 Prussian soldiers and nearly 5,000 Netherlands rebels, while Leao was left with only about 1,600 men.
What was the difference between marching into a den of wolves?
Afterward, the Crown Prince of France told him that he would send a legion to cover him.
Just when Leao was about to heave a sigh of relief, he heard the Crown Prince order the transfer of one unit plus one battalion, a total of 2,200 soldiers, to accompany him in a "suicidal" mission.
Confronting over 20,000 Prussian troops with a mere 4,000 men, was it not courting death?
After that, he had been virtually escorted by Lefebvre all the way to the east side of Blucher's forces, and then they discovered the presence of Prussian hussars.
Yet Lefebvre appeared very confident:
"Rest assured, the Prince will definitely arrive in time."
Before Leao could say anything more, Lefebvre added:
"The main force of the Guard Corps 'hides' in distant Dixie Town to avoid Prussian reconnaissance."
"According to the staff headquarters' plan, the Prussians can't possibly realize that nearby there's a French force powerful enough to destroy them."
"When their attention is all on us, thunder will strike upon their heads!"
"But," Leao said grimly, "Your Highness is still more than a day's journey away..."
"No, at most half a day."
...
The Prussian Guard's Alterman Infantry Regiment, along with an accompanying skirmisher battalion and five cavalry squadrons, virtually dashed at full speed towards the Austrians who were "fleeing" ahead for an interception.
Alterman did not bring any artillery—the cumbersome things would have severely slowed him down.
And to deal with those feeble Austrians, cannons were not needed.
In the past few months, his corps had engaged the Austrian Army several times, mostly emerging victorious, especially after entering Luxembourg, their advancement was like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.
"You lazy things, pick up the pace!" he shouted at the soldiers beside him, "Don't make me use the whip on you!"
Indeed, to speed up the march, his corps' formation had completely disbanded; on this journey of less than 10 kilometers, nearly a tenth of the soldiers had fallen behind.
But to catch Leao's troops, this was acceptable.
A hussar rode up, calling out to Alterman:
"Lieutenant Colonel, the Austrian Army has stopped moving!"
The latter quickly took the map, and guided by the scout's directions, looked towards the low hill two kilometers to the east.
It was a small hill less than two kilometers wide, with dense forests on the north side and a V-shaped clearing in front.
He immediately scoffed in disdain:
"These fellows realized they can't escape and are preparing for battle."
He signaled to his staff to put away the map:
"Although they have chosen a decent battlefield, this will not stop us.
"Pass the order, Bischoff's regiment to form up at the front, the skirmishers to attack from the southern slope, and strive to disrupt the Austrian formation."
The orderly officer spurred his horse and rode off, Alterman was instructing the cavalry commander on how to strike at the Austrian defenses when he suddenly heard the rapid approach of hoofbeats.
He looked at the cavalry commander in surprise, who immediately shook his head indicating it wasn't his men, then screams of agony came from the front side.
A messenger rode up at full gallop, shouting from a distance:
"Lieutenant Colonel, Austrian Cavalry has attacked our advance troops, Captain Jonas is directing the company to resist..."
Alterman and the cavalry commander exchanged looks, both full of disbelief.
The Austrians dared to launch an offensive!
Alterman immediately barked:
"Schlosser, get to them at once! Perhaps this is still an opportunity to break through the Austrian defenses amidst the chaos."
The cavalry commander's face darkened as he turned his horse and galloped away, loudly summoning his cavalry troops.
Several hundred meters away, over three hundred guardsmen from the Austrian Guard Corps in Austrian uniform roared past the flank of the Prussians at high speed, taking advantage of their charging momentum, where the cavalry only had to raise their sabers for the blades to easily slice through the bodies of the Prussian Infantry.
In almost an instant, a "border" of fresh blood appeared to the left and in front of Alterman. Captain Jonas was desperately commanding his soldiers to form up, but that barely formed infantry line was immediately dispersed by the charge.
The "Austrian" cavalry formed an arc in the distance, quickly reformed their ranks, and then charged at the Prussian Army again.
At the very front of the formation, a young man with a full head of curly hair and slightly overweight gleamed with excitement in his eyes, carefully controlling the pace of his horse to maintain the same speed as his comrades on both sides, his hand already uncontrollably touching the hilt of his saber.
"Trot..."
"Charge!"
Following the Cavalry Commander's order, the curly-haired young man pressed his legs forcefully against the flank of his horse, lifting his saber diagonally upward. The sturdy Arab horse beneath him let out a robust snort and charged towards the Prussians with irresistible force.
Yes, although he was only a "new recruit" who had joined the Guard Corps for a few months, he was able to ride one of the top dozen horses in the Cavalry Camp.
Unlike his previous service in the Champagne Corps, the Guard Corps allocated horses only based on individual skill and merit.
Relying on his nearly perfect score in daily assessments and the impressive feat of slicing through three targets while jumping an obstacle, he was personally awarded this purebred Arab horse by the camp commander.
Despite being the son of a minor official, he had an astonishing affinity for horses, mastering highly skilled horsemanship after only a little more than two years as a cavalryman.
The sound of horse hooves rhythmically beat against his nerves like war drums, making everything around him seem to slow down, giving him a wonderful sense of control over everything.
There were 50 paces between him and the trembling infantry up ahead, clutching their flintlock guns.
40 paces...
10 paces!
The curly-haired young man's piercing gaze noticed a gap over three meters wide between a few infantry, and he immediately flicked the reins, ducked his head, and charged through that gap, at the same time slashing his saber and cleaving through the chest of a Prussian to his right.
Warm blood splashed onto the hind legs of his warhorse, and much more sprayed onto the faces and bodies of the nearby Prussian Infantry.
The blood-curdling scene made the infantry's eyes bulge in horror as they frantically tried to wipe the sticky blood from their faces, tumbling into disarray.
Following the curly-haired cavalryman, other members of the Guard Corps immediately spotted the breach and surged through after him.
With the flash of sabers, the hole in the Prussian ranks grew larger, and fifty or sixty infantrymen were "cut" down from their defensive line.
Then, the guardsmen circled the isolated soldiers a few times before galloping off into the distance, regrouping where there were no longer any standing Prussians.
Just with these simple two charges, the Alterman Corps suffered the loss of nearly a company of infantry; officers, soldiers, and orderly officers were mingled together, clearly unable to form an effective defensive formation at the moment.
The Cavalry Commander of the Guard Corps spurred his horse to catch up with the curly-haired young man at the front, slapped him on the shoulder, and said with a beaming smile:
"Well done, Mula! If you can make another splendid charge into the enemy lines like that, I'll apply for a medal for you when we get back!"
Mula also grinned:
"Just apply for my medal now, oh, it has to be a Silver Iris Medal, not a bronze one. Because of this battle, I'll have killed at least more than ten Prussians! Maybe twenty, who knows?"
There was friendly laughter nearby, everyone was all too familiar with the bluster of the young man from Ghent Province—like the time in the Champagne Corps when he fought with five soldiers and won, or when he was pursued by six girls at the same time, and didn't marry any to avoid breaking their hearts.
The Cavalry Commander chuckled and slapped his shoulder again:
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"I know you're not boasting, just like the time you cut through three targets.
"Oh, remember to conserve your horse's strength, otherwise, it might not be able to handle ten kills with you."
"Don't worry, it's as sturdy as can be, almost as tough as my own physique."
Laughter echoed around them again.
As the guardsmen quickly regrouped and charged once more towards the Prussians, a troop of riders clad in light blue military uniforms charged from their flank.
The Guard Corps did not engage; they turned their horses and quickly rode away—they had already expended too much energy, and it was not wise to engage in a direct confrontation at this moment. Moreover, their mission was initially to delay time.
After their antics, it took the Alterman Corps a full one and a half hours to regain order and begin advancing toward Leao's positions.
When Alterman saw through his binoculars the irregular lines of Austrian infantry, he immediately ground his teeth and growled in a low voice:
"Order Major Bischoff to launch an immediate fierce attack! Schlosser, be careful to guard the flanks of the infantry, the Austrians' cavalry have some skills."
Just as Major Bischoff had his troops form an infantry line and was about to launch the assault, suddenly, the sound of bugles came from the Austrian Army opposite them, and then that shaky infantry line started to move.
Charging straight at them!
Bischoff's eyelid twitched—had the Austrians gone mad? With so few men, they dared to launch a direct attack?!