Episode 116 Revolutionary Defense War – Collapse (3)
Metz Germania Imperial Army Garrison two weeks after the Battle of Valois.
“This is a revolutionary army, Your Highness! An estimated 60,000 troops are approaching Metz!”
“I had to come in the end.”
After receiving the report from his chief of staff, Duke Henry, Archduke Leopold sighed softly and stood up.
The imperial army has 50,000 troops.
Although the troops were made up of all the remnants of the previous battle and the garrison in Lorraine, the morale of the soldiers was so low that the enemy troops were now more numerous than ours.
Archduke Leopold looked at the order on his desk.
An order that simply states that the Imperial Diet is being held and discussed, so defend the occupied territory and wait.
He also did not expect the empire to negotiate peace right away.
Of course, the empire would be in chaos, and peace negotiations would begin only when the chaos subsides and responsibility is determined.
He knows too. Know.
Nevertheless, he did not want to accept the reality that his men would have to die fighting against the revolutionary army with their weapons in hand with faces of despair.
Death for those who are banging on their stomachs, blaming the weakness of the imperial army and its incompetence, without even realizing the war going on in the distance.
“…Should we rather send an envoy?”
“yes?”
“How about sending an envoy to their revolutionary army and requesting a temporary truce since discussions for peace negotiations are already underway in their home country?”
“Haha, Your Majesty the Archduke.”
In response to Duke Heinrich’s shocked reaction, the Archduke raised his hand and touched his eyes.
In the first place, discussions were ongoing and not finalized.
Unless the entire remaining imperial army evaporates, it does not mean that the empire cannot afford to continue the war even by mobilizing additional troops if it decides to do so.
The Archduke is already in an extremely disadvantageous war situation and thinks that even if he mobilizes more troops, this war will be an inevitable defeat, but the feudal lords in the rear who do not know the atmosphere on the ground will be consumed by sunk costs.
So the Marquis de Lafayette will not accept it.
Even the Archduke himself is not sure whether the Empire will end the war, so is there any way that the Marquis will believe this and stop the war?
Even if peace negotiations are decided after discussion, the conditions will be determined by how cornered the empire is at that point.
Whether you consider it to be a deception or a real thing, there is no reason to wait for the victory the revolutionary army has already secured.
“No, no. “I guess I’m… tired.”
“Your Highness…”
The Archduke smiled bitterly at Duke Heinrich and stood up.
Can we win?
A force of 50,000 is by no means small.
The enemy has a history of successfully conducting defensive battles against them with even greater gaps than this.
However, there is no comparison between an army that was originally 50,000 strong and an army that was reduced from 110,000 to 50,000.
Since the units that had suffered such heavy losses were consolidated and abolished, most of the units consisted of soldiers who did not even know each other’s names or origins, so there was no way for them to have a sense of belonging or organizational skills.
Still, there is only one choice.
The Archduke opened his mouth softly.
“…prepare to meet the enemies.”
Even if it is difficult for them to expect victory.
Even if the price of the blood of the soldiers dying here is meaningless, even if his honor falls to the ground as he must bear the responsibility for the defeat.
Still, at least the imperial army must not collapse in vain and shake the empire itself.
To that end, the Archduke must protect the territory occupied by the empire at any cost, at least until peace negotiations are decided.
Because that is the only way to prove the life of Archduke Johan Leopold, who was loyal to the Empire and the Kaiser as a soldier.
* * *
Revolutionary army garrison near Metz imperial defense line.
I opened my mouth as I looked through the telescope at the imperial army’s position in the distance.
“I don’t know if it will work out.”
“Your Excellency the Marquis de Lafayette, do you really think that will work?”
Louis Desget looks a bit anxious.
“Keuhum khum. “This is what His Excellency the Marquis de Lafayette is doing. Of course, it is effective, isn’t it?”
Damien de Mirbeau can’t erase the disbelief on his face when he talks like that.
“As the Chief of Staff, let me tell you, honestly, there is no precedent for attempting something like this against another country’s military. If I make a mistake and fail…”
After hearing Chief of Staff Werther’s words, which was as skeptical as expected, I smiled and turned my head to look at Eris, who was quiet.
“What do you think, Her Majesty the Queen?”
Of course, if it’s Eris-
“Will it be okay…?”
“….”
In fact, Eris also spoke in an anxious tone.
This is so frustrating.
“I beg your pardon for claiming that they could do the same thing as us if they had the chance. Have you lost your sense of romance?”
Are you saying that I, who denied it, am a patient with a suspected disease?
If it wasn’t for Eris in the first place, I wouldn’t have even come up with this idea.
To me, as a soldier, enemy soldiers from other countries are targets to kill and destroy efficiently. Would I have thought about understanding their situation as a human being and using my emotions?
“I see.”
Eris looked a little embarrassed, then clenched her hands into fists and said.
“Good luck, Marquis. Please do your best to save the people on both sides who will be sacrificed if the battle breaks out.”
“As Her Majesty the Queen commands.”
I turned my gaze and made eye contact with Dezey, Mirbeau, and Werther, then opened my mouth.
“Then I will trust you from now on. “I hope you respond well.”
Still, the facial expressions were ambiguous, so I added with a chuckle.
“Don’t look so worried. “If I fail, I’ll just lose my face, so all I can do is fight with regular tactics.”
“I understand, Your Excellency the Marquis.”
“Please leave it to me! Damien de Mirbeau, I will never disappoint you, His Excellency the Marquis!”
I smiled, turned my back, and started running towards the imperial army’s camp.
Of course, if I were to do something like this based solely on the romance that Eris was talking about, that’s not true.
I believe in the people that Christine may have planted in the imperial army, which has been so hastily consolidated and unable to properly control its own troops due to so many vacancies due to losses and capture.
Would you say it is an attempt at romance in calculation?
* * *
The revolutionary army was lined up a little distance away from the imperial army camped in the city of Metz.
A man on horseback from the revolutionary army rushed out.
“Hmm, is this an envoy?”
Archduke Leopold slowly raised his telescope and looked at the person approaching.
“…Marquis de Lafayette?”
Just as the battle is right in front of us, the commander-in-chief of the enemy army approaches us with a short sword.
Although the marquis was not holding a white flag in his hand, no one in the imperial army attempted to attack him.
Common sense tells us that he wouldn’t be rushing in alone to commit some kind of hostile act.
“Hmm, first bring the horse.”
“Your Highness the Old Grand Duke!”
Even the Grand Duke thought that the Marquis had come as an envoy and looked for words to respond.
The Marquis’ shout, which came close to the Imperial Army’s camp, was filled with magical power and rang throughout the Imperial Army’s camp.
[Pierre de Lafayette, commander-in-chief of the French Revolutionary Army, speaks! Soldiers of the Germanian Empire, listen!]
Ahead of the battle, the eyes of all the imperial troops on the defensive line, tense as they faced the large forces of the revolutionary army, were immediately focused on the Marquis de Lafayette.
“what…?”
While Archduke Leopold and his chief of staff, Duke Henry, were dumbfounded, the Marquis de Lafayette continued to speak.
[As the commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army, I salute your courage and determination to once again stand on the battlefield despite countless battles and sacrifices!
However, as someone who stands on the same battlefield and as someone who leads those who are shedding blood on the battlefield just like you, I would like to ask you a question. Imperial Army, what are you fighting for now?
When you fight, shedding blood and sweat and facing the fear of death, have you ever thought about the reason? Have you ever gotten an answer to that?
Otherwise, aren’t you just the princes of the empire fighting on the battlefield because your superiors ordered you to do so?]
“No, I wonder what the author is talking about now…”
Duke Heinrich frowned and muttered.
However, the Archduke’s entire nerves seemed to be on edge.
“Stop it.”
“yes?”
The moment Duke Heinrich questioned the words in desperation, a scream-like cry burst from the Archduke’s mouth.
“Stop him!”
[At one time, we Fransians were in the same situation as you.
This is not the first war between Francia and the Empire.
It probably won’t be the last either.
The fathers and grandfathers of my soldiers here fought on the same battlefield as your fathers and grandfathers. Because the motherland ordered it! Because the monarch ordered it!
Just like those of you who are now standing on the battlefield, overcoming numerous defeats and despair, your fathers and grandfathers would have fought and shed blood at the behest of their country.
But what has changed with that dedication and that courage? What has changed, Imperial Army!
nothing! Nothing has changed.
You are still just soldiers of the empire, dragged into a war that the monarch wants, and fighting, shedding blood!
Nothing will change whether this war ends in your victory or in your defeat. Your son will be dragged into a war that your grandson does not want and will shed blood for the monarch.]
“How can you-”
“Chiit…!”
Archduke Leopold immediately climbed onto the war horse brought by his adjutant and drove the horse frantically, sweating from his old age.
The author is not simply his rival.
He is not just an enemy general.
[How long will this happen again?
forever!
If you do nothing, if you just obey like you have done so far, the tears and blood you shed will not even leave a single record in history!
Behold the imperial army.
Look at us, who were once in the same fate as you.
Now we no longer fight for wars we don’t want.
We have the freedom to decide our own destiny, and yet we stand here with one heart and one mind, regardless of social status, to protect our revolution from imperial invasion.
We and you all know that I, the Commander-in-Chief, have been at the forefront of the fight, shedding blood, and that Her Majesty the Queen has been protecting the soldiers with all her might, not from the throne, but from the side of the soldiers.
But what about you?
While you shed blood and tears in this war, have you ever known for a moment what you are fighting for?
Where is the oppressor who is spreading unnecessary blood by starting a war for the power that drove you to a battlefield you did not want?] The Archduke rode furiously and got off his horse, out of breath, as soon as he reached the artillery position
.
“Your Majesty the Grand Duke!”
“Shoot immediately!”
“Yes yes?”
“Sell the Marquis de Lafayette to fire!”
[As the commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army, I cannot help but feel sorry for your situation. What is courage and what is dedication for?
Do you know why we treated you so generously, if any of you were taken captive by us? Because we know that at one time we were no different from you.
This is because we know very well that you are not our enemy and that our enemy is the owner of the empire that drove you to the battlefield and rules over you.
We are not your enemies! Our enemies are the oppressors of the empire that started this war, and so are your true enemies!
Face it! Your true enemy -]
When the Marquis de Lafayette fired a gun, the moment he caught the attention of the entire imperial army within striking distance, a series of gunshots erupted.
While the Marquis stopped speaking, several cannonballs flew at him with a roar.
An act bordering on a struggle without honor or respect as a nobleman.
However, just before the shell reached the Marquis.
A golden barrier that everyone in the imperial army could never forget stretched out in front of him.
Everyone here watched as the cannonball crashed into the wall and fell helplessly to the ground.
In the silence of everyone, the Marquis’ unstoppable cry rang out again.
[Behold, imperial army!
Those who should be free and equal like us, but are not even allowed any rights!
The oppressors of the Empire are more afraid of your eyes and ears being opened than of your pointless shedding of blood in battle!
They want your sons and grandsons to suffer the same fate as your fathers and grandfathers!
Will you submit to that miserable fate?
Behold our revolution!
This is the freedom, equality, and fraternity of the people achieved for the first time!
If you do not want to repeat your fate, here is the only way!
This is your first and last chance not to pass on to your descendants the shackles that your ancestors were unable to break off!
Obey no more!
Stop meaningless sacrifices and meaningless fights!
Just resist!
For your freedom!
Rise up and take it with your own hands!
Your equality!
Join us!
Then we will embrace you with fraternity!] The
Marquis’s cry, full of magical power, rang out with the force to cover the entire Metz, and the Marquis de Lafayette drew his sword and raised it.
“Waaah-!”
As if in response, while the revolutionary army was advancing all at once, there was only silence in the imperial army’s position.
And that moment.
“Uh oh oh!”
“Now stay where you are!”
Among the imperial troops, one threw down his gun and ran towards the revolutionary army with his hands raised.
A few people at most.
The surrender started as a spy for Christine, who was planted from the beginning by disguising herself as an imperial soldier.
However, it took only a few minutes for the imperial army to see this and start running towards the revolutionary army, throwing down their weapons in succession.
A sigh full of despair flowed from the mouth of Archduke Leopold, who was looking at the scene with a devastated face.
“Was he the ruin of the empire?”
