Revolutionary Period – First War (3)
Germanian Imperial Army Headquarters on the Alsace Front.
There was a request from the Empress, and Archduke Leopold had no intention of fighting sincerely from the beginning.
However, if I didn’t fight at all, it would be a problem, so I planned to provoke the enemy and engage in a moderate fight at least once.
The opponent is Count Damien de Mirbeau.
He is a man with no major experience, having only a few battles where he was defeated by the Marquis de Lafayette.
It is true that the Marquis de Lafayette was absent in the Southern Army, which was an army of nobles, and because there was no suitable person to take charge of the military command, he seemed to have been chosen and seemed easy.
So, in order to lure out the count, the archduke divided his troops and dispatched light cavalry hussars to plunder nearby villages and provoke the enemy.
The enemy commander, Damien de Mirbeau, responded by doing nothing.
The enemy was busy building fortified positions along the highlands and farms, regardless of whether nearby villages were sacked or not.
Archduke Leopold adjusted his evaluation of Damien de Mirbeau to a cautious person despite his young age.
This time, they attempted to lure the enemy by launching an offensive on the outskirts of the fortified position and then being defeated.
The enemies had been patient and solidified their defensive posture even while plundering nearby villages, so I expected that they would definitely go in pursuit if it looked like our troops were collapsing.
Damien de Mirbeau did not come forward this time either.
Among the troops under the Archduke, the army of a feudal lord who was somewhat disloyal to the empire was ordered to attack without prior notice, and although it actually crashed into the fortified position and collapsed, the enemy concentrated on reorganizing the defense line that had been disrupted by the offensive rather than pursuing it.
At this point, Archduke Leopold also became anxious and carefully laid a trap.
The force was divided in half and moved to the northwest Lorraine front.
At the same time, the hussars processed the enemy’s messengers and used the captured battlefield to send false news that Raphael Balian’s Northern Army had won victory on the Lorraine front and was pursuing the enemy.
The line between the two fronts was tightly blocked by the hussars, who are said to be the best light cavalry in the Central Continent, and Damien de Mirbeau never made any move to overcome that situation.
Therefore, there is little chance that the deception will be detected.
The enemy fully understands the situation of being outnumbered, turns its attention away from the plundered village, and focuses only on defending the base, giving up on the victory and expansion of its war effort in sight.
Soldiers are fundamentally warlike and thirsty for military service. I don’t know what the commander is thinking, but there is no way that the commanders under him will not be dissatisfied.
In the meantime, the news of our army’s victory arrived, and the enemy divided his troops into large units and urgently dispatched reinforcements?
Of course, an enemy who has been patiently waiting for an opportunity cannot help but ask for an opportunity like this.
However, Damien de Mirbeau did not move this time either.
The young count was busy fortifying his base by sitting quietly in his defense line, as if his political position and his major were all fine.
In the barracks with his commanders, Archduke Leopold burst into laughter out of bewilderment.
“You’re saying you won’t get caught with this? “This?”
“That’s right, Your Highness.”
Archduke Leopold looked at the strategy map with a serious face and clasped his hands together.
Even though they were disloyal feudal lords to the empire, the backlash against the fact that the enemy did not lure them even though they were used as bait units directly put pressure on the archduke.
Naturally, our troops who had moved to the northwest also expressed their dissatisfaction by wasting time needlessly going back too far and setting up an ambush.
The most serious problem was that reports came in that our troops on the Lorraine front were indeed being unilaterally influenced by the revolutionary army.
Raphael Balian, the commander of the Northern Army, seems to be taking advantage of the weakness of the Lorraine Front, which is not properly connected due to the divided command system, and is going on an active offensive rather than defensive, repeating individual attacks through maneuver and surprise.
By that time, Archduke Leopold was also on fire. Even if the other person did it, it is no excuse to be too cautious.
The only objective fact is that while our troops were being driven out on the Lorraine front, the Archduke wasted time without even being able to fight a decent battle.
In the end, the Archduke, who had hit the strategy map with his fist, stood up and twisted the corner of his mouth.
“They have no intention of escaping from the fortified position.”
Accordingly, the officers of the Germanian Empire who were sitting in their seats all stood up and the Archduke gave an order.
“If they insist on a defensive war so much, gentlemen, let’s do as they wish.”
“As instructed by His Highness the Archduke!”
The veteran of the Germanian Empire muttered as he glared at Mirbo’s position drawn on the operational map with his stern eyes.
“To show the difference in class.”
–
The positions of the French Republic Army on the Alsace Front.
As Archduke Leopold expected, Damien’s commanders were not without complaints.
The commanders were almost singing about going on the offensive, and Damien’s reaction was like this every time.
-If we hold out here, either the Northern Army or the Marquis de Lafayette will come. Anyway, I am against it! If you still want to go on the offensive, are you going to take responsibility if something goes wrong?
-Oh no….
Of course, even if it was suppressed in that way, it was true that Damien ignored the village being plundered and blew away what seemed like golden opportunities, so the dissatisfaction of his subordinates built up until it was about to explode.
That is, until the troops who were supposed to have gone to Lorraine for support reappeared and the 20,000-strong army under the command of Archduke Leopold launched an all-out offensive.
“Look! “I’m right!”
“I’m so sorry. “Your Excellency the Count.”
The Confederate commanders, who were at a loss for words in front of Damien, who was screaming out loud, could only bow their heads.
“Everyone understands, right? The only goal is to protect! Defend both! Protect all three! “Anyway, if we hold on, we’ll win!”
“ancient! “As instructed by His Excellency the Count!”
Immediately after the commanders shouted in unison and moved to their respective units, Damien felt an ominous feeling tingle at the back of his neck.
When I first fought Pierre de Lafayette, I didn’t care.
The second time, I thought it was a strange sensation and ignored it.
Only on the third time did I feel an ominous feeling and retreated to save my life.
Even when my subordinates begged me to go on the offensive, I felt the same way every time, so I sat there and even lashed out at them.
“Write it. “Why am I feeling this again and it’s so damn bad.”
Damien stood up, cursing Pierre and Balian, who were not present, at the sensation of an alarm bell ringing even though the enemy was attacking the fortified position so solidly that it was no longer there.
–
It has already been several hours since the fighting began.
Dozens of field artillery pieces of the Germanian Imperial Army spewed fire and the shells flew in with a roar and struck the revolutionary army’s position.
“Ugh!”
“Ahh!”
The weak human body is crushed and crushed in front of the steel cannonballs that hit the camp at high speed.
Soldiers had their heads blown off without even being able to scream, and the fortified positions that Damien had put so much effort into building were shattered in various places, leaving empty holes.
This side is also firing, but the number of guns is absolutely insufficient.
Damien stood on his horse and looked at his camp being battered like crazy. Then he swallowed dryly and looked at the wave of white military uniforms approaching covering the horizon.
The revolutionary army surrounding the farm building that Damien had been fortifying to the death was firing hard from the window, but the overwhelming number of Germanian imperial troops continued to approach.
“Watch out – boo!”
“Damn there are so many!”
The soldiers who were shooting furiously through the windows fell down one by one, and finally the imperial troops attached to the farm buildings began pounding and pushing the farm gate without hesitation with the butts of their guns.
“Stop it!”
“Push, push!”
The revolutionary troops guarding the farm tried their best to block the door with their bodies, but with so many imperial troops pouring in, the farm door was shaking dangerously as if it would break at any moment.
“Support to the 34th Regiment!”
“ancient! “Move the 34th Regiment forward!”
Infantry regiments under Damien’s orders were deployed to rescue the farm, and revolutionary troops wearing blue uniforms lined up and approached the enemy soldiers next to the farm.
On the other side, a regiment came out wearing uniform white uniforms and waving a flag with the emblem of Archduke Leopold’s family.
“For the Republic! Aim-”
After the distance was narrowed, the revolutionary army raised their guns in unison and-
“Fire!”
The muskets fired in unison and bullets flew.
The Germanian Empire army fell with the sound of bullets cutting through the wind, but the soldiers in white uniforms paid no heed and approached a little closer.
“Aim-”
Soldiers in white uniforms aim their guns at once.
“launch!”
“Oops!”
“It’s all my legs!”
Despite the shooting, the Germanian Imperial Army came a little closer and the bullets fired rained down and the revolutionary army fell in a heap.
“Don’t back down! Long live the revolution!”
“For freedom!”
As the sergeants raised their swords and cried out, the revolutionary army increased its momentum, ripped the paper from the bag, poured gunpowder into the musket, and pushed the bullet into the muzzle with a skewer.
“Aim – fire!”
The imperial army in white uniform, who had finished the process first, fired a hail of bullets again.
“Khaak!”
“Ugh!”
The sound of the wind cutting past the ears of the revolutionary soldier who was picking the muzzle of his gun with clumsy movements, and blood from a person standing next to him splashed onto his face.
Fear spreads quickly at the sight of soldiers in the front line falling down and holes in the front line in an instant.
The morale of the revolutionary army is high, but no matter how mentally strong you are, if you get hit by a bullet, you die.
The majesty of the enemies, who fired late but instead loaded first and fired again, was enough to overwhelm the soldiers of the revolutionary army.
“Holy shit. “Is that some kind of archduke’s guard?”
Damien clicked his tongue and looked at the enemy regiment, waving the flag of Archduke Leopold’s family and crushing our troops.
‘The veteran of the Confederate army is freezing to death!’
“Balien, that swindler…!”
Damien gritted his teeth, but the rain continued to fly.
“Your Excellency the Count! “Enemy heavy cavalry is advancing!”
“Damn it! “Tell Sir Gaston to respond!”
“ancient!”
He knows Gaston’s martial arts very well as he experienced it himself in the fight against Lafayette, so he will fight well as he leads the heavy cavalry.
But is that enough?
Almost all of the knights who were the pride of the Kingdom of Francia died during the civil war, but the Germanic Empire is also reputed to have knights second only to the Kingdom of Francia.
Damien continued to hold the horse’s reins with trembling hands as he felt a throbbing sensation in the back of his neck.
Although the fortified position is a waste, should we retreat from here and save some of our troops?
“messenger!”
“oh! Where is it? “Why did you come back!”
Damien, who was trying to welcome the arrival of the messenger, frowned when he realized that it was not a messenger sent by the Northern Army, but a messenger he had personally sent a few hours ago to request reinforcements.
“I am very sorry, Your Excellency the Count. Enemy hussars surround you on all sides. “There is absolutely no way out.”
“Heh heh heh heh heh….”
At the front, he is being overwhelmingly outgunned in a battle of strength, and the enemy’s light cavalry has already surrounded him on all sides, chasing his retreating army and waiting for the moment to tear it to shreds.
With a pale face, Damien looked at the terrifying flag of Archduke Leopold fluttering far away on the other side of the battlefield.
“Holy shit! “Whether Balian or the Marquis de Lafayette don’t come right now, we’ll all die here!”
–
The revolutionary army in blue uniforms, which had been deployed to save the farm, was shattered and scattered.
In front of the Archduke Regiment, which was made up of veterans who had served Archduke Leopold for a long time, the army that Pierre had carefully raised was nothing more than ordinary soldiers.
Through the telescope, the Archduke finally saw that all of the revolutionary troops on the farm were either dead or surrendered and that the flag of the German Empire was being hung on the farm. He turned around and saw the heavy cavalry of both sides fighting each other.
The Archduke slowly narrowed his brows at the sight of the battlefield seen through the telescope.
“…Frangia’s knights would have been almost wiped out in the civil war.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Then what are they?”
After hearing the Archduke’s words, the staff took out a telescope and looked at the battlefield, but only silence followed.
As the size of the troops is different, the number of heavy cavalry is also much higher on this side. Nevertheless, the revolutionary army’s heavy cavalry was never pushed back.
No, it looked like the Imperial Army’s heavy cavalry, which was nearly twice as many, was being pushed back.
Those who have learned how to use mana, even if only as a short-term attribute under Pierre’s instructions, are by no means at a level that can compete with knights, but they have a sufficient advantage over the heavy cavalry of the empire that cannot handle mana.
So the knights need to subdue it….
The Archduke narrowed his eyes at the sight seen through the telescope. A single knight shows fierce bravery in the vanguard and overwhelms the knights of the empire.
“…It brings back bad memories.”
The overwhelming fear experienced on the battlefield as a knight decades ago. In the eyes of the Grand Duke, who witnessed the majesty of the blue knight firsthand, the author could not reach that level.
However, despite this, the very existence of such a person stimulates the fear of the imperial army that the knights of Francia engraved throughout history.
The Archduke slowly removed the telescope from his eyes.
Although the heavy cavalry failed to destroy the enemy’s cavalry as the Archduke had hoped, the battle was already in turmoil.
The enemy faithfully built fortified positions and took advantage of the terrain.
Although he fought with extreme caution and was not familiar with the doctrine of fire weapons, Damien did well in his own way.
However, there is no answer in a situation where troops are overwhelmed in both quantity and quality.
The losses of the Imperial Army are considerable, but if we can clearly capture the Southern Army here, it will be enough-
“Your Highness!”
The Archduke’s thoughts were interrupted by an urgent shout.
“What’s going on?”
“Enemy forces are approaching from the south!”
“what?”
“This is the flag of the Marquis de Lafayette!”
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