Capítulo 1336: Chapter 1241: The Race of Speed
The central route is led by Ogero commanding the Royal Fourth Infantry Division, with ten thousand soldiers marching north to Würzburg and Coburg, taking the shortest route straight to Berlin.
The Western Army is under the command of Surt, focusing on thirty thousand soldiers of the Second Army, advancing north along the east bank of the Rhine, aiming to rendezvous with the Lefevre Corps near Hesse and seeking opportunities to blockade the Brunswick Corps.
Although the total force of this large-scale operation is just over one hundred thousand, they are all elite veterans from the previous Anti-French Alliance war, with marching speed and combat capability that are unparalleled in Europe.
The vast plains of Western Europe are the best battleground for them to showcase their skills!
…
January 26, 1799.
Baden capital, Karlsruhe.
At this mont, Geiszler is experiencing the most disheartening day since joining the army.
Since yesterday, large numbers of soldiers have been passing near his camp — judging by the flags, they are likely from the Third Army — according to the company commander, they plan to launch an offensive against the enemy from the direction of Bavaria.
Upon hearing this, Geiszler was too excited to sleep all night, imagining countless tis the scenario of himself defeating the enemy in Bavaria.
However, at noon today, the Colonel gathered the troops and publicly announced that their Sixth Army would be responsible for defending Karlsruhe.
Naselli and other soldiers have learned that the First and Second Armies have been stationed in Baden for several months, yet the Allied Forces have never been here.
But Geiszler’s dejection lasted less than a day before he beca unprecedentedly excited due to a piece of good news.
The Crown Prince has also arrived in Karlsruhe!
“Could it be that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will personally lead us into battle?” He has been repeating this sentence almost all day.
Then His Royal Highness the Crown Prince reviewed the Sixth and Seventh Armies and delivered a passionately stirring pre-war motivational speech.
“…We will swear to defend Karlsruhe to the death, even if the enemy is as strong as the Devil, we will fiercely teach them a lesson with our guns!
“Citizens of France, for our great country!”
Geiszler and all the soldiers imdiately shouted with all their might: “Long live France!”
“Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!”
“Victory belongs to France!”
At this mont, he had only one thought left, which is—that it wouldn’t be so bad to defend Baden if he could fight under the Crown Prince.
He and these exhilarated cheerings soldiers never imagined that they would face a battle that could be inscribed in the annals of French history.
…
20 kiloters east of Baden, Wurttemberg.
Sergeant Danny Edmund de Chomont glanced back at the sowhat loose formation, waving his hand loudly to the soldiers: “Who said in the morning they would leave the 11th Battalion half a kiloter behind?
“Look, now they’ve caught up to our rear!”
Soone imdiately replied: “It’s because of Philippe and Kruze; if not for accommodating their pace, we would have reached the Nekar River by now!”
The ntioned soldier raised his head in protest: “I’m not tired at all… can let Beckmond pick up the pace!”
He was referring to the company’s marching drumr.
Another slightly chubby soldier breathed, “No, that’s right! My five-kiloter cross-country was rated ‘good’! Step it up a notch!”
The soldier beside him laughed and said: “You ran so fast you skipped dinner and were still complaining about sore legs in the middle of the night.”
“Hahaha—” The company burst into joyful laughter.
Chomont quickly raised his hand to signal: “I think Mr. Kruze should have a chance to prove himself.
“So, how about increasing the pace by 3 steps per minute?”
Kruze imdiately waved his fist and said: “Co on! Bastian, if I keep up, you owe an apology at dinner!”
The drumbeat quickened a bit, and the entire company’s forward speed increased accordingly.
By twilight, the Ninth Infantry Division had reached less than six kiloters from the Nekar River.
Kruze and the soldiers sat in a circle, struggling to pry open the canned beef with bayonets—their logistics supplies had all been switched to iron cans this ti. Although more convenient and portable than glass bottles, they were a constant source of frustration when eating.
Chomont helped the little chubby soldier open the can top and handed it to him—the latter was too exhausted to move—then took out a violin from his back and began his daily routine.
Chomont, of noble birth, had learned musical instrunts since childhood, and his performance level was among the best in the entire regint.
Imdiately, the soldiers began to hum “On the Avignon Bridge” along with the sound of the violin.
anwhile, everyone’s hands were busy, soaking dry bread in beef broth to soften it before stuffing it into their mouths together. The singing imdiately turned into a “woah” accompanying the chewing.
Due to the need for rapid marching in this operation, they did not carry field kitchen carts, but as long as there is braised beef, the level of als still outmatches any army in Europe.
Just then, the voice of the company commander ca from afar: “Haha, we covered 43 kiloters today! At this pace, we will reach Berlin in less than half a month.”
Everyone imdiately cheered upon hearing the news. They knew that, contemporaneously, the Prussian and Austrian troops could only manage 27 kiloters a day at most during an intense forced march.
Only Kruze rubbed his legs and began arranging his blanket; he needed to seize every mont to rest so as not to hold back the whole company.
The next day, Moro’s Army crossed the Nekar River via a pontoon bridge, swiftly passing between the Allied-controlled Heilbronn and Stuttgart.
It wasn’t until a day and a half after they had departed that the Austrian Army in Stuttgart heard from local farrs about the French movents.
January 28.
Both Ogero and Surt separately led their troops out of Baden, rapidly advancing in western and northern directions.
…
Southwest of Saxony-Gorlitz.
In the Allied temporary command post, dozens of sweating staff officers rushed in and out, summarizing reports to present before Archduke Karl.
“I believe the French are simply trying to disrupt our deploynt,” Verossi said first. “Our army should firmly execute the established plan.”
The Marquess of Wellesley, who had specifically co from over ten kiloters away, imdiately shook his head: “Based on past war experiences, the French always have a clear objective for their rapid raids.”
Verossi sneered: “But their forces are so limited; we only need to dispatch part of our army to stall them, and when our main force arrives at Wurttemberg, they’ll be scrambling back in a panic to defend.”
The Prussian Chief of Staff Scharnhorst frowned: “Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but our defensive strength is very sparse from the west of Bavaria all the way to Hesse.”
The Marquess of Wellesley promptly nodded: “That is precisely my concern. But the problem now is, where is the French main attack?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)