Chapter 544: Chapter 455: Eating Sugarcane from Both Ends
As for the Duke of Brunswick, he wasn’t afraid that the French people would deceive him. A transaction was made with cash in one hand and the release of prisoners in the other, a trustworthy trade. Mainly, he had no other choice, for if he had refused the proposal from France, it was very likely that his force of over 50,000 n wouldn’t have been preserved.
Western Legnica.
The town of Wolffenstette had fallen back under Austrian control, and at this mont, next to the Austrian Army’s camp outside the town, hundreds of ceremonial guards stood neatly on both sides of the road, looking excitedly at the passing French officers, especially the young man leading them.
And behind them, a large group of ordinary soldiers were shouting without restraint, “Thank you, brothers from France, may God bless you!”
“You arrived just in ti, long live France!”
...
“Thank you, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you have saved us all!”
How could they not be excited? The mont the Prussian Army broke through their defenses, they thought they were as good as dead.
At the critical juncture, the French Royal Guard Corps suddenly appeared, cutting the Prussian Army that had entered the Austrian control zone in half.
At the sa ti, the French Army also sent cavalry to cover their flanks, helping them retreat safely.
Subsequently, Marshal Lacy gathered the Austrian troops and launched a counterattack against the Prussians. Now the whole battle situation was rapidly developing in their favor.
The sounds of military music around them suddenly beca more stirring, as Marshal Lacy ca out with several dozen officers.
Upon seeing the figure of the Crown Prince of France, he imdiately signaled those behind him and, with the officers, placed their hands on their chests in salute, “Thank you for your tily assistance, Your Royal Highness. Austria will forever rember your help!”
Joseph dismounted, returned their smiles and salutations, and also continuously exchanged pleasantries, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.
Marshal Lacy personally led the way for Joseph toward the camp. After a reserved conversation, he suddenly rembered the doubt in his mind and hurriedly asked, “Your Highness, at that ti you said you were surrounded by Delrisen and asked to send reinforcents, but how did you suddenly appear on the Lignitz front line?”
Joseph had already prepared his explanation and imdiately made the sign of the cross over his chest with a devout expression, “I won’t hide it from you, the situation was very perilous at that ti, and I nearly lost my life several tis. However, by divine providence, one of our cannonballs, after several ricochets, happened to hit a high-ranking Austrian officer. His troops imdiately fell into chaos.
“I took the opportunity to break out of the encirclent and managed to escape back to Legnica. Just as I arrived here, I encountered the Prussians having breached your defensive line. My troops happened to be on the enemy’s flank, so we seized the opportunity to attack and, fortunately, we managed to rout them.”
The Austrian officers were stunned upon hearing this… this was simply too unbelievable, it was the kind of thing one wouldn’t dare to write in a novel, right?
Lacy himself was taken aback for a few seconds before hastily making the sign of the cross, “The Lord looks after you, Your Highness, you are indeed very fortunate.”
The group entered the camp, and there was still so ti before lunch. Due to the intense battle situation, Marshal Lacy invited the Crown Prince of France to rest first, as he needed to convene a battle eting on his end.
Upon hearing this, Joseph looked to his companions like Bertier and others, “With a major enemy before us, let’s join the eting as well.”
Marshal Lacy didn’t say much, as the battle situation was what mattered most. He invited Joseph and the others into a farmhouse, which served as his temporary headquarters.
In the farmhouse’s living room were many maps and battle docunts laid out, evidently where Lacy and the others had been eting just before.
Under the indication of Marshal Lacy, an officer briefly introduced the current deploynt of the Austrian Army and then said, “The situation on the battlefield is roughly as follows. Marshal plans, after the return of General Davydov and General Conrad’s corps, to first strengthen the troop presence at the gap in the defensive line, and then encircle the enemy forces on the western side of the defensive line from three directions.
“At present, the enemy forces are centered around Andreas’s corps, relying on the low hills north of Debar Village for defense. If we want to crush them, first we have to deal with the highlands on both sides…”
Joseph listened to the spirited Marshal Lacy, patiently waited for the officer to finish explaining the battle deploynt, then with a solemn expression said, “Marshal, your deploynt seems to be foolproof. However, how long do you think it will take to completely annihilate these more than 50,000 Prussian troops?”
Without a second thought, Lacy replied, “Assembling the troops will take about 5 to 7 days.”
After all, a large number of troops were in Ratibor, and withdrawing them and then making brief rest would be extrely tight timing.
“If the battle goes well, one week should be enough to crush those Prussians. Even if they put up a stubborn resistance, I am confident we can end the fight within half a month.”
Although the Prussian Army was cut off on the western side of the Lignitz Defensive Line, that was still an army of more than 55,000 well-organized troops. If they were determined to resist, it would take considerable effort to annihilate them.
Joseph nodded and asked, “After the annihilation of this enemy force, what will be your next step?”
Marshal Lacy, with a smile full of confidence, answered, “That would be to continue the attack eastward, to take back Legnica in one fell swoop, and then march on Breslau.”
“Do you think it will be that easy?”
“Hmm?” Marshal Lacy was sowhat puzzled, “What do you an, Your Highness?”
He used to not take this young man seriously, but just two days ago, the latter had saved his army from a certain perilous situation. How could he dare underestimate him now?
“You just said it yourself, it will take half a month to a month to annihilate the enemy on the western side of the defensive line,” Joseph said, “Such a long period is enough for Duke of Brunswick to reinforce the Lignitz Defensive Line.
“After that, even if we have a nurical advantage, we will still face a tough siege.”
He paused and sighed, “Perhaps half a year, or even longer, might not be enough to break through that line.
“As you know, the press in Vienna has already declared that you have recaptured Legnica. If we drag this out for so long, you may face considerable pressure by then.”
There were still more than 200 cannons on the Lignitz Defensive Line. Even with a nurical advantage, nobody could say they could quickly take it. Of course, Joseph’s ntion of half a year was sowhat exaggerated.
Hearing this, Marshal Lacy’s expression turned bitter, “You’re right, Your Highness. But this is the best tactic I can think of. If His Majesty the Emperor blas for the lack of progress in combat, I can only…”
However, Joseph shook his head and said, “Marshal, in fact, we have an excellent opportunity right now. Duke of Brunswick’s recent withdrawal of a large force caused chaos in their defensive line, and having just suffered a defeat, their soldiers’ morale is also very low.
“If we gather all our forces now and launch a strong attack on the southern defensive line, we might be able to achieve a breakthrough in one fell swoop.”
Marshal Lacy also shook his head, “Your Highness, there are still at least 90,000 troops on the Prussian defensive line. It might not be easy to break through quickly.
“Besides, the more than 50,000 enemies on the western side of the defensive line can’t be ignored either. Otherwise, as soon as we start attacking the defensive line, they will imdiately attack us from behind.”
Joseph was waiting for this response and imdiately a cunning smile flashed in his eyes, “Marshal, what if I have a way to divert the soldiers on the enemy’s defensive line, and at the sa ti prevent those 50,000 Prussians from causing trouble?”
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