Chapter 453: The Final Strike
Marshal Laessig was utterly confused. Hadn't all the French troops gone to reinforce Leo at Ratibor? Wasn't their prince surrounded by the enemy at Oberon? Then where did these soldiers come from?
The Prussian cavalry pursuing the retreating Austrians were even more bewildered. They had been chasing down the fleeing Austrian soldiers with glee and had neglected to scout the surrounding area. After all, they were pursuing a force of 15,000 that had just been decimated—who would have thought that the Austrian army would have more troops lying in ambush behind their own lines?
Yes, Joseph had indeed hidden his Imperial Guard behind the Austrian defensive line. After he routed Dreysson, he immediately led his troops back to the Austrian-controlled area near Liegnitz. To avoid detection by Laessig, his forces had hunkered down in the barren mountains for several days. Only after Laessig dispatched Davydov's 30,000 men elsewhere did Joseph quietly move his forces to a position about 15 kilometers southwest of the Austrian line.
As soon as the Prussians launched their main attack, Joseph's Imperial Guard sprang into action. The force was split into two parts. The first, numbering about 4,000, moved swiftly to the northern flank of the Prussian assault and established a defensive position. The second group, consisting of 10,000 soldiers, moved to the southern flank of the Prussian assault. They waited for the Austrian line to collapse, allowing the Prussians to be "lured" deep into their territory before suddenly cutting off their retreat.
This tactic essentially used the 15,000 Austrian soldiers as bait—and very convincing bait, as they were genuinely being routed.
Of course, this strategy relied on Joseph's confidence that his Imperial Guard could hold off a much larger enemy force with only 14,000 men for at least three days.
The Prussian cavalry, who had been enthusiastically chasing down the fleeing Austrians, suddenly found themselves attacked on the flank and fell into disarray. Contrary to the cinematic image of cavalry charging headlong into the fray, in reality, cavalry units required strict formation discipline, with precise distances between horses both horizontally and vertically.
Well-trained cavalry could maintain these formations instinctively during battle, but any sudden shift in target could disrupt their spacing, leading to chaos. The Prussian cavalry had been focused on pursuing the Austrian soldiers and were ill-prepared to respond to an unexpected flank attack.
Their commander quickly ordered a retreat to reorganize for a counterattack. However, the French cavalry ignored the fleeing Austrians and focused entirely on the Prussian cavalry, chasing them down until they were scattered and then moving on to their next target.
Seeing a gap open in the Prussian cavalry's blockade, Marshal Laessig quickly ordered his officers to regroup the fleeing Austrian soldiers. By 3 p.m., several thousand Austrian troops had regrouped around the Marshal, just as a brave company of French cavalry rode by. Their leader, a slightly chubby, curly-haired cavalry captain, waved his saber in greeting.
After a brief exchange between Laessig's aides and the French cavalry, one aide returned to the Marshal. "Marshal, they say they're from the First Cavalry Regiment, Third Hussar Battalion, Second Company of the French Royal Guard, here to cover our retreat."
"The Royal Guard?" Laessig was surprised. "Isn't that the unit with the French prince? Weren't they surrounded at Oberon?"
"The captain said he didn't know about any encirclement. They fought a battle with Dreysson's forces and then came here."
Laessig was utterly bewildered. "What?"
...
On the western side of the Austrian defensive line, in the area still under Austrian control, a large number of Prussian soldiers were pouring through a gap in the line like a flood, while two Prussian units advanced north and south to widen the breach.
Not far from the Austrian line, a French scouting party galloped up to report to their officers. "The Prussian infantry has reached the town of Wolfenstein, with a vanguard of about 11,000 men. The main force is still being counted, but it should exceed 30,000."
Upon hearing this, Berthier nodded and instructed his staff, "The enemy has advanced far enough. Order the attack according to plan."
Wolfenstein was deep within the Austrian-controlled area, over six kilometers from the Prussian-Austrian front line.
"Yes, sir!"
Because this battle involved fighting against a much larger force, the risk was significant, so the General Staff unanimously requested that the Prince remain far from the front lines. Therefore, this battle was being commanded by Berthier, though the detailed plan had already been laid out by Joseph, so it made little difference who was in command.
Soon, the clear sound of bugles echoed across the battlefield, signaling the charge. Berthier then turned to his aide, "How far has General Kellermann's force advanced?"
"Last night's reports indicate they've crossed the lower Bur River."
According to Joseph's plan, Kellermann's 30,000 troops were never intended to reinforce Leo. They fired a few symbolic shots at Ratibor and then immediately turned back to the Liegnitz front upon receiving the Prince's orders. However, given the slower marching speed of this older force, it would still take them three days to arrive.
Berthier gave another order, "Establish contact with Marshal Laessig and ask him to coordinate with us in counterattacking the enemy forces that have breached the western side of the line."
"Yes, sir!"
Near the breach in the Austrian line, Saxon General Maurice was peering through his binoculars, a look of frustration on his face.
While the Prussians were racking up easy victories against the fleeing Austrians, he was stuck dealing with the more challenging task of breaching the Austrian defensive line. Although Austrian morale was low, their line still had plenty of heavy artillery, making this a difficult and dangerous assignment.
As Maurice watched his skirmishers overrun an Austrian artillery position on a low hill, his momentary satisfaction turned to alarm as a well-organized line of infantry suddenly appeared on the other side of the hill.
(Chapter ends)
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