Chapter 457: The Tables Have Turned
"Really?!" Marshal Laessig was overjoyed. If what the French Prince said was true, they could break through the Liegnitz front with minimal losses.
"What's your plan?" he asked eagerly.
Joseph immediately responded, "You need to gather all the coalition forces within Liegnitz as quickly as possible. We're going on the offensive, so bring all the troops responsible for holding the line together."
Hearing this, Marshal Laessig blinked. These words sounded familiar. Oh, right! When the French Prince first arrived at Liegnitz, he had suggested something similar, but Laessig had rejected it. Now, after everything, they were back to executing his original strategy. Could it be that he had been wrong all along?
Joseph maintained an air of mystery and continued, "I can guarantee that within a week, the Prussian forces on the front line will be heavily diverted northward, reducing their defensive strength by about 40%.
"At the same time, the 50,000 enemy troops to the west of the front line will leave and head towards Glogau.
"Then we can launch a full-scale assault on the southern enemy front. With overwhelming numbers, we will quickly break through and push deep into the heart of Liegnitz."
As he spoke, he looked around at the Austrian officers in the room. "What Ferdinand did to us before, we will repay him twice over!"
The officers exchanged excited glances, each clenching their fists. Just days ago, they had been on the run from the Prussians, and now, they were about to return the favor. The thought of it filled them with exhilaration!
In his mind, Joseph had a message for Duke Brunswick: I only promised to let your men leave, not that I wouldn't attack your front line. So technically, I'm not breaking our agreement. The 2 million florins are definitely non-refundable.
Marshal Laessig quickly gathered his officers around the map. It didn't take long for them to confirm that the strategy was entirely feasible.
He turned to Joseph, placing his hand over his chest in a gesture of respect. "Your Highness, we will proceed with your plan. You are truly Austria's most steadfast ally!"
Joseph smiled and returned the gesture.
Earlier, Joseph had worried that Marshal Laessig might stubbornly insist on first annihilating the 50,000 enemy troops, which would complicate his plan. In that case, Joseph would have had to claim that the enemy's offensive was too strong to hold the line, forcing the Guard Corps to open a passage at Zary. This would have thwarted the encirclement plan, leaving Laessig with no choice but to consider Joseph's direct assault strategy.
But Marshal Laessig clearly didn't understand the concept of "preserving the men, preserving the land." He was eager to quickly capture Liegnitz and then march into all of Silesia, so he agreed without hesitation.
Near the village of Balde, 9 kilometers north of Wawernstadt.
Andreas, the interim commander of the 50,000 Prussian coalition troops trapped here, carefully examined the secret letter in his hand before handing it to his aide.
After confirming that the seal on the letter was legitimate, Andreas looked at the courier sent by Duke Brunswick and asked, "So, you made it through the French lines to reach us?"
"Yes, General," the courier nodded. "The Duke struck a deal with the French, which allowed me to pass through. He instructed you to move quickly to avoid alerting the Austrians."
"Thank you for risking your life to deliver this message," Andreas said, signaling for an aide to escort the courier to rest. He then immediately called a meeting with his officers and showed them the letter. "According to the Duke's orders, we will march to Glogau immediately."
The following morning, the 50,000 Prussian troops swiftly moved northward, and just as Duke Brunswick had said, the defenders at Zary did not attack them.
Meanwhile, Duke Brunswick ordered the 40,000 troops he had just gathered to head northwest of Liegnitz to rendezvous with Andreas's forces at the Bober River's upper reaches.
A week later, the two groups successfully met at the border of the Glogau province, but Duke Brunswick was surprised not to encounter the tens of thousands of Austrian troops he had anticipated.
The few hundred French cavalrymen who had "supervised" Andreas simply glanced at them from a distance before quickly riding away.
Duke Brunswick, though puzzled, finally breathed a sigh of relief and instructed his courier to inform his subordinates that the 2 million florins could be handed over to the French.
The next day, two messengers burst into Duke Brunswick's camp, frantically reporting, "Your Grace, three days ago, the Austrians attacked our southern front!"
"What?!" Duke Brunswick was shocked. "What's the situation?"
"The enemy gathered more than 80,000 troops and a large number of heavy cannons. When we left, the front had not yet been breached, but it was already becoming difficult to hold."
Duke Brunswick's face turned ashen—he had left less than 30,000 troops to defend the southern front, responsible for over 10 kilometers of terrain. There was no way they could hold off such a large enemy force.
And this was news from three days ago.
He quickly convened a meeting with his officers and ultimately decided to abandon the front line and retreat to Liegnitz to continue their defense.
They were currently closer to Liegnitz than the Austro-French forces, so they should have enough time to fortify the city.
Southwest of Liegnitz, near the town of Fürstendorf.
Joseph listened contentedly to the distant rumble of artillery as he oversaw the distribution of the 2 million florins they had received the day before.
Four entire wagons of gold coins, equivalent to 5 million francs—a massive sum—prompted him to reflect: War really does pay well!
He pointed to a small chest of gold coins. "Set aside 30,000... no, let's make it 20,000 florins to reward the first regiment to break through the enemy's front line."
This time, the main assault was being led by Austrian troops. The Guard Corps was only providing some artillery support; the rest of the soldiers were resting.
Given their overwhelming numerical advantage, if the Austrians still needed the Guard Corps to win, they might as well hang it up.
Marshal Laessig agreed with this arrangement, as most of the recent victories had been credited to the French. He needed to rack up some achievements of his own.
However, Joseph decided to offer a substantial reward to motivate the Austrian soldiers and ensure there were no delays.
"This last chest should have around 400,000 florins, right?"
Seeing the quartermaster nod, Joseph continued, "Distribute it as bonuses to the Guard Corps soldiers who earned medals and as additional compensation for the wounded. Oh, and make sure the money is delivered directly to their families."
400,000 florins, equivalent to 1 million francs. About 100 soldiers earned medals in the Silesian campaign, and around 300 were wounded.
That means each recipient of the Gold Fleur-de-Lis medal would receive nearly 10,000 francs! Even the wounded would get an additional 1,500 francs on top of their standard compensation.
Sending such a large sum directly to the soldiers' families would be a momentous occasion, far more effective than any flashy recruitment campaign.
(End of Chapter)
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