I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 318 France will be the key to the war

"You want me to go for support?!" French commander Kellerman pointed to the place where gunshots were faintly heard on the west side, and yelled at the officer who came to ask for help, "There are more than 7 enemies there, and this is the entire force. The total number of Prussian troops in Gnitz!”

"But, Your Excellency General..." The ashen-faced herald glanced over in surprise, and hurriedly defended, "General Wumtz was violently bombarded, and more than 2 Prussian troops suddenly appeared on the south side of the fortress. ”

"Sorry, I also encountered a surprise attack here. Please report to General Wumuzi. I really can't do anything."

The herald said urgently: "Please at least send cavalry to support..."

Kellermann said categorically: "If there were no cavalry to cover my flanks, my men would be cut into pieces by the Prussian cavalry and eliminated before retreating into Craignitz.

"Eckard, send someone to send this captain back.

"Carruth, order the Felix Regiment to set up a second line of defense at the edge of the forest over there, and have Dort's men withdraw in half an hour!"

"Yes, General!"

On the gentle slope on the south side of Liegnitz Fortress, 8 kilometers away, nearly 60 cannons were spitting flames at the Austrians who were approaching rashly from a position that had been set up.

General Wumtz never expected that his surprise attack would be counter-surprised by the Prussians.

Another light blue thin line circled out from the southeast of the Austrians, avoiding the main force of the Austrian army, and desperately rushed back to the high ground next to the Lignitz Fortress.

Many of them were hunters from the Austrian mountains, and their marksmanship was very good. Taking advantage of the range advantage brought by the high terrain, they "digged" numerous holes in the Prussian infantry's line array before they could fight back. Few gaps.

After a moment, General Driessen said to the herald: "Order Jonas's cavalry to withdraw and use all your strength to intercept the enemy's cavalry."

If Wumuzi looked down from the air at this time, he would definitely be scared to death.

Under heavy artillery fire, his front group was dispersed almost immediately.

Wumtz was also a veteran who had experienced the Seven Years' War and the battle for the throne of Bavaria. He immediately seized this only opportunity and ordered his elite skirmishers to launch a countercharge against the Prussian infantry line from a high position.

On the other side, the elite Austrian skirmishers began to spread out under the cover of grass and rush towards the Prussian infantry line below the depression.

Just as he was hesitating whether to deploy his troops in place and have a head-on confrontation with the Prussians in front, a large number of Prussian troops emerged from the low-lying areas in the southwest and rushed towards him in a neat line formation.

"Yes, General."

Soon, the Prussian infantry line advanced within the firing range. With several volleys, a heavy rain of bullets covered the hiding places of the Austrian skirmishers.

If the Prussian cavalry team suddenly rushed out during his retreat, his main force would immediately be cut into two sections, and basically no one would be able to return to Bohemia.

At the same time, he asked Naundorf's cavalry to circle to the north, assuming a posture of storming the Prussian artillery positions at all costs.

They are very experienced. Although they are in skirmish formation, they can use the drummer's drumbeat prompts to stand up from different positions to fire volleys, which greatly increases the killing efficiency.

If the cannons were lost, it would be impossible to defend Lignitz with 3 men.

As the orders from both sides came out, on the rolling hills of Lignitz, a thin green line continued to rush northwest through the bushes, getting farther and farther away from the main Austrian army, like a group of people risking their lives to pounce on the enemy. Assassins in the heart of the military.

General Driessen, commander of the Prussian Lignitz Front, soon received a report from the scouts - there were 10 Austrian cavalry squadrons, or 1500 cavalry, moving towards the rear of the gentle slope where the Prussian artillery was located. The terrain over there is higher, almost level with the artillery positions. If the cavalry charged from there, the Prussian artillery would be in danger.

He immediately frowned and weighed it. Prince Heinrich's order to him was to defend Lignitz, not to annihilate the Austrian army.

However, in the age of the flintlock, it was undoubtedly unwise to charge into the infantry line with inferior numbers.

He knew very well that what he was facing now was only the Austrian forward force, and there were probably more than 10 Austrian troops behind him.

The unsuspecting Austrians suddenly fell into panic. Fortunately, in order to increase concealment, the Prussians deployed their troops inside the depression, giving Wumtz a temporary advantage in the terrain.

From the grass on the gentle slope, screams continued to be heard, and then corpses rolled down one by one towards the depression, leaving vague blood stains on the green turf.

Less than two regiments of Austrian skirmishers fought and retreated, forcing the Prussian infantry line to stop and regroup and shoot. On this gentle slope less than a kilometer long, they held back nearly 10,000 Prussian troops for more than an hour. .

Coupled with the gap created by Naundorf's cavalry, Wumtz finally withdrew the main force out of the range covered by the Prussian artillery, and then began to cover the retreat in an orderly manner.

Near dusk, Wumtz finally encountered Kellermann's French army about ten kilometers away from Craignitz, which is the Austrian border.

It wasn't until he entered the camp built by the French that Wumuzi finally made up his mind and quickly ordered his staff to count the casualties.

A few hours later, a simple battle report was submitted to him. The report indicated that approximately 1 Austrian soldiers and 6 French troops successfully withdrew. As for the Bavarian army on the west side, since there was no fighting, all the 9 Austrian troops returned safely.

The main force was still there, and Wumuzi breathed a sigh of relief secretly. However, in this battle, his two most elite skirmishers were almost wiped out, the cavalry also lost nearly 4 squadrons, and even General Naundorf was wounded.

Therefore, although the number of Austrian troops lost was not too many, the impact on their combat effectiveness was quite serious.

At noon the next day, when the Austrian army commander-in-chief Marshal Lacy led the main force to the border of Lignitz, he encountered the withdrawn Wumtz Army head-on.

When he learned about the tragic defeat of the Austrian army yesterday, his face suddenly turned livid.

According to his original plan, Lignitz could be taken by surprise tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and then his troops would be directed towards Breslau, the capital of Silesia.

However, judging from the battle situation Wumuzi encountered, the Prussians were obviously well prepared.

I am afraid that what I am facing will be a head-to-head battle...

……

When news of Lignitz's disastrous defeat reached Vienna, the whole city was in uproar.

Countless Austrians were instantly reminded of the painful memories of the three disastrous defeats in the Silesian War in the past few decades - this series of defeats caused Austria to lose the entire fertile Silesia region, and has since fallen into a struggle with Prussia for Germany.

Coupled with the negative effects of the previous reforms of Joseph II, the nobles and citizens of Vienna took to the streets and large-scale protests broke out. Four to five thousand people flocked to Schonbrunn Palace, shouting slogans all the way, "The frontline commander Count Lacy must be held accountable!"

"Send more troops to Silesia, we must not experience another defeat!"

"Replace the incompetent Lacy and let Marshal Laodong command the army!"

"Yes, only Marshal Laudon can defeat the Prussians..."

At the same time, the protestors also included a large number of voices dissatisfied with the royal family. They blamed Joseph II's reforms for this fiasco, believing that the reforms affected the morale of the army, and criticized the emperor for rashly entering the army without adequate preparation. Waging war against Prussia.

Schönbrunn Palace.

Although the protestors were kept out of the Palace Square by guards, Joseph II could still vaguely hear the noise coming from the window.

After a fit of coughing, Emperor Shinra looked at Leopold II and Minister of State Kaunitz who were standing beside his bed: "There is no need to disperse the protestors, didn't you hear everyone talking about sending more troops to Silesia? This may be an opportunity for Austrians to unite."

Kaunitz asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, do you think you want to give some reminders to Marshal Lacy?"

What he calls a reminder is really a rebuke.

As an Irishman born in Petersburg, Lacy was very politically inclined towards Russia. The pro-French Kaunitz often had conflicts with him.

Joseph II waved his hand: "Please draft an order for me to commend Marshal Lacy. He avoided greater losses to our army with his rich experience. In addition, he severely reprimanded General Wumuzi for his improper command, which led to the collapse of the army." The defeat of Gnitz.”

Although he was seriously ill, he was still clear-headed and knew that he must fully support the army commander at this time, otherwise the morale of the army would be unstable and this battle would not have to be fought.

Leopold II said aside: "Your Majesty, it seems that the Prussians should be on guard now. Maybe we can appease the Hungarians. At least 50,000 to 60,000 troops can be recruited there."

Hungary was quite independent under Austrian rule, especially the Hungarian aristocratic group, which often formed groups to oppose Vienna.

Affected by the reforms of Joseph II this time, the rights of the Hungarian nobility were greatly affected. In other words, Joseph II was aiming to weaken them. Therefore, Hungary adopted a passive and confrontational attitude towards the war in Silesia and sent almost no troops to participate. .

However, if you want to bring out the full strength of Austria, you must not lack Hungary.

Joseph II waved his hand weakly again: "In addition to canceling the reforms, nothing can satisfy them. Send Baron Turgut to Paris to let our sister increase her troops in exchange for Italian interests... "

Before he could finish his words, the crowd of protesters outside the square suddenly burst into loud shouts, as if cold water had been poured into boiling oil.

Joseph II frowned and looked at Kaunitz: "What happened?"

The latter bowed, quickly walked out of the emperor's bedroom, and returned with a gloomy face more than ten minutes later, bowing his head and saying: "Your Majesty, the news just came back from the Southern Netherlands. Blücher led his army to invade Luxembourg. . General Leo was outnumbered and suffered a disastrous defeat three days ago. Now the western part of Luxembourg is under the control of the Prussians..."

When Joseph II heard this, he coughed violently, then suddenly tilted his body and fell on the bed.

Leopold II was frightened and hurriedly shouted to the imperial physician waiting at the door: "Mr. Richter, His Majesty has fainted!"

After the imperial doctors performed bloodletting on Emperor Shinra three times in a row and took medicine containing ya tablets, the pale-faced Joseph II finally woke up at dusk.

Joseph II was too weak to sit up. After gathering strength for half a minute, he said to Leopold II in a trembling voice: "Order Marshal Laudon to lead 20,000 soldiers and rush to Luxembourg immediately for reinforcements."

The latter was suddenly startled and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, if we divide our troops at this time, the direction of Silesia is likely to be short of troops..."

Joseph II gasped for breath and said with difficulty: "Marshal Lacy will find a way... The Southern Netherlands must be preserved."

Austria had been operating in the Southern Netherlands for decades and had a much better chance of winning than attacking Silesia. And Joseph II also knew that if the Southern Netherlands was completely lost, it would seriously affect the morale of Silesia.

He rested for a while and then continued: "Also, ask France for help and ask them to assist Marshal Laudong..."

The emperor of the empire worked hard throughout his life and worked hard to strengthen Austria's national power. This time he was confidently preparing to recapture Silesia, but he did not expect that the Prussians would risk leaving heavy troops in the Southern Netherlands, dealing a heavy blow to Austria.

Seeing that his brother was so weak that he almost fainted again, Leopold II hurriedly touched his chest and took orders to leave.

He left the emperor's bedroom and heard the shouts of the protesters again. He immediately frowned and signaled to the captain of the guard: "Go and disperse those people! His Majesty the Emperor needs to rest."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Austrian Foreign Minister Baron Turgut took a letter signed by Joseph II and rushed to Paris day and night to ask for help. However, he met the French Dauphin in Lorraine, who was reviewing the French army that was about to go to Austria.

Of course, Joseph was here specifically to wait for the Austrian envoy.

Blücher was about to capture all of Luxembourg. By then Austria would have no foothold in the lowlands, and their Emperor could only turn to France for help.

In the barracks of the French Expeditionary Force, Joseph looked at the anxious Baron Turgut: "Are you saying that His Majesty the Emperor is going to mobilize the Silesian Front Army to rush to Luxembourg for rescue?"

"Yes, Your Highness." The Austrian Foreign Minister took out the letter from Emperor Shinra. Although it was written to Queen Mary, there is no problem for it to be given to the French Dauphin. "Your Majesty hopes that France can send more troops to assist Luxembourg and provide services nearby. Logistics."

Joseph took the letter, but frowned and shook his head: "Now that we are moving troops from Silesia, I am afraid that Luxembourg will have been occupied by the Prussians before they reach the Southern Netherlands. And it will also be trapped between the Southern Netherlands and Silesia. They are all facing a disadvantaged situation.”

Turgut sighed, although he knew that the situation was probably like this - General Leo of Luxembourg had less than 2 troops left and would definitely not be able to hold on for more than half a month.

Joseph's face was full of concern and sincerity: "I'm afraid there is only one way to keep Luxembourg at the moment."

Turgut immediately raised his head: "You mean?"

“The 20,000 troops our country is preparing to send to Silesia happen to be in Verdun,” Joseph said. “If we set off immediately, we can reach Luxembourg in three or four days to resist Blücher’s offensive.

"And Austria does not need to mobilize troops from Silesia. This can turn the weaknesses of the Southern Netherlands and Silesia into strengths!"

(End of this chapter)