I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 450: Fighting a War Must Not Forget the Original Intention
Berthier took the summary data from a staff officer and continued, "According to statistics, our army killed more than 1 enemy soldiers and captured nearly 2."

He said with a rather smug smile: "Of course, our gains must be much more than this."

Joseph nodded. There were still many numbers of killed and captured that had not been reported back. In addition, although many of the Prussian soldiers who had escaped were still free for the time being, they could basically be counted as prisoners of the Guards Corps - it was very easy for the cavalry to catch up and capture them.

The Chief of Staff continued, "Your Highness, we plan to rest in Kehlen Town tonight and continue the pursuit at noon tomorrow."

Joseph shook his head and said, "General, we fought very well in this battle, but now I have to ask you to withdraw all the legions. Tomorrow we will march towards Latibor."

Berthier's eyes widened immediately: "Your Highness, these few days are the best time for us to reap the fruits of our victory. Why..."

When the enemy is in the rout phase, you must constantly harass them to prevent them from gathering and reorganizing. This usually achieves many times more results than what can be achieved in a frontal battle.

Joseph smiled and said, "Please keep in mind our strategic goal. Even if we completely annihilate the Drissen Legion, it will only be 3 people, and you know that this is basically impossible."

In the case of a defeat on one's own territory, the retreating troops can obtain supplies anytime and anywhere, and can flee in different directions. If the pursuit team can destroy half of the enemy troops, it is considered very lucky.

"Strategic goal?" Berthier thought and nodded. "Do you mean to mobilize Prussia and Austria as much as possible?"

"That's right." Joseph said, "We must make the Prussians think that today's battle was just an accident. Our goal is always to save General Leo."

"So, we have to show that we are willing to abandon the victory that is right in front of us and rush to Latibor?"

"Yes." Joseph came to the map and pointed to the lower reaches of the Bull River. "Let's do this first, and then..."

At noon the next day, after a short rest, the Guards Corps began to march southward with great fanfare, deliberately passing through villages and towns along the way. Military music accompanied by the song of "Glory and Victory" soared into the sky.

A day and a half later, when they reached the lower reaches of the Bull River, they turned westward, their march speed increased greatly, and they traveled only through wasteland.

Liegnitz.

In the headquarters of the Prussian Silesian Front, the Duke of Brunswick looked at the officer sent by Driesen for help, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

Fortunately, the French pursuit was inefficient, and Driesen’s losses were not too great so far, as the main force was still there.

He planned the forces at hand, and finally asked his attendant to call an officer and ordered: "General Andreas, you will immediately take your men, plus 10 squadrons of cavalry, to Oberon to meet Drissen."

Andreas's legion had more than 8 people, and including the cavalry, a total of nearly people.

The Duke of Brunswick always believed that Driesen was defeated because of an ambush, not because of the French army's strong combat effectiveness. Therefore, it should be no problem for these 1 people to cooperate with Driesen's troops to stop more than 1 French troops.

After Andreas left, the Duke of Brunswick hurriedly summoned senior officers and began to rearrange the troops on the Liegnitz Line. In order to capture Leo, he had already withdrawn too many troops to Ratibor, which made him worry that there would be a shortage of troops on the main battlefield with Austria.

However, just as his military meeting ended, a staff officer in charge of battlefield intelligence entered the tent and handed him a report: "Your Excellency, Oberon has discovered a French army heading south. It is very likely that it is the army that fought with General Driesen."

The Duke of Brunswick quickly read the report and couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

No wonder Drissen was not pursued. It turned out that the French went south, and the only strategically valuable target in the south was Ratibor. He handed the report to the officer beside him: "The French are willing to let go of Drissen's corps and rush to Ratibor. This shows that the Austrian side attaches much more importance to Leo than we imagined."

The officer looked at the report and nodded, "It seems that if Leo died or was captured, it would be a serious blow to Austrian morale."

Someone immediately suggested: "Your Excellency the Duke, should we continue to send more troops to Ratibor?"

The Duke of Brunswick frowned when he heard this.

To be honest, he is also very interested in Leo now, but the Prussian army is originally smaller than that of Austria. If this is an Austrian conspiracy, once he has invested too many troops in Ratibor, it will be bad if the old man Lacy launches a fierce attack on him on the front battlefield.

at the same time.

In the Austrian headquarters opposite, Marshal Lacy was handing a letter to the officer beside him with a pale face.

The latter glanced at the letter and was immediately shocked: "The French Crown Prince..."

As if afraid of being overheard, he glanced towards the entrance of the tent and asked in a low voice: "Why did he run to Oberon?"

He looked at Lacy again and said anxiously: "Marshal, he is surrounded by the Prussians now. We must do something!"

Marshal Lacy looked at the top of the tent, his hands shaking slightly.

He had learned from his insiders in Prussia that the Prussian Driesen Corps had recently engaged in a fierce battle with a French army in Oberon.

Now, considering this letter for help, that French army should be the troops of the French Crown Prince.

Yes, after the battle with Driesen, Joseph sent someone to ask Marshal Lacy for help, saying that he was surrounded by 3 Prussian troops and might be captured at any time.

After a long while, Lacy sighed and said to the officer: "General Davydov, you and General Conrad should rush to Oberon immediately to rescue the French crown prince..."

These two legions were his main forces, with a total of more than 3 men. Sending them to Oberon would inevitably seriously affect the strength of the Liegnitz front, but he had no choice but to do so.

If something happened to the French Crown Prince in Silesia - if he died, that would be fine - France might declare a full-scale war on Prussia.

But if he was captured, France would most likely withdraw from Silesia in exchange for its own crown prince.

And he would bear the wrath of France for not taking good care of the reckless young man, and even become the scapegoat for the defeat in Silesia.

After General Davydov left, Marshal Lacy immediately signaled to his attendants tiredly:

"Bring me paper and pen. I want to write a letter to His Majesty the Emperor..."

(End of this chapter)