Napoleon in 1812

"The United States has finally pulled out its sword! The opportunity that we've been waiting for has come at last!"

The ambassador of the French Empire, August Ravez, delivered the news coming from the Washington Embassy.

As the leader of the Native American Federation, Tecumseh, who was secretly gathering anti-U.S. forces, could not believe it even after hearing the breaking news. He could not believe that the United States declared war on France, a former ally and a European hegemony!

"...That's right. The prophecy of your Emperor has come true. He said that the United States and Britain would join hands aga inst France..."

"There is no mistake in what His Majesty prepared. It's only natural,"

Tecumseh could not refute the French words fulI of trust and loyalty. Among the indigenous tribes of North America, there wasa legend in the Mohican tribe.

It was about a prophet who had eyes to see the future and remembered all the events until the end of the world.

Tecumseh thought that the French Emperor was the very legendary prophet, He had a strong urge to meet the character named Napoleon Bonaparte.

'But now I must do what I am supposed to.'

Although a native, Tecumseh had a European mindset more than anyone else among the natives, and knew the meaning of the participation of the United States in the war.

His sympathy for Napoleon was short-lived, and he judged and decided on the strategy the current Native American Federation should take,

This was a great opportunity. His name meant 'Celestial Puma'. The eyes of the beast that caught its prey were shining like stars.

"Call the agents of all the tribes of the Federation in secret right now!"

"Chief! What are we calling them for?"

"The time has come to reclaim our lost land, spring, and nation!"

The time had come for Napoleon's arrangements in the New World to shine. The war clouds of the Great War were gathering not only in Europe but also on the new continent.

The fierce battle between the Coalition and the Union over the entire Leipzig area and Saxony, which became the center of Great War, was called the 'Battle of Leipzig’ or the 'Leipzig Campaign'.

First of all, its scale was different from the previous battles. The number of troops easily exceeded 500,000.

Taking both the city and the area around it... it was worth calling it an all-out war in which all the capabilities of the Coalition and the Union were gathered.

Except for the armies confronting in Poland, all corps and divisions of both sides headed for Leipzig, the promised battlefield, as if possessed by something.

In the process, battlefields were formed here and there around Leipzig, and close battles took place everywhere.

The Russian Grenadier Regiment faced the Swiss and Dutch Allied divisions, and there was a unique scene in which the northernmost Swedish and southernmost Napoli forces in Europe fired at each other between trenches. It was a series of great fights, worthy of the Great War in which all European countries participated.

The victory and outcome of these large and small battles were made known to the whole of Europe in real time by multinational war correspondents dispatched to the battlefield. Whenever the results were heard, interested authorities and the people repeatedly expressed their joys or sorrows.

The defeated army was ridiculed and despised, and the victorious army was enthusiastically praised and worshiped. It was like watching a cruel form of sport.

Strictly speaking, however, the above fights were actually just side events. It meant that they hardly had a big impact on the whole battle.

The most important battlefields that could determine Saxony's control were Lindenau, Connewitz, and Liebertwolkwitz.

In any case, everyone now knew that the winner of the battles in these three key points would be the owner of Saxony and would take the lead in the Great War.

The whole of Europe was focused on this place. Not only members of royal families and cabinet, but also capitalists, intellectuals, citizens, and farmers were waiting for the outcome of the battle regardless of class.

"Extra, extra edition! Finally, the winner of the 'Battle of Leipzig' has been decided!"

"What? Reallyl? Where, where...!?"

"Who won? Huhl?"

"Buy it and read it. Extra edition, extra edition!"

And the results spread throughout Europe, giving shock and fear to some and joy and delight to others.

The Coalition defeated in the Battle of Leipzig! Its leaders decided to temporarily retreat to Berlin...

A desperate and insulting defeat! The great alliance lost in Saxony. What are the odds of the war now?

Was Bonaparte's empire an insurmountable wall? Skepticism about war is rising among allies...

Uncoordinated allies caused a catastrophe in which 100,000 people disappeared in 15 days!

The French Empire's millennium hegemony is complete! A great victory in the Battle of Leipzig!

Everything there is to know about the Battle of Leipzig, another masterpiece that the God of War showed us!

All European military scholars and war reporters speak together: 'The winner of the Great War will be the Union.'

Long live the Emperor!! French citizens are shouting in Paris squares!!

'Battle of the Three Battlefields', 'Battle of the Elster Bridge', 'Battle of Connewitz', 'Battle of Liebertwolkwitz'... The Union members, especially the French, succeeded in defeating all of their enemies in these important battles.

And at the center was Napoleon Bonaparte, who led the French army and showed innovative operations and tactics,

After the victory (or defeat), the specific history of the battle, the battle process, and the strategic situation after that, created an insurmountable gap between the two sides.

London, Berlin, St. Petersburg, and Stockholm spent the day in despair, sadness, and misery, and the whole court fell into a heavy silence.

Conversely, the nations in the Union burst into cheers and congratulations as if they had won the Great War. They said that it was the right choice to stand on Napoleon's side.

The Coalition members were tasting the devastation and misery of the defeated, but Prussia was the hardest hit of all.

The Coalition lost Saxony with the Battle of Leipzig. This meant that the blades of the Union were flying right down under Prussia's chin.

There was already a flurry of criticism within Prussia. Now, Prussia's weight class and situation would never stop the Union's forces advancing northward.

Rather than face the humiliation of having the whole of Prussia occupied by France again, it would be better to engage in an honorable negotiation.

If Britain had not hastily bought Prussian politicians and court ministers and sent 3 million of pounds in subsidies to the Prussian government, they would have done so.

Meanwhile, Napoleon's armies were preparing to march north. Berlin was like a light shaking in front of the wind.

"The God of War, born in Corsica, has created another myth."

It was not only the salons or courts of each country who marveled at Napoleon's heroic victory. The generals, who were among the top European commanders due to their careers and reputation, could see the true value of Napoleon's victory.

Ka rl Lud wig, commander-in-chief of the Austrian Imperial Army that marched with the French-Polish forces throughout Poland,wasa manwho waswell within that category.

Looking at the postwar report, Karl praised again and again the commander who used to be his enemy and in competition against him in the past.

"It's a very bold strategy and maneuver. I never thought he would form a hammer and anvil in this way and destroy the enemy's central forces. If he were to point his guns at our motherland... I'm sure something scary would happen just by imagining it."

"Your, Your Highness! How can you say that?..."

"It's a fact that you can't deny, what do you mean? There's nothing to make a fuss about. It's rather arrogant to say that you can beat the best military commander in European history head-on."

Karl Ludwig was considered the hope and beacon of the Austrian Imperial Army, so when he himself said that he would not be confident if his enemy was Napoleon, the officers under his command looked bewildered.

Regardless of their expressions, Karl once again recalled the Battle of Liebertwolkwitz, one of the highlights of the Battle of Leipzig,

Napoleon deceived his enemies by keeping the Emperor's flag in the village of Lindenau, He first induced the enemies' carelessness by letting them have an advantageous terrain for defense, and attacked.

Moreover, he had secretly summoned Suchet's corps, which was defending Poland, instructed him to make a detour, and to strike behind the enemy troops in the midst of the attack on Galgenberg hill.

In a perfectly coordinated operation, more than 110,000 enemy soldiers were shattered in an instant, and all the command line was captured. The combined loss of the Coalition's forces was 43,000, while that of the French army was only 5,000.

If Hannibal Barca and Julius Caesar had watched it alive, they would have given the highest praise. It was the final version of Napoleon's hammer and anvil perfectly reinterpreted with modern tactics.

"The higher someone's position, the less likely they are to change. Few monarchs experience progress in a better direction,'

Didn't even Friedrich the Great turn into a single-minded man in his later years and undermine the reputation he had earned in the early and mid-term of his reign? However, Napoleon was becoming more reasonable and wiser as he grew older. Compared to 10 years ago, he really seemed to have changed.

He had changed as the ruler of the Empire and as a human, but Karl paid more attention to his changes as a general.

Karl was confident that he knew Napoleon well because he had directly faced him at the Battle of Aspern-Essling and the Battle of Wagram. Napoleon was by no means a man of deceit that casted aside authority and pursued such tactical refinement.

The extremes of practicality and efficiency, the countless gamers and tricks derived from them in the process, and finally the overwhelming tactical ability to complete all of them. Napoleon had never been at this level in the past.

The current Napoleon really looked like the god of war had descended into his body. If Karl had faced today's Napoleon in Aspern-Essling... He probably would not be there anymore.

"Have you heard from the Schbnbrunn Palace... or the Foreign Minister?"

"No, Your Highness. Doesn't that mean that they will leave it entirely to your judgment?"

"Well, they're giving me freedom now and then."

Carl Ludwig laughed sarcastically. Austria was in a very unusual position in this 'Great War'.

It was the only country in the Union that never wanted France to ascend, and that cared about maintaining relations with the Coalition members,

From Austria's point of view, the best scenario was for the Union, including France, to end the war without either side winning (of course, with the least damage to Austria in the process).

Metternich, the Foreign Minister, set up a major strategy based on this. Karl insisted that if they wanted to side with a force, they had to join it, but Metternich refused.

Franz I sided with Metternich, and Austria had been a bat since the beginning of the Great War. In Karl's eyes, it was a dangerous tightrope. However, Metternich's dangerous strategy was undermined by external factors,

As soon as the Great War broke out, news about the French army’s victories were heard regardless of the battlefield, on land or sea. The French fought too well, which served as an opportunity to strengthen the unity of some loose allies.

Taking advantage of his last victory, Napoleon directly pressured Austria, And a series of discussions and debates with great strategies was led in the Schbnbrunn Palace.

It was the military, including Karl Ludwig, who won the 'political struggle’ of the court. Austrian Emperor Franz I gave full power to Karl. This was why Karl Ludwig was able to go to war to help Poland.

And, realizing the results of the Battle of Leipzig and the power of the epic written by Napoleon, Karl could realize that this choice was right. Perhaps Metternich was thinking the same now.

'If France wins a landslide victory in the Great War, Austria will have to pay the price for acting like a bat. Austria should actively fight the Coalition and dilute its previous reputation.'

At the same time, luck also followed Karl. The defeat in the Battle of Leipzig greatly reduced the morale of the Coalition's forces and created a power gap in the front lines surrounding Poland.

In such a case, if the Austrians actively stepped up and defeated their enemies to bring victory, Austria would be able to get rid of the image of a bat and share the fruits of victory.

Karl was cautious, but once he made up his mind, he did not hesitate. The Austrian army, which had been passively responding to enemy attacks and protecting Poland so far, immediately began to act as if all that had never happened.

The 'Battle of Brest’ began when Austrian troops raided the Russian-Swedish forces gathered in the wetland of Brest.

The Coalition members, who had never dreamed that Austria would be so active, were greatly surprised, and Karl's solid command was enough to break them down. The Russian and Swedish forces fled with nearly 10,000 casualties.

The news that Austria completely joined the Union was a bigger disaster for the Coalition than the Battle of Brest itself.

Now in Central Europe, a solid line had been formed between Poland and Austria, and Prussia was clearly isolated.

Half a year after the outbreak of the Great War, victory was certainly leaning toward the Union. The Coalition needed groundbreaking strategies and tactics to overcome this crisis.

A reference to the Fable of Aesop. During a war between the birds and the beasts, the bat switched sides easily depending

on which looked more likely to win. At the end of the war, neither side would accept it.

Archduke Karl during the Battle of Aspern-Essling (painting by Jacques-Louis David):