Chapter 317 France Will Be the Key to the War

Chapter 318 France will be the key to the war

"You want me to support?!" French commander Kellerman pointed to the place where the gunfire was faintly heard on the west side, and shouted to the officer who came for help, "There are more than 7,000 enemies there, and this is the total number of Prussian troops in the entire Liegnitz!"

"But, General..." The dusty messenger glanced in that direction in surprise, and hurriedly explained, "General Wurmtz was hit by heavy artillery fire, and more than 20,000 Prussian troops suddenly appeared on the south side of the fortress."

"Sorry, I was also attacked here. Please report to General Wurmtz, I really can't do anything."

The messenger said anxiously: "Please at least send cavalry to support..."

Kellerman said decisively: "If there is no cavalry to cover my flank, my people will be cut into pieces by the Prussian cavalry before retreating to Kregnitz.

"Eckard, send someone to send this captain back.

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

"Yes, General!"

On the gentle slope on the south side of the Liegnitz Fortress, 8 kilometers away, nearly 60 cannons were spewing flames at the Austrians who approached rashly from the positions that had been set up long ago.

General Wurmtz never thought that his surprise attack would be counter-attacked by the Prussians.

Under the intensive shooting of a large number of artillery, his front team was almost immediately dispersed.

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

The unprepared Austrians were immediately in a panic. Fortunately, in order to increase concealment, the Prussians deployed their troops on the inside of the depression, giving Wurmtz a temporary advantage in terrain.

Wurmtz was also a veteran who had experienced the Seven Years' War and the Battle for the Bavarian Throne. He immediately seized this only opportunity and ordered his elite skirmishers to launch a counterattack on the Prussian infantry line from a high position.

At the same time, he asked Nauendorf's cavalry to go around to the north, showing a posture of attacking the Prussian artillery positions at all costs.

General Driesen, commander of the Prussian Liegnitz Front, soon received a report from the scouts - as many as 10 Austrian cavalry squadrons, or 1,500 cavalry, were maneuvering to the side and rear of the gentle slope where the Prussian artillery was located. The terrain there was higher, almost level with the artillery position. If the cavalry launched a charge from there, the Prussian artillery would be in danger.

He frowned and weighed the pros and cons. Prince Heinrich's order to him was to defend Liegnitz, not to annihilate the Austrian army.

He knew very well that he was facing only the Austrian vanguard troops at the moment, and there might be more than 100,000 Austrian troops behind him.

If the cannons were lost, it would be impossible to defend Liegnitz with only 30,000 men.

After a moment, General Driesen said to the messenger: "Order Jonas's cavalry to withdraw and do their best to stop the enemy cavalry."

"Yes, General."

As the orders from both sides came out, on the rolling hills of Liegnitz, a thin green line passed through the bushes and continued to rush northwest, getting farther and farther away from the main Austrian army, like a group of assassins who risked their lives to rush to the heart of the enemy.

Another thin light blue line came out from the southeast of the Austrians, avoiding the main Austrian army and desperately rushing back to the high ground next to the Liegnitz Fortress.

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

If the Prussian cavalry just now suddenly rushed out during his retreat, his main force would be immediately cut into two sections, and basically none of them would be able to return to Bohemia.

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

They were very experienced. Although they were in a skirmish formation, they could use the drummer's drumbeats to stand up from different positions to fire volleys, greatly increasing the killing efficiency.

Many of them were hunters from the Austrian mountains. They were very good at shooting. Taking advantage of the range brought by the high terrain, they "dug" a lot of gaps in the latter's line formation before the Prussian infantry fought back.

However, in the era of flintlock rifles, it was undoubtedly unwise to rush into the infantry line with a disadvantageous number of people.

Soon, the Prussian infantry line advanced into the range, and with several volleys, the bullets as dense as a rainstorm covered the hiding place of the Austrian skirmishers.

There were constant screams in the weeds on the gentle slope, and then one by one, the bodies rolled down to the depression, leaving blurred bloodstains on the green grass.

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

With the gap created by Nauendorf's cavalry, Wurmtz finally withdrew the main force out of the range covered by the Prussian artillery, and then began to retreat in an orderly alternating manner.

Near dusk, Wurmtz finally met Kellermann's French army about ten kilometers away from Kregnitz, which is the Austrian border.

It was not until he entered the camp built by the French that Wurmtz felt relieved and hurriedly ordered his staff to count the casualties.

A few hours later, a simple battle report was submitted to him. The report indicated that approximately 16,000 Austrian soldiers and 9,000 French troops successfully withdrew. As for the Bavarian army on the west side, since there was no fighting, all the 5,000 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 the 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 fierce battle...

…

When news of Lignitz's 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, his mind was still clear and he 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 shocked and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, if we divide the troops at this time, Silesia may be short of troops..."

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

Austria has been operating in the Southern Netherlands for decades, and the chances of winning there are much greater than attacking Silesia. And Joseph II also knew that if the Southern Netherlands was completely lost, it would seriously affect the morale of the Silesia side.

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

The emperor of the empire worked diligently all his life and worked hard to strengthen Austria's national strength. This time he was full of confidence to retake Silesia, but he didn't expect that the Prussians would risk leaving heavy troops in the Southern Netherlands, giving Austria a heavy blow.

Seeing that his brother was so weak that he almost fainted again, Leopold II hurriedly patted his chest and left.

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

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Austrian Foreign Minister Baron Thugut took the letter signed by Joseph II and rushed to Paris for help day and night, but met the French crown prince in Lorraine - the latter was here to review the French army that was about to go to Austria.

Of course, Joseph was waiting for the Austrian envoy here.

Blücher was about to capture all of Luxembourg, and then Austria would have no foothold in the lowlands, and their emperor would have no choice but to seek help from France.

In the French Expeditionary Force camp, Joseph looked at the anxious Baron Thugut: "You mean, His Majesty the Emperor wants to mobilize the Silesia Front to rush to Luxembourg for rescue?"

"Yes, Your Highness." The Austrian Foreign Minister took out the letter from the Holy Roman Emperor. Although it was written to Queen Marie, it was no problem to give it to the French Crown Prince. "Your Majesty hopes that France can send more troops to Luxembourg and provide logistical supplies nearby."

Joseph took the letter, but frowned and shook his head: "If we mobilize troops from Silesia now, Luxembourg may be occupied by the Prussians before it reaches the Southern Netherlands. And it will fall into a situation where both the Southern Netherlands and Silesia are facing a weak situation."

Thugut sighed. Although he knew that the situation was mostly like this - General Leo of Luxembourg had less than 2,000 troops left, and he definitely couldn't hold on for more than half a month.

Joseph's face was full of concern and sincerity: "There is probably only one way to keep Luxembourg now."

Thugut immediately raised his head: "What do you mean?"

"The 20,000 troops that our country is going to send to Silesia are just 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 transfer troops from Silesia. This way, the weaknesses of the Southern Netherlands and Silesia can be turned into advantages!"