Chapter 323 The Strong Resilience of the Southern Netherlands Uprising Army

Chapter 324 The Strong Resilience of the Southern Netherlands Uprising Army

At 10:30 in the morning, Marquis Blücher, the commander of the Prussian Southern Netherlands, received news from the vanguard that they had joined the Altmann Corps and saw the Austrian defense line.

Blücher was secretly happy. As long as Leo's Austrian army did not escape, his battle in Luxembourg would basically be over.

He was about to order a full-line attack on the Austrians when he saw several hussars running like crazy. They shouted from a distance: "Report! General, a large number of enemy troops appeared more than half a mile to the south. The number is unknown, but there are at least 7,000 or 8,000 people!"

Blücher frowned immediately. Where did this enemy come from? He had dispersed the scouts 2 miles away, almost to the vicinity of Diekirch, and had never received any reports of other military signs.

Even if it was the Austrian army defending Diekirch, it would be impossible for them to walk so far in half a day and suddenly hit him in the face!

2 puli is almost equivalent to 15 kilometers away. With such a large reconnaissance range, he has been cautious enough, but he didn't expect that he was facing the Guards Corps with a perverted marching speed.

Another Hussar replied: "General, judging from the uniforms, they should be French."

Blücher was stunned. French? How could this be possible?

He had just received a report from the intelligence department a few days ago, saying that the French troops assembled in Verdun were going to Silesia. How did they turn to Luxembourg without any warning?

He cracked the whip in his hand hard, and said in his heart: These idiots in the intelligence department must be reported to His Majesty the King after returning to Potsdam!

However, the damn French were very close at this time, and they had to respond.

After Blücher asked the scouts to mark the location where the French army was found, his face couldn't help but look a little ugly-in order to prevent Leo from escaping, he ordered the army to rush to the Austrians at full speed, causing the soldiers to form a long and narrow formation running east-west.

The French army appeared right in the middle of this long line!

If he continued to attack Leo's Austrian army, his waist would inevitably be hit hard by the French. Although he had an advantage in manpower, if the front and rear armies were cut off, they would be easily annihilated separately.

The staff officer on the side whispered: "General, we should temporarily put down the Austrians..."

Blücher glared at him and gritted his teeth and said: "We must not let Leo run away!"

Austria has been operating in Luxembourg for decades and has a very deep influence. If Leo and him circle around Luxembourg-Liege, then the time for him to go to Silesia to participate in the war will be delayed again and again.

He glanced at the position of his own troops on the map, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "God bless, the Dutch army is right in front of the French at this time."

He looked at the staff officer: "They are a hard bone to chew!

"Send an order, let the Backhaus Regiment cooperate with Altmann to attack the Austrian army, and the battle must be ended before 2 pm!"

"Yes, General! "The herald immediately took notes.

Blücher pointed the end of his whip at a mountain pass on the map: "Let the Dutch army deploy here and stop the French at all costs."

He pointed to the end of the current team: "Ditterlind Corps will turn south immediately. The Dutch only need to hold out until 3 pm at most, and they will be able to reach the left wing of the French army from the west. "

According to the performance of the Dutch insurgents in the previous battle between him and the Austrian Wurmser Army, these fanatical liberals are extremely resilient, especially the priests among them, who can continue to fight in line for more than ten minutes with a broken hand!

At that time, less than 10,000 Dutch troops stood in front of the Austrian main force and persisted for nearly 5 hours until the Duke of Brunswick completed the troop mobilization and formed a siege on the Austrians, and they did not collapse.

Although the Dutch army has only 5,000 people at present, relying on the narrow terrain, it should be very likely to delay 7,000 to 8,000 French troops for 4 hours.

And he will leave some cavalry and artillery to support them, which is easier than the last battle.

This is still the most conservative estimate. If Altmann can quickly defeat the Austrians, he can also encircle the French army from the east.

The staff officer on the side suggested: "General, should we send cavalry to harass the French to slow down their advance? "

Blücher nodded: "Let Hilde take 6 cavalry squadrons to carry out harassment."

The quality of the Prussian army is far inferior to that of Frederick the Great. Only the cavalry, which is almost entirely composed of Junker nobles, can still be seen in combat effectiveness. In many cases, they can influence the situation of the Prussian army.

Blücher then deployed the artillery and the main dragoons, and the herald quickly conveyed his orders to various troops.

The Prussian army, which was originally arranged in a narrow marching column, responded immediately.

The 5,000 Dutch insurgents in the middle of the column lined up near the mountain pass to block the French army. The Buckhaus Corps at the front continued to advance and annihilated the Austrians at the fastest speed. The Hilde Corps, which was originally in the rear team, turned 90 degrees and rushed directly to the left wing of the French army.

At the same time, Blücher placed all the artillery on the hillsides on both sides of the Dutch army to prevent the French army from quickly breaking through the defense line. There are also 10 dragoon squadrons, which is about 1,500 people, ready to maneuver on the right wing of the French army at any time, waiting for the opportunity to enter the field.

It can be said that his deployment was almost textbook-like and impeccable when his side had an advantage in military strength.

However, in Prussian military textbooks, there was no such unit as the French Royal Guards.

Then his knowledge and experience would probably become a big pit.

…

At about 12 noon, the main force of the French Royal Guards had arrived less than two kilometers outside the mountain pass where Blücher was deployed.

Although it is called a mountain pass, it is actually quite wide. There is a flat area of ​​about 3 kilometers between the low mountains on both sides.

However, as long as the middle section is pinched, the two sides will be impassable - the enemy army can cut off the marching column with a diagonal horizontal column as long as it changes its formation slightly, and there will naturally be cavalry behind to harvest the troops that have separated from the main force.

Berthier saw the enemy infantry lines at the mountain pass through the telescope, and turned to Joseph and said, "Your Highness, it seems that the Prussians are very confident and are ready to attack Major Lefebvre while fighting a decisive battle with us."

There are two infantry lines in front, and an experienced commander can estimate that there are no more than 6,000 people at a glance.

This is obviously not Blücher's main force.

Then there is only one possibility, the Prussians have divided their forces.

Joseph smiled and nodded: "It means that their scouts did not grasp the exact number of our troops."