I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 445 Let me add fuel to the fire

General Leo, who was used as a bargaining chip, was on the verge of crying.

When he was in the Southern Netherlands, he was able to win every battle with General Lefebvre, which gave him the "illusion that I can do it myself."

At this time, looking at the Prussians in the west, north and east directions - with the Sudeten Mountains to the south - he had regained a clear understanding of himself.

The enemy was not in a hurry to attack. Instead, they set up infantry lines on all the main traffic roads, with artillery deployed on both sides, and cavalry mobile support between the lines of defense.

Leo has launched more than ten charges in the past five days, but he was beaten back every time.

At this time, there was a strong pessimism everywhere in his legion. If it weren't for his reputation as the "Spear of the South Netherlands", morale would have collapsed long ago.

Seeing in the telescope, the cannons that tried to approach the enemy's defense line quietly were driven back by the Prussian cavalry. Leo slumped on the chair and couldn't figure out why the cannons of the Lefebvre Corps could stick to the enemy's face. Explode violently, and then leave calmly, but you can't do it at all?

"If I had known better, I wouldn't have left so many soldiers in Wałbrzych..."

Leo was secretly feeling sad when his staff officer suddenly ran over quickly and said loudly:

"General, it seems that an army has appeared to the west of the Prussian defense line."

"Great!" Leo stood up with a bang, rubbing his hands excitedly, "Lieutenant Colonel Lefebvre must have saved me.

"Quickly, tell the soldiers this good news and let everyone hold on!"

However, more than three hours have passed, and there is still no movement from the "French reinforcements".

Leo suddenly became nervous and kept asking his staff:

"Could that be Prussian reinforcements gathering to attack us?"

"This...I don't know this..." the staff officer thought, "The enemy's line formation has not moved. It should not be an attack."

If reinforcements arrive, the original infantry lines will have to move to make room for the extra troops.

Leo was slightly relieved, and then he heard the sound of cannon coming from the northwest.

He suddenly became excited and hurriedly ran to the highest point of the command post - his command post was located on a low hill - and looked with his binoculars in the direction of the sound of gunfire, and saw smoke rising very far away. And rise.

"Not the Prussians who surrounded us?" He looked at the staff officer aside in surprise, "Who is fighting with whom?"

About ten kilometers away from Aylwin's encirclement, where the smoke rose, Blücher was roaring at the cavalry battalion commander:

"Idiot! You can't tell the difference between military uniforms and don't look at the flag carefully!"

Just an hour ago, he led his army to the west of Ratibor, and was about to join Elwin when he unexpectedly discovered that there was an Austrian army less than 3 kilometers away, quietly deploying. formation.

He was so angry that he almost killed the hussar commander.

In fact, this cannot be entirely blamed on his scouts - in this era, the military uniforms of various countries are in a mess, and some officers will even customize military uniforms for soldiers according to their personal preferences. Anyway, they pay for it themselves, and their superiors will probably turn a blind eye. Close one eye.

The Prussian hussars had indeed discovered the Austrian army just now, but when they saw the green clothes, they thought they were Hanoverians - there was indeed a Hanoverian army stationed at Ratibor. So, they didn't come forward to talk much and just passed by in a hurry.

Fortunately, the messenger sent by Blücher to contact Aylwin was killed when he returned. Only then did he notice the presence of the Austrian army, otherwise he would have almost fallen into the latter's ambush.

He hurriedly found a more suitable area nearby and ordered his troops to form a defensive formation on the spot.

On Wilmser's side, when he saw that the Prussian army suddenly stopped moving, he immediately guessed that the enemy had discovered him, so he immediately ordered a surprise attack.

Blücher's cavalry saved his army - probably to make up for the mistakes of the previous reconnaissance. They continued to harass and contain the Austrians extremely bravely. Although they paid a lot of casualties, they finally delayed the infantry to complete the formation.

Immediately, tens of thousands of Prussian and Austrian soldiers began to exchange fire across the battlefield. The roar of cannons and the wails of soldiers were intertwined, ushering in the fall of night.

It wasn't until the early morning of the next day that Blücher and Wilmser, old rivals who had fought against each other in the Southern Netherlands not long ago, finally figured out whose troops they were encountering.

So the two immediately realized that it was impossible to deal with each other in a short time - they had confirmed this many times in the Southern Netherlands - so they immediately sent messengers to "shake people" to the commander-in-chief. .

…

Headquarters of the Austrian Silesian Front.

Joseph flicked the bulletproof insert that had just arrived in his hand, carefully put it into the "pocket" on the front of his uniform, and said to the Chief of General Staff with some dissatisfaction:

"Just send 5,000 people? Isn't Lacy too stingy?"

Berthier said: "Your Highness, Prussia has not mobilized many troops, so Marshal Lacy believes that 5,000 reinforcements should be able to solve Ratibor's problem."

He had just attended the combat meeting in Lacy and learned that, as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince expected, a fierce battle broke out between Prussian and Austrian reinforcements at Ratibor, and General Wilmser requested reinforcements.

Joseph stood up and jumped. Well, 4 inserts, the weight hardly affects the movement. Judging from this, it is not a problem for an adult to carry 5 inserts.

He knocked on the insert on his chest and said to Berthier: "Please distribute the inserts to the soldiers as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Highness. In fact, it has been distributed to each company at noon."

"You are always so meticulous in doing things." Joseph nodded, praised, and then walked out of the tent. "Now, I have to add fuel to the fire in Latibor. Otherwise, if Marshal Lacy is so stingy, I don't know how long it will take for the opportunity I want to appear."

20 minutes later

Marshal Lacy widened his eyes, looked at the young French crown prince, and said in surprise:

"Your Highness, you really don't need to do this. It's meaningless to invest so many troops in Ratibor..."

"No, Marshal, General Leo is my old friend. We have a deep friendship." Joseph said seriously, "He may be killed by the Prussians at any time, which makes me uneasy."

"But there is no need to mobilize General Kellerman! Your Highness, this may affect the situation in Liegnitz."

Kellerman is the commander-in-chief of the 30,000 old French troops in Silesia.

Joseph thought to himself, I just want to pry open the deadlock in Liegnitz.

He looked at Marshal Lacy and said firmly:

"General Kellerman will lead 20,000 troops to rescue General Leo in about a week. During this period, you will defend with all your strength, and Liegnitz will definitely be fine."