Descending On France 1780-Chapter 357 - 350 bayonets, solitude, and the blue Danube River
Napoleon commanded a thousand French troops, who defended themselves relying on the fortifications originally built by the Austrian army. ππΏπ²ππ πππ»πΌπ―ππ.ππΌπΊ
After an hour of fierce battle, the fortifications were badly damaged. Luckily, the destructive power of warfare was not so great at the time, and neither the solid shot from cannons nor the smaller projectiles from canister shot did much damage to the earthen structure that constituted the main body of the fortifications; only the surfaces were destroyed.
The barricades left by the Austrian army were barely sufficient.
As for the morale of the French Army, to be honest, the First Army under Napoleon was composed of veterans who had been battle-hardened over time. There were even core troops that had followed Anning since Conteβs era, and a thousand of them were not afraid to face tens of thousands of Austrian troops.
Moreover, Napoleon was with them. Many viewed Napoleon as a symbol and incarnation of Anning. As long as he was there, there would be no issues with morale.
The next wave of attack arrived later than Napoleon had anticipated.
"Are they scared of us? Donβt they dare to attack anymore?" a soldier asked Napoleon.
Napoleon said, "Donβt be careless. If the enemy isnβt attacking for such a long time, they might be changing the attacking troops, and the fresh forces that come up will fight harder than the previous ones."
"General, the enemy is coming!"
Napoleon turned his head to observe the enemy and noticed that the color of their uniforms had changed.
The Prussian armyβs uniform was a shade between blue and grey, not very conspicuous and somewhat similar to the color of the later German army. What was truly eye-catching were the emperor-ordained yellow riding-coat-colored trousers; they were really bright, shining golden in the sunlight.
Napoleon couldnβt help but mock, "These golden trousers are too bright; theyβre blinding me."
The surrounding French soldiers all laughed when they heard this, filling the air with cheerful spirits.
At that moment, Napoleon suddenly noticed several flags appearing behind the Prussian attack line.
He picked up his binoculars and focused on the flags.
"Good gracious, is that Duke Brunswick, the Prussian commander? Gents, brace yourselves, the Prussian commander has come to the front to supervise the battle! This wave will be fierce! Brace up and fire by volley!"
After the order was given, the French Army, which had been somewhat relaxed, all tensed up and began to shoot one after another from left to right.
After the first round of orderly shooting, the barrage began.
The Prussian soldiers advanced with faces ashen, marching in step with the drumbeat, completely ignoring their comrades falling one after another.
The leading Prussian officer marched proudly, head held high like an arrogant rooster.
A French soldier had already taken aim at him; bullets kept hitting the soldiers around him.
Even the flagbearer at his side fell down, but the officer quickly grabbed the flag that was about to fall and carried it forward.
Seeing the officerβs actions, Napoleon turned his head and seized the flag from his own flagbearerβs handsβhe had carried the flag into battle earlier and then handed it back to the flagbearer after getting into position.
Napoleon, carrying the flag, jumped out from behind the cover and stood between two barricades, facing the Prussian officer, who was also carrying a flag.
Of course, the Prussian officer noticed Napoleon and walked with even more vigor.
And he was much taller than Napoleon, making his flag-bearing naturally more imposing.
Noticing the "showdown" between the two commanders, the French soldiers began to intentionally avoid the officer with their shooting, no longer targeting him.
As the distance closed, the efficiency of the French Armyβs shooting increased exponentially, and the ranks of the Prussian soldiers kept thinning.
Moreover, most of the French soldiers were deliberately aiming at the sergeants and officers, and by this time, the Prussian officers and sergeants had suffered severe casualties.
Because when officers in the front were shot down, the ones behind them stepped up, eventually, the Prussian rear ranks gradually ran out of officers.
Finally, the Prussian troops in the rear began to turn and flee, and the formation of the Prussian Army slowly disintegrated as if struck by a great shattering spell.
In the end, only the very front ranks of the Prussian Army were left running.
Eventually, the non-commissioned officers in the front also fell, and the remaining soldiers scattered like birds and beasts.
The officer carrying the flag remained composed, walking towards the French lines with standard military steps.
Napoleon: "Cease fire!"
The continuous gunfire stopped, but the sound of the cannons still continued.
A cannonball fell to the left of Napoleon, bouncing once, then finally flying past him to the edge of the bridge behind, smashing through the wooden bridgeβs railing and falling into the blue Danube River.
Napoleon returned the flag to the flag bearer, drew his sword, and advanced toward the officer, eventually pressing the tip of the blade against the Prussian officerβs throat.
"Your bravery has won our respect. You may return to where you began."
Napoleon said, in French.
This Prussian officer was a colonel, and according to Prussian military regulations, he was definitely a noble.
Nobles all over Europe could speak French, even the relatively poor Junker nobility of Prussia.
The Prussian held back for a few seconds and replied: "I regret that I cannot contend with you on equal footing."
Napoleon modestly said: "No, you did well. We might not have withstood such concentrated fire either."
In reality, the French Army at this moment could indeed withstand it because every French soldier had a will to fight, not one that was forced out by a group of officers.
But being modest at such times showed graciousness.
The Prussian answered: "I am now your prisoner, and I will not participate in subsequent combat, I promise."
After speaking, he turned around and walked back towards the starting point, carrying the Prussian Military Flag.
Napoleon sheathed his sword, lamenting: "With such a corps of officers, Prussia will become a formidable adversary in the future."
At this moment, his Chief of Staff came up: "General, why didnβt you ask for his name? Isnβt it basic etiquette to exchange names?"
Napoleon: "Oh, I forgot. Hey, Prussian, what is your name?"
Although Napoleon rudely said "hey" to the Prussian, the latter still turned around, planted the flag on the ground, and gave a standard military salute: "My name is Auguste Neithart von Gneisenau, Your Excellency Bonaparte!"
Though the Prussian had already addressed him as "Your Excellency Bonaparte," Napoleon still politely responded: "My name is Napoleon Bonaparte, and my name will echo through Europe, just like my teacherβs!"
"I wish you the best in achieving your desires!" Gneisenau lowered his saluting hand, pulled up the flag, and turned to walk away.
Napoleon wanted to respond with a few words, but his subordinates shouted loudly: "General, reinforcements have arrived! Itβs the First Brigade!"
Napoleon turned his head and saw a line of French troops surmounting the ridge.
The sound of the Hymn of Rome floated over from the French side.
Napoleon joyfully exclaimed: "The most dangerous moment has passed, and another victory is about to come! Thereβs no need to worry about defending the bridge anymore, what we need to consider now is how to drive the enemy out of Ulm and then annihilate them!"
**
Alvizi watched the arriving French troops and sighed deeply: "Recapturing the wooden bridge is no longer possible. Order the troops to defend using the cityβs barricades! We have not lost yet, we still have the city and the barricades!"
