Napoleon II Reborn

Chapter 253: Battle against Leipzig

(It was already written, but I didn’t know why it couldn’t be uploaded before. Fortunately, it was finally uploaded before tomorrow, and two chapters will be uploaded together today)

On March 1, the well-prepared Grand Duke Charles led more than 200,000 troops from Nuremberg to attack Napoleon's right wing. On March 3, the vanguard of Archduke Charles, the Austrian 1st Army encountered the French 9th Army in Würzburg, and the two sides fought fiercely. After days of fighting, the French Ninth Army was quite exhausted and lost tens of thousands of personnel, so that it was at a disadvantage in the fierce battle with the Austrian First Army. On March 4, the French 9th Army finally lost to the Austrian 1st Army and began to retreat to Frankfurt. The Austrian 1st Army was in hot pursuit.

On the afternoon of March 5, 15 kilometers southeast of Offenbach, the Austrian 1st Army finally caught up with the French 9th Army. Oudinot had to order to fight and sent someone to Frankfurt for help. When the French Ninth Army was struggling to support, a turning point finally appeared. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Lannes' 5th Army rushed to the battlefield and cooperated with the French 9th Army to attack the Austrian 1st Army. The roles of the two sides changed immediately. Originally, the Austrian 1st Army tanned the French 9th Army, and now it was the French 5th and 9th Army pinching the Austrian 1st Army. The two sides fought fiercely until dark, and the Austrian 1st Army retreated due to heavy losses. In this battle, there were less than 20,000 people left in the Ninth Army, and the Austrian First Army also lost more than 20,000 people.

As the army of Archduke Charles continued to approach, the four legions on the southern front of the French army had to deploy their troops on the front lines of Mainz, Frankfurt and Offenbach to defend Napoleon's right wing from being broken by the Austrian army. If the Austrian army breaks through the French army's defense line, they can go west and enter France, or they can go east to attack Napoleon together with Russia and Prussia. More importantly, they can completely cut off Napoleon's logistics supply line. , then Napoleon would have no chance of winning.

The attack of Grand Duke Charles was very fierce. The five legions under him took turns to launch a fierce attack on the French defense line, but the French defense was also very tenacious, especially their weapons and equipment were much better than the Austrian army. Time can give full play to the advantages of their weapons.

The battle lasted for a whole week, but the Grand Duke Charles was still unable to break through the French defense line, but suffered heavy casualties himself. In a week of fierce attack, the Austrian army dropped a full 50,000 corpses in front of the French positions. The situation of the French army is also very bad. Generally speaking, the offensive side is very dominant in the war. They can choose any point as the target of the breakthrough, while the defensive side has to distribute its forces to each country. places, so that the troops are very weak. When the Austrian army lost 50,000 people, the French army also lost more than 20,000 people. If Grand Duke Charles persisted for a period of time, it would be inevitable that the French army's defense line would be breached. Of course, in that case, the Austrian army will also suffer huge losses.

"It can't go on like this." Grand Duke Charles watched his soldiers continue to charge towards the French army's positions, but fell one by one in front of the powerful firepower of the French army, feeling very heartbroken. As the commander-in-chief of the Austrian army, what he has to consider is not only to destroy the enemies of the empire, but also to try his best to preserve the strength of the empire, so that he can have a greater say in future international affairs. The anti-French alliance is not completely monolithic, and there are irreconcilable contradictions between almost all countries. Now they are united to deal with France only because the rise of France poses a great threat to them. Once France is defeated and threatens to contact, there will be no doubt that conflict between these countries will break out again.

On March 14, Grand Duke Charles gave up his attack on the front line of Frankfurt, and instead led an army of 170,000 to advance northeastward. Because in that direction, the main force of Napoleon's French army had already fought several fierce battles with the Russian and Prussian armies. Now that the Austrian army has passed, they can win the victory like picking overripe peaches.

After the Austrian army left, the French army defending the front line of Frankfurt did not launch a pursuit, because the battles in the past few days had consumed a lot of their strength, especially the consumption of ammunition was very huge, and now they only had a base amount of ammunition. If they walk out of the position and the Austrian army fights back, the consequences will be disastrous. The only way is to wait for the troops to take a short rest and store enough ammunition. After the soldiers regain their strength, they will lead the remaining 90,000 people to continue fighting.

On March 8, Napoleon moved his headquarters from Kassel to Magdeburg, which is less than 130 kilometers away from Berlin. As long as he wins two more victories, his army can fight again Berlin is down, but the chances of that are very slim.

On March 6, the main force of the 200,000 Russian troops finally went to the battlefield. The French and Russian-Prussian allied forces fought ruthlessly on the hundreds of kilometers wide plain between Magdeburg and Potsdam. The French army invested a total of 150,000 people in six armies including the Imperial Guard, the Guards, and the 3rd, 6th, 13th, and 14th Legions. On the side of the coalition forces are 200,000 new Russian troops and nearly 50,000 Prussian-Prussian coalition forces. The coalition army has a full 100,000 more soldiers than the French army, but the French army has much more advanced weapons than the coalition army, and they have been tested by war for a long time, and they are not comparable to those recruits who have just joined the army.

The war lasted until March 16, and neither side could decide the outcome, but there is no doubt that both sides suffered heavy losses. At this point in the battle, only less than 100,000 of the 150,000 French army remained, while the coalition forces still had 170,000, and their most powerful Cossack cavalry still retained considerable combat effectiveness. In general, the coalition forces still have an absolute advantage.

On March 17, Napoleon had to start retreating when he learned that Prince Charles had led an army of 170,000 to march in his direction, otherwise his army might be dumped by the coalition forces. At the same time, the French army stationed on the front line of Frankfurt also began to advance to the northeast. With their containment, Grand Duke Charles did not dare to oppress Napoleon too much. He must always be on guard against being attacked by the French army behind him. . The only good news for Napoleon is that after fierce fighting, the French 2nd and 12th Army finally wiped out the Prussian 1st and 3rd Army, but the losses of the two French Army were not small. There are only 40,000 people left in total. In the Netherlands, the three French legions also completely suppressed the British expeditionary force of the Marquis of Wellington. The army had to retreat north to Amsterdam, and it was only a matter of time before the French army won the final victory.

On March 20, Napoleon's army retreated while fighting, and retreated to Leipzig, an important city in the west of the Kingdom of Saxony. Here, Napoleon is no longer ready to retreat, because the army of Archduke Charles has advanced to Jena, only 75 kilometers away from Leipzig. The Russian-Prussian coalition forces led by Kutuzov and Clausewitz also reached the line of the Elbe River, only 50 kilometers away from Leipzig. Napoleon's 100,000 troops were surrounded by 300,000 troops of the Anti-French Allied Forces, and the situation can be said to be very bad. But Napoleon's southern troops also reached Erfurt on the 20th, only 50 kilometers away from Jena. In addition, the French 2nd and 12th Army Corps are also rushing towards Leipzig. On the 20th, they had already arrived in Sessen, only 150 kilometers away from Leipzig. The situation in which the two sides are in is very responsible. If the Russian-Prussian coalition forces attack Leipzig, Bi will be met with a strong counterattack by Napoleon. At that time, it will be hard to say who will win. The only way is for the Austrian army to cooperate with the Russian-Prussian coalition forces. The army flanked Leipzig. But if this is the case, the French army stationed in Erfurt will definitely attack the Austrian army. In this case, it is very difficult to say whether the Austrian army can withstand the attacks of the two French armies. In this way, the French army and the anti-French coalition forces faced off near Leipzig. Before the other party shows its flaws, no one dares to launch an attack easily, so as not to jeopardize future plans~www.wuxiaspot.com~ But it is impossible for the two sides to drag on in Leipzig, because no country can withstand a war. Huge consumption. In contrast, Napilun hopes to procrastinate, because the French army has already taken the initiative on the battlefield in the Netherlands, and it is only a matter of time before they win. When they drive the British Expeditionary Force out of Europe, they will inevitably Provide assistance to Napoleon, and at that time, Napoleon's disadvantage in military strength will not be so obvious. The battle became complicated and confusing again.

"His Royal Highness, do you think His Majesty Napoleon will win?" In Madrid, in a combat conference room of the General Staff of the Iberian Army, the military map hanging on the wall is impressively Leipzig, where the French army and the anti-French alliance are now facing off. , marked on the map are colorful, indicating the situation of the two armies.

The development of the current situation has exceeded the history that Xiao Jie knows, but he is still not optimistic about Napoleon, so he replied: "I'm afraid it will be difficult." If Napoleon wins the final victory, then the arrangement for Xiao Jie is very disadvantageous. What Xiao Jie most hoped to see was the defeat of Napoleon and the exhaustion of the army of the Anti-French Alliance. In that case, he will not only get an excuse to enter France, but also not face a powerful anti-French alliance. Only in this way can Iberia occupy most of France or even the entire territory of France. However, it is not known whether the final result will be the situation that Xiao Jie hoped for, and everything will not be revealed until after the decisive battle in Leipzig. (To be continued, if you want to know the future, please log in to .QDAN., more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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