Actually, Andre had seriously underestimated the “rashness” of these young people.
Out of the more than 1,200 police academy cadets’ 30 large wagons, 22 were for servicing the artillery, including dragging cannons and transporting ammunition.
As for logistics and baggage, they had cut down on almost everything that could be spared!
Each soldier’s backpack contained 11 pounds of dry bread, 3.5 pounds of semi-dried meat, and 4 pounds of oats for the horses, along with two bags of wine. That was all the provisions they carried.
It was only close to noon that the Mulan Regiment finally finished preparations to transition from encampment to marching, and the large force began to move slowly.
This was after Andre, having heard his younger brother’s “intelligence” the day before, had preemptively ordered the officers to leave all the bulky luggage like wardrobes and dining tables behind.
In fact, for an old-style army, their speed was already considered very fast.
But everything is relative.
At this point, the police academy cadets had already covered nearly 10 kilometers.
By 6 p.m., Murat’s Army began to set up camp and prepare dinner.
An hour later, the cadets stopped by a small stream 16 kilometers away, set up sentries, and, after building campfires, heated up the dry food they had carried with them.
At 8:15 p.m., the cadets gathered around the campfires, spread blankets on the grass, and under the stars, they fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning at dawn, they ate a simple breakfast and almost immediately set off again.
Meanwhile, Murat’s Army was still frantically packing up tents and loading wagons. Occasionally, there were officers quietly complaining for having slept poorly without their mattresses.
Andre could no longer see the trace of his opponents, but from the marks on the ground, it was clear the police academy cadets had long passed by this location.
After 3 p.m., two scouts with dark circles under their eyes ped back to the Mulan Regiment––Andre’s curiosity about how the cadets were solving their provisions problem had caused him to urgently send out scouts the night before to investigate.
“So, you’re saying they carried more than 15 pounds of food?” Andre looked surprised at the scouts, “With weapons, ammunition, and bedding, doesn’t that make for nearly 35 pounds of weight?”
“It seems so, sir.”
“They’re like monsters…” Andre smacked his lips, carrying so much luggage and still able to move so fast?!
He then immediately thought of another question, “Wait, even if the soldiers carried dry food, what about their horses?”
Normally, people think that an army’s provisions mainly consist of food for humans, but in reality, the bulk of logistic and baggage supplies are fodder for the horses.
Warhorses consume a great deal of energy during warfare and cannot graze like farm horses, which would require them to eat continuously for several hours to get enough nutrition from grass, a luxury of time the army cannot afford.
Moreover, it’s very difficult to guarantee grass availability along the march.
Therefore, the army’s warhorses mainly rely on logistics transport of hay and concentrated fodder like oats for sustenance. This consumption far exceeds the quantity of food humans need.
Human soldiers can barely get by carrying about a dozen pounds of dry food; surely you cannot expect horses to carry hundreds of pounds of fodder, right?
The two scouts looked at each other and answered, “Sir, they did bring some concentrated fodder, but mainly they feed the horses at nearby farms.”
“They even obtained half of the firewood from local farmers. Oh, and they also replenished some wine.”
Andre’s eyes widened as he exclaimed loudly, “That’s cheating!”
He immediately summoned the orderly officer and sent him to catch up to the police academy cadets, to present his strongest protest on his behalf.
Another day later, the orderly officer returned, bringing with him an instructor from the police academy.
After meeting Andre, the instructor politely explained, “Respected Lieutenant Colonel, we operated strictly in accordance with the standard supply regulations, it wasn’t cheating at all.”
Andre almost laughed with anger, “Are you saying that pillaging from the local farmers is a standard supply regulation?”
“No, you might be mistaken,” the instructor said hastily, “Our foraging officers paid for it, even above the market price.”
What he didn’t mention was that if it weren’t for a widespread shortage of grain, the supply regulations would require soldiers to requisition food locally.
Andre waved his hand dismissively, “That’s cheating! If a war broke out, would your troops also move without supply wagons, relying entirely on purchasing from local farmers?”
The instructor nodded earnestly, “That’s exactly right. However, we also hunt game sometimes as a supplement…”
“Ridiculous! How can such provisions be reliable? What if there are no local farmers nearby?”
“Such a situation is unlikely, sir. Across the whole of Europe, where can you not find a village to requisition provisions? Besides, soldiers always carry emergency rations.”
“This…” Andre was stunned.
Indeed, even in barren places like Switzerland or the southern part of Hungary, finding a village to sustain an army of several tens of thousands was not difficult.
This way, one could discard a large number of bulky and attack-prone logistic vehicles, rendering the army nimble and swift. No wonder the police academy’s deployment and marching speed were so fast!
In fact, this was the local requisitioning logistics mode Joseph had copied from Napoleon.
Napoleon was able to conquer Europe with great success, and half of his success could be attributed to this unique logistics system.
As is well known, war, especially between major powers, hinges on logistics as one of the key factors determining victory or defeat. There’s even an extreme saying that war is a contest of logistics.
Napoleon innovatively abandoned the large quantity of supply wagons favored by the European Nobility Army, prohibited officers from carrying bulky luxury items [Note 1], and even discarded tents, which were time-consuming and inconvenient to carry.
Food and drink depended entirely on the villages along the way, and in the event of heavy rain or snow, soldiers could also use the houses in the villages for shelter.