Chapter 37: Chapter 37: The Franco-Prussian War
5 kilometers south of Amstelfen.
Outside the brightly lit camp of the Prussian Army, Andre was directing the soldiers to move two cannon barrels down from the horses’ backs.
As it was a light cavalry raid, they could not carry the heavy cannons. Instead, Andre had brought cannons that weighed less than 200 jin—light enough to be carried on a single horse.
He didn’t even bring mounts for the cannons, simply digging a hole in the ground and propping the cannon barrels at an angle inside, never expecting to hit the Prussian Army.
Load the gunpowder, load the shot, ignite.
With two booms, the Prussian camp was immediately thrown into chaos.
By the time the Prussians finally discerned the direction of the enemy attack, they promptly gathered more than ten cannons to return fire.
Meanwhile, Andre had already strapped the pound cannons back onto the horses’ backs, taking advantage of the night to head towards Utrecht in the south.
The commander-in-chief of the Prussian Army, Duke of Brunswick, did not sleep soundly that night. He was quite surprised that the Dutch, who had been beaten without the power to retaliate, would take the initiative to provoke a fight.
When day broke the next day, he sent cavalry to thoroughly search the area, making sure there were no enemy ambushes, before ordering the army to continue advancing towards Amsterdam.
However, just then, the vanguard of the Prussian Army was under a surprise attack by the Dutch.
Although the Prussian Army had not expected the enemy to attack proactively, their military discipline, honed by Frederick II, was extremely high, and they almost immediately counterattacked.
The Dutch, as always, could not withstand a single blow. After losing roughly twenty men, they began to scatter in all directions.
The Prussian vanguard commander, Blucher, reacted extremely swiftly, immediately leading the army in pursuit and soon reaching the eastern shore of Abcoude Lake.
Before him lay the Dutch Army’s line formation stretched for miles—this was the most common line infantry tactic of the 18th century, with soldiers spaced one to three steps apart. Thousands of men formed a neat single line, usually in three or four ranks, standing erect and alternately firing their muskets at the enemy.
Blucher sneered secretly, “Is this the Dutch purpose? To lure me into rash action with a routed army and then ambush me here?”
“Hmph, you underestimate the quality of Prussian soldiers!” He immediately gave the order for the entire army to halt their pursuit, form into line formation on the spot, and have an additional company from Campbell Camp charge in column formation.
The Prussians moved very quickly; in just twenty minutes, over four thousand soldiers had completed the formation.
Two thousand three hundred men formed a one-kilometer-long line to directly face the Dutch line formation. Behind them, eight hundred soldiers formed into several columns, ready to charge the enemy lines at any moment.
Additionally, nearly two hundred cavalry stood by on both flanks, ready to move at a moment’s notice.
The display of organizational discipline and operational capability alone was enough to send a chill down the spines of the Dutch across from them.
With the sound of a bugle call, the Prussian drummers began a rapid beat, and almost simultaneously, the platoon leaders waved their hands forward, ordering an attack.
At the same time, several four-pounder cannons embedded in the Prussian lines started to roar.
As Prussian soldiers advanced steadily to the drumbeat, the infantry lines of both sides drew closer. Amidst the barrage of cannon fire, some of the Dutch already showed signs of retreating, but they were promptly driven back into line by their officers’ sabers.
Not until the two armies were about 100 meters apart did the Dutch lines begin to spout flashes of fire, while the Prussians, as if the other side was merely setting off fireworks, continued to march forward in precise order.
Prussian ranks saw men falling, but without so much as a furrowed brow, they kept advancing until they were only 60 meters apart when the drumming of the Prussians suddenly stopped.
“Raise guns, aim—fire!”
With the continuous commands of the officers, Prussian soldiers skillfully unleashed a volley, creating more than a dozen gaps in the Dutch line formation as shouts of panic erupted everywhere.
As the two sides began to exchange fire, the huge disparity in military training between them became apparent.
The Prussian Army could fire five times while the Dutch Army could manage only three, and the Prussians’ actions were impeccably synchronized, with almost the entire line firing simultaneously, whereas the Dutch side was sporadic, and many soldiers fired hastily without taking proper aim under the stress.
After more than ten rounds of Prussian firing, gun smoke shrouded the entire battlefield, and the Dutch began to retreat en masse.
Seeing this, Blucher did not hesitate to order, “Advance in column!”
“Yes!”
With the sound of uniquely rhythmed drumbeats, more than forty columns of the Prussian Army charged fearlessly into the fray amidst the flashes of gunfire, while their own line also moved forward ten paces.
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More than a dozen charging Prussian soldiers immediately fell, but they were in column formation, with the leading soldiers taking the brunt of the bullets and their comrades behind them still advancing at a jog.
The Dutch infantry line was quickly broken, and the soldiers fled in disarray, but they were soon restrained by their officers, neatly splitting east and west to avoid the Prussian onslaught.
Blucher observed through his telescope and pointed westward, “Cavalry, pursue them.”
“Yes!”
His observation was astute; Wolster was commanding on the east side, and the west side was evidently in greater chaos.
Blucher himself commanded the main force, continuing the advance, and at this pace, he could take Amstelfen that same day.
However, just as all the Dutch soldiers had left the frontal battlefield, sudden and sharp cannon fire erupted from the vanguard of the Prussian side.
Several massive iron balls howled as they tore through the Prussian line formation, creating a blood mist in midair. One of the iron balls landed and rolled on for more than forty meters, crushing the lower leg of a commander before it finally came to a stop.
Blucher’s eye twitched at the sound; there were at least a dozen cannons, and by the sound of it, they were of no small caliber!
He had been marching hard for days, bringing only five 4-pound cannons, and was almost instantly suppressed by the artillery fire from the opposite side.
The momentum of the Prussian army’s charge suddenly stalled, and Blucher hesitated for a moment before looking towards Amstelfen nearby, gritting his teeth and ordering a battalion and a half from the reserve troops to press on…
Two hours after the Duke of Brunswick had led the Prussian Army’s main force, he heard dense cannon fire from the north and frowned slightly—the Prussian army’s cannons were with him, and Blucher had only five, so it couldn’t make such a commotion.
Did that mean the cannon fire was from the Dutch?
But their artillery had been completely wiped out by his forces half a month ago, and even if they got their hands on some cannons, they would not have the gunners to operate them.
After all, artillerymen were the hardest soldiers to train; without years of hard practice and solid mathematical fundamentals, they might fire dozens of shots without a single hit.
As the Duke of Brunswick pondered, a messenger rode up hurriedly, reporting that a large number of Dutch cavalry had been spotted near Utrecht.
The Duke of Brunswick’s heart tightened—Utrecht was his supply base, with food and munitions transported from there to the frontlines daily, critically important and not to be lost.
What exactly were the Dutch up to?
As an experienced commander, he quickly scoffed and shook his head. With an absolute advantage in troop strength, why should he dance to the enemy’s tune?