Chapter 38: Chapter 38 The Decision of William II
The Duke of Brunswick immediately ordered the main force of the Prussian Army to defend their position, instructing Blucher to ascertain the enemy’s situation without making rash attacks. He then sent out three infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment to construct a defensive line stretching 20 kilometers from Amstelfen to Utrecht to protect the logistics.
Before noon, he received bad news — Blucher’s troops were fiercely battling the Dutch by the Sibella River and suffered heavy shelling and encirclement by the enemy forces, with over 800 casualties.
The Duke of Brunswick took a deep breath, not expecting the Dutch to still have the strength to struggle, and he quickly sent reinforcements to Blucher.
By the time the Prussian Army’s logistical defense line was established and the vanguard troops had regrouped, two days had passed.
The Duke of Brunswick did not mind the wasted time; he had already plugged the gaps caused by advancing too quickly earlier. Now it was time to crush the Dutch with an absolute advantage in forces.
Four days after repelling the Prussian vanguard, Dibowa welcomed the most ferocious attack yet from the Duke of Brunswick at noon.
On the plains south of Amstelfen, there was no room for strategy, only a brutal clash of iron and blood!
Dibowa commanded 12 cannons that continuously bombarded the most dense formations of Prussian soldiers. Andre also led the cavalry, constantly harassing the Prussian flanks and firmly capturing the attention of the Prussian Cavalry.
The Dutch held the higher ground and, inspired by their significant victory a few days prior, their morale was extremely high. They displayed remarkable fighting capabilities, and the Prussian Army, despite their furious attacks until nightfall, failed to break the Dutch defenses.
At first light the next day, the Duke of Brunswick continued the assault. The dense musket fire exchange and rampant shelling quickly littered the battlefield with thousands of bodies.
The battle was incredibly intense; by 2 p.m., the French Artillery had already run out of shells.
On seeing Captain Dibowa and his artillerymen withdraw from their positions and ready their muskets to join the infantry in combat, Andre knew the situation was dire.
He looked toward the Prussian Army’s cannons, which were still spewing fire, made the sign of the cross on his chest, raised his cavalry saber high, and shouted to his blood-soaked soldiers behind him, “Follow me! Let’s break through the Prussian artillery lines!”
The French Cavalry immediately struck their breastplates with their sword hilts and bellowed in response, “Yes!”
The Duke of Brunswick frowned as he watched the smoky battlefield. He hadn’t expected the Dutch resistance to be so stubborn, especially their artillery. Although they had only half the number of cannons as his own, their remarkable marksmanship held its own against them.
Based on the current situation, taking Amsterdam would likely incur hefty costs, completely deviating from his original plan.
While he pondered whether to commit his reserves in one final, fierce attack, the King’s orderly officer arrived with a message.
The Duke of Brunswick looked at the retreat order signed by King William II himself, brought by the envoy, and frowned, saying, “What in the world is this about?”
The envoy awkwardly explained, “It has been confirmed that Princess Wilhelmina is not in the hands of the Dutch.”
“What? That’s impossible!” exclaimed the Duke of Brunswick in shock. His very purpose for this battle was to rescue Wilhelmina, and now they were telling him she wasn’t here?!
The envoy said helplessly, “She was found in the Southern Netherlands, allegedly kidnapped by an Italian-speaking gang. The police in Antwerp rescued her and even killed two of the kidnappers.”
He was referring to the Southern Netherlands, which is modern-day Belgium and at the time, Austrian territory.
“Kidnappers? Impossible!”
The envoy continued, “Your Grace, Princess Wilhelmina has returned to Prussia…”
The Duke of Brunswick glanced at the withdrawal order again, reluctant, “Even so, we could use this opportunity to wipe out the rebels and allow the Prince of Orange to return to the Netherlands!”
The envoy gave an embarrassed smile again, “In fact, the Dutch Parliament officially announced yesterday that they accepted the Prince of Orange’s return to Amsterdam to assume the role of Stadtholder.”
The Duke of Brunswick stared blankly for a long time, finally resigned, he waved to the orderly officer at his side, “Order the entire army to retreat.”
The return of William V to the Netherlands was indeed arranged by Joseph, and initially, the Patriot Party adamantly refused, but the French envoy Colbert relayed the Crown Prince’s words to them, “The so-called Stadtholder can very well be a ceremonial position. Rather than letting William V stir up trouble from the outside, why not bring him back to Amsterdam to keep an eye on him. William V’s influence is in The Hague, and you control the army, you can even take him as a hostage.”
Afterward, the Patriot Party happily accepted this suggestion.
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Three days ago, a French spy set an ambush in Nijmegen and hijacked Princess Wilhelmina on her way to church. The Prussian princess believed that her hiding place was unknown to others, and therefore only brought seven or eight bodyguards with her. She was kidnapped with barely a struggle by “kidnappers who spoke Italian.”
Though Prussia had occupied the southern part of the Netherlands, it was limited to large cities; small towns and villages were still in the hands of the Patriot Party, enabling the French spy to leave the Netherlands unimpeded and take Wilhelmina to the Southern Netherlands. Along the way, they even sent a letter to William II demanding a ransom.
Latterly, the contact in Antwerp arranged for two corpses to act as the kidnappers who had been killed and alerted the local police about “suspicious foreigners,” also arranging for journalists to follow and report on the incident.
Wilhelmina, rescued publicly by the police, could no longer pretend to be held hostage by the Patriot Party, and thus the main excuse for King William II of Prussia to send troops to the Netherlands disappeared.
The Patriot Party then conceded further, and coupled with France holding an impressive military exercise in the south of Luxembourg, and the Duke of Brunswick unable to take Amsterdam, things started to shift.
In the end, William II looked at his pitiful purse and decided to withdraw the troops.
Andre, watching the thousands of enemy soldiers stationed around the Prussian Artillery’s position, and the Prussian Cavalry that were continuously keeping a close eye on him, knew he would likely never reach the Prussian cannons without being struck down on the battlefield.
But this was the only way to save the dire situation, and even with just a one percent chance, he had to try. He gently kicked his horse’s flanks, gradually speeding up, and as he was about to approach the right flank of the Prussian Infantry, suddenly a horn sounded from within the Prussian camp, and the Prussian Infantry’s lines began to retreat…
He pulled on the reins, standing there until the Prussians had all but vanished from sight, and only when the surrounding Dutch began cheering did he finally believe that the enemy had truly retreated.
He made the sign of the cross in front of his chest, looked up to the sky, his chest swelling with emotion, “He is the son blessed by God; he really did it!”
…
As dawn broke, Joseph left for Paris by carriage.
Today was the grand opening of the Paris Angel’s exclusive store on the Champs-Elysees, and he had to be there by noon for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Although it was just a store opening, the store itself was also a commodity, and he naturally needed to ensure the ceremony was befitting, to add to its perceived value.
The opening had been widely publicized through newspaper advertisements, and by the time he reached the Champs-Elysees, the area was already crowded with people, especially the middle section where the new Paris Angel store was located, which had become completely impassable.