But he soon added with some worry, “However, who will command the Silesian battlefield? Perhaps, my dear uncle, you can once again display your former glory.”
Prince Henry had followed Emperor Frederick on campaigns north and south, participating in the Silesian Wars and the Seven Years’ War, and was a fierce warrior.
After pondering for a moment, Prince Henry shook his head and said, “Your Majesty, I am truly no longer young. Perhaps we could transfer the Duke of Brunswick back to Silesia and have the Marquis of Walschstaet lead the troops of the Southern Netherlands. There are very few Austrians there, he should be more than capable of handling them.”
The Marquis of Walschstaet he mentioned was Blucher, who was currently serving as the deputy to the Duke of Brunswick and would later make his mark in the Anti-French Coalition as a Prussian Field Marshal.
…
In the northwest of Austria, Kreignitz.
This was the vital route that led to the Gnitz Fortress on the southwestern side of Silesia.
Along the narrow path, Austrian Army’s vanguard commander General Dagobert Sigismund von Wumz put down his telescope and signaled to his staff to hasten the march.
A moment later, a dense drumbeat echoed through the miles-long column; the soldiers’ footsteps immediately quickened.
General Wumz was very aware that the current pace of the Austrian Army’s march was almost equivalent to the outcome of the battle—the sooner they arrived in Silesia, the more land they could seize before the Prussians were prepared.
Then, he turned his head to look at the faint white “line” at the rear of the column.
Those were the reinforcements from France.
Not only were these Frenchmen slow in marching, but they also seemed to carry an air of grandeur, as if they were here to save Austria.
Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire
“Only thirty thousand soldiers,” General Wumz exhaled dissatisfiedly, “this will reduce our original numerical superiority by half.”
According to the original agreement, France was supposed to send at least fifty thousand troops to support Austria, but by the time the Austrian Army started its march towards Silesia, only thirty thousand French soldiers had arrived.
The cavalry commander General Nauntdorf, who was beside him, also shook his head: “France’s financial situation is very bad. It’s said that they couldn’t even gather logistical support for fifty thousand soldiers, so they had to send troops in batches.”
“I’ve heard from the news sent from Vienna that the Emperor has allocated four hundred thousand florins of military funds to them for purchasing supplies. If nothing goes wrong, the rest of the French troops should join the battle in half a month.”
“Half a month?” General Wumz’s mouth twitched slightly, “by that time, we may already have taken Breslau, and those Frenchmen can just serve as decoration for our entry ceremony.”
Breslau was the capital of Silesia, located in the heart of the region, and a strategic point that controlled the north-south passage of Silesia. Taking this place could essentially secure the entire campaign in Silesia.
Of course, historically, the Austrians had occupied Breslau before, only to be thoroughly beaten by the military genius, Emperor Frederick, and driven back to the Bohemia area.
Nevertheless, the Austrians now tacitly believed that without Frederick, Prussia would no longer be able to prevent itself from avenging the shame of defeat in the previous three Silesian Wars.
As they were talking, they spotted two cavalrymen galloping from the northeast and halting not far from them, shouting, “General, our vanguard has crossed the border near Legnica, and no Prussian troops have been spotted.”
General Wumz’s heart leaped with joy; it seemed that the attack would indeed be a surprise to the Prussians, just as the pre-battle predictions suggested.
General Nauntdorf approached and said, “Should we report this situation to Marshal Lacy? His main forces should be a day’s journey away from here.”
General Wumz looked at his impressive vanguard force—including twenty-five thousand soldiers from Austria, ten thousand from the French Army, and three thousand from the Bavarian Army.
A formidable army of nearly forty thousand men bursting into undefended Silesia might well conclude the fight even before Marshal Lacy’s main forces arrived.
He immediately shook his head: “You see, there are no Prussians here, and opportunity never waits for us.
“`
“On this day, as we wait for the marshal, the enemy may have already noticed something amiss,”
General Nauntdorf frowned. “Then what is your plan?”
“Speed up the march and deploy our troops on both sides of the Legnica fortress,” General Wumz confidently said. “While severing their connection with Breslau on one side, we must also guard against the Saxons on the other.”
To the west of Legnica lies Gorlitz in Saxony, and to the east, adjacent to Breslau—not only a bridgehead for an offensive into Silesia, but once taken, it also poses a threat to Saxony.
After a moment of hesitation, General Nauntdorf nodded: “Your deployment is reasonable, but I still think we need to report to Marshal Lacy.”
“Yes, reporting the military situation is necessary. And we should accelerate the pace of capturing Legnica.”
By noon the next day, the Austrian Allied Forces’ vanguard, after a forced march, could already see the fortress of Legnica in the distance.
When the last of the French people finally arrived at the front line, General Wumz gave the troops almost no rest before immediately implementing his prior plan, sending the Bavarian Army and 5,000 Austrians to defend the west against the Saxons, while he took the Austrian main force and the French Army to attack Legnica from the east.
The French, although prone to posturing and a bit slow to move, were known by Wumz to be quite good at fighting. At least as good as the Austrian Army.
By evening, the survey team had delivered a map of the terrain around the Legnica fortress to General Wumz’s tent.
Yes, despite Austria having controlled Silesia for over a hundred years, they hadn’t properly mapped the terrain in detail until Frederick had given them a sound thrashing, prompting the realization that they were not as familiar with Silesia as the Prussians.
Standing before the battlefield map, Wumz pointed to a high ground to the northeast of Legnica and said to the French Army Commander, General Kellermann: “Your Excellency, please take your forces to this position at dawn tomorrow.”
He then pointed to a gentle slope next to the fortress: “I will deploy the main force here, and I will set up the artillery position at this location.
“From here, we can bombard the range of the fortress directly.
“Once the Prussian defenders are driven out by our cannon, I will hold them at the front. And Your Excellency, you will then charge down from their flank, certainly able to crush the Prussians in one fell swoop.”
He turned to ask a staff officer beside him, “How many soldiers are defending Legnica?”
“According to our previous intelligence, it should not exceed 8,000 men, General.”
“Very good,” Wumz nodded, “victory will surely be ours.”
Before dawn the next day, the French Army struck camp and set off towards the northeast of Legnica at the first light of morning.
However, just less than 3 kilometers into their departure, the cavalry responsible for scouting frantically returned to report to Kellermann: “General, a large number of enemy troops have been spotted on the high ground directly ahead, at least seven to eight thousand men, and they have already completed their formation.”
General Kellermann’s heart tightened; his men were still in marching formation, and engaging with nearly equal numbers of Prussians who were already arrayed for battle would be tantamount to suicide.
He vividly remembered the devastating blow his unit had suffered at the hands of Frederick in Westphalia more than a decade ago.
“This is probably the main force of the Prussian Army from Legnica.”
He made his judgment and immediately ordered a regiment to spread out for defense on the spot, the rest to retreat in order, and at the same time sent someone to notify Wumz to come and reinforce them.
However, what he did not expect was that the Austrian vanguard had encountered even bigger problems and was already engaged in a fierce fight. Wumz also dispatched cavalry, requesting immediate support from the French.
[Note 1] Low Countries: The Low Countries refer to the northwest coastal countries of Europe, named for their low elevation above sea level. This includes the Netherlands, Belgium (known as Southern Netherlands in the 18th century), and Luxembourg.
“`