“Is it the reinforcements from Vienna?” a staff officer asked the question that was most pressing on Blucher’s mind.
A hussar immediately shook his head and said,
“No, Commander, by the looks of the flags, it should be the Leao Legion.”
Blucher couldn’t help but frown slightly—Leao should only have less than two thousand soldiers left, where did he suddenly get a few thousand men from?
His staff officer also thought of the same question and turned, saying,
“General, could it be that he brought all the garrison troops from Luxembourg City?”
“But that doesn’t add up…” Blucher said halfway, then suddenly seemed to remember something, quickly signaling his staff officer to fetch a map and asked the hussar to point out the location where the enemy was spotted.
When he saw the scout point to the area directly north of Diekirch, his eyes narrowed sharply,
“No, the Austrians are trying to escape! Leao must have not only called away the garrison from Luxembourg City but also the troop strength of the surrounding cities.”
“Escape?” the staff officer asked with some surprise, “Why would he…” Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire
Blucher revealed a cold smile:
“I guess he’s trying to bypass us, using all the troops of Luxembourg to launch a surprise attack on Liege. If he succeeds, we can only temporarily abandon Luxembourg City and head back west to pursue him.”
“That will buy time for the Vienna reinforcements.”
“General, should we intercept him?”
“Not just intercept,” Blucher, who always liked to charge in fiercely, immediately said to the orderly officer, “Cancel the rest period, the entire army must assemble immediately.”
“Order Christel’s unit to continue the attack on Diekirch. After taking Diekirch, he is to march directly for Luxembourg City. If I’m not mistaken, that place should no longer have a garrison.”
“Yes, General,” the orderly officer said quickly, taking notes.
Blucher tapped his finger on the map over a hilltop on the northeast side:
“Have Aichendorf drag the cannons up there to set up a position.”
Leao’s troops would have to pass by that area on their way to Liege. If the cannons were set up midway up the hill, they could deliver a crushing blow to the Austrians from above.
Blucher continued:
“Alterman Corps must march east immediately at speed to cut off the Austrians.”
“The cavalry will keep harassing the enemy from behind to slow them down, but without my orders, do not initiate a strong attack.”
He proudly flicked his horsewhip, exuding great confidence:
“I will personally lead the main force in a painful strike against Leao! What follows will be the cavalry’s ‘performance’ of pursuing a defeated enemy.”
Whether Leao intended to escape or launch a surprise attack on Liege, Blucher’s morale was high, and with an absolute advantage in troop strength, it was an excellent opportunity to annihilate them there.
Silesia was the place where he could make his mark; Luxembourg was not worth wasting his time on.
But Blucher failed to realize, his current deployment had stretched the Prussian army into a long line from west to east, leaving their flank completely exposed to the south.
…
On a narrow path less than ten kilometers to the east side of the Prussian main forces near Luxembourg, the Austrian Commander Leao looked nervously at the middle-aged man beside him:
“Major Lefebvre, your scouts have just spotted Prussian hussars.”
He glanced at the marching troops alongside him, slowly advancing:
“Normally, the Prussians will catch up to us quickly. And we have less than four thousand men here…”
But Lefebvre revealed a smile:
“If that’s the case, you may have made a great achievement, General.”
“But,” Leao looked back over his shoulder and swallowed hard, “the Crown Prince’s main forces are still in Diekirch, and we can’t possibly hold out before he arrives.”
Yesterday afternoon, when he learned that the Prussians were on the verge of Wincel Town and was scared, he suddenly received news that the Crown Prince of France himself was coming with an army of 20,000 to reinforce. He was so excited he almost cried.
He had already received orders from the Emperor and knew that the French Army would come, but he did not expect them to arrive so quickly—according to news sent from Vienna, the French Army should have set out from Verdun two days ago, and it usually takes about five days to travel from there to Dixie Town.
What he didn’t know was that with the terrifying marching speed of the French Royal Guards Corps, a forced march of two days covered over fifty kilometers!
Subsequently, Leao nearly cried again.
This time, it was out of fear.
The first order the Crown Prince of France gave upon seeing him was to have him immediately lead troops to maneuver to Blucher’s left flank and set up defenses on a nearby low hill.
Blucher had a full 17,000 Prussian soldiers and nearly 5,000 Netherlands rebels, while Leao was left with only about 1,600 men.
What was the difference between marching into a den of wolves?
Afterward, the Crown Prince of France told him that he would send a legion to cover him.
Just when Leao was about to heave a sigh of relief, he heard the Crown Prince order the transfer of one unit plus one battalion, a total of 2,200 soldiers, to accompany him in a “suicidal” mission.
Confronting over 20,000 Prussian troops with a mere 4,000 men, was it not courting death?
After that, he had been virtually escorted by Lefebvre all the way to the east side of Blucher’s forces, and then they discovered the presence of Prussian hussars.
Yet Lefebvre appeared very confident:
“Rest assured, the Prince will definitely arrive in time.”
Before Leao could say anything more, Lefebvre added:
“The main force of the Guard Corps ‘hides’ in distant Dixie Town to avoid Prussian reconnaissance.”
“According to the staff headquarters’ plan, the Prussians can’t possibly realize that nearby there’s a French force powerful enough to destroy them.”