“When their attention is all on us, thunder will strike upon their heads!”
“But,” Leao said grimly, “Your Highness is still more than a day’s journey away…”
“No, at most half a day.”
…
The Prussian Guard’s Alterman Infantry Regiment, along with an accompanying skirmisher battalion and five cavalry squadrons, virtually dashed at full speed towards the Austrians who were “fleeing” ahead for an interception.
Alterman did not bring any artillery—the cumbersome things would have severely slowed him down.
And to deal with those feeble Austrians, cannons were not needed.
In the past few months, his corps had engaged the Austrian Army several times, mostly emerging victorious, especially after entering Luxembourg, their advancement was like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.
“You lazy things, pick up the pace!” he shouted at the soldiers beside him, “Don’t make me use the whip on you!”
Indeed, to speed up the march, his corps’ formation had completely disbanded; on this journey of less than 10 kilometers, nearly a tenth of the soldiers had fallen behind.
But to catch Leao’s troops, this was acceptable.
A hussar rode up, calling out to Alterman:
“Lieutenant Colonel, the Austrian Army has stopped moving!”
The latter quickly took the map, and guided by the scout’s directions, looked towards the low hill two kilometers to the east.
It was a small hill less than two kilometers wide, with dense forests on the north side and a V-shaped clearing in front.
He immediately scoffed in disdain:
“These fellows realized they can’t escape and are preparing for battle.”
He signaled to his staff to put away the map:
“Although they have chosen a decent battlefield, this will not stop us.
“Pass the order, Bischoff’s regiment to form up at the front, the skirmishers to attack from the southern slope, and strive to disrupt the Austrian formation.”
The orderly officer spurred his horse and rode off, Alterman was instructing the cavalry commander on how to strike at the Austrian defenses when he suddenly heard the rapid approach of hoofbeats.
He looked at the cavalry commander in surprise, who immediately shook his head indicating it wasn’t his men, then screams of agony came from the front side.
A messenger rode up at full gallop, shouting from a distance:
“Lieutenant Colonel, Austrian Cavalry has attacked our advance troops, Captain Jonas is directing the company to resist…”
Alterman and the cavalry commander exchanged looks, both full of disbelief.
The Austrians dared to launch an offensive!
Alterman immediately barked:
“Schlosser, get to them at once! Perhaps this is still an opportunity to break through the Austrian defenses amidst the chaos.”
The cavalry commander’s face darkened as he turned his horse and galloped away, loudly summoning his cavalry troops.
Several hundred meters away, over three hundred guardsmen from the Austrian Guard Corps in Austrian uniform roared past the flank of the Prussians at high speed, taking advantage of their charging momentum, where the cavalry only had to raise their sabers for the blades to easily slice through the bodies of the Prussian Infantry.
In almost an instant, a “border” of fresh blood appeared to the left and in front of Alterman. Captain Jonas was desperately commanding his soldiers to form up, but that barely formed infantry line was immediately dispersed by the charge.
The “Austrian” cavalry formed an arc in the distance, quickly reformed their ranks, and then charged at the Prussian Army again.
At the very front of the formation, a young man with a full head of curly hair and slightly overweight gleamed with excitement in his eyes, carefully controlling the pace of his horse to maintain the same speed as his comrades on both sides, his hand already uncontrollably touching the hilt of his saber.
“Trot…”
“Charge!”
Following the Cavalry Commander’s order, the curly-haired young man pressed his legs forcefully against the flank of his horse, lifting his saber diagonally upward. The sturdy Arab horse beneath him let out a robust snort and charged towards the Prussians with irresistible force.
Yes, although he was only a “new recruit” who had joined the Guard Corps for a few months, he was able to ride one of the top dozen horses in the Cavalry Camp.
Unlike his previous service in the Champagne Corps, the Guard Corps allocated horses only based on individual skill and merit.
Relying on his nearly perfect score in daily assessments and the impressive feat of slicing through three targets while jumping an obstacle, he was personally awarded this purebred Arab horse by the camp commander.
Despite being the son of a minor official, he had an astonishing affinity for horses, mastering highly skilled horsemanship after only a little more than two years as a cavalryman.
The sound of horse hooves rhythmically beat against his nerves like war drums, making everything around him seem to slow down, giving him a wonderful sense of control over everything.
There were 50 paces between him and the trembling infantry up ahead, clutching their flintlock guns.
40 paces…
10 paces!
The curly-haired young man’s piercing gaze noticed a gap over three meters wide between a few infantry, and he immediately flicked the reins, ducked his head, and charged through that gap, at the same time slashing his saber and cleaving through the chest of a Prussian to his right.
Warm blood splashed onto the hind legs of his warhorse, and much more sprayed onto the faces and bodies of the nearby Prussian Infantry.
The blood-curdling scene made the infantry’s eyes bulge in horror as they frantically tried to wipe the sticky blood from their faces, tumbling into disarray.
Following the curly-haired cavalryman, other members of the Guard Corps immediately spotted the breach and surged through after him.
With the flash of sabers, the hole in the Prussian ranks grew larger, and fifty or sixty infantrymen were “cut” down from their defensive line.
Then, the guardsmen circled the isolated soldiers a few times before galloping off into the distance, regrouping where there were no longer any standing Prussians.
Just with these simple two charges, the Alterman Corps suffered the loss of nearly a company of infantry; officers, soldiers, and orderly officers were mingled together, clearly unable to form an effective defensive formation at the moment.
The Cavalry Commander of the Guard Corps spurred his horse to catch up with the curly-haired young man at the front, slapped him on the shoulder, and said with a beaming smile:
“Well done, Mula! If you can make another splendid charge into the enemy lines like that, I’ll apply for a medal for you when we get back!”
Mula also grinned:
“Just apply for my medal now, oh, it has to be a Silver Iris Medal, not a bronze one. Because of this battle, I’ll have killed at least more than ten Prussians! Maybe twenty, who knows?”
There was friendly laughter nearby, everyone was all too familiar with the bluster of the young man from Ghent Province—like the time in the Champagne Corps when he fought with five soldiers and won, or when he was pursued by six girls at the same time, and didn’t marry any to avoid breaking their hearts.
The Cavalry Commander chuckled and slapped his shoulder again:
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“I know you’re not boasting, just like the time you cut through three targets.
“Oh, remember to conserve your horse’s strength, otherwise, it might not be able to handle ten kills with you.”
“Don’t worry, it’s as sturdy as can be, almost as tough as my own physique.”
Laughter echoed around them again.
As the guardsmen quickly regrouped and charged once more towards the Prussians, a troop of riders clad in light blue military uniforms charged from their flank.
The Guard Corps did not engage; they turned their horses and quickly rode away—they had already expended too much energy, and it was not wise to engage in a direct confrontation at this moment. Moreover, their mission was initially to delay time.
After their antics, it took the Alterman Corps a full one and a half hours to regain order and begin advancing toward Leao’s positions.
When Alterman saw through his binoculars the irregular lines of Austrian infantry, he immediately ground his teeth and growled in a low voice:
“Order Major Bischoff to launch an immediate fierce attack! Schlosser, be careful to guard the flanks of the infantry, the Austrians’ cavalry have some skills.”
Just as Major Bischoff had his troops form an infantry line and was about to launch the assault, suddenly, the sound of bugles came from the Austrian Army opposite them, and then that shaky infantry line started to move.
Charging straight at them!
Bischoff’s eyelid twitched—had the Austrians gone mad? With so few men, they dared to launch a direct attack?!