I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1003 Prussian Changes

A Prussian officer immediately echoed: "Then we can rely on our superior forces to defeat the Austrians in one fell swoop!"

This time, Prince Hohenlohe made adequate preparations and deployed a large number of defensive forces along the line from Liegnitz to Breslau, waiting for Archduke Karl to fall into the trap.

However, more than ten days passed, and except for a few thousand small Austrian troops roaming around Liegnitz, the siege he expected never occurred.

In October, just when Prince Hohenlohe thought that the Austrians had given up and was preparing to report victory to Potsdam, new news finally came.

After reading the report sent from Breslau, Prince Hohenlohe's face was so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to drip out of it.

Last weekend, the Austrians occupied the town of Ersl to the east of the Breslau Fortress and used it as a base to launch a fierce attack on Glogau, an important town in the middle reaches of the Oder River.

Glogau is an important passage from Breslau to Prussia. If it is occupied by the Austrian army, the Prussian army in Silesia will lose its logistical supply.

At this time, Glogau had less than 6 defenders.

Prince Hohenlohe kicked over the chair next to him in anger.

He wasted nearly half a month in Liegnitz. If he had used this time to lead his army across the Sudeten Mountains, he might have reached the gates of Prague by now.

That Ludwig was like a gambler. He completely ignored Liegnitz and transferred the main force to attack Glogau!
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, then looked at the map.

Right now, I have two choices.

One is to abandon Gnitz, cross the Sudeten Mountains, and risk attacking the heart of Austria. Then it depends on whether Ludwig will break through Potsdam first or occupy Vienna first.

The second option was to return to Glogau and seek a decisive battle with the Austrians there. This would undoubtedly be a safer option.

He hesitated again and again, and discussed it with the officers again and again, and finally decided to choose the second option.

Austria is much larger than Prussia and has a stronger ability to resist losses. If the capitals are exchanged, Prussia will be in danger of being destroyed, while Austria may retreat to Hungary and achieve ultimate victory.

Two days later, the main Prussian force left Liegnitz and hurried back to Glogau.

Near the town of Schweidnitz in south-central Liegnitz.

Archduke Karl listened to the Hussars' report and a look of relief finally appeared on his face.

The Prussians did return to Glogau.

In fact, he was also worried that Prince Hohenlohe would make a desperate attempt to attack Prague. In that case, he would have to return quickly, organize a defense at Hirschberg, and withdraw Glogau's troops.

But now, the main force of the Prussian army was moving step by step towards his ambush position.

Yes, he sent 3 new soldiers to attack Glogau, while all the veterans remained in central Liegnitz.

He wanted to use 4 troops to defeat 7 Prussian troops!
Two days later, when Prince Hohenlohe was halfway between Liegnitz and Breslau, the Austrians suddenly appeared.

The Prussian army immediately contracted its defensive formation, but in a hurry, the two corps in the front were separated by the Austrian army and then suffered a fierce attack by the Austrian cavalry.

Prince Hohenlohe hastily sent out reinforcements, while the main force was on high alert and ready for a decisive battle.

However, Archduke Karl fought very cleverly. After killing several thousand Prussian troops, he immediately left the battlefield and headed straight towards Liegnitz.

Prince Hohenlohe was horrified when he heard the news. Liegnitz had only left a small number of defensive troops. If they were recaptured by the Austrians, he would have gained nothing from this trip and would have lost the Taunchen Army in vain.

After weighing the pros and cons, he sent Mellen, Scharnhorst and others to lead 20,000 people to continue returning to Glogau, while he led the main force to deal with the Austrian army that attacked Liegnitz. On the other side, Archduke Karl listened to the report of the Hussars and made a quick judgment: "Given Frederick's character, he will probably prioritize stabilizing Liegnitz, so the number of enemy troops heading east should be relatively small."

Yes, at this time he only knew that the enemy was divided into two routes, but the specific situation of each unit could not be detected in a short period of time.

He turned the reins and signaled to the herald: "Let's go to the west bank of the Oder River to intercept them."

……

When Prince Hohenlohe returned to Liegnitz without stopping, he found that there was no trace of Austrian troops there.

The next day, cavalry came to report to him that the Melun Corps had been defeated by the main Austrian force.

Prince Hohenlohe sank into his chair.

After entering Liegnitz, he only ran back and forth a few times and inexplicably lost half of his troops.

Now, the initiative on the battlefield has completely fallen into the hands of the enemy - Karl Ludwig can now withdraw Glogau's troops and fight a decisive battle with himself with superior forces. He can also push all his troops to the north of Silesia and directly threaten Berlin.

He was stunned for a long time, then silently walked to the table and began to write a letter.

1794 10 Month 22 Day.

Sanssouci Palace received a letter from Prince Hohenlohe suggesting a ceasefire.

Wilhelmine was so shocked that she had to ask Prince Heinrich to take charge of the situation again.

The latter returned to Sanssouci Palace and immediately sent former Prime Minister Baron Friedrich to London to seek support from the British. He then issued an emergency mobilization order and recalled Blücher, ordering him to assemble troops and go to Glogau to organize a defense.

……

In the garden of Sanssouci Palace, William II watched the equestrian performance of the Royal Guards, threw a piece of fried veal into his mouth, then took a big gulp of beer and let out a satisfied "Oh".

Suddenly, a stern rebuke came from the side: "Everyone retreat!"

The royal cavalry guards were all stunned, but immediately pulled the reins and bowed their heads in salute.

William II was about to turn around and curse, but he found that it was Prince Heinrich who came, so he muttered in dissatisfaction: "What are you doing here?"

His body was severely damaged by alcohol. At this time, he only remembered that the prince had not come to Wuyou Palace for a long time, and he didn't even know that the latter had been away from the center of power for a long time.

Prince Heinrich looked at the king with disappointment, bowed, and said in a deep voice: "Our war in Silesia is facing failure. Mrs. Wilhelmine has made a series of wrong decisions, which may cause us to lose all our veterans."

William II's eyes suddenly brightened up. He stood up from the couch with difficulty and grabbed the prince's arm: "What did you say? We were defeated?!"

"I'm afraid so. Tens of thousands of soldiers are trapped in Liegnitz. We have lost nearly 4 soldiers so far in the war."

William II hissed, "Send more troops immediately! We can't lose!"

"There are less than 1 new soldiers left in the country, Your Majesty, and they have to be used to defend Glogau. There is...no other way..."

William II was stunned, and then his pupils began to become bloodshot, and he fell straight back.

Three hours later, the royal physician came out of the king's bedroom and shook his head helplessly at Prince Henry and other important officials who were gathered at the door.

(End of this chapter)