I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1245 The Line of Defense Against Death - Part 1
Blücher hastily issued a series of orders, preparing for a decisive battle with the attacking French army.

The Prussian army waited in high alert for nearly three hours until the hussars returned and reported to Blücher that there were only about 3 French troops on the northwest side. Only then did Blücher realize that he had been fooled, and he immediately cursed and ordered to continue advancing.

Then, after advancing less than 4 kilometers, the Prussian left flank was shelled again, forcing tens of thousands of troops to stop once more to engage in combat.

But the French mounted artillerymen on the hillside immediately harnessed their horses and retreated.

Blücher's army advanced only 6 kilometers by nightfall, after being repeatedly harassed by small-scale attacks throughout the day.

The following day, Blücher decisively adjusted his tactics, ordering Tauenchien to lead 5 hussars to sweep away small groups of enemy troops ambushing along the way, while the main force followed.

This tactic worked; the French army was no longer able to harass the French after being dispersed by the cavalry.

A day later, when Toonkin arrived 7 kilometers south of the town of Weydensville, a line of French infantry, numbering six or seven thousand, suddenly appeared in front of him.

Tonkin didn't dare to charge head-on. He had just sent someone to report to Blücher when more than two thousand French cavalrymen charged toward him from the east.

Tao Enqi was shocked and hurriedly fled south, where he was then subjected to a fierce bombardment from more than a dozen cannons that were already waiting there.

Fortunately, Blücher's main force was not too far away, and the vanguard quickly arrived. However, the Prussian hussars still suffered more than 800 casualties in this ambush.

Blücher was practically going crazy.

The roads leading north through central Switzerland were extremely narrow, making it impossible for him to maneuver around the French ambush.

Yes, the reason Massena dared to take his main force away was to use the terrain here to wear down the Prussian army.

He left Udino with only 25,000 soldiers, half of whom were new recruits. It would be difficult to surround 60,000 Prussian troops with such an army.

He then instructed Udino to lift the siege after he left and instead launch continuous ambushes along the route from Glarus to Schlilen, but not to actually fight the Prussian army. He was to retreat immediately if Blücher launched an attack.

It takes 6 Prussian soldiers two to three hours to transition between marching and deploying for combat. Udino's goal was to whittle down their time.

Meanwhile, the only towns along the way were barren ones like Weydensville, from which the Prussian army could hardly obtain any supplies.

When the Prussian army ran out of food during their slow march, they had no choice but to surrender.

Thus, it took Blücher a full week to travel the more than 60 kilometers from Glarus to Schlilen.

When he finally saw the open area on the west side of Lake Zurich and realized he no longer had to worry about a French ambush, he discovered that the French had all retreated into Schlieren, seemingly determined to hold the area to the death.

To get to Zurich, one must pass through the western side of Schlilen and then detour eastward.

If he insists on going to Zurich, he will be exposing his flank to the French army.

After much painful deliberation, Blücher finally decided to abandon his original plan and continue westward, leaving Switzerland via Basel.

But once his army began its westward march, the French immediately followed, constantly harassing him from behind.

With over 20,000 French troops, Blücher dared not completely ignore them...

So when the Prussian vanguard arrived at the outskirts of Basel, 12 days had passed since they left Glarus.

What awaited them were more than 3 garrison troops in Basel.

Exhausted and starving, the Prussian vanguard attempted to attack the city, but unsurprisingly, they were driven back.

The following day, Blücher's main force arrived, but before they could begin their attack on Basel, Udino launched a surprise attack from behind.

After more than a day of stalemate, the Prussian army finally began to mutini due to hunger...

……

Rottweil, northeast of Freiburg, Austria. Russian Commander-in-Chief Korsakov, peering through binoculars at the soldiers moving about in the distant French camp, said irritably in French, "The Austrians say there are at most twenty or thirty thousand French troops here, but in reality there are over seventy thousand!"

Sir Thomas Graham, the British commander standing nearby, also spoke in French: "They're just new recruits, you can tell from their ranks. Trust me, they won't cause much trouble."

The Russian put down his binoculars and said in a gruff voice, "But the Allied General Staff only gave us half a month."

"Hmm, not long, but it should be enough," Graham said dismissively. "Do you know how to deal with new recruits?"

"Of course, we'll tear them apart with bullets and pierce them with bayonets."

A hint of disdain flashed in Graham's eyes, but he still patiently said, "You omitted the process."

"We need to try to disrupt their formation. The French recruits will soon give us an opportunity."

"So, you already have a plan?"

“Yes,” Graham nodded. “My men will lead the frontal assault, while your legions will stand by on the flanks and rear, awaiting my signal…”

South of Baden, the Offenburg Line.

Gaizka stared nervously at the distant slope, feeling as if a large group of enemy soldiers might suddenly appear there at any moment.

In the past two or three days, enemy cavalry have frequently run past from a distance, and once even came as close as 300 meters away from him.

However, he immediately remembered the "iron plates" that the quartermaster had given him a few days ago, and subconsciously tapped them on his chest, instantly feeling a sense of security.

Sergeant Popard had told them that this thing could stop any bullet; he had been shot in the abdomen when he was fighting in the Netherlands, but nothing happened to him.

In fact, thanks to advancements in French alloy steel technology, the protective capabilities of bulletproof inserts are even stronger than they were a few years ago.

Of course, the fact that the Allied forces also began to equip themselves with large numbers of percussion cap rifles to some extent offset the technological advancements in bulletproof inserts.

Just then, he suddenly saw a row of small red dots appearing faintly on the slope ahead.

He thought it was his imagination, so he rubbed his eyes and then found that there were even more red spots.

"It's the enemy! They're there!"

At his shout, the soldiers of the entire company stood up, and some even raised their guns and aimed in that direction.

The company commander walked past them and shouted, "Put down your guns! Line up! The enemy is still far away!"

Then came the sound of war drums, followed by a deafening roar that sent chills down your spine.

Gaizka instantly forgot that it was a cannon, and only felt the howling of demons tearing at his ears.

He instinctively covered his head and squatted down on the ground.

There were many soldiers like him, and some even retreated in fear.

Then, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air. Gaizka seemed to hear a soft "click" sound. Turning his head, he saw that the soldiers on the left side of the company were covered in blood, and half of their bodies were scattered on the ground.

"Stand still! Don't be afraid!"

Sergeant Popard's shouts continued, but Gaizka's mind went blank.

He said countless times when he left Paris that he was not afraid of cannons at all.

Only then did he realize that he was wrong.

(End of this chapter)