I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1266 Meritorious Legion
Inside the allied command post, all the officers frowned. How did another enemy force appear?
Grand Duke Karl looked at Verother:
"Which unit is the nearest? Send them to Augsburg immediately as reinforcements!"

Before the latter could reply, Kutuzov got up and walked to the map. He frowned and examined it for a moment, then suddenly picked up a pencil and drew an arrow on each side of the small flag representing the main French force on the southwest side of Nuremberg.

He then drew a downward arrow from the position of the Soult Legion in the north, and then drew a line north of Augsburg in the south.

Finally, he connected all the arrows together.

When the other coalition generals looked at the map, their pupils contracted.

Centered on Nuremberg, a huge "C"-shaped enclosure surrounds it.

“That’s exactly what the French want.” The Russian commander sighed and gestured with his hand to indicate the distance. “If nothing unexpected happens, we will be attacked from three directions simultaneously in about a week.”

Archduke Karl shook his head with a stern face:
"No, judging from the speed of the French army's march, they have at most 5 more days."

Kutuzov stared at the location of Nuremberg:

"This is not a good place for a decisive battle."

Nuremberg was merely a place the Allied forces happened to pass through during their attack on Baden. Although it was a wealthy area, it was located in the middle of a small basin, which was extremely unfavorable for large-scale defensive operations.

The Duke of York immediately said:
"As I said, we should now retreat to Saxony to set up our defenses. There are only 3 French troops to the north, and they can be easily repelled."

"Wait!" Archduke Karl suddenly strode to the map, frowning as he stared at the French army at Augsburg. After a long while, he turned to Verother and asked, "What if this enemy force doesn't head north, but continues east?"

The latter was immediately stunned.

Heading east from Augsburg along the Isar River, you'll reach Passau.

A few years ago, Moreau led less than 20,000 French troops from here into Austria and caused a great upheaval. Now, there are more than 40,000 French troops in Augsburg. If they are not stopped, Vienna may not be able to be defended.

"This...this...we need to set up defenses in Passau..."

The Bohemian mountain range and the eastern Alps rise to the west of Austria, with the Danube River flowing through them as the only passage. Passau is a key city guarding this mountain pass.

Archduke Karl shook his head, his expression conflicted. If they did not retreat, Austria itself would face enormous threats at any moment; if they did retreat, it would mean abandoning all the German territories west of Austria, instantly erasing all the gains made in this anti-French coalition war.

Seeing this, Kutuzov whispered a reminder:

"My lord, once the Prussian army joins the battle, we will be in even greater danger."

Archduke Karl nodded grimly. The issue now was no longer about the outcome of the battle, but about how to deploy defenses to ensure Austria's safety.

He took a deep breath, recalling the locations of the various Allied legions.

The closest Russian troops to the southern side of the battlefield are Kutuzov's 30,000-strong force—they have just passed Linz in western Austria and will be able to reach Landshut, east of Augsburg, to set up defenses in a maximum of three days.

He looked at the Russian commander:

"Please proceed to Landshut to intercept the French army..."

Kutuzov shook his head without hesitation:
"Marshal, as you know, my men have come from over a thousand miles away and are exhausted. They have no fighting power at all."

After hearing that Khosakoff's army was stalled in its attack on Baden, this old fox realized that the Allied forces' campaign might not be going well, so he made up various excuses to delay.

The journey that should have taken 20 days took him a month and a half, thus perfectly avoiding the "Baden meat grinder".

Now, the Austrians are sending him with inferior forces to intercept the French army, clearly using him as cannon fodder. He's not going to be foolish enough to charge in.

Grand Duke Karl was somewhat exasperated. Previously, Suvorov and Korsakov had both suffered near-total annihilation due to his orders, and he was now in a difficult position to forcefully command the Russians again.

He could only tell Verother, "Let Mikhalevich's army march to Landshut at a rapid pace and hold off the enemy for at least five days."

He then looked at the Duke of York: "Please cooperate with Milius's Legion in the defense of Erlangen."

This is a town north of Nuremberg, situated right on the edge of the basin.

The British remained silent, but they did not refuse either.

Grand Duke Karl breathed a sigh of relief and continued to give instructions:

"Order Prince Schwarzenberg to leave 4 men to cover the rear, and the rest of the troops to proceed to Passau immediately. All legions must arrive within 5 days."

"Yes, Marshal!"

……

Outside Nuremberg.

Amidst the stirring strains of military music, Joseph pinned a gold iris medal to Moreau's chest and sincerely said:
"You and your legion made outstanding contributions to the victory, and please allow me to pay you the highest tribute. All French soldiers will be proud of you!"

Morrow snapped to attention and shouted:

"Glory belongs to France, and even more so to you, Your Highness."

In this surprise attack on Prussia, Moreau annihilated the fewest enemy troops, but made the greatest contribution.

He led 65,000 soldiers and managed to hold off more than 200,000 Allied troops for nearly a month and a half.

During this period, he had two very good opportunities to penetrate the enemy's defenses.

However, in order to continue to attract Archduke Karl's attention, he chose to continue operating near Bayreuth and was eventually surrounded in Amberg.

It should be noted that during this period he could only obtain a small amount of supplies from Bavarian towns, with almost no ammunition replenishment.

Just three days before the Allied forces withdrew to Passau, he had run out of ammunition and had to have his soldiers chisel stones to use as cannonballs.

Of the 4 soldiers who held out in Passau, more than 5 were killed or wounded. But they never allowed the enemy to break through their lines, giving the French a precious month or so.

In this battle, more than 400 members of the Morro Legion received the Order of the Iris, 22 of which were gold Iris.

Moro was also promoted to the rank of general.

The medal-awarding ceremony didn't end until the afternoon. As Joseph and Moreau, along with other officers, discussed their operations in Bayreuth and walked towards headquarters, Berthier suddenly trotted over with a document from the Chap signal tower:

"Your Highness, General Massena was ambushed by enemy forces near Landshut yesterday afternoon. After adjusting his deployment, he defeated the ambush force at noon today."

"However, according to his cavalry reports, a large number of allied troops have been spotted setting up defenses in Passau. He is now speeding towards them."

Joseph nodded:
"This time, Grand Duke Karl's sense of smell is quite keen."

Berthier frowned and said:
“Your Highness, if the main force of the allied forces has already returned to Passau, it will be difficult for Massena’s army alone to break through their defenses.”

　Many thanks to: Haiyi Zhan, Zhu Bing, Still Someone Uses, cloudwatcher, and Rochester Cat for their generous donations to this book! The author is extremely grateful, thank you!

　　Thank you to GHOUST, Sugar & Fats Please Don't Come Near, and Book Friend 20250502105024945 for their generous donations to Joseph! Mwah!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)