I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 457: Attack and Defense Change

"Really?!" Marshal Lacy was immediately surprised. According to what the French Crown Prince said, he could break through the Liegnitz Line with almost no losses.

"What are your plans?"

Joseph immediately said: "Mobilize all the coalition forces in Liegnitz as soon as possible. We are going to take the initiative this time, so gather all the corps responsible for the defense line."

Marshal Lacy blinked when he heard this. Why did he feel that these words sounded a little familiar? Oh, by the way, when the French crown prince first came to Liegnitz, he suggested this, but he refused.

After a long detour, he still had to execute his tactics. Was it his fault?

Joseph looked unfathomable and continued, "And I can guarantee that within a week, the Prussian troops on the defense line will be moved northward in large numbers, and the defense force will be reduced by about 40%.

“At the same time, 5 enemy troops on the western side of the line will also leave and head for Glogow.

"Then, we can launch a fierce attack on the enemy's defense line on the south side. With the huge advantage in manpower, we can quickly break through and then attack the deep area of ​​​​Liegnitz."

He said, looking around at the Austrian officers in the room: "What Ferdinand did to us before, we will return to him double!"

All the officers looked at each other excitedly and clenched their fists. They were chased and beaten by the Prussians just two days ago, and now they can fight back in the blink of an eye. Just thinking about it makes them feel refreshed!

Joseph said to the Duke of Brunswick in his heart: I only promised to let your people go, but I didn't say I wouldn't take the opportunity to attack your defense line, so I definitely didn't violate the deal. The 200 million florins cannot be returned.

Lacy immediately began to study the map with his officers. After a short while, they confirmed that this tactic was very feasible.

He turned around and saluted Joseph, saying, "Your Highness, I will carry out your plan. You are truly Austria's most solid ally!"

Joseph smiled back.

He was a little worried that Marshal Laxi would insist on destroying the 5 enemy troops first, which would make his plan more complicated. He could only ask Zare's Guards Corps to open the passage on the grounds that the enemy's offensive was too fierce and it was impossible to hold on. At that time, the encirclement and annihilation battle would not be possible, and Laxi would have to consider his own strong attack plan.

However, Marshal Lacy was apparently unaware of the saying "If you save people and lose land, you can save both people and land". In order to quickly capture Liegnitz and then march into all of Silesia, he agreed without hesitation.

……

Near the village of Balde, 9 km north of the town of Wolfenst.

General Andreas, the temporary commander of the more than 5 Prussian coalition forces who were blocked here, carefully examined the secret letter in his hand and handed it to the staff officer beside him.

After the latter confirmed that there was no problem with the seal on the letter, Andreas looked at the herald sent by the Duke of Brunswick and said, "So, you passed through the French defense line to get here?"

"Yes, General." The messenger nodded hurriedly. "The Marshal reached some agreement with the French, and they let me come. The Marshal asked you to hurry up in case the Austrians find anything unusual."

"Thank you for taking the risk to deliver the letter."

Andreas asked the attendant to take the herald to rest, and then immediately summoned all the officers and showed the secret letter: "According to the order of the Marshal, the entire army will immediately march to Gvogow."

The next morning, the more than 5 Prussian troops moved quickly northward, and just as the Duke of Brunswick said, the defenders of Zare did not attack them.

On the other hand, the Duke of Brunswick also ordered the newly assembled 4 troops to rush to the northwest of Liegnitz to meet Andreas and his men at the upper reaches of the Bull River. A week later, the two sides successfully met at the border of Głogów Province, but the Duke of Brunswick did not see the expected tens of thousands of Austrian pursuers.

The hundreds of French cavalrymen who had been "supervising" Andreas along the way glanced at them from a distance and immediately rode away.

Although the Duke of Brunswick was a little surprised, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the herald to go back and inform his subordinates that the 200 million florins could be handed over to the French.

The next day, two messengers rushed into the Duke of Brunswick's camp like crazy and reported to him anxiously: "Marshal, the Austrians attacked our southern defense line three days ago."

"What?!" The Duke of Brunswick was shocked and asked hurriedly, "What's the situation?"

"The enemy has assembled more than 8 troops and a large number of heavy artillery. When we left, the defense line had not been breached, but it was already difficult to hold."

The Duke of Brunswick's face suddenly turned pale - he only had less than 3 people left on the southern defense line, and they were responsible for an area of ​​more than 10 kilometers. He definitely could not stop so many enemy troops.

And this was news three days ago.

He immediately convened a meeting of officers to discuss the matter, and finally decided to abandon the defense line and retreat the entire army to the city of Liegnitz to continue holding on.

At this time, the distance between them and the city of Liegnitz was about half that of the Austrian coalition forces. If they rushed there immediately, they should have enough time to deploy defenses.

Southwest of Liegnitz, near the town of Fordham.

Joseph was listening to the rumble of artillery in the distance, and was comfortably directing the staff in charge of military pay to distribute the 200 million florins he had received yesterday.

Four whole carriages of gold coins, equivalent to a huge sum of 4 million francs, made him sigh: War is still the fastest way to make money!

He pointed to a small gold coin box and said, "In addition, 3... no, 2 florins will be used as a reward for the company that first breaks through the enemy's defense line."

The Austrian troops were in charge of the general attack. The Guards Corps only provided some artillery assistance. The other soldiers were resting.

After all, the military advantage this time is huge. If the Guards Corps still have to take action to win, the Austrian army might as well buy a piece of tofu and kill themselves.

Marshal Lacy also agreed with this arrangement. After all, most of the previous military achievements were due to the French army, so he had to get some credit.

However, in order to avoid any further complications, Joseph decided to offer a huge sum of money to motivate the Austrian soldiers.

"There should be 40 florins left in this car?"

Seeing the military pay officer nod, Joseph continued, "All of it will be bonuses for the soldiers who have won medals in the Guards Corps, as well as additional allowances for the wounded. Oh, remember to send it directly to their homes."

40 florins is equivalent to 100 million francs. In this Silesian campaign, less than 100 people received medals and there were about 300 wounded.

In other words, the recipient of the Order of the Fleur-de-Gold could receive a bonus of nearly 1 francs! Wounded soldiers could also receive an additional 1500 francs in addition to their normal pension.

When such a large sum of money is sent to a soldier's home, the scene will undoubtedly be very grand, which is more direct and effective than any fancy recruitment propaganda.

(End of this chapter)