I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 755 The Savior

The Austrian soldiers in the city were shocked, but their vision was blocked by their own people, and they were even stepped on the head by the fleeing soldiers who jumped down from the wall. For a while, they were unable to shoot effectively.

In this moment of chaos, several French columns had already rushed to the vicinity of the city wall.

The Austrian officer shouted desperately:

"Get out of here, idiots! Shoot, shoot! Fight them off!"

At his command, gunshots were finally heard behind the battlements of the city wall, and a dozen French soldiers fell to the ground.

However, after only a few seconds, they rubbed the place where they were shot, climbed up again, picked up their guns, and continued to shout as they strode towards the city wall.

After more than a year of preparation, all members of the French Army's direct corps are now equipped with bulletproof inserts, especially the soldiers charging in the front row, who are equipped with "heavy-duty" inserts.

As long as you are not hit in the head or neck, being shot at a distance of 40 steps will not be life-threatening.

The French army's "resurrection" made the Austrian soldiers even more panicked, and the shooting from the city became increasingly sparse.

The two fastest French columns had already arrived at the foot of the city. Some soldiers spread out to suppress the enemy, while others climbed up the low city wall...

Lefebvre was still mobilizing artillery to bombard the city walls, but suddenly he noticed that the Austrian troops on the east side began to become chaotic.

After a while, a messenger came on horseback and shouted to him:

"Report to the general, Major Davout has entered the city."

Lefebvre smiled and shook his head. This young man Davout was always so fierce in battle that he broke through the enemy's defense without any cannons.

He then ordered his troops to move eastward and enter Wavre through the gap created by Davout.

The bodies of Austrian soldiers could be seen everywhere in the city, but the buildings were not seriously damaged. At this time, all the residents were hiding in their homes and dared not come out, and the streets were very quiet.

Lefebvre was just thinking about where the enemy's defense focus should be when another messenger came to report that Davout had occupied the iron ore warehouse in the middle of the city...

In the temporary French headquarters outside Wavre, Gaillard looked at the French crown prince in surprise:
"Your Highness, you are saying that the Flemish riots in Landen, Art and other places have been quelled!"

Joseph said calmly: "I sent people to deal with it when I entered the Wallonia region. According to the time, it should be fine now."

Gayal said hurriedly: "But this kind of thing really shouldn't disperse your precious troops."

Joseph smiled and shook his head: "It's just three companies, you don't have to worry."

Yes, Joseph only sent more than 300 soldiers to basically stabilize the situation in Wallonia.

This was also the reason why he dared to ask the Walloon Chamber of Commerce to ignore the riots and concentrate all the police to stop the Austrian army.

The Walloon Chamber of Commerce, following Joseph's instructions, ordered officials from various cities to evacuate in advance to avoid damage caused by the riots.

When the French army arrived, they gathered local citizens and followed the army to launch a siege on the rioters.

The Walloons also hated the Flemish people who were causing the riots. As long as the French army suppressed the rioters with firepower in the front, they would rush forward like beasts and tear the rioters to pieces.

Especially when the rioters did not wait for the support of the Austrian army, but heard that the French army had entered the Wallonia region, they lost their will to resist.

In this situation, sixty or seventy French soldiers could resolve a riot in a city.

In fact, Joseph had another purpose in making such arrangements, which was to establish the prestige of the French army in Wallonia.

The citizens of Wallonia were led by French soldiers to drive away the damned rioters and resume their peaceful lives. To them, the French soldiers were heroes and saviors. If someone had suggested that Wallonia be incorporated into France at this time, everyone would have agreed.

Just as Gaillard was talking to the Crown Prince about how to deal with the riot, an officer knocked on the door and came in. He stood at attention and said to the Crown Prince:

"Your Highness, General Lefebvre has entered Wavre. He says the battle will be over in two hours."

Gaillard's eyes widened in shock. It had only been an hour and a half since the Crown Prince ordered an attack on the Austrian army.

You know, these days, when 1 Austrian troops faced 4 Walloon police, it took them three full days to barely break into the city.

And right now the French army is still at a disadvantage in terms of manpower. What kind of horrible combat power is this!
Two hours later, peace gradually returned to the city of Wavre.

Gaillard felt it was a little unreal. He really led the Walloon police officers into the city to rest before dark.

At 6 p.m., as the person most familiar with the situation in the Wavre area, he was invited to attend the French military combat meeting.

In the temporary meeting room, a captain staff officer was introducing the intelligence discovered by the cavalry in front of a map:

“At present, all enemy forces in Wavre City have been cleared.

"The main force of the Radetzky Corps still has about 6 people, and has now retreated north to the town of Mavrgne, 6 kilometers away."

Count Radetzky had not expected the French to appear so soon, so the Austrian troops in the north of the city were rushing into the city in a disorderly manner, but were ambushed by Lefebvre and collapsed with almost no resistance.

Radetzky reacted relatively quickly. He immediately ordered his most elite grenadier battalion and a skirmisher regiment to cover their retreat. As the sky began to darken, he was able to withdraw the main force.

However, even so, he lost more than 4 troops in Wavre in just half a day.

The staff officer continued, "According to the estimates of the General Staff, Josias' main force will arrive at the town of Mavni as early as tomorrow afternoon, with a strength of about 3."

Josias was the name of Prince Coburg.

Lefebvre frowned and asked the staff officer in charge of marching arrangements: "When will the 4th Infantry Division arrive?"

The latter immediately said: "If nothing unexpected happens, we will arrive in Wavre tomorrow morning."

Lefebvre breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Joseph: "Your Highness, the enemy will surely be eager to retake Wavre. I think we can use Wavre as bait to ambush them.

"Specifically, let Mr. Gaillard's police force defend the city, and we will deploy our main force to the southwest of Mavergne Town. When Josias' main force goes to Wavre, we will attack from their flank and rear."

Davout immediately added: "We can also capture the town of Mavergne at the same time and cut off the Austrians' retreat."

Joseph did not comment, but looked up at the map: "According to the marching speed of the Austrian army, Josias's army should be near Uccle now."

Lefebvre nodded subconsciously: "Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "If you were Marshal Josias, what would you think our army would do next?"

Lefebvre thought for a moment and said, “It should be felt that we must hold on to Wavre.”

Wavre is the main road south of Brussels. As long as we defend it, we can stop the Austrian army from moving further south to Namur.

Joseph nodded: "So, we have to give him a 'surprise'."

(End of this chapter)