I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 814 Napoleon's Fatal Battle
Napoleon stood on the waterwheel north of the village of Marengo and saw through a telescope that Jubert led his soldiers to launch a charge.

But they were soon repelled by the neat Austrian infantry lines.

Napoleon's heart began to beat violently.

He knew very well that Chervoni must be gathering the soldiers who had just fled, and that more and more enemies would gather at the Austrian defense line at the entrance of the village.

Junot and Sérurier on the flanks could be broken through by the enemy at any time.

By then, our side will be surrounded by enemies that are twice our number!

Lucien suddenly stumbled over and gasped:
"I...our artillery position was attacked by enemy cavalry..."

Napoleon was not surprised, for he had not heard any fire from his own artillery for some time.

He stared at the Austrian defense line at the entrance of the village.

That should be the last of Chervoni's troops. Once they break through it, they can launch an attack on Melas's command post.

But the Jubel Legion obviously did not have much strength left.

Napoleon looked to his side and saw that he only had less than 3 new recruits.

They are called reserve troops, but in fact they were left behind only because we were afraid that they would affect the combat operations of the Mulan Legion.

Napoleon gritted his teeth and let out a low growl from his throat.

No, it’s not time to give up yet!
Even if you are just a new recruit, you should give it a try!
He jumped off the waterwheel, mounted his horse, and came to the front of the newly established Wangre Regiment. He drew his sword and shouted:

"Now, we are only one step away from a glorious victory!
"I need your strength to deal the final blow to the Austrians.

"I will charge with you and crush the enemy with my guns in hand!

"Come on, brave lions of France!"

The recruits didn't seem to react. They probably knew they were going to launch an attack, but they looked at each other in confusion. Only a dozen officers shouted:

"Crush the enemy!"

"Give the Austrians a final blow!"

Napoleon frowned. With such morale, it would be difficult to break through the enemy's defense line.

He suddenly thought of something, turned his horse's head, pressed the hilt of his sword to his chest, and changed his tone to solemn:

“Behind you is the great Crown Prince!

"Follow me to defeat the enemy!
"In the name of the Crown Prince!"

This time, the soldiers did not hesitate at all and shouted almost reflexively:

"In the name of the Crown Prince!"

"In the name of the Crown Prince!"

"Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The instructors in charge of training new recruits are mostly former veterans of the Guards Corps, and they often tell the recruits about the glorious achievements of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in North Africa, Silesia and other places.

This made the new recruits all idolize the Crown Prince and yearn for the Guards. At this moment, when they heard "in the name of the Crown Prince", they immediately felt their blood boiling, as if they had become a member of the Guards.

Napoleon nodded with satisfaction and turned to run towards the Austrian defense line at the entrance of the village.

The military drums sounded behind him, and 3 new recruits followed closely, shouting.

When he was less than 200 steps away from the enemy's line, Napoleon heard sporadic gunfire from the front. Lucien hurriedly came up with his guards and protected him in the middle.

When Napoleon looked back, he saw that the recruits were very excited and their formation was in disarray.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Straightening up now would only cause more chaos, so he simply pointed his sword forward and shouted, "Everyone, bayonets!"

The sound of the military drums suddenly became more urgent.

Although the recruits lacked combat experience, they were not afraid of the battlefield. With fanatical gleams in their eyes, they hurriedly put their bayonets on the muzzles of their guns.

Napoleon pushed aside the guards in front of him and rushed towards the enemy:
"Follow me! Launch a hand-to-hand charge!

"In the name of the Crown Prince!"

The bayonet charge of this era was actually a very dangerous tactic, because once launched, it meant abandoning the formation and the possibility of retreat, leaving only the option of defeating the enemy.

If a few soldiers hesitated or retreated during the charge, a chain reaction would soon occur. Even if they were only one step away from the enemy, it would eventually turn into a great rout.

Therefore, commanders are usually reluctant to engage in hand-to-hand combat unless they are absolutely sure or have no other options. Even the combat regulations of many countries clearly stipulate that hand-to-hand combat is prohibited in most cases.

At this point, Napoleon had no other choice.

Or break through the Austrian line.

Or accept the outcome of defeat.

He doesn't want to fail.

He is a proud Corsican eagle, and one day he will fly into the clouds and overlook the earth.

He would rather die here than surrender in humiliation!

Napoleon's pace became faster and faster, and Lucien had to jog to get in front of him.

"Puff", the guard soldier on Napoleon's left was shot in the chest, and warm blood splattered on his cheek.

There was no sign of hesitation on his face. He just held the sword tightly and walked forward step by step.

The Austrian army's firepower became more and more intense, and the recruits behind him kept falling down with muffled groans, but no one stopped. The back of Colonel Bonaparte in front of them inspired them, making them forget all their fears, and only the desire for victory remained in their hearts.

Just as Jubel gathered his troops, he heard Menil pointing to the southeast and shouting excitedly:

"It's Colonel Bonaparte. Look! He's charging!"

Jubel looked at the soldiers who were so tired that they could hardly stand, hesitated for a moment, and then gritted his teeth and gave the order:
"The skirmishers will attack immediately. The rest of you will switch to columns and prepare to charge!"

Napoleon was held down by Lucien and his guards when he was 30 steps away from the enemy. "It's too dangerous, you can't go any further!" - The situation where the supreme commander takes the lead in charging into the enemy's position only appears in movies - if the commander really rushed forward, all members of the guard would be brought to a military court.

The fact that Napoleon was able to rush so close to the enemy was enough to motivate the soldiers.

After the Austrian army fired the last volley and knocked down more than 60 French soldiers, the French army still did not collapse.

A company commander of new recruits shouted "In the name of the Crown Prince" and rushed into the infantry line first. More than 2,000 new recruits immediately followed.

The Austrian army no longer had the opportunity to reload - the soldiers hurriedly fought back with bayonets, but their momentum was already greatly weakened.

The French recruits, however, took advantage of the momentum and knocked down hundreds of enemies in one encounter. Blood splattered all over the Austrian infantry lines. The entire village of Marengo was filled with shouts of "In the name of the Crown Prince."

Napoleon shook off Lucien's hand and shouted to the captain of the guard:

"Bessiere, don't worry about me, go and help too!"

The latter hesitated for a moment, nodded silently, and rushed forward with more than 30 guards.

Compared with a shootout, hand-to-hand combat can produce tremendous psychological pressure on people - an enemy close at hand swinging a bayonet and stabbing towards you is much more frightening than an invisible bullet.

Therefore, the outcome of hand-to-hand combat is basically decided in an instant.

In less than half a minute, the soldiers on the right side of the Austrian line began to flee in panic.

(End of this chapter)