I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 847 Brilliant Victory

"Eastward?" Blücher frowned. "Have you forgotten that Trier has been occupied by the French?"

Scharnhorst said hurriedly: “General, the French army is limited in number, and they must be rushing to Cologne to seize the ferry.

“The remaining troops should be concentrated in the city of Trier and the Koblenz Fortress.

"As long as we move fast enough, we will have a chance to pass through Trier near Kastellaun, through the Palatinate, and retreat from Mannheim to the east bank of the Rhine."

Kastellaun is a town between Trier and Koblenz, and the terrain is flat and easy to navigate.

Blücher hesitated for a few seconds, then signaled to the herald: "Order, the whole army turns to Kastellaun."

On the other side, when Saint-Hilaire led his army to the Our River, he found that Blücher had already crossed the river.

In fact, it was not his fault for negligence, as the Our River would not normally freeze in late October. It was the extreme weather this year that saved the Prussians.

Saint-Hilaire discussed with his staff and they all agreed that Blücher must have fled to Cologne, the only ferry crossing in the northern section of the Rhine controlled by the Allied forces.

He then accelerated northward, but still failed to find any trace of the Prussian army. Just when he began to doubt his judgment, the cavalry who had gone forward returned and reported that the British army had been discovered in Dylan and was fighting fiercely with the Walloon Army.

Next to the dense forest east of Dylan.

The Duke of York looked at the retreating British defense line through the telescope, trying to maintain his royal elegance. He turned his head and asked the staff officer beside him: "How long will it take for the Prussians to arrive?"

"According to the officer who summoned us, they will be here before noon today."

Before the staff officer finished speaking, the Duke of York noticed that there were changes in the French formation.

A smile appeared on his lips: "What time is it now?"

"Half-past ten, your highness."

"It is obvious that General Blücher is much faster than you expected." The Duke of York said, "Send the order to prepare to launch a counterattack against the French with reinforcements."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

However, just as the staff officer was about to turn around, he saw cavalrymen rushing over in panic, shouting, "Your Highness, a large number of French troops appeared in the south, at least 1 people."

The Duke of York turned pale and dropped the telescope in his hand. "Why, why are they French..."

Before two o'clock in the afternoon, Saint-Hilaire, with the cooperation of the Walloon Corps, defeated the British defense line. Tens of thousands of British "lobster soldiers" knelt in the wilderness. From a distance, this place seemed to have turned into a large maple forest in late autumn.

However, Saint-Hilaire soon received bad news - the Duke of York was not found among the captives, and he should have taken advantage of the chaos to escape to Cologne.

Saint-Hilaire immediately led his troops in pursuit northward, and capturing the Cologne ferry was originally one of his missions.

But when he rushed to Cologne, he found that the Austrian army had already deployed troops there.

Faced with the sturdy fortress built in an extremely dangerous location, Saint-Hilaire had to let his soldiers rest on the spot and wait for the Walloon Legion to catch up before trying to launch an attack.

The next day, before the Walloon Army arrived, he waited for Soult's troops to arrive first.

After the latter took control of Mainz, they were also concerned about Cologne, the last ferry crossing in the northern section of the Rhine, and rushed over without stopping.

The armies of both sides, together with the Walloon Army, totaling more than 3 people, launched a fierce attack on the Cologne Fortress.

Three days later. Bastogne.

Joseph was reading the battle report sent from Mainz when he saw Emmanuel knocking on the door with a messenger.

The Crown Prince's attendant smiled and said, "Your Highness, Captain Vidal has brought amazing good news."

Joseph just smiled at the messenger. He had received too many reports of victory in the past few days, which made him have "antibodies". "Please tell me which legion won the victory?"

Captain Vidal saluted respectfully, handed the battle report to Emandre, and then said in an exaggerated tone:
"God bless France!

"Your Highness, the main force of Ferdinand's army has surrendered. Colonel Massena has captured for you more than 20 senior officers of the Allied Forces, including the Duke of Brunswick, and a total of more than 4 Prussian and Bavarian soldiers."

Joseph's "antibodies" lost their effectiveness instantly.

"Great!" He pumped his fist and shouted excitedly, "God bless France!"

The guards inside and outside the house also heard this amazing victory. They threw their hats into the air, jumped up and down and cheered, "Haha, we won!"

"This damn war is about to end!"

"It ends with our glorious victory!"

"God bless France!"

It’s no wonder that everyone is so excited. This important victory means that the main force of the Allied Forces on the west bank of the Rhine was completely annihilated!
After this battle, the entire Rhineland region will be completely controlled by France, and the anti-French alliance will no longer be able to fight back.

Moreover, the result of this battle alone was enough to shock the European continent.

Since the French army launched its counterattack, it has killed or captured nearly 7 Allied troops.

You know, in the 18th century when there were no advanced reconnaissance methods, the defeated party could easily break up into small groups and escape under the cover of night or with the help of terrain.

It is extremely rare to be able to destroy more than 60% of the enemy's forces. The layout, planning, and advancement of this battle will inevitably be included in the textbooks of military schools in various countries in the future.

Captain Vidal waited for everyone to calm down, then bowed to Joseph and said, "Your Highness, Colonel Massena hopes that you can go to Rodeshausen to preside over the surrender ceremony."

Joseph thought for a moment and nodded, "This is very necessary. Let's set off immediately."

A victory of this magnitude called for a grand surrender ceremony, which would, on the one hand, boost the morale of the army and even the whole of France, and, on the other hand, demonstrate France's strength to the whole of Europe and enhance France's international influence.

Three days later, when Joseph arrived at Rodeshausen, he saw only the endless prisoner camp, but did not see Massena.

Berthier, who came to greet him, explained to him: "Your Highness, Brigadier General Massena was worried that the enemy would strengthen Cologne's defense, so he led the main force to Cologne the day before yesterday."

Yes, after Massena encircled and annihilated the Duke of Brunswick's army, he was promoted to brigadier general by a commission signed by Joseph himself.

Berthier continued: "At the same time, our army also launched attacks on the Palatinate, Mannheim, and Aachen and Gelden in the northwest."

The Rhine Front's large-scale division of forces would not result in excessive dispersion of forces, because there was no resistance in the entire Rhineland region.

In the direction of Palatinate and Mannheim, for example, it would be easy to occupy them by sending only more than 3 people.

Massena was still able to concentrate more than 7 troops to launch a siege on the Cologne fortress.

(End of this chapter)