He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 106

(106) Napoleon’s Strategic Rear Breakthrough Unfolds

At this moment, it wasn’t just Eugene’s Horse Grenadiers that were charging.

“Charge forward first! Before the enemies can even form their ranks, we must fire!”

Marmont shouted from the artillery position.

-Kuururung! Kuururung! Kuururung!

Clearly, until the start of the battle, the Horse Artillery Brigade had been stationed on the high ground to the left of the battlefield.

However, the moment Eugene’s initial strike succeeded, Napoleon issued an urgent order.

A combined arms assault with artillery.

In other words, he ordered a cavalry charge under the cover of artillery fire.

Since the birth of the 18th-century musket, infantry squares were notoriously difficult for cavalry to break through.

Brave infantry could withstand artillery fire.

Furthermore, while cannons had a longer range than muskets, their firing rate was slower, making sustained one-sided fire impossible.

Even a slight delay would allow the infantry to reorganize and potentially charge.

So, how to solve this problem?

The artillery would provide covering fire to disrupt the square, and then the cavalry would exploit the gaps and break through.

Later, in the original timeline, Napoleon’s cavalry charges sometimes failed because he deviated from this principle.

But now, it was completely different.

Napoleon had seized complete initiative.

Marmont, commanding the advance of the Horse Artillery Brigade, turned to Duroc.

“Is that really all the enemy force there is?”

“I’m sure Brigadier General Eugene will confirm it. He sent word that he’s going to break through, Marmont.”

“Our boy general is always so reckless, Duroc.”

Marmont clicked his tongue lightly and stood right behind the artillery brigade.

“But that’s the charm of the boy general!”

The Horse Artillery Brigade hastily unhitched the cannons from the horses and set them up on the ground.

The Austrian army could be seen scrambling in the front, practically within spitting distance.

If even one regiment, just a thousand men, regained their composure, the artillerymen would become easy targets.

Suddenly, they heard Lannes shouting from the rear.

“Are the cannons still not set up, Colonel Marmont!”

Marmont glanced back and grumbled.

“That fellow isn’t very charming.”

“They need to be set up quickly. Besides, the cavalry might be decorating the opening act, but they can’t carry the whole show.”

“Ha! The enemy lines are still intact. The grenadiers’ grenades have only caused confusion.”

Marmont clenched his fist and anxiously watched the cannon setup.

“Only cannons can completely shatter the enemy lines!”

At that moment, Major Fornesy, an officer in the artillery brigade, tapped the cannon barrel and raised his head sharply.

“Setup complete, Colonel!”

Of course, they hadn’t completed the full stabilization check yet.

However, everyone knew that performing a perfect setup was impossible in the current situation.

At this moment, all they needed to do was be able to fire.

“Good, Major François Fornesy! Now, fire! Focus on one point, a single point!”

Marmont’s baton pointed to a single target.

The center of the enemy lines, where Commander Quosdanovich was likely to be.

The cannons were aligned in one direction.

-Kirik, kirik, kirik!

A total of 60 cannons.

They loaded the cannons with muzzle-loading shells.

The artillery officers opened one eye, gauged the distance with their right hand, and checked the angle.

The moment when military artillery mathematics, which had to be calculated in seconds, shone.

In an instant, Duroc gave the order.

“Aim!”

The barrels of the 60 cannons adjusted their angles.

“Ignite!”

Quickly, a torch swept over the cannons.

-Chiiiik!

The sound of the fuse burning was deafening.

The hearts of the waiting commanders seemed to be burning as well.

They wished it would burn just a little faster.

They could see the enemy regaining their composure.

Suddenly, Duroc, after checking the fuse, shouted.

“Fire!”

The moment the artillerymen clung to the cannon barrels, the shells began to fire.

-Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

All of them were iron lumps flying through the air and pouring down.

Watching the scene, Marmont spread his arms.

They fired first, before the enemy could even shoot.

“Behold! The artillery is the flower of the battlefield!”

With Marmont’s cry, flames erupted in the Austrian army’s lines.

***

As of the late 18th century, there were no bursting shells [shells that explode into fragments upon impact].

“Save me!”

A soldier screamed, his legs mangled by a cannonball.

But no one could go to save the soldier.

Because the fuse attached to the cannonball was burning again.

-Kwang!

Explosions occurred in succession.

So-called bursting shells that exploded upon impact didn’t exist yet, but there were shells that exploded after a certain amount of time after reaching their target.

One could call it a large grenade.

This was called an [Explosive Shell].

The cannonballs piercing through the Austrian lines were explosive shells.

Quosdanovich shouted in horror.

“Lunatics! They’re all explosive shells. Those things, they explode in the barrel if you’re not careful!”

“They must be skilled artillerymen. Or, perhaps the shells themselves are light cannons, so they’re firing those?”

“Major General Josef Okskai! There’s no need to explain such things!”

Shouting at his hapless adjutant, Quosdanovich looked around.

“Plauen or Battorkes, or Spork! Anyone will do! Tell those guys to shoot! Where are our cannons!”

In the late 18th century, without communication devices.

The commander’s orders had to be delivered by messengers, adjutants, and orderlies running to deliver them.

A messenger ran to Major General Spork, who was in the vanguard, and shouted.

“Major General Spork, the commander orders you to advance immediately, cough!”

The messenger died instantly, hit by shrapnel from a cannonball, and Spork smirked wryly.

“I was going to tell him not to talk crazy, but he died.”

“What should we do? General!”

“Those guys can’t keep shooting! The barrels will overheat!”

Spork shouted at his adjutant, his eyes bloodshot.

“The moment the shelling stops, form ranks and run. Towards the heart of the enemy lines!”

In this era, there were three types of cannons.

Direct-fire cannons, howitzers, and mortars.

But currently, the cannons used by Marmont’s Horse Artillery Brigade were all direct-fire cannons.

They were heavier and had a longer range, but they heated up easily.

If they got too hot, even the most skilled artillerymen couldn’t fire the cannons.

Furthermore, it would become difficult to move the cannons on the spot.

Spork, a veteran with years of experience on the battlefield, was aiming for that moment.

“Their shells will reach their limit, definitely!”

That’s when it happened.

The sound of the shelling stopped.

The adjutant shouted at Spork.

“Ugh, it, it seems to have stopped!”

“Good, prepare for a regimental charge! Tell the other regimental commanders as well! We must break the enemy lines first, then we can do the rest! The rear ranks will prepare to fire and then run forward!”

“Yes! Everyone line up in three ranks!”

Seeing the soldiers still burning with fighting spirit, Spork nodded greatly.

“Today, we will give our lives for His Imperial Majesty!”

The soldiers began to march at a brisk pace.

But before they could even take a few steps, a roar erupted.

In the front and on the flanks, thick clouds of dust covered the ground.

-Dudududu!

Spork wasn’t the only one who saw the scene.

Plauen, Battorkes, who were scattered on the left and right flanks, and Quosdanovich, more than anyone, saw the scene.

Rifle cavalry.

Cavalry equipped with rifles were charging in unison.

“What, rifle cavalry?”

“Stop immediately! Prepare to fire! We’ll shoot first!”

“You fools, you should send the cavalry later! The enemy is so arrogant that they’ve made a mistake!”

The Marquis of Lusignan shouted as he ran to the front of his unit.

“All units, prepare to fire! Show the cavalry what you’re made of!”

The soldiers lined up in a row and began to load their muskets.

-Chiik!

At that moment, the sound of gunfire echoed through the air.

-Tang!

But the enemy rifle cavalry, soon to be the Carabiniers [elite French cavalry armed with rifles], were not yet within range.

No matter how afraid you were of the enemy, the true nature of line infantry was to fire when they came within range.

The enraged Lusignan shouted.

“Who was the idiot who fired first! They’re not in range yet!”

“It wasn’t us, Marquis of Lusignan!”

“What? Wait, could it be?”

At the adjutant’s scream-like shout, Lusignan also looked at the rifle cavalry in surprise.

-Tang! Dudududu! Tang! Dudududu! Tang!

Before he knew it, gunshots were ringing out from horseback.

But Lusignan couldn’t believe that this sound, this sight, and the soldiers falling beside him were real.

It was clearly impossible.

To load a muzzle-loading rifle on horseback and fire again.

But now, that unbelievable thing was happening.

“How can they load and fire on horseback!”

From horseback, Lannes pointed his Ferguson rifle [an early breech-loading rifle] at Lusignan’s head.

-Tang!

The screw twisted, the bullet loaded, and the bullet pierced Lusignan’s head.

One of the masterminds who captured Kleber in Mainz.

It was the moment when Marquis Lusignan died.

After that, the firing of Lannes’s 1,000-man cavalry, armed with Ferguson rifles, poured down.

***

Finally, the time had come for the mixed formation, or Ordre Mixte [a combined arms tactic using both line and column formations], to make its debut on the battlefield.

“Now, it’s the time of the line infantry!”

The vanguard was, as it had been in the previous two battles, Masséna’s division.

Masséna was quick to adapt to new things, agile in responding to situations, and skilled at improvisation.

Therefore, he quickly adapted to the unfamiliar mixed formation.

The method of placing the line infantry in front and the columns behind.

It was easy to cause confusion, but Masséna’s division marched in an orderly manner as if they had done it every time.

-Cheok, cheok, cheok!

Augereau also directed the march from behind.

“Column advance!”

Unlike Masséna’s division, Augereau’s division was not completely accustomed to the mixed formation.

This could be seen from the fact that all the troops were marching in columns.

However, unless they were doing a bayonet charge, infantry combat eventually had to be changed to a line.

Because a gunfight had to take place.

At a time when breech-loading rifles were far from being generalized, and Napoleon’s corps was the only unit using them on the battlefield.

The infantry stood and fired their guns.

“Convert to three ranks in front!”

Augereau’s adjutants urged the soldiers to stand up, struggling with all their might.

-Hwiik, hwiik, hwiik!

Later, in his memoirs, Marmont would write that.

In the infantry line, the third rank, that is, the third row, was useless.

However, Marmont himself always set up three rows in actual combat.

Fear, confusion, inexperience.

Soldiers conscripted through conscription did not receive sufficient training.

So, they had to fill the front and back with three rows in order not to leave the line.

The first row fired, the second row loaded, and the third row endured.

This was why most European armies, except for the British army, fought line battles in three ranks.

Augereau shouted, aiming at the enemy’s flank.

“Even if the line is broken, the enemy is still elite. If we pour bullets, someone will die! But, do not be afraid!”

It was definitely not wrong.

The enemy also had muskets, and the allies had similar guns.

Since the reach distance was similar, one side would eventually die.

However, Augereau and Masséna were also leading slightly different riflemen.

“Our bullets will go further and faster!”

Augereau uttered a cry that he himself was not sure of.

That was, 1,000 Ferguson rifles.

The Augereau division began to load and fire the 3,000 breech-loading rifles that had been supplied.

-Tang! Kirik, shwiik, cheolkeok! Tang!

Unlike Napoleon’s commander’s guards, who were familiar with screw rotation and loading.

The Augereau division, which had just received the guns and only heard explanations, was slower than expected.

However, Augereau had an advantage.

The enemy was already in a broken line.

“The enemy line is broken! Division Commander Masséna, Brigadier General Brune and Colonel Lanfon are requesting orders to charge now!”

Masséna, who was firing preemptively, was the first to know the situation.

Austrian soldiers could be seen leaving the line in various places.

Masséna, who had been watching the situation quietly, smiled, revealing his teeth.

“This is really a good weapon. I want to arm the entire army with this.”

“General!”

“Ah, I understand, Serboni! Tell them to charge with bayonets! But, there will be a pay cut for every casualty!”

When he gave the order to Adjutant Serboni, Serboni gestured.

“Fix bayonets, regimental charge!”

Brigadier General Brune gave the order.

At the same time, Lanfon, the master of infantry assault warfare, began to charge, leading the regiment.

The Lanfon regiment, which had decorated the final charge at Montenotte, rushed into the collapsing Austrian army.

A bayonet tactic that medieval spearmen used to do was unfolding.

-Pwyuk! Pwyuk! Pwyuk!

The sophisticated Austrian officers fell into panic when they saw the French army covered in blood.

“Uaaa!”

“M, madmen! A bayonet charge in this situation!”

“Barbarians! Run away! God, oh my god!”

Just as the generals were inevitably ordering a retreat, they suddenly heard gunshots from behind.

-Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang!

Commander Quosdanovich, who no longer had the strength to be surprised, barely turned his head.

“Wh, what is it?”

Adjutant, Major Okskai, answered as if muttering.

“The enemy is coming back from behind. Ah, it’s the Horse Grenadier Brigade that broke through earlier.”

Quosdanovich looked around.

Before he knew it, Roselmini and Radetzky had disappeared.

Could it be that these guys survived like this even in Lodi?

“You rats, really!”

However, all that returned to Quosdanovich, who was too late to realize, was one thing.

-Taaang!

Eugene was resting the muzzle on his arm and aiming.

The Freischütz [a German term for a marksman using magic bullets, popularized in folklore], the marksman of magic bullets.

The world’s first percussion-cap Marceau pistol spat fire.

Behind him, Murat rushed in, brandishing his saber, his mane flying.

“Who will stop this Murat!”

This time, the Horse Grenadier Brigade drew their sabers all at once.

Lasalle, Saint-Phort, and Joubert followed behind with Junot.

1,000, the Horse Grenadier Brigade roared.

-Uooo!

It was the day when Napoleon’s magic, the strategic rear breakthrough maneuver, was first revealed to the world.

Using Quosdanovich’s 20,000-man vanguard at Lonato as a sacrifice.