He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 516

(516) Lannes Achieves a Reversal with His Life

The battlefield was already a mess, but now it had become completely uncontrollable.

“The artillery, it came, and then it disappeared?”

Napoleon stared blankly at the rear, then collapsed to the ground.

Marmont had met his death.

Marmont, whom he had cherished like a younger brother or a son since his days as a junior officer.

He had even arranged his marriage to his sister Caroline and had considered making him the King of Naples someday.

But he never imagined he would die so meaninglessly.

A suicide attack.

It was a death that would go down in history, but certainly not in the way he had predicted.

Suddenly, Duroc reported with a somber face.

“The enemy cavalry is the same, Your Majesty.”

“Marmont died, the fool! He should have left the cannons and run away!”

“It seems there wasn’t enough time for that.”

Napoleon staggered, supported by Louis Charles Café, and then suddenly raised his head.

“What about Eugene?”

The British army had lost all its cavalry.

There might be reinforcements joining, but they were not visible on the battlefield.

Then, the army with cavalry still remaining had the advantage.

And all of Eugene’s forces were cavalry.

Looking through his telescope beyond the enemy’s front lines, Louis Charles reported.

“They have not yet retreated.”

“Hmph, good. Doesn’t that mean we still have cavalry left?”

“I don’t know if they can return to the battlefield.”

Louis Charles clicked his tongue, but Napoleon did not give up.

“There’s still a chance. First, the Guard will form squares by regiment!”

The current situation on the battlefield was as follows.

First, Napoleon’s headquarters had been devastated by the intrusion of the Gurkha mercenaries.

However, the main body of the Imperial Guard had retreated with Napoleon, and about 15,000 infantry were forming ranks.

Also, Lannes and Murat, along with the Cuirassiers [heavy cavalry], had dismounted and nearly crushed the Gurkha mercenaries.

On the other side, the British army had lost all its cavalry, but reinforcements led by Deputy Commander Graham had joined them.

The troop strength had increased from 50,000 to 70,000.

However, all the cavalry had been wiped out, and the artillery was unable to fire.

This had happened in the gap when the Grande Armée’s Grande Batterie [large artillery battery] had come and gone.

In terms of numbers alone, Napoleon was at an extreme disadvantage.

But in terms of tactical layout, Wellington was strangely surrounded from both sides.

Duroc, who had been assessing the situation, hurriedly reported.

“We are severely outnumbered, Your Majesty.”

“It doesn’t matter. If we drag this out, we’ll be at a disadvantage too.”

“Pardon?”

Despite the extremely unfavorable situation, Napoleon calmly, but irritably, pressed on.

“How much gunpowder do we have? How much gunpowder can we use right now!”

Louis Charles summoned the regimental commanders to report, then returned and said.

“All the gunpowder left behind by the Spanish Guard.”

“Even in times like these, only Eugene prepares. What has Lannes been doing!”

“Marshal Lannes is still fighting, Your Majesty.”

Duroc retorted to Napoleon, who was cursing the Guard Commander who was risking his life for him.

“Fighting against the Hindus who have not yet been completely defeated.”

However, Napoleon scoffed.

The battle situation had already changed rapidly.

The tide of the battle would turn depending on who could project their forces with the remaining gunpowder.

Therefore, Napoleon believed that the longer they waited, the more disadvantageous it would be.

In any case, if they had to fight with limited gunpowder, Napoleon would be in danger.

But the Guard Commander was wasting his forces unnecessarily, whether he risked his life or not.

Naturally, Napoleon couldn’t say anything good.

“What is that idiot doing there! Tell him to retreat immediately and join the line!”

“It’s difficult in the midst of the chaos.”

“I’m going to save him!”

Duroc, who was usually calm in most situations, couldn’t help but shout.

“Your Majesty, we don’t have the spare capacity for that right now!”

This War of the Sixth Coalition had a characteristic.

It too often tested the patience of the Grande Armée’s Marshals and Generals.

In fact, this kind of thing happened during the retreat from the Russian campaign in the original history.

Marshals who had boasted of their steel mentality in most battlefields committed acts that were half-insane.

It wasn’t quite that bad now, but everyone was uttering things close to insubordination in front of the Emperor.

In hindsight, it was all due to Napoleon’s misjudgment.

He should have approached more cautiously rather than rushing in first.

Also, he should have prioritized military judgment over political judgment.

Above all, if they were going to face each other, it would have been better to delay the battle rather than relying on tricks.

But Napoleon began to blame others even in this situation.

“Where are Berthier, Masséna, Augereau! What are those dung beetles doing! Did they get complacent after receiving their Grand Ducal titles! Why haven’t they come yet!”

Of course, Napoleon had a point.

He had granted the Marshals autonomy.

Therefore, at least the Marshals who had followed Napoleon for a long time needed to come to the battlefield on their own.

If they didn’t know where the battlefield was, Napoleon considered them incompetent.

Louis Charles cautiously advised Napoleon, who was saying things that would make Augereau foam at the mouth.

“Now is the time to form a square and defend, Your Majesty.”

Napoleon gritted his teeth and finally nodded.

“I understand. Duroc, you will inform my mother and Caroline of Marmont’s death.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“He was like a brother to me, even though he had a strong inferiority complex.”

Duroc watched Napoleon finally mourn Marmont’s death and gave the order.

“Guard, form a square! Form ranks and prepare to fire!”

Because the Adjutant-General needed to take over the duties of the absent Guard Commander.

-Clank, clank, clank!

The veteran Guard infantrymen gritted their teeth as they received gunpowder and ammunition and began to load their muskets.

In any case, they had only eaten canned food since morning, but even in this situation, fighting was the way of the old soldiers of the Grande Armée.

And the undefeated myth, the Emperor, was still with them.

However, Emperor Napoleon had something to believe in.

“If things don’t go well today, ‘that guy’ will come. If that happens, we’ll win! Right?”

At that moment, Napoleon’s eyes widened.

“What in the world is Lannes doing, that idiot?”

Because he saw Lannes climbing onto a horse and trying to run.

***

The General, who was never afraid to be at the forefront of the battlefield, began to prepare to run.

“Now is the time to charge!”

But there was a General next to him who only knew how to charge.

It was Murat.

But even Murat didn’t dare to charge at the British army right now.

What could be more insane than charging at infantry of the line who had formed squares and lines?

He had barely managed to deal with the Gurkha soldiers who had been distracted by the artillery, and now Lannes was causing a commotion.

“What are you doing, Marshal?”

“Lend me some horses! For my men! Your men seem tired now!”

“Are you trying to charge here right now? Are you crazy?”

Murat was horrified and tried to grab Lannes, but Lannes shook him off.

“I’m not crazy. If we go on like this, we’ll be caught up in the enemy’s overwhelming infantry of the line, and our troops will be annihilated.”

The British army currently outnumbered the French army by about five to one.

Even with a two-to-one difference, the situation was unfavorable, so the King of Spain had to use a trick to surprise the cannons.

But now, even the King of Spain, Eugene, was circling the outskirts of the battlefield without being able to use any countermeasures.

So what would happen if the two armies clashed as they were?

Napoleon’s corps would ‘fight well’ but be defeated and destroyed.

“I understand that, but why is the Marshal trying to charge! Charging is always my job!”

“If you die, who will be moved?”

“What, are you even saying that?”

Lannes laughed heartily and spurred his horse.

“Let’s go. This body has always been a grenadier [elite infantryman], and I am proud of it!”

The General, who was never afraid to be at the forefront of the battlefield, runs.

Behind him, the cavalry who had run with him in Gascony followed.

Suddenly, Lannes frowned as he saw a cavalryman running beside him.

“What is it, Bessières? I didn’t tell you to follow me? You should be supporting the rear?”

“You speak as if there are too many cavalry. Anyway, they are all my men.”

“At times like these, it would be better to be with Freischütz [Eugene] than with you. Are you good at avoiding danger?”

Bessières chuckled and replied.

“I know where I have to die, Marshal.”

If their lives had gone according to the original history, the two would now be Marshal rivals.

And Bessières had worked his whole life to take the place that Lannes had occupied.

But at this moment, the two Gascon men were running together towards death.

Lannes laughed heartily once more and shouted.

“Puhahaha! Good! Sing along, cavalrymen! I am a man of Gascony, I do not fear bullets!”

“Don’t glorify suicide attacks.”

“Can’t you see that the enemy has increased to 70,000?”

Lannes drew his saber and pressed his body close to his horse.

“Here, we have to break them with momentum. Otherwise, the Emperor will be stabbed.”

This was the same as Wellington’s judgment and situation, only different.

Wellington’s tactic of sending cavalry to destroy the artillery was, in fact, intended to boost morale.

It was a trick to make the entire British army burn with fighting spirit after seeing the deaths of the cavalrymen.

On the other hand, Lannes was trying to achieve a reversal with a charge that defied death.

Lannes’ cavalry, 1,000 strong, filled Waterloo.

-Doo-doo-doo!

The line infantry of the Redcoats, which Britain was so proud of, could be seen loading their muskets.

“I became a general as a soldier, and then I gained the title of Grand Duke. Now there is only one thing left.”

If he could cut down even one before the guns were raised.

“To die on the battlefield of glory and become immortal!”

Napoleon’s Guard Commander, Lannes, charged into the British line.

***

It was common sense on the battlefields of the 19th century that cavalry could not break through the lines of line infantry.

-Taang!

Still, Lannes succeeded in partially collapsing the British line.

This was because the supplementary corps that had been joining the right wing had been utterly shattered.

In return, all of Lannes’ cavalry had been wiped out.

It happened so quickly that even Eugene, who was behind the British army, could not stop it.

Eugene screamed.

“Lannes!”

Ippolito grabbed Eugene, who looked like he was about to fall off his horse in panic.

“What’s going on? Lannes, Marshal Lannes, has he fallen?”

“Damn it! I even avoided the Battle of Essling on purpose!”

“What happened? Eugene, this isn’t real, is it?”

Eugene was trembling all over.

There were people he had wanted to save from the first time he saw them.

He thought he had fought while avoiding danger.

But that seemed to be the problem.

Eugene turned to look at another man he had saved so far, Junot.

“Junot, I’ve been avoiding it so far.”

“Avoiding what?”

“Death!”

Eugene shouted as if spitting out blood.

“Dying on the battlefield is natural, but I’ve been avoiding it! That’s why we can’t win!”

Of course, that was too much to say.

He had definitely won by avoiding danger so far.

But if the opponent was Wellington, he should have thought differently.

Wellington was currently carrying out a war of attrition, killing his own troops to wear down the enemy through piecemeal engagement.

In this situation, Eugene also had to be prepared to die.

“Let’s go, today! We’ll repay Lannes’ blood debt!”

As Eugene charged to the front as if bouncing, the Spanish Royal Guard cavalry followed.

“For our King, Eugene Freischütz! For Lannes’ revenge!”

Indeed, Eugene’s charge, defying death, had begun.