He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 397

(397) Jena’s Unicorn Melts the Prussian Corps

As if they were race walkers, the line infantry marched at a brisk pace.

-Thud, thud, thud!

Meanwhile, the commanding generals followed in carriages.

Usually, commanders in this era, whether infantry or cavalry, would ride horses.

Perhaps it was due to the knightly tradition that had persisted since the Middle Ages.

However, unusually for the Prussian army, Scharnhorst followed the march in a carriage.

Because he had to examine the ‘map’.

-Rustle, rustle, rustle!

As Grollman watched Scharnhorst busily reviewing reports and drawing layouts on the map, he exclaimed in admiration.

“Chief of Staff, you’re truly amazing.”

“This is nothing great. The enemy can do at least this much.”

“What? How is that possible? Isn’t this enemy territory for them?”

Scharnhorst paused his pen and replied earnestly.

“Looking at the wars Eugene Freischütz Bonaparte has fought so far, it’s as if he’s been fighting as if he sees the entire battlefield. It’s not for nothing that I’ve been focusing on building an intelligence network.”

Until now, Scharnhorst’s operations have been quite simple.

First, he coaxes formal allies of France, including Bavaria, to confirm enemy movements.

He also scatters skirmishers, light infantry, to gather battlefield information.

Based on this information, he creates a timetable for piecemeal deployment and selects messengers to dispatch urgently.

This time, Scharnhorst rewrote the plan and handed a letter to a messenger, saying.

“This letter must be delivered to Duke Brunswick! Remember, it must be neither too early nor too late!”

Watching the messenger rush away, Scharnhorst stared intently at the map again.

“Something’s strange.”

Adjutant Grollman tilted his head.

“What do you mean is strange?”

“Many underestimate Eugene Freischütz. But in reality, he has shown excellent tactical capabilities so far. He doesn’t have much experience commanding large armies, but he’s not someone who will collapse so easily.”

“As you say, isn’t it because it’s his first time commanding on such a large scale?”

However, Scharnhorst cocked his head.

“Well, he certainly used an unconventional tactic in the initial battle, a cavalry charge.”

For Scharnhorst, or rather, the Prussian Army General Staff, the best tactical textbook was none other than the French Revolutionary Army’s wars.

Among them, Napoleon’s expedition was the best example.

In fact, Eugene’s Orient expedition took place too far away and had too many schemes, so it wasn’t studied much.

Nevertheless, Eugene’s tactics under Napoleon were surprisingly remarkable.

It was a way of accurately assessing the situation and targeting weaknesses, as if looking down from the sky.

Of course, in reality, it was thanks to [Silver Letter], but Scharnhorst couldn’t possibly know that.

However, Scharnhorst and the Prussian General Staff are underestimating Eugene’s abilities despite not underrating them.

They are unaware that he has experience waging large-scale wars in the New World with large armies.

“Speaking of which, there’s a strange report. Duke Willem, who was a cavalry commander, said something.”

“It was a mistake to entrust it to a nobleman. We should have waited for General Blücher to arrive for cavalry command.”

“It’s not so much a problem with the commander, but the enemy used strange guns.”

Grollman suddenly conveyed the words of Prince Willem of the Netherlands, which he had forgotten due to the urgency of the situation.

“He said it was a gun that was loaded from the rear of the barrel?”

Scharnhorst narrowed his brow.

This is one of the biggest weaknesses of the Prussian army.

They are ignorant of the introduction of new weapons.

Later in the original history, Prussia actually lags slightly behind in the introduction of breech-loading rifles.

That’s why they use the Dreyse rifle, which is more outdated than the French Chassepot rifle.

However, it’s not necessarily bad in terms of emphasizing the stability of military operations.

It’s just that Eugene is too fast.

Scharnhorst recalled the information he had previously obtained and said.

“I’ve heard that France and England recently created a substance called [fulminate of mercury – a highly explosive compound used as a detonator].”

“We’re considering introducing it to our army this time, right? But even that is still a similar method of loading through the muzzle. It’s just that you don’t have to stuff gunpowder.”

“If that’s true, it means the number of bullets that the enemy line infantry can fire increases.”

Having deduced this far, Scharnhorst urgently shouted to the liaison officer outside the carriage.

“Tell the commander! Immediately inspect the troops and form the ranks into two lines!”

Then, Colonel Boyen, another staff officer who was assisting him from the side, stopped him in surprise.

“What? No, it’s difficult now because we’re in pursuit.”

“No! This is a feint!”

“What do you mean? The enemy ranks are completely collapsing.”

Scharnhorst shook his head vigorously as he looked at the Eugene’s 4th Corps infantry fleeing in the distance.

“If the French army has really succeeded in fully deploying breech-loading rifles, our army cannot win in a rate-of-fire battle! Then, the only option is to widen the ranks!”

Originally, line infantry is a product of tactics based on muskets, black powder, and flintlock firing.

Muskets without rifling, with a lot of smoke, and muzzle-loading inevitably make soldiers stand up.

Therefore, forming ranks, or [lines], and firing volleys is the basis of infantry tactics.

In such line infantry firing tactics, it is common to fire about two shots per minute.

Prussian line infantry doesn’t have as much gunpowder as the British, but they can fire three shots per minute with strict discipline, training, and beatings.

On the other hand, what if the opponent is capable of fulminate firing and rear-loading?

It’s even more problematic if they use gunpowder that produces less smoke, to the point where they can fire guns from horseback.

It means that even new recruits may be able to achieve a similar rate of fire to the Prussian army in a rate-of-fire competition.

“We see the enemy stopping!”

At the report that came from the front, Scharnhorst hurriedly mobilized the messengers.

Commander Prince Louis also quickly accepted Scharnhorst’s words.

The line infantry began to form ranks in two lines.

“Hurry! Deploy infantry in two lines! Each regiment, form ranks!”

In this way, even if it is impossible to fire in a single line like the British Redcoats or Napoleon’s [Cielcoats – a term referring to elite French infantry] created by Eugene, it is possible to form a fire net comparable to it.

At least, it means they won’t be pushed back in a shooting war.

Still anxious, Grollman clicked his tongue and asked.

“What if we get pushed back?”

“It doesn’t matter, Colonel Grollman.”

“Yes?”

Having regained his composure, Scharnhorst, the best tactician in Prussia, watched the front and replied.

“Our army’s strategic goal is to defeat the enemy through piecemeal deployment. Soon, the enemy will be annihilated as soon as General Blücher’s 4th Army arrives. All we have to do is hold out.”

That’s right.

If they just hold out, the Prussian army, which overwhelms in numbers, will win.

***

Of course, Eugene has no special expectations for the 4th Corps line infantry, which is centered on new recruits and wounded soldiers.

“Wow, it looks like the Prussian army has noticed?”

Junot whistled as he watched them forming ranks.

At first glance, they seem to have far superior power compared to the 4th Corps.

If Eugene had only the Imperial Guard he operated in the New World, or even the Florida Division, he might be able to stand up to them.

However, from the beginning, Eugene had no intention of winning with infantry firefights.

Casually looking around the southeastern highlands, Eugene shrugged.

“It’s too late. Marmont is already preparing on Landgrafenberg, that highland over there.”

Landgrafenberg, a highland south of Jena.

In fact, Jena is not a small city, and there were garrison troops here, but they did not notice Marmont’s advance.

Because all eyes were focused on the cavalry due to Ney and Lasalle running rampant.

In the meantime, Marmont’s horse artillery had reached the Jena highlands, risking the danger of raids.

Suddenly, Junot swallowed hard.

“Will it work?”

“Why are you suddenly talking weak?”

“No, this is more like a siege than a battle.”

Looking at the operation map that Jomini had prepared and brought, Junot added with an anxious face.

“I’ve only seen this in Toulon.”

In fact, Junot is not completely ignorant of artillery.

In the first place, Junot first made his name during the Battle of Toulon, just like Napoleon.

At that time, Napoleon plastered all the highlands and key points with cannons to capture Toulon.

After the bombardment was fired to the point of covering the sky, Toulon was captured in the final assault.

But wouldn’t a battle be different?

“Since the advent of cannons, artillery has dominated the battlefield. Cannons are the god of war.”

“Oh, really? Even the Emperor, who was an artilleryman, didn’t say that?”

“It seems like he’s been hooked on cavalry lately because of mobile warfare.”

Eugene chuckled and watched the front.

“But in the end, modern, no, ‘modern warfare’ is where firepower determines the war.”

At that moment, no sooner had he finished speaking than cannons spewed fire from Landgrafenberg.

-Swoosh, bang!

A total of 100 pieces.

These are cannons that Polli Armory has been producing at a loss.

The basic framework is the Licorne, or Unicorn cannon, looted from the Russian Imperial Army, but it has been completely remodeled and is completely different.

First of all, it is capable of breech-loading, and above all, the shells are different from those used on the battlefield until now.

It is a so-called bursting shell that explodes upon impact.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Prussian line infantry, who had been as sharp as knives, can be seen scattering in confusion.

Soldiers who were running while shouting are also blown away by the shells.

The soldiers of the 4th Corps, who had been trembling with fear until now, grabbed their guns with bloodshot eyes at the suddenly changing battle situation.

Victory is in sight.

In an instant, Soult, who was deployed on the left wing, ran up and shouted.

“Your Highness, please order the preparation for an assault!”

“Not yet.”

“Now is the perfect opportunity!”

Eugene shook his head as he rode on his horse, surveying the battle situation from the hill south of Jena.

“Here, we must annihilate the Prussian 3rd Army, Soult.”

At first glance, the battle situation seems overwhelming.

However, the total number of Prussian troops is 200,000.

Even excluding the Berlin garrison, at least 170,000 or more are on the front lines.

It is the point when the French Imperial Army’s main force is only now crossing the Rhine.

Eugene can see through what Scharnhorst is thinking.

He will surely completely defeat Eugene first, and then take advantage of the momentum to fight Napoleon.

It is also the tactic that Napoleon used against the Austrian Imperial Army in Italy.

Then, to defeat the enemy in reverse, one of the armies that is being deployed piecemeal must be completely annihilated.

“Only that is the way our 4th Corps, which is only 35,000 strong, can overwhelm the 200,000 Prussian troops.”

In an instant, the Unicorn breech-loading cannon split the center of the Prussian 3rd Army camp.

-Bang!

The famous Prussian [Iron Blood Formation – a disciplined and rigid military formation] was collapsing.

***

In the past, since Frederick the Great, the Prussian line infantry was called the strongest in Europe.

“Aagh, my leg, my arm!”

But no matter how steel-like a soldier is, they die when bombarded.

This is what Napoleon’s immortal marshals proved with their bodies in the original history.

Moreover, the Prussian 3rd Army was not properly prepared for firepower warfare.

Prince Louis ran up and shouted to Scharnhorst.

“What the hell! The shells are exploding!”

“I, I’ve heard of it! A new weapon that the French army introduced in naval battles! B, but I heard that the yield is still low, so it hasn’t been fully deployed yet!”

“Why didn’t Gneisenau in Paris tell us this information!”

Louis gnashed his teeth and resented Gneisenau.

But it is natural that Gneisenau did not know.

Because whether it was a breech-loading cannon or a breech-loading rifle, they all had major stability issues, so Napoleon did not formally adopt them.

At first glance, breech-loading seems good, but in reality, it took quite a long time to deploy in actual combat even in the original history.

It’s the problem of gunpowder smoke and misfires.

But Eugene introduced this weapon without hesitation.

Even if a misfire occurred, he thought that this was the only way for an army centered on new recruits to win.

Watching the Prussian 3rd Army, which had become a sacrifice to the decoy bombardment, Louis Ferdinand gnashed his teeth.

“We can’t collapse like this!”

“You must retreat!”

“The fire net is targeting our army’s retreat line!”

Prince Louis glared at Chief of Staff Scharnhorst and shouted.

“If we retreat, we’ll all be annihilated! Charge, uh?”

At that moment, the bombardment stopped.

-Doo-doo-doo!

As if knowing that the bombardment would stop, a cavalry unit was seen rushing towards the collapsed ranks.

With Ney and Junot escorting a single person at the head.

The leader, a gunman holding a pistol, shouted.

“Here, Eugene Freischütz has come!”

It was the moment when everyone understood French, especially Prince Louis, who was a Francophile and whose name was also Louis, widened his eyes.

-Ta-a-ang!

The Beauharnais fulminate pistol was fired, and Prince Louis staggered and fell from his horse.

It happened in an instant.

Eugene quickly spun his horse and shouted.

“The enemy commander, Prince Louis, is dead. Send the bombardment signal again. Royal Guard, full retreat!”

Watching the Eugene Royal Guard, which had rushed in like a bullet and disappeared again, Scharnhorst widened his eyes.

“Is that, Commander Killer Freischütz!”

At that moment, as if in response, the Unicorn’s fire net covered Scharnhorst’s ranks.

-Bang!

It was the moment when the Prussian 3rd Army, 50,000 Iron Blood line infantry, was erased from the world.