He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 511

(511) Napoleon Finally Meets Wellington at Waterloo

This place was originally meant to be the battlefield of destiny.

“I hope it doesn’t turn out that way this time, either.”

Eugene frowned.

When you think about it, it’s just the name of a small village that wouldn’t have been recorded in history if the battle hadn’t taken place.

But eventually, Napoleon and Wellington met here.

However, there is a problem.

To become a battlefield of destiny, neither the allies nor the enemies have enough forces.

Naturally, the French, who arrived more urgently, are even more lacking in strength.

Suddenly, Ippolito Charles, the chief aide to the King of Spain, grumbled from behind Eugene.

“Your Majesty, shouldn’t we retreat right away?”

“That’s something you should suggest to His Imperial Majesty over there, not me. Our chief aide.”

“No, even if it’s His Imperial Majesty, how can he defeat so many enemies with just the Imperial Guard?”

However, Eugene shook his head as he looked at the northern battlefield.

“The enemy forces are only about twice our size right now. It will take time for all their troops to gather.”

The Imperial Guard that has currently reached Waterloo totals 23,000 men.

It seems like they would mainly be cavalry, but line infantry also rushed along with the forced march.

Rather, in terms of composition, it’s close to half and half.

However, the Spanish Royal Guard that Eugene brought are all Hussar light cavalry, a brigade of 3,000.

At first glance, it seems extremely small to stake the fate of the Empire on.

However, the Emperor’s Guards and the King’s Light Cavalry are all veteran soldiers who have fought together in Italy for a long time, or in Austerlitz for a shorter time.

However, the enemy forces are twice that size, about 50,000.

Jomini, the Chief of Staff of the Spanish King, pointed out an even bigger problem.

“Realistically, the enemy forces moving in the Netherlands are likely to gather faster than our allies gathering in northern Germany.”

“Jomini, give me the simplest countermeasure at this point. Besides retreating.”

“You speak just like His Imperial Majesty. There is no easy way, just like there is no royal road in mathematics.”

Jomini coldly stated the countermeasure.

“If you insist on holding out, you must mobilize the engineering corps and infantry to build Russian-style fortifications.”

There is no easy path to victory when a small force defeats a large one.

It seems strange for a soldier to mention mathematics, but in fact, as it gets closer to modern times, military academies become closer to engineering schools.

This is because technical issues are often directly related to tactics.

Even with cannons, geometric knowledge is needed to measure the range and elevation angle of the barrel.

However, when calculated mathematically, you have to hold out to win against the British army.

At least until all the allies are gathered.

However, Eugene brought up a psychological problem that cannot be solved by mathematics.

“Against those proud veteran soldiers, you want me to tell them to build fortifications?”

“If you don’t like it, you should retreat. Of course.”

“Retreat or dig? A very difficult either/or choice.”

Eugene, who had been observing the enemy encampment with a telescope for a while, asked again.

“What are you planning to do to neutralize the enemy artillery?”

This is actually the real problem.

No matter how fast the Imperial Guard’s march is, they couldn’t bring the cannons with them.

Therefore, Napoleon currently does not have the cannons that are most important in modern warfare.

It’s a contradictory situation considering that he has defeated the anti-French alliance by using firepower.

Jomini analyzed the situation coldly this time as well.

“You have to rely on luck, or you have to use the surprise attack that His Majesty often uses.”

“If it’s a surprise attack, you mean the grenadiers should throw grenades. How many did Lasalle bring?”

“If it’s Boarneh-style flying grenades [early hand grenades], there are 200. It seems like a lot, but it’s only enough to use once.”

The chaos that 200 grenades can cause is great.

However, to destroy the cannons, you have to break through the enemy’s formation and defenses and charge to where the artillery is.

It would be difficult even if the opponent was Karl, Blücher, or Kutuzov. [renowned military leaders who faced Napoleon]

Moreover, it is not easy to wage a breakthrough battle against Wellington, who is the best general of this era and remains in the original history.

In addition, Wellington has more experience in large-scale battles than European generals of this era.

This is because fighting against armies of 100,000 units was common in India.

In the end, Jomini’s countermeasure is a plan that is only possible when the opponent is a mediocre general.

Eugene thought hard and asked.

“What is luck?”

Surely he doesn’t mean that Wellington should die suddenly.

Of course, war causes enormous stress, and occasionally quite a few soldiers die suddenly.

However, Wellington later lived to be 83 years old in the original history, which is really incredibly long.

Therefore, sudden death cannot be expected.

I don’t know about the future, but Jomini, who is not an absurd tactician, brought up something unexpected.

“It rains a lot here.”

“How do you know that, Jomini? Wasn’t your hometown Switzerland?”

“Your Majesty is not the only one who values information. I have also been collecting a lot of information since I received word that Flanders would be a battlefield. That includes the weather.”

Looking at the sky, which seemed clear enough for rain, Jomini’s eyes sparkled.

“If it rains here, we can attack the enemy before they use their cannons.”

It sounds like nonsense, but it’s actually surprisingly true.

First of all, it rains the day before the Battle of Waterloo in the original history.

Also, if it rains, the gunpowder will get wet, so you won’t be able to fire the cannons.

However, this is an era when weather satellites, let alone weather observation equipment, have not yet been tested.

Moreover, the problem of insufficient war supplies was even more serious for the Grande Armée [Napoleon’s army].

“If it rains, our gunpowder will also get wet. We only have portable gunpowder.”

“Is retreat the answer after all?”

“How about telling His Imperial Majesty right away? Your Majesty?”

As Ippolito asked with an eager face, Eugene eventually spurred his horse.

“I’ll tell him for now. But I think he’ll only shout for advancement.”

Towards Napoleon, who is still looking for weaknesses in the front line with a telescope right in front of the enemy’s firing range.

***

At this moment, there is a man who is moved by the fact that he is in the same place as the other person.

“It’s Napoleon! Finally, oh my god!”

No matter how bold Wellington is, he can’t help but tremble when he faces the legend of the era.

It’s not because of fear, but because of the excitement of seeing a star.

Anyway, Napoleon has been a famous figure in the European military world since at least the Siege of Toulon in 1793.

Even Wellington, who calls himself the conqueror of India and considers Britain to have made Asia an empire, is still relatively unknown in Europe.

At best, the success of the defense of Portugal is all he has.

So, except for Eugene, no one outside of England knows Wellington’s skills well.

Of course, his direct subordinates who conquered India with him were different.

Chief of Staff Clinton replied nonchalantly.

“Why are you so surprised? You’ve fought his son once before, Commander.”

“Are the son and father the same? The invincible general, Napoleon, will be my prey!”

“But not all of our troops have gathered yet.”

Suddenly, Clinton frowned and cursed.

“The deputy commander is too slow.”

Clinton had disliked Graham from the beginning.

But there is a reason why Deputy Commander Graham is late for Waterloo.

It is the problem of the rear supply line.

Wellington chuckled.

“Graham is burning with revenge, but his decisions are very cautious.”

“He abandoned Yantverpen and is too obsessed with reinforcing the defense of Brussels.”

“He’s preparing a retreat route in case of defeat. It’s the right attitude as a general.”

Wellington replied lightly and watched Napoleon, who had set out to inspect the battlefield.

“But if you think about what will happen next, you can’t kill Napoleon.”

It is a place exactly 200 feet away from the cannon’s firing range.

Could he catch Napoleon if he moved the artillery forward?

Of course, Wellington was about to shake off his idle thoughts, thinking that such a coincidence would not happen.

Clinton grabbed Wellington.

“Our army has one advantage.”

“Numbers? Experience? Or is it that the beef consumption rate is low?”

“No, firepower.”

At that moment, Clinton’s eyes flashed.

“We have to pour rockets and rush in at once. That way, we can annihilate the enemy before they are fully lined up!”

It seems that he had the same idea as Wellington, as befits an old comrade.

The reason why he didn’t think of rockets was probably because Wellington was excited by the fact that the enemy general was Napoleon.

Wellington took a moment to cool his head and nodded.

“Yes, if you are careful, you will rather be caught up in Napoleon’s blitzkrieg.”

“Do you allow it?”

“Let’s shoot and think about it later.”

As the Steel Duke’s [Wellington’s nickname] decision fell, Clinton excitedly gave orders.

“Rocket unit, prepare!”

However, the rocket unit had a unique feature.

It is that Indians, not British, are installing the rockets.

In fact, contrary to common knowledge, India is very familiar with gunpowder weapons.

The Mughal Empire had conquered India with cannons.

So, when fighting against the British, they also fought back using rockets.

In short, it is closer to the fact that the British learned rockets from the Indians.

Rocket soldiers from the Kingdom of Mysore in India lit the fuse.

-Cheek!

One of the rocket soldiers prayed.

“Agnishi, release your flames into the enemy camp.”

Again, it is a matter of later common knowledge, but India’s nuclear weapons are said to have the spirit of the incarnation Agni [Hindu fire god].

Divine weapons head to the sky.

The Steel Duke smiled as he looked at the Emperor who had arrived in front.

“Now, Napoleon. Emperor of the Empire. This is.”

There is a rival who has been regarded as an idol for a long time.

-쾅!

The flames of Agni were fired all at once towards the enemy.

“My, Arthur Wellesley’s greeting!”

Thus, the historical prelude to Waterloo began with a surprise rocket launch by the British.

***

Before the retreat could be properly discussed, explosions occur one after another.

-쾅! 쾅! 쾅!

It is a very unfamiliar experience for Eugene.

He has always been in a superior position and launched artillery or surprise attacks.

But now, he has been preempted by the enemy.

Of course, the situation displayed in the silver letters is not very dangerous.

At that time, Emperor Napoleon shouted on his steed Marengo.

“Retreat, Eugene, are you crazy!”

Just as Eugene was about to frown, Napoleon urged again.

“If you retreat in this barrage, you will be annihilated! You have to charge!”

“Your Imperial Majesty! This is a rocket. It’s not a mortar shell!”

“Rocket? What is that?”

Eugene looked at the notification in silver letters and hurriedly said.

“It’s a new British weapon. The destructive power is low, and the sound is loud. If you retreat now, the damage will be reduced!”

However, Napoleon was firm.

“No, I will not retreat.”

“Your Majesty!”

“I have come here with the fate of the Empire at stake!”

Napoleon rather shouted towards the bottom of the hill instead of retreating.

“If the destructive power is low, we must endure even more! Guards, form ranks!”

The explosion of the rocket.

But the Emperor does not give in.

A miracle happened in the midst of a scene that would be considered crazy.

-Rumble, bang!

The sound of thunder.

Is it a cannon?

The moment he turned his gaze to the sky, Eugene’s eyes widened.

“It’s raining!”

Really, it started to rain in Waterloo.