He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 517

(517) Massena Arrives at Waterloo

In the early 19th century, the last heyday of line infantry, there was a military taboo.

“A cavalry charge! Is Eugene really doing that crazy thing?”

Napoleon, who was inspecting the line infantry and forming a [square formation: a defensive tactic where infantry form a square to repel cavalry], jumped up in surprise.

Originally, line infantry was named because they moved by deploying in a [line: a single rank of soldiers].

This tactic arose due to the musket reloading time, but it had the problem of being difficult to defend in this state.

Therefore, when the enemy launched a cavalry charge, they had to change formation to respond.

Square formation.

A formation that quickly forms a square shape and uses a defensive strategy like a wall of thorns.

Tracing its origins, it’s a tactical formation that was popular in ancient Rome or Greece.

However, the seemingly crude square formation is very effective when dealing with cavalry charges.

When cavalry charges collide with the square formation, the soldiers on the opposite side step out and reinforce the formation.

As the firing and bayonets stab the cavalry, they soon fall from their horses and turn into corpses.

Even well-formed cavalry units of ten thousand can be decimated by a cavalry charge against a square formation.

“That seems to be the case, Your Majesty.”

“No! Tell them to wait! Until I charge!”

“Marshal Lannes is dead. It’s natural that they can’t wait, Your Majesty.”

When Duroc replied with gritted teeth, Napoleon shouted in anger.

“Duroc! Do you think I’m comfortable? But if the cavalry rushes at the line infantry like that, they’ll be slaughtered!”

All of this is ultimately Napoleon’s responsibility.

What if the Grande Armée [Great Army] had arrived in as complete a state as it was at the Battle of Leipzig?

Napoleon would have already gained the upper hand on the battlefield and leisurely waited for victory.

However, due to the news that Paris was in danger of being occupied by the Coalition, Napoleon was too hasty.

He made a strategic sacrifice for political considerations.

Conversely, Napoleon’s choice was not wrong on the battlefield.

Anyway, if he hadn’t sent Eugene to use the ingenious plan of destroying the cannons, the French army would have already been annihilated by the shelling.

He needs to drag the situation into a stalemate here, but his generals repeatedly commit reckless acts.

Marmont eliminated enemy cavalry with a suicide attack, and Lannes died in a charge.

In fact, under normal circumstances, this alone would be a shocking situation that would prevent even Napoleon from moving.

But now, even his ‘son,’ Eugene, is carrying out a reckless rear cavalry charge.

“Besides, King Eugene doesn’t even have a gun right now.”

“What are you talking about, Louis?”

“All the gunpowder is here, isn’t it? This is a disaster!”

As Louis Charles reported urgently, Napoleon frowned.

“Form a line. Change to column formation.”

Column formation means arranging soldiers vertically.

Usually, this means marching forward.

As all the soldiers looked at Napoleon, the Emperor spoke to his Guards.

“Today, the fact that the battle has reached a stalemate and is in crisis is all due to my misjudgment.”

“No, Your Majesty!”

“I will admit my mistake.”

Only Napoleon’s subordinates know how significant this is.

Napoleon never admits his mistakes.

If a failure occurs, he blames all the problems on his subordinates.

Everyone knows this, but they have overlooked it until now because Napoleon always won, and his subordinates knew that Napoleon was not just a petty person.

A small corporal who, although narrow-minded, showed affection, shared joys and sorrows, and took risks.

But that ‘small corporal’ is now confessing his failure.

Instantly, Napoleon’s expression changed.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m admitting defeat! The enemy hasn’t secured gunpowder yet either!”

This is not a judgment based on complete information.

It is a claim based solely on intuition.

In fact, the British army is using high-quality gunpowder, so they are even more advantageous now that the rain has stopped for quite some time.

But at the same time, this intuition is correct.

This is because the British army has also experienced continuous attrition without even having time to reorganize.

In particular, the fierce attack by the Guard cavalry led by Lannes was decisive.

Napoleon pointed to the Gurkha mercenaries, who had already been almost annihilated, and asked.

“Are you afraid of those barbarians’ daggers?”

“No!”

“Then, are you going to let my son die? At this point when my first adjutant and your Guard commander have died?”

At that moment, a man from the Cafés, not just any veteran, shouted.

“We will die, long live the Emperor!”

Louis Charles Café.

The legitimate son of the former royal family, Louis XVI, and once rumored to be the son of Count Fersen.

The brother-in-law of the King of Spain, Eugene, and Napoleon’s brother-in-law.

A young man who would have become the King of France if the French Revolution had not changed his life.

Now, a soldier who should be a relic of the old royal family is the first to charge for the Emperor.

“Yes, bayonet charge!”

“Waaaah!”

“There’s no way we veterans can’t do what those Ivan [Russian] bastards did!”

The Imperial Guard began to advance in columns.

-Thud! Bang!

But Louis Charles, who was running at the very front, hurriedly blocked Napoleon’s path.

-Neigh!

Napoleon almost fell from his horse, Marengo.

It’s rather offensive to suddenly stop after taking the lead with such enthusiasm.

An enraged Napoleon shouted.

“Louis! Do you suddenly want to be king!”

“Your Majesty, hold on and look to the rear.”

“What is it, did an old goose come?”

Napoleon frowned deeply and looked back, then hurriedly grabbed his telescope.

“Huh, I guess I’ll never have to charge alone.”

Suddenly, Napoleon threw down his telescope and laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! The man loved by the goddess of fortune has arrived! Everyone, re-form the line again! This time, in a horizontal line!”

Now, instead of a column charge, they can advance in a horizontal line at a running pace.

***

Because the lucky man known throughout Europe, Massena, has arrived.

“Why! Is Massena there!”

The person who is naturally unhappy about Massena’s arrival is the British Commander-in-Chief, Wellington.

So far, Wellington has appeared to be improvising, but he has adjusted all his movements according to the situation.

However, according to the Duke of Wellington’s calculations, there were two people who should never have come.

Augereau, and Massena.

But Massena has broken through Wellington’s expectations and rushed in first.

Looking at the situation, it seems that line infantry or artillery did not come with him.

Only cavalry.

Wellington’s face became a little relieved.

“Well, that’s right. The entire [Corps: a large military unit] couldn’t have come!”

The French [Corps] system was a military innovation in the early 19th century.

Originally, in the late 18th century, European armies organized artillery, cavalry, and infantry into regiments or battalions.

As a result, competition among different military branches was fierce, and operations were mostly carried out separately.

However, after the French Revolution began, large-scale collective warfare frequently broke out, and the concepts of brigades and divisions developed in France.

The [Corps], which moves in units of 50,000, is an expansion of this collective army concept.

But if the entire Massena Corps had come, they couldn’t have arrived this quickly.

Fortunately, it seems certain that only cavalry has come.

Chief of Staff Clinton reported.

“First, we must deal with the cavalry coming from behind. Massena’s cavalry is the next problem!”

“Is Massena’s army cavalry? Then we will win!”

“Even if it’s cavalry, there’s a problem.”

Clinton frowned deeply and handed over the telescope.

“Carabiniers, mounted riflemen.”

In an era where gunpowder dominates the battlefield, cavalry still roam the battlefield.

However, among them, there is a type of soldier who plays a key role on the battlefield, even though they are not hussars, cuirassiers, or lancers.

Mounted riflemen, that is, cavalry who engage in shooting from horseback.

Originally, these mounted riflemen carried multiple guns because of the shooting reloading time, and they were a type of soldier who was finished after firing about 3 to 4 shots.

In the 17th century, when tercios [Spanish infantry formations] and reiters [German cavalry] fought, they were a powerful type of soldier, but now they are merely a type of soldier with less firepower than line infantry and less mobility than hussars.

However, the mounted riflemen of the French Empire are different.

Because Eugene introduced innovation.

Graham, who frequently visited France and knew the reality, said urgently.

“The mounted riflemen of the French Imperial Army are all armed with breech-loading rifles.”

“I know very well, Graham. I wrote that report.”

“It is also known that rapid fire is possible.”

Suddenly, Graham trembled with fear.

“If they fire mounted shots in rapid succession, in a caracole formation.”

Caracole, a rotating shooting tactic that appeared in the 17th century.

It was also a tactic introduced due to the difficulty of continuous shooting, but it was famous as the most powerful of the mounted riflemen’s tactics.

No matter how good the performance of the Beaumarchais breech-loading rifle is, it is difficult to shoot as stably and quickly on horseback as on the ground.

However, if they use the caracole’s alternating firing tactics, the situation changes.

“Send a messenger to check how far Beresford has come.”

“He’s still far away. Even if he hurries, he’s likely to arrive in the evening.”

“Even if we send some, even cavalry, there is still a chance for a reversal!”

The Iron Duke, Wellington, who has not yet given up, showed his firm will and shouted.

“This battle is truly a war of attrition. The outcome is being decided by gradual input, so the last one standing wins!”

That was not the intention from the beginning.

However, when the cannon flew to Eugene, Wellington also made a decision.

Let’s not hesitate to consume troops, consume the enemy, and finally win.

This kind of chaotic battle is not the first experience for those who participated in the Indian wars.

Clinton powerfully conveyed the order.

“I’ve fought in India, there’s nothing we can’t do! Redcoats! Everyone, face the cavalry!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Raise your guns! Don’t back down!”

Suddenly, Clinton inspected the soldiers and glared.

“First, let’s make the King of Spain a corpse here!”

Eugene is closer than Massena anyway.

Also, unlike Massena, Eugene is not holding a gun.

There’s nothing more frightening than a sharpshooter who can’t shoot bullets.

But just before the shooting was about to be fired right in front of him, Eugene turned his horse’s head.

-Doo-doo-doo!

Wellington shouted in confusion.

“What, why is he avoiding it from outside the range! Can he calculate that?”

“He’s coming.”

“Who? Huh? Oh no!”

Wellington, with wide eyes, gritted his teeth.

“Massena was real!”

Now is the time for mounted riflemen and line infantry to face off.

***

Massena, holding his rifle on horseback after a long time, said.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but could King Eugene be able to predict the future?”

It was such an absurd remark that even Serboni, who was running with him, looked dumbfounded.

“What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“No, otherwise, how would he know when I was coming and avoid it so perfectly?”

“Isn’t that just good luck? From what I can see, it seems he was actually in the middle of a reckless charge.”

Of course, it’s thanks to the protection of the Silver Letter.

But how could others guess that?

After thinking for a moment, Massena chuckled and raised his gun on horseback.

“Hmm, well, anyway, looking at the state of the Guard, I’ll have to say something to ‘Lannes’ later. Now, mounted riflemen! Prepare to fire!”

Massena’s mounted riflemen, who still don’t know that Lannes is dead, started firing all at once.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

Naturally, bullets fired from horseback have low accuracy.

Furthermore, the British army in the early 19th century consisted of the most skilled marksmen who had done the most shooting practice.

Therefore, Massena did not insist on a shooting battle and turned around as he was, shouting.

“Turn around! Soon, Berthier’s main force will come! Until then, let’s harass the enemies like a rotating windmill!”

Massena’s 10,000 cavalrymen shouted all at once.

“Caracole!”

Now, it seemed that Massena would determine the battlefield.

Until the [Traitor] who had been waiting moved.