I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 281

Leipzig Battle

Almost simultaneously with the betrayal of the Emperor by the Mongolian warriors.

The French army, led by Marshal André Masséna, crossed the Prussian border.

The massive army of 150,000 men entered deep into Prussian territory without any resistance.

There was no need to worry about their rear, as Hanover and the Electorate of Saxony had abandoned Prussia and sided with the Holy Roman Empire.

Of course, Prussia wasn’t simply standing by without any countermeasures.

Prussia’s desperate plea to Britain and Russia, threatening to devote everything to France, worked.

Britain and Russia, spurred into action, hastily organized a large army and sent reinforcements.

In addition, they scraped together troops from various locations and managed to form a corps of nearly 100,000 men, which they placed under the command of Blücher.

Blücher moved to the right and marched south to intercept the Holy Roman Empire’s support force led by Archduke Karl Philipp.

Masséna established a base in Leipzig, Saxony, monitoring the enemy’s movements and receiving real-time reports.

He didn’t pay much attention to the 100,000-strong army led by Blücher, intending to leave them to the Holy Roman Empire anyway.

Even if the Holy Roman Empire was unreliable, he believed they would at least hold their own against Prussia, which had become a second-rate power.

In that respect, the real threat to watch out for was Britain and Russia, who were encamped on the opposite side.

The combined forces of the two countries totaled 200,000. In terms of numbers alone, they outnumbered the French by more than 50,000.

“If we include Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire, there are nearly 600,000 people gathered. Has there ever been such a large army clashing in European history?”

“Probably not.”

“Then we can make history in Europe.”

Masséna looked around at his fellow marshals and laughed with satisfaction.

Michel Ney, Joachim Murat, Jean-Baptiste Bessières, Louis-Alexandre Berthier, even Bernadotte.

If Lannes and Davout were here, there would be nothing to fear, but he was still more than happy with the talent assembled.

They were so trustworthy that just looking at them made him feel invincible.

Who knows, if they were all united, they might even be able to defeat someone like Napoleon as the opposing commander.

Of course, the story would be different if all the marshals under him were at their level.

“If we secure victory here, we can contain Britain.”

He didn’t even worry about the fleet that went down to the Mediterranean being defeated by the Turks.

The marshals of each corps, finally understanding their mission, began to move.

Michel Ney, the marshal of the 4th Corps, considered one of the leading generals of the French army along with Murat, stepped forward as the vanguard of this great battle that would go down in history.

The British army, determined to prevent the French army from advancing, immediately responded.

Thus began the first day of the Battle of Leipzig.

Ta-ta-ta-ta! Ta-ta-ta-tang!

“Fire! Our weapons are overwhelmingly superior! Show them the superiority of French rifles!”

“Die! Die, you bastards!”

The French 4th Corps and the British army, meeting in the northwestern part of Leipzig, exchanged fire relentlessly.

The British army bravely fought back, proving that the Royal Navy wasn’t their only strength, but they were overwhelmed by the concentrated fire of the 4th Corps.

“Retreat and take cover! Don’t fight their guns head-on!”

“Hey, you crazy bastard! How can I shoot while hiding!”

Ta-ta-ta-tang!

“Cough!”

“Cannons! Where are the cannons!”

It had been so long since the British army had properly fought the French army on land, going back to the Seven Years’ War.

Since they only pretended to fight in the Prussian campaign and then withdrew, this was almost their first real battle in half a century.

Of course, Wellesley had meticulously analyzed the information, but even that was somewhat outdated.

The recent advancements of the French army had primarily been in Asia, so a proper analysis hadn’t yet been completed, which was a significant factor.

In the end, the British and Russian armies had no choice but to endure the initial onslaught to accurately gauge the enemy’s strength.

“…Damn it, this is impossible!”

“Commander! It seems the British army has been breached. Our 7th Brigade is also urgently requesting support.”

Mikhail Kutuzov, the most experienced field marshal in the Russian Empire, felt overwhelmed by the constant requests for help.

He, who possessed unparalleled strategic insight within the Russian army, fundamentally disagreed with the current battle plan.

As far as Russia was concerned, it didn’t matter whether Prussia survived or not; they could have simply fought when the enemy entered their homeland.

Kutuzov had proposed to the Tsar abandoning Prussia, luring the enemy into Russia, and then wiping them out with a scorched-earth tactic.

Of course, the fact that he was in his current position proved that his suggestion had been immediately rejected.

“Useless Prussian bastards. Are they really being overrun by the Habsburg weaklings?”

“Blücher of Prussia is said to be a reliable general. Rather, the British army seems to be in more danger than Prussia right now.”

“I know, but the French have superior weaponry! The range is shorter, and the rate of fire is even lower than theirs. Even the range of the cannons is shorter on our side; how am I supposed to win this? Can’t you see our infantry units being decimated before they can even fire properly?”

“There seems to be no response from the front. How about drawing them into urban warfare to negate their superior range?”

“We’re already doing that now, but the French army’s firepower is too strong!”

He considered a cavalry charge, but against that firepower and rate of fire, it would be suicidal.

In fact, some foolish cavalry regiments charged the French army in formation and were wiped out as quickly as ice melting in the summer sun.

Kutuzov, receiving the report, spat out his cigarette in anger and cursed.

“You moronic bastards! Who ordered you to charge! Tell the 7th Brigade to retreat immediately!”

“It seems difficult to withdraw the troops as the battle is already taking place in a confined area.”

“Then tell the British bastards to provide support! We have more troops, so we should overwhelm them with numbers!”

The commander of the British army struggled to fill the void left by Arthur Wellesley, but the task was too great.

The French 4th Corps ruthlessly roamed the city, inflicting casualties without regard for their own losses.

In the end, the first day’s skirmish between the 25,000 French 4th Corps and the 30,000 British-Russian allied forces resulted in a staggering loss of nearly 20,000 troops.

The French army’s losses were less than 3,000, while the British and Russian armies’ losses were a whopping 17,000.

The allied forces lost more than half of their deployed troops on the first day.

That day, Marshal Kutuzov realized that conventional tactics were futile.

Conversely, the French army gained confidence in their overwhelming superiority.

“Ney, how was it commanding directly? How significant is the gap between the enemy and our forces?”

“It’s undeniable. We took some damage because we fought in a confined space, but if we had fought in an open field, we wouldn’t have suffered even half as many casualties.”

“Good. Then the enemy must have realized this as well, so they will be even more entrenched in the town.”

“Then we just need to bombard them with rockets.”

Berthier, who was listening to the conversation, confidently pointed to the rear.

“The British might have similar weapons, but ours are far superior in performance. Besides, they arrived in a hurry, so they won’t have sufficient quantities.”

“I think so too. Anyway, their plan to form a siege has been thwarted by the first day’s battle. Then let’s abandon urban warfare and turn the entire area into a sea of fire.”

Since they were so skilled in war, everyone understood perfectly even with minimal explanation, and they quickly dispersed.

Masséna, once again realizing the significant advantage of superior weaponry on the battlefield, suddenly wondered if naval battles might be similar.

‘Is it possible that we were simply too intimidated, and we can overwhelmingly win naval battles as well?’

Of course, this was just speculation, and he had no intention of acting rashly.

No matter how poorly the British army performed on land, weren’t they originally obsessed with naval power?

If we underestimate them and suffer a setback, the current favorable situation could be reversed instantly.

“Tomorrow, the 4th Corps will occupy the abandoned stronghold, and in the meantime, my corps will push the British further east. Murat’s cavalry will buy time against the Russians, so we won’t feel any pressure.”

Battles involving hundreds of thousands of troops usually don’t end in a day or two.

But Masséna began to feel confident that he could force the enemy to surrender within three days.

That’s how overwhelming their strength was.

To the point where he could even entertain the fantasy of winning against the whole of Europe.

※※※

Contrary to the French marshals, including Masséna, who were jubilant, the British-Russian allied forces were in a somber mood.

“Tell me what happened.”

Kutuzov looked at the British commander, who appeared to be in his forties, and asked.

“Why didn’t you provide support when our brigade was being decimated today, despite our repeated requests?”

“We attempted to send reinforcements, but the enemy’s artillery fire was too intense.”

“It’s not as if the enemy’s cannons suddenly became superior today.”

Of course, it was somewhat ironic that they, who had been soundly defeated, were saying this.

But still, the British army should have performed better than them; that was the expected dynamic.

The British army that Kutuzov observed was not comparable to the French army, but they were still better equipped than his own.

“Marshal Henry Paget, was it? The French offensive will be even stronger tomorrow, and it will be difficult to stop them even with coordinated efforts, let alone with today’s command structure.”

“Still, we have gained valuable intelligence on the French strength. We will discuss this further with the staff and inform you of our revised strategy.”

In fact, Henry Paget also had his own grievances.

The troops he originally commanded were only about the size of a division, not a ridiculously large corps like this.

‘I wish I had gone to Asia and Lord Wellesley was here.’

Of course, if he were told to go to Asia and face Napoleon, he would have felt differently, but Henry simply felt unfairly burdened now.

Perhaps sensing his frustration, Kutuzov cleared his throat, took out a cigarette, and offered it to Henry.

“Still, we are allies, so we must overcome this difficulty together. Let’s put our heads together and find a solution.”

“Yes, we must.”

He said that, but Henry couldn’t help but wonder if it was truly possible to defeat the French.

Why were they shedding innocent blood here when they should have simply maintained the naval blockade as planned from the beginning?

The Prussian bastards weren’t even present, using the excuse of containing the Habsburgs.

‘Hmm? Prussia is not here?’

At that moment, Henry had a brilliant idea that even the devil would admire.

“Marshal Kutuzov, shouldn’t we just use the Prussian bastards as bait?”

They had abandoned them once before; why couldn’t they abandon them a second time?

Anything is difficult the first time, but the second time is easier.

Kutuzov, initially shocked, soon let out a sigh mixed with admiration.

“Oh… typical British…”

“Yes? What did you say?”

“…Nothing. It’s nothing.”

It was an exclamation filled with diverse and complex meanings.

End of