Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Siege Looming
The actions of the rebels were rather sluggish. It had been over two weeks since Napoleon had reached Le Mans, and General Delacroix's army had only just arrived near Le Mans. It wasn't that General Delacroix intentionally delayed, but he simply couldn't move rapidly.
Firstly, what held him back was the dwindling morale of his troops. To persuade those peasants to leave their homes and join the rebellion, Delacroix had promised them generous pay. However, this left him with very little money to procure supplies.
General Delacroix had hoped to capture some resources once they entered Le Mans. However, upon taking the city, he discovered that the situation wasn't as promising as he'd imagined. They did capture several cannons, but essentials like food and gunpowder were in short supply.
The lack of supplies naturally led to a breakdown in discipline. The rebel forces initially managed to control themselves for the first couple of days in Le Mans. However, before long, discipline started to crumble. The streets were filled with rebels engaging in theft and extortion. Some even broke into the homes of the city's more prominent figures, including those who had played a significant role in the recent events, and looted extensively.
The composition of the rebels that General Delacroix had recruited had shifted significantly compared to the original group that had defeated the government forces in Vendée. The initial rebels were mostly honest, simple farmers. However, the current composition had fewer farmers and more troublemakers.
This was natural, as most of the honest farmers had returned home to tend to their fields. Those who were willing to leave their homes for the nobles' paychecks weren't necessarily the most upstanding citizens. Thus, enforcing discipline became even more challenging. These individuals not only invaded homes and stole money but also committed unspeakable acts against the women in those households. It was almost as if the Huns had stormed into Rome.
General Delacroix took extreme measures against those who had gone too far, especially those who had invaded the homes of nobles and committed heinous acts. He had them hanged in the town square, finally putting a stop to this wave of lawlessness. However, what he didn't anticipate was that as discipline was restored, it led to new problems.
The first problem was desertion. Some soldiers fled because they longed for home, while others fled because they couldn't freely engage in looting under supervision. Once desertion occurred, it often involved not just one individual but groups from the same village or region. As a result, General Delacroix had to implement strict measures, hanging any soldier who attempted to desert.
Such harsh measures led to another problem: soldier rebellion. In less than two days, three military judges were assassinated, losing their lives. One of them was even General Delacroix's nephew. He realized that applying pressure through the gallows had reached its limit, and continuing the hangings could lead to a volatile situation.
At this point, discipline was completely unenforceable, and the only thing General Delacroix could do was to restrain the soldiers from harming the nobles and respectable citizens. Eventually, even this became impossible, and his only remaining order was to prevent the soldiers from harming the personal safety of the nobles. As for commoners, there was really nothing he could do.
Violence sometimes became addictive, much like drinking. Initially, the rebels' violence was for sustenance, but now, it had evolved into a more profound level of enjoyment - for pleasure.
The respectable people of Le Mans could no longer bear this situation. They sent representatives to find General Delacroix, offering to donate supplies to support the royalist cause and get rid of these "plague carriers" who were ruining their city. In simpler terms, they were willing to pay to get rid of the troublemakers.
If this had happened a few days earlier, the rebels would have gladly accepted the generous offer and moved towards Le Mans. However, by now, they had evolved into a force with higher aspirations, intending to thoroughly enjoy themselves in Le Mans before leaving.
"Today, I planned to visit the innkeeper's daughter and try some new moves. How can we leave now?"
"His brother is quite good-looking too, and their mother... We planned to have a family celebration with them. How can we leave now?"
"Yes, yes!"
As a result, the generous offer was rejected, and the "Royalist and Divine Army" chose to stay in Le Mans and continue their revelry for a few more days.
The people of Le Mans, pushed to their limits, decided to resist. One night, some citizens suddenly launched an attack on the "Royalist and Divine Army." The result was a devastating fire that consumed Le Mans in one night.
One nobleman who managed to escape the flames later recalled in his memoirs,
"...Before their arrival, the Republic had already taken away my privileges, but I still had money, property, land, and my family. Now, I have nothing left..."
After the inferno, the "Royalist and Divine Army" had no choice but to move on, leaving Le Mans. Due to their disorderly discipline and the slower pace caused by these events, they only reached the vicinity of Le Mans at this point.
With the morale at an all-time low, General Delacroix decided to announce a three-day leave to boost their spirits.
When Napoleon heard this news, he could hardly contain his amusement. He called upon his division and brigade commanders to start planning for the battle.
Under the encouragement of the "three-day leave," the rebels managed to muster some spirit and launched an attack towards Le Mans. However, their stories of "revelry" in Le Mans and their plans for a "three-day leave" were widely known among the population of Le Mans, thanks to the efforts of Mayor Fouché and René.
So, when it came to defending the city, the people of Le Mans showed exceptional determination. Nobody wanted to "revel" with those outsiders. As a result, the Le Mans National Guard fought valiantly. In comparison, the enemy, perhaps because they wanted to preserve their lives to enjoy the upcoming vacation, withdrew as soon as they faced resistance. After a day of fighting, the rebels had made no progress.
Napoleon had entrusted almost all of the defense tasks to Fouché's National Guard. While their military training was lacking, their high morale came from protecting their homeland. When faced with the enemy's advances, they managed to counterattack using bayonets, easily pushing back the rebels.
As for Napoleon's main forces, they remained hidden and behind the National Guard, ready to plug any gaps or launch a counterattack.
Meanwhile, under Davout's command, Napoleon's cavalry continuously struck at the rebel's supply lines. The rebels indeed had a numerical advantage, but it only extended to their infantry. They had few cavalry, making it challenging to counter Davout's actions effectively.
As a result, the rebels had to dispatch more troops, establish more stations along their supply lines, and allocate more soldiers to ensure their safety.
While this strategy did secure their supply lines, it significantly reduced the number of troops available for frontline combat. Even though General Delacroix initially had over 40,000 troops, after the battles in Le Mans and deploying significant forces to protect the supply lines, the number of troops available for the main offensive had dropped to around 20,000.
Napoleon's forces, aside from his own division of over 5,000, included Fouché's National Guard of over 5,000, and at this point, the numerical difference between the two sides wasn't as significant as General Delacroix believed. Plus, the defensive fortifications gave the Le Mans defenders an advantage, making it almost impossible for the rebels to capture Le Mans.
However, since Napoleon had concealed his main forces and hadn't used them in battle, General Delacroix had no idea about the actual size of the enemy army. Based on his previous intelligence and the recent battles, he estimated that the enemy couldn't have more than 6,000 or 7,000 troops. He thought he could still give it a shot. Considering the difficulties in logistics and the declining morale of his troops, he decided, "Tomorrow morning, after a good meal, we'll launch a full-scale assault!"
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