บท 169: Chapter 169: The Battle of Namur
"Whooosh! Whooosh! Whooosh!" The shrill whistling echoed in the sky, causing many French soldiers to look up while charging at high speed.
"Watch out, the enemy is shelling. Avoid it!" Upon noticing the enemy artillery fire, the French cavalry did not panic. Instead, they began evasive maneuvers, trained to dodge the Dutch artillery bombardment.
Countless French cavalry soldiers swayed their horses left and right, continuously dispersing their formation to reduce the chances of being hit by enemy fire.
Soon, the French cavalry broke through the Dutch artillery barrage and reached the front lines of the Dutch army.
"Swoosh!"
On the battlefield, a French cavalryman drew his sword, twisted his body to the right, and swung his blade at the Dutch soldier in front of him.
"Splurt!"
Blood splattered. Under the impact, the Dutch soldier's neck was easily severed by the French cavalryman's sword.
Similar scenes unfolded elsewhere. Although the Dutch army was equipped with heavy artillery, they were not proficient in its use. Normally, it took the French artillery about 5-6 minutes to fire a shot, whereas the Dutch needed over ten minutes, and their accuracy was lacking.
This allowed the French cavalry to break through their lines almost effortlessly, and the fate of the Dutch soldiers after the French cavalry closed in was tragic.
Countless Dutch soldiers were killed by the French cavalry, or were trampled into minced meat by the rapidly charging warhorses from behind.
Under the fierce attack of the French cavalry, the first line of defense of the Dutch army was easily broken.
"Damn it, how could this happen? How can the French cavalry be so powerful?" Watching the situation before him, Bragge cursed loudly. He had just belittled the French cavalry, only to have them slap him in the face with facts.
Next to him, the smiles on the faces of the other Dutch generals disappeared completely. They had indeed underestimated the French cavalry. But now, they felt a deep threat. The French cavalry seemed more formidable than they had imagined.
At this moment, all the Dutch generals fell silent. Their previous arrogance had long disappeared.
"Order the artillery to open fire immediately! Use the cannons to stop the French attack!" Bragge roared in anger.
In some respects, Braggi and Napoleon do have some similarities. First, they were both rulers of a nation and had a great thirst for power. Secondly, they were both staunch advocates of artillery. They believed that what truly determined the course of a war was the power of the cannons.
Therefore, Braggi requested a large amount of artillery support from the British. At this critical moment in the battle, Braggi placed his final hope on his cannons. However, it was clear that Braggi did not have the same talent as Napoleon.
When using artillery, Napoleon would strategically place his cannons within their effective range, choosing the safest positions for them. In contrast, Braggi simply placed his cannons at the highest point. This made it easy for the French cavalry to locate the artillery positions of the Netherlands army.
While the front-line battle was raging, no one noticed that a squad of French cavalry had quietly bypassed the main battlefield and reached the flank of the Netherlands army's position. This was the third brigade of the French central cavalry division, whose mission was to destroy the Netherlands army's artillery. They had now approached to within less than a thousand meters of the Netherlands artillery positions.
Finally, under the command of the leading French cavalry captain, all the French cavalry began to prepare for battle. After a brief preparation, they charged towards the Netherlands artillery positions on the hillside.
"Brothers, charge! Destroy the Netherlands army's artillery positions for me."
With a roar, all the French cavalry charged together, the sound of hoofbeats thunderous. Meanwhile, the artillerymen on the hillside of the Netherlands army were still unaware of the impending danger.
"Fire quickly!"
"Braggi has just ordered us to start shelling immediately to block the charge of the French cavalry."
"Hurry up and fire, or it will be too late."
On the Netherlands artillery position, a group of Netherlands soldiers shouted anxiously. Due to unfavorable conditions on the front lines, Braggi placed all the pressure on the artillerymen, ordering them to fire as quickly as possible and to maximize their firepower to block the French cavalry's attack.
But the speed of operating artillery requires years of accumulated experience, and it is impossible to achieve just by rushing. Despite Braggi's frantic urging to speed up the attack, the artillerymen's pace remained as usual.
"Boom! Boom!"
As the Netherlands artillerymen frantically operated their cannons, a rumbling sound gradually reached their ears from a distance.
"What is that sound?" Upon hearing the noise, a Netherlands artilleryman stopped his work, straightened up, and asked in confusion.
"It's... it's the French cavalry!" Suddenly, a Netherlands soldier shouted in panic.
"What French cavalry? How could they be here?" A Netherlands artillery commander exclaimed in disbelief. He then left his position and ran up to a higher vantage point to observe the situation.
What he saw nearly made his heart leap out of his chest. Countless French cavalry were charging up the hillside, brandishing their gleaming sabers.
"Run!"
At that moment, this was the only thought in the minds of all the Netherlands soldiers. Artillery combat relies on cannons, and without them, they were just a group of unarmed men. In this situation, facing the French cavalry meant certain death, especially given the already low fighting morale of the Netherlands troops.
So, upon spotting the French cavalry, all the Netherlands soldiers chose to flee.
But how could two human legs outrun four horse legs? The Netherlands artillerymen were quickly overtaken by the French cavalry and killed.
"Brigadier, these Netherlands soldiers are too weak. They fled before I even exerted any effort," a French cavalryman remarked leisurely as he rode his horse. The victory had been too easy for them.
"Enough chatter. We don't have much time. Destroy all these cannons quickly, then attack the Netherlands troops from the front and rear in conjunction with General Murat's main force," the French cavalry brigadier said, lightly patting the cavalryman.
Following the brigadier's orders, all the French cavalry dismounted and began to ignite the gunpowder beside the cannons. Once they had completed this task, they mounted their horses again and charged towards the Netherlands army's position.
...
On the front lines, the Netherlands ruler Braggi wore a look of deep concern. The ineffective performance of his troops left him feeling helpless.
"You must come up with a plan quickly. What should we do next?" Braggi said angrily in front of the command post. Initially, he had believed that with fifty thousand Netherlands troops, they could hold their own against the French. But now they were being suppressed by ten thousand French cavalry.
"Ruler, there's no way out. Given the current situation, we either pull back the front-line troops or commit more forces," a Netherlands lieutenant general said seriously.
Hearing this, Braggi frowned. The front-line battle had reached such a dire state that the two divisions already committed had suffered heavy losses. Even if the remaining troops were withdrawn, not many would be left.
Moreover, this would severely impact the morale of the troops, making a comeback nearly impossible. However, would committing more troops really hold the line? That seemed overly optimistic. If the additional forces failed again, they would suffer even greater casualties.
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