Chapter 444 Focus - Ratibor (seeking follow-up reading)
The headquarters of the Austrian Silesian Front.
Berthier looked away from the map and looked at Lefebvre with some uneasiness: "Do you think it is possible for General Leo to really defeat Ratibor's Prussian army? After all, he has absolute military strength. Advantage."
The latter smiled: "If we change the command to another officer, even an ordinary regiment commander, we may really have to worry about this. But the commander now is Leo. Please believe me, what he is best at is to make soldiers appear in A place where it shouldn't be.
"And his ability to train soldiers is also very... ah, average. Therefore, his legion only has less than 2,000 soldiers left by General Wilmser with any combat effectiveness. The rest can't even do a salvo."
"Now I'm a little worried that he will be defeated by the Prussians..."
Joseph continued: "General Leo has a strength advantage and can hold on for at least five or six days. I have sent Major Masson to meet him near Latibor."
He looked towards the Prussian position in the distance: "Now it depends on when the Duke of Brunswick will take action."
While several people were talking, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside the tent. Soon a messenger walked in quickly, raised his hat and saluted Joseph:
"Your Highness, General Leo failed to attack Ratibor and is now surrounded by the Prussian army."
Masson sent hussars to keep an eye on Latibor's battle situation at all times, and this messenger was sent by him.
The messenger continued: "According to the scout, it was because General Leo did not notice the Prussian flank movement and insisted on using the main force to attack the front. As a result, the Prussians bypassed him to the rear. Then he made another mistake The attacking troops were immediately withdrawn, and the enemy forces on the front were immediately pressed out, eventually forming a pincer attack. "
Joseph immediately cast a complimenting look at Lefebvre and said with a smile:
"You were right, he's really good at making mistakes."
Lefebvre sighed: "12,000 people were actually surrounded by 7,000 Prussian troops. His performance this time was a bit 'extraordinary'."
Berthier looked at Joseph: "Your Highness, do you want Major Masson to reinforce you immediately?"
Joseph shook his head and said: "We have to believe in General Leo. His army is the best equipped in the Austrian army. Even if it is surrounded, it should be able to hold on for a few days.
"Go immediately and tell Marshal Lacy and the Duke of Brunswick about the situation of Leo's Legion."
Joseph said to an officer next to him: "Please send someone to inform Potsdam that we can start taking action."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The officer was the Intelligence Bureau's liaison officer with the Crown Prince, and he immediately left with Berthier.
…
East of Lignitz.
In the Prussian headquarters, the Duke of Brunswick looked at the map in surprise, shook his head and said:
"What do these damned Austrians want? There is no point in attacking Latibor."
Just half an hour ago, he had just received a report from Austria. More than 12,000 Leo Legion soldiers suddenly attacked Ratibor. However, Colonel Aylwin, who was in charge of the defense, responded quickly and took advantage of the Austrians' negligence. Carelessly, they surrounded them on the outskirts of Ratibor.
(Oil portrait of Blücher)
Blücher had been fighting with Leo for a long time in Liege. At this time, he was not willing to let go of the good opportunity to add insult to injury, and immediately shouted:
"Master Marshal, the Elwin Army only has 7,000 troops. I'm afraid it will be difficult to annihilate the enemy. I think we should increase the number of troops immediately!"
General Driessen on the side suggested: "Lattibor has no strategic value at all. Colonel Aylwin can hold it there, but there is no need to force the enemy to be annihilated." The Duke of Brunswick lowered his head and thought for a moment. Suddenly said: "No, we should reinforce Aylwin immediately."
"But……"
"Although Ratibor is worthless, Leo is extremely prestigious in the Austrian army." The Duke of Brunswick stood up with his hands on the table. "If we can capture or kill him, it will be a great blow to the Austrians." A huge blow to morale.
"The national finances are already very difficult. If we can end the war as soon as possible, we should try our best."
He looked at Blücher: "You immediately lead 10,000 people to Ratibor, first cut off the Austrians' return to Ostraau, and make sure to kill or capture Leo."
Blücher was immediately overjoyed: "Yes, Your Majesty the Duke!"
On the other side, there was also a dispute in Marshal Lacy's tent.
Naundorf said loudly: "Just dispatch two regiments to rescue the Leo Army. We should not invest too many troops in Ratibor."
Berthier on the side immediately shook his head: "General, you must consider that if the Prussians also send troops to Ratibor, then this small amount of reinforcements will not be enough."
Wilmser has a good relationship with Leo and expresses his support:
"Latibor is also our country's territory, so it's better to take the opportunity to take it back. General Leo has the advantage in strength, but he accidentally fell into the siege. When his troops get out of trouble, it should be very easy for us to recapture Ratibor. "
Seeing that Lacy was still hesitating, Berthier added fuel to his fire: "Marshal, if the news that 'the spears of the Southern Netherlands successfully regained their homeland' appears in the newspapers in Vienna next week, it will definitely make everyone People are very encouraging.”
Marshal Lacy frowned when he heard this. What he heard from the words of the French Chief of Staff was that if the "Spear of the Southern Netherlands" was captured in Ratibor, it would be a disaster for Austria. A nightmare.
Moreover, if something happens to this well-respected general, His Majesty the Emperor will definitely blame the blame on himself, the commander-in-chief.
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and turned to Wilmser: "You will immediately lead 10,000 soldiers to Latibor for reinforcements."
"Yes, Marshal!"
At the same time, in Potsdam, the political center of Prussia, the streets were abuzz with talk about the army's victory at Ratibor.
The front pages of all newspapers were "The Austrian army invading Latibor was defeated by Aylwin's Army, Leo will be captured", "Latibor's victory, 12,000 Austrian invading troops were trapped" and so on.
As for the pamphlet, it directly increased the number of enemies annihilated to 30,000, and Leo, the pride of the Austrians, had been captured. The Austrian army is currently trying desperately to block Leo from being sent to Potsdam for trial.
Of course, these were the rhythms set by French intelligence agents in Potsdam. Spreading this kind of news that the Prussians loved to hear was simply the easiest job for a spy.
In Sanssouci Palace, William II was also very excited. Although all kinds of news were flying around and it was still uncertain what Ratibor's situation was, it was certain that Leo would be surrounded.
The war in Silesia had been in a stalemate for so long, and finally there was a major breakthrough.
After a brief discussion with Prince Heinrich, he immediately drafted a commendation order, promoted Aylwin to major general, and greatly praised the Duke of Brunswick.
Just three or four days later, the eyes of the entire German region were focused on the humble province of Ratibor.
There are at least 40,000 troops from both Prussia and Austria rushing there, preparing to use Leo as a bet for a desperate fight...
(End of chapter)