Chapter 247 Hechingen Brigade
On July 15, shortly after the start of the Third War of Conquest, France had begun to mobilize its troops. The next day, the French Parliament voted to formally declare war on Prussia.
Following this, the four southern German states (Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, and Hesse) with rising nationalist sentiments completely fell to Prussia.
Prussia currently has three armies. The southern part is mainly the Third Army led by Crown Prince Friedrich William (Frederick III). Its composition is:
5th Army: Commander Kirchbach
6th Army: Commander Tumplinger
11th Army: Commander Bose
1st Bavaria Army: Commander Tann-Ratzamhausen
Bavarian 2nd Army: Commander Hartmann
Württemberg Division,
Baden Division,
2nd and 4th Cavalry Division
Hechingen Brigade.
Due to the special nature of the Princely Kingdom of Hechingen, it was classified as a separate combat unit, which was theoretically at the same level as the Prussian army.
In this war, the Hechingen Brigade was completely formed by the Hechingen royal family. In addition to the personnel, the weapons and equipment were also self-sufficient. They were provided by the Hechingen Arsenal in the German region. Its system was exactly the same as that of the Prussian army. It is easier to integrate with the Prussian army's logistics than other South German armies that temporarily joined.
Leopold served as commander of the Hechingen Brigade, under the direct leadership of Legion Commander Frederick III.
A total of 4,372 people from the Prince of Hechingen participated in the war. In addition to the third-year students of the former Hechingen Military Academy, there were also some second-year and first-year students, as well as those recruited from Hechingen and Sigmaringen. Some conscripts.
…
“Dong dong dong…”
As the bell rang, the temporarily formed Hechingen brigade assembled on the playground of the Hechingen Military Academy. .
The Hechingen Brigade consisted of two infantry regiments. Under the leadership of Leopold, they were quickly assembled. Then they turned to Stuttgart and headed west along the road. Taking advantage of the convenient location, they reached the border in three days. area. Except for the army of the Grand Duchy of Baden, which is fighting on the mainland, other states and the Prussian army have not yet arrived.
The Third Army, mainly composed of the South German states, is supplemented by the Prussian army. This German army has a total of 12 divisions and about 130,000 people (about 125,000 people in history). It is deployed in Pakistan in South Germany in the south. Den and the Palatinate region near Karlsruhe.
Heixingen is basically close to the Grand Duchy of Baden, and the Heichingen Brigade is the smallest of the Third Army as a national army, so the deployment is more flexible.
Two days later, the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which was next to Baden like Hechingen, arrived in Baden. On the same day, the Prussian army led by the Crown Prince of Prussia also arrived in the north.
As the supreme commander of the Third Army, Frederick III first reviewed the armies of other states, except for the army of the Kingdom of Bavaria which had not yet arrived.
Frederick III was the most confident about the Prussian army, but Baden and Württemberg had been at peace for a long time and had not fought a war for a long time, so it was difficult for people to trust him. As for the Bavarian army, it was not too bad either. After all, the two countries fought against each other last time.
Soon the armies of all the states were assembled. Looking at the bustling armies of the states, Frederick III was very dissatisfied. His frown never relaxed. Their level was too poor compared with the Prussian army. The equipment was also in disarray, and even one unit was equipped with weapons from the three Prussian and Austrian countries at the same time. Even the organizational skills were so poor on weekdays. How could they compare with the battle-hardened Prussian army on the battlefield. Moreover, the enemy opposite is the French Army, which is recognized as the number one army in the world. Just when Frederick gave up hope on the armies of other states, the Hechingen Brigade located in the corner of the corner attracted his attention.
First impression: young, second impression: capable, third impression: neat.
"Leopold, is this the Hechingen Brigade?" Frederick III came to Leopold and asked.
"Yes. Your Highness the Crown Prince, they are all a team formed by military students recruited by the Hechingen royal family."
"Uh! Didn't I hear that Ernst is not interested in the military? Since he If you want to form an army, why not go directly to the army? Prussia can provide him with a position."< br>
"Hahaha, Ernst is not interested in the military. It is a complete excuse. He is just self-aware. I think that business is the right choice for him. Besides, these cadet soldiers are completely prepared by him for his colony. "It's completely impossible to get him into the army," Leopold laughed.
"Alas! Prince Constantine is also considered a famous general. Why didn't Ernst inherit this from him?" Frederick sighed.
“Everyone’s choice is different, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Besides, Prince Constantine has always had children, and Heixingen is just a single seedling. Naturally, he doesn’t want Ernst to come into contact with the battlefield again.”
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"Not to mention anything else, Ernst's so-called Hechingen Military Academy is quite good. I heard that he serves as the principal himself and can manage the army in front of him like this. His ability is pretty good, and it looks better than other armies. It's a lot pleasing to the eye, but the number is too small."
"Haha, after all, the South German countries have their own military systems. If France had not declared war, they would have continued to exist independently, and the Prince of Hechingen would have continued to exist independently. Book They came from the Prussian princes, so the Hechingen Brigade naturally copied the Prussian army template completely. Its instructors were all selected from Prussian veterans. And one thing you don’t know is that although Ernst is from the Hechingen Military Academy The principal is actually a hands-off shopkeeper who doesn’t participate in teaching and training at all. Especially after the business grows, he often travels. Many times when I visit Hechingen, I can’t see him.” Leopold said with a smile.
“Ernst is a good person, but he does too many things. In addition to business, he also engages in overseas colonization. Naturally, he has little time in Hechingen, but overseas colonization does not seem to be very difficult, right? If he can do things so smoothly as a businessman, shouldn't Germany be more actively involved after reunification?" said Frederick III.
“Overseas colonization is indeed very attractive, but the British are not easy to deal with, and although the place Ernst colonized is not a bad place, it is not much better. After all, even the Portuguese are there I haven’t seen them take action against East Africa for hundreds of years.”
“Forget it, I don’t want to think about this anymore. The main thing is to deal with the French. If France is not defeated, Prussia and Germany will have no future at all. But at present, these troops in the South German State, the Baden and Württemberg armies look worse than the Hechingen, that is, the Bavarian army. It’s probably going to be tough, and our battle with France is probably not going to be easy,” said Frederick III.
"It's hard to say. The elite troops of the Kingdom of Bavaria should still be good, and the image of the troops is secondary. Only on the battlefield will you know whether they have strength." Leopold said.
"Then do you think this seemingly well-trained Hechingen Brigade can make a difference on the battlefield?"
Leopold replied confidently: "Of course, although These are student soldiers who have never actually entered the battlefield, so they will inevitably suffer some disadvantages, but as long as they survive the first stage, they will definitely become an elite force."
...
The enemy opposite the Prussian Third Army was the French First Army. The two sides faced off along the border area from Saarbrücken to Strasbourg.
(Picture)
The Franco-Prussian War broke out. The declaration of war aroused great patriotic enthusiasm in France. People poured into the streets to see off the departing team, shouting: "Fight to Berlin and kill Prussia!" Such farewell scenes were seen across the country. On train platforms in remote rural areas, Wine was pushed into the windows of trains full of soldiers to teach them a lesson to the "square-headed Germans."
(End of this chapter)