Chapter 843 Counterattack of Rhineland
Luxembourg Fortress.
On the afternoon of the second day after Massena pretended to be defeated and retreated west, Sirte hurriedly knocked on the door of Bertier's office. "Come in, please." Bertier said, putting down the ammunition inventory data in his hand.
Sirte raised his hat to him and said with a serious expression: "General, I think the situation of the war should be a major abnormal movement."
"Please tell me your basis."
"First, the sound of artillery in the north has stopped for more than a day." Sulte said, "Secondly, the enemy surrounding the fortress has transferred more troops to the northwest. On the side, the frequency of attacks also dropped significantly. "
Brush, the southernmost end of the battle between the French and coalition forces, was less than 10 kilometers away from the Luxembourg Fortress. In the case of a good wind, the fortress could be vaguely heard in the fortress. The roar of heavy artillery there.
Bertier looked at him and said, "You mean, our defense line has moved?"
"Yes, General." Surtie head, "The enemy surrounding us is here to The army concentrated to the northwest, probably to prevent us from learning about the situation there.”
Bertier fell into deep thought: "If the defense line of the Massena legion moves westward, there are only two possibilities - he is defeated by the enemy and has to retreat. Or he is strategically retreating for a purpose."< br>
Sirte immediately said: "It shouldn't be our army defeated, otherwise Ferdinand would definitely draw troops to strengthen the attack on us. But no more enemy troops have appeared at present."
Bell Thier shook his head: "So, Massena wants to do something, but we cannot contact him for the time being."
Sirte walked to the map and pointed to the Arden Plateau: "General, According to my guess, the Massena Legion should have wanted to introduce the enemy into the depths of the Ardennes Plateau. "There can only be one purpose, that is, to empty the roads in the northeast of Luxembourg. ”
Berthier still didn't understand: "So what can this be?"
Sirte's eyes were leaping with a sharp light: "There is no obstacle on our way to Trier, General, maybe horse Colonel Senna wanted us to launch a counterattack! ”
Bertier stared at Trier on the map and stood up slowly. He must admit that Sirte's suggestion was really tempting.
Although there are 15,000 coalition forces outside the Luxembourg Fortress, he is very clear about the combat effectiveness of those troops. Perhaps only the 4,000 Hanover troops are a bit threatening, and the others are basically here to make up the numbers.
And he had three regiments of the Royal First Infantry Division in his hand, and these 5,000 men were enough to break through the siege outside.
At the same time, there is also the Champagne Legion - one of the most combat-capable troops in the old army. Especially their cavalry battalion, because of its high quality, more than half of the soldiers were absorbed into the Royal Hussar Battalion.
If a raid is launched immediately, there is really a high probability that it will occupy Trier, or even Kobrentz!
He was still a little worried and said, "If we just left the fortress, Ferdinand's main force will attack us..."
Sirte said very confidently: "General, you want to Have confidence in the direct legion. The Prussians could never have drawn a large number of troops under their restraint.
"And after we launched a counterattack, we immediately sent cavalry to reconnaissance westward. If we found The enemy's distance was too close, so they returned to the fortress. Time should be in time. ”
Bertier thought for a moment and said to the staff beside him: "Call the senior officers to convene a combat meeting immediately."
"Yes, general!"
The next morning.
The coalition forces surrounding the Luxembourg Fortress were dragging out their cannons in stages, calibrating the shooting angle, preparing to start this day of dull and destined to be ineffective. At this moment, an extremely violent shelling suddenly broke out on the fortress, and the firepower density was more than three or four times greater than before.
The coalition forces were suddenly stunned.
Immediately, the outermost gate of the fortress opened, and thousands of French Hussars rushed out with their sabers.
Due to lack of defense, the coalition artillery position on the north side of the fortress was instantly destroyed. Then the French cavalry artillery quickly occupied the most favorable shooting position and covered the infantry to launch a slam toward the Hanover Legion on the west side.
The Hanover Army was still in a siege at this time, and the formation was very scattered. In less than two hours, the French infantry line cooperated with the cavalry to complete the encirclement of them.
At 10:30 in the morning, the main Hanover army surrendered, and at this time the Trier army and Mainz army had just reacted and hurriedly mobilized troops to come for reinforcements.
At noon, Sirte commanded the 3,000 infantry of the Royal First Infantry Division and defeated the Trier Army with the cooperation of artillery.
At the same time, the Champagne Legion defeated Mainz reinforcements on the west side.
The encirclement outside the Luxembourg Fortress broke through half in an instant.
Bertier was watching the devastating battle situation with a telescope at the fortress without any surprise. If he wasn't worried about the main enemy force on the periphery, he could break through at any time.
At present, Sirte's judgment is correct. Half a day has passed, and no reinforcements have appeared in the enemy.
No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading!
He looked at the messenger beside him: "Leave the 3,000-man defensive fortress of the Alpine Legion.
" Order Sirte to lead the other legions directly to Steinthel to rest tomorrow Depart early in the morning and try to arrive on the west bank of the Zell River before dark. ”
In the afternoon of the same day, when Sirte gathered his troops to Steinsel, he received a report from the Rangers that no coalition forces were found within 20 kilometers northwest of Luxembourg. br>
A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "It seems that I guessed it right! ”
At 4:30 p.m. the next afternoon, Sirte led 11,000 soldiers to the Zell River on the west side of Trier. While he was about to camp and rest, a cavalry suddenly warned him that he had found a number of troops in the north. An army of thousands.
Sirte suddenly became nervous. If Ferdinand had the time to reinforce Trier, he would probably return in vain.
However, just ten minutes later, another group of Rangers rushed to him excitedly and reported to him: "Mr. Commander, it's the Udino Legion. They've been waiting for us here!"
< br>Surte breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ordered the troops to go and meet with the Udino Legion.
20 minutes, he met Udino.
The latter raised his hat to him and said with a smile: "Your Highness the Prince said you will definitely launch a counterattack. Look, we have indeed met here."
Sirte was stunned: "Your Highness the Prince" Is the Lord Luxembourg coming down? "
"Yes, he also brought the Southern Netherlands Front. Colonel Massena has led Ferdinand's main force to the west of Werz..." Udino said suddenly as he made a move. "Cross the river?" "Yes," Udino nodded and pointed at Ze at the point of pointing out the darkness. On the surface of the river, "I asked the engineers to build a pontoon bridge here yesterday. Colonel Massena ordered us to cross the river and immediately launched an attack on Kobrentz!"
(This chapter ends)