Chapter 358 Going in circles
Joseph knew very well how difficult the life of the lower class people was in this era. If their food and livestock were taken away without giving money, the whole family would probably starve to death.
Moreover, it is actually much cheaper to supply on-site than to transport it from France through long and narrow supply lines. After all, transportation costs and losses are gone, and there is really no need to dig into the farmers' survival money.
In addition, paying for supplies can leave a good impression on the people of the Southern Netherlands, making future local supplies easier. Maybe some locals would take the initiative to bring supplies to the Guards Corps camp to sell them in order to make a small profit.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the Guards Corps began to move southwest, bypassing the south side of Antolfo, close to the border of Brussels, and penetrated into the province of Ghent.
Joseph was still riding on the left side of the marching column, waving to the soldiers from time to time to boost morale, and the soldiers responded to him with excited cheers.
Berthier urged his horse to follow him, bowed slightly to him and said: "Your Highness, there is news from Major Masson. Because the Hanoverian army is relatively compact, he did not choose to attack."
Joseph nodded: "He did it right. The point of the penetration tactic is not to take advantage when you see the opportunity, but to give priority to preserving your own vitality and cutting the enemy's formation as completely as possible."
Masson's battalion plus two companies of soldiers, with a total of less than 1,000 men, acted as a mobile force and were active near the Hanoverian army.
Joseph's order to him was to carry out interspersed operations to further disrupt the enemy's formation when the enemy was contained and confused.
At present, there are still too few officers in the Guards Corps who can act alone. Lefebvre was left to help Leo, and Berthier was the only one left. People like Davout and Napoleon are still relatively immature now, and their military ranks are not enough to lead an army alone.
As for this Ma Song, he performed very cleverly in the previous operations in cooperation with Wengke's exercise, so he became the only mobile unit.
If Nahuang and others can be put to great use, or if powerful generals such as Massena, Moreau, and Lannes are brought under his command, Joseph will definitely be able to sieve the Hanoverian army.
"Talent is always the most precious resource..." Joseph sighed secretly. However, he also knows that the cultivation of the army does not happen overnight. Speaking of which, the growth rate of the Guards Corps is already very alarming.
I believe that if we can achieve a more brilliant victory in the Southern Netherlands this time, the Guards Corps will be able to attract more talents and usher in the next wave of blowout.
In the middle and rear of the marching column, Napoleon asked the regiment leader again for advice: "So, our real goal is Ghent?"
He didn't wait for Colonel Dumont to say anything, and immediately reacted: "No, Ghent has no goal to mobilize the enemy's troops..."
Colonel Dumont smiled and said: "Yes, there are only more than 8,000 Southern Netherlands rebels there."
"That is the main force of the rebels." Napoleon's eyes suddenly lit up, "Our target is not Ghent, but Brussels!"
Colonel Dumont suddenly looked at the young major in surprise. When he was in the staff meeting at that time, he had no idea that there was any connection between Ghent and Brussels. It was not until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince mentioned it that he suddenly realized it.
But this Buwan Napa figured it out in just a few seconds!
He asked reluctantly: "Oh? Why do you have this inference?"
Napoleon answered very quickly: "It's very simple. If the main force of the rebels in Ghent is eliminated, then Brussels is an apple that can be picked at any time. The rebel parliament will even surrender directly to us."
"Then why don't we attack Brussels directly?" Colonel Dumont continued to ask.
"That will put our army in danger. If the Hanoverian army returns quickly and the main force of the rebels in Ghent also goes to Brussels at the same time, it is likely to form a pincer attack on our army." Ignoring the surprised look of the regiment leader, he continued Said: "Even if the enemy does not have good coordination, our attack on Brussels is likely to cause the rebel parliament to flee to Ghent. In that case, even if we occupy that city, we will not gain any strategic advantage. After all, we will only go deep behind enemy lines. An isolated city.”
Colonel Dumont almost shouted, "That's right."
He calmed down and coughed dryly: "You are really young and promising. Maybe within a few years, this regiment will be in your hands."
Napoleon simply responded "Thank you for your compliment", but in his heart he was full of admiration for the young crown prince who proposed this series of tactics. He is less than 16 years old and has only studied military theory at the Paris Police Academy, but he has such incredible commanding abilities!
If Corsica has such an outstanding leader, the road to nation-building will be smooth sailing. He thought silently in his mind.
East of Brussels.
Karl II looked westward, his brows knitted together.
The Dutch commander General Bronkhorst looked at the intelligence in his hand and wondered: "The French only circled around Antorf and then left? To the west? Where are they going?"
"Ghent." Karl II uttered one word, and then reluctantly summoned the herald, "Order the entire army to turn west immediately.
"Send the order, speed up the march, leave unnecessary baggage to the rear! Speed, I want speed!"
"Yes, Marshal!"
Bronkhorst hesitated and said: "Marshal, if the French are going to Ghent, we don't have to pay attention to them at all."
"Then what?" Karl II said in a low voice, "Witt's army is no match for the French."
He still clearly remembered that Witt's 5,000-strong army was surrounded by more than 2,000 French regiments and was almost annihilated.
"If the main force of the Southern Netherlands Army is gone, those in Brussels will surrender immediately!"
Bronkhorst hesitated and immediately understood the connection, and quickly ordered the Dutch army to turn quickly.
On the other side, the Southern Netherlands Rebel Army in Ghent also received the news and began nervously preparing defensive positions.
However, just as the Hanoverian army walked northwest for three days and was about to reach Ghent, Karl II suddenly received a report from the hussars, saying that the French army turned again and headed southeast.
Karl II hurriedly unfolded the map and marked the movements of the French army on it. Then he was shocked to find that in order to pursue the French, he had gone too far north. At this time, the distance between the Hanoverian army and the French army was almost the same as the scorching sun.
He suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. It turned out that the French were going around in circles, and their real target was the Prussian army in Liege!
He hurriedly ordered and immediately went to Liege for reinforcements.
What he didn't notice was that because of many days of high-speed marching, the Hanoverian army with better quality soldiers had already pushed the Dutch away by seven or eight kilometers.
(End of chapter)