Chapter 565 Beating
The artillery positions were completely suppressed, which was a great disadvantage during this period.
As a famous general, Grouchy naturally understood that his plan to attack half-crossed was ruined. He did not hesitate and immediately chose to retreat. After all, artillery was too precious, and it would be too much of a loss to exchange it with the coalition infantry.
As a result, the French army, which still had the upper hand at this time, actually retreated, which made the coalition soldiers extremely excited. The remaining French army lost the cover of artillery fire and could only fight and retreat. People kept climbing over the slope to escape, and the war continued. Victory seemed close at hand.
However, this was just a death trap set by Grouchy for the coalition forces. The French soldiers on the other side of the slope had already been waiting for the hot-blooded coalition soldiers to rush over and start a killing spree.
In fact, although the French army's formation was scattered, it was not an orderly retreat, and the counterattack was also very organized. If a general with a sharp eye should be able to see that the opponents left in the rear were actually skirmishers.
This is the anti-slope tactic Grouchy learned from the British. In fact, the ancestor of this thing is the Frenchman Lafayette, who used this tactic to beat the crap out of the British in North America.
But later the British learned it and beat the hell out of the French in Spain, especially the column tactics that the French were proud of.
However, the French army behind the slope waited for a long time and did not wait for the expected coalition soldiers. At this time, a large group of coalition dragoons bypassed the slope and went straight to the back of the French army.
The most feared thing about this anti-slope tactic is a flanking attack. Soon this elite French force had to choose to surrender.
Grouchy didn't understand why the other party could easily decipher his tactics, and couldn't stop looking back even after leaving the battlefield.
At this time, he discovered the key. Several huge hot air balloons were hanging in the sky. They were the eyes of the coalition forces.
"Damn! It's a tactical hot air balloon!"
Grouchy cursed, but it was of no use at this point, but although he lost the first battle, he should be able to protect himself.
While Grouchy withdrew the army to his carefully built camp, he sent people to question why the coalition forces suddenly launched the attack.
To be honest, he did not expect that the morale of the coalition forces was high enough to cross the river under artillery fire, let alone that the Austrian artillery would be so accurate.
Tactical hot air balloons were one of the artifacts used by the French to defeat Europe, but later the French army gradually forgot about them. Unexpectedly, today the Austrians would use hot air balloons to teach them a lesson.
Grouchy thought that he would bring some hot air balloons next time to earn back his face.
The first thing he did when he returned to the camp was to write a letter to Louis Philippe, who wanted to tell His Majesty what happened here.
"The Austrians launched a despicable and shameless sneak attack on our army, resulting in the capture of thousands of soldiers. This is not my fault. There are actually traitors who are at work and destroying our army's logistics.
Please rest assured, His Majesty the King, we are still capable of fighting, and all our soldiers are willing to die for France."
Before Grouchy could finish writing the letter, an explosion sounded in the air.
Albrecht has been waiting for this day for a long time, and Franz's intention must be fought to let the French know the pain, so that Louis Philippe will not change his mind, and the Prime Minister's negotiations can be more confident.
Therefore, Albrecht directly ignored Grouchy's questioning. The former directly ordered the attack. With the hot air balloon as guidance, the Austrian artillery could always carry out key strikes on important targets of the French army, which greatly weakened the French army's combat effectiveness.
Rockets are a more terrifying thing than artillery. The overwhelming rockets directly turned the French camp into a sea of fire.
Directly engaging in an infantry decisive battle without the assistance of artillery is like catching someone else's fist with your face. Unless you are Luffy, it is difficult to win.
The French army could only be forced to abandon the camp and retreat again. However, the battle was still not over. It encountered several interceptions on the road. Naturally, the losses caused by being flanked from both sides were not small.
The pursuit did not end until late at night. By the time the French army broke away from the battle, there were only less than 20,000 troops left out of 60,000.
Of course, most of them were dispersed or captured, and the actual death toll was not high.
The coalition forces took more than 20,000 prisoners, more than 1,700 were killed, and more than 5,000 were injured.
However, when the coalition announced the war report, they also included the number of civilian casualties in Alsace-Lorraine that was affected by the war and bloody suppression.
This number is terrifying: 18,000 people died and more than 30,000 people were injured.
The next day in Paris was very exciting. Louis Philippe met with the German Confederation delegation in the early morning. At this time, the latter happened to receive a report that the French had withdrawn their troops without fulfilling the agreement, which made Metternich and the German delegation very unhappy.
"His Royal Highness Louis Philippe, where is your sincerity? Our German Allied Forces have retreated, but why did your army not leave?"
Louis Philippe was speechless for a moment, but when he opened the Paris Journal, he suddenly felt enlightened. It was full of Grouchy's heroic words.
Louis Philippe calmly handed the newspaper to Prince Metternich, who frowned after reading it. He did not expect the Frenchman to be so bellicose.
Metternich handed the newspaper to the rest of the delegation. After reading it, everyone had different expressions, but listening to the shouts outside the window, it seemed that the French people were very supportive of the war.
The vast majority of politicians in the German Confederation did not want to conflict with France. The purpose of sending troops at this time was entirely to deflect domestic conflicts and satisfy the demands of nationalists. However, the momentum was already weaker before the negotiations began. point.
Louis Philippe was very happy. He could see the worry on the other person's face, which made him feel that it was Germany, not France, that needed peace.
However, battle reports from the front line soon came one after another, and Louis Philippe's attitude changed from arrogance to panic, especially the seemingly righteous letter that was extremely ironic at this time.
In the morning Paris was filled with Grouchy's heroic words, but in the evening it turned into sad news of defeat.
As a result, people pointed their fingers at the historical inventor, and Louis Philippe roared angrily.
"Grouchi! Why are you there!"
Grouchy was still writing his third letter
Here I have to talk about the Bonapartists at this time. Although these people were under the banner of Napoleon, they turned a blind eye to the several heirs of the Bonaparte family. Instead, they expanded their power without scruples.
Even former enemies, as long as they are famous enough, they will also attract them, such as Marshal Grouchy.
However, three defeats in one day not only disgraced Louis Philippe, but also disgraced France.
Louis Philippe had to accept the "merciful" agreement offered by the German Confederation in exchange for peace.
Afterwards, the German Allied Forces withdrew from Alsace-Lorraine again as agreed and returned French prisoners and equipment.
In the end, the French attributed the defeat to the commander's incompetence, and Grouchy followed in Napoleon's footsteps and was exiled to the French islands in Central America.
The reasons were dereliction of duty, disobedience, and making Louis Philippe cry.