SWNOVELXO Chapter 356: Chapter 356: Deep Behind Enemy Lines
Chapter 356: Deep Behind Enemy Lines
Napoleon was taken aback. He had read about "flanking maneuvers" in the military officer's textbook at the Paris Police Academy, but only had a basic understanding of it and no real idea of how to execute it. He turned to the colonel and asked, "But if we ignore the Hanoverian army, and they link up with the Prussians, won't General Leo have a hard time holding them off?"
Colonel Dumont nodded slightly. "Actually, I had the same question during the last staff meeting." He then smiled. "But you have to consider this: the reason both the Hanoverians and Prussians can even set foot in the Southern Netherlands is due to the rebellion of the Dutch.
"If we capture Antwerp, the Dutch rebel parliament will collapse, and even if the Prussians defeat General Leo, what can they do? Occupy the Southern Netherlands directly? The Dutch and the British wouldn't stand for it."
Napoleon suddenly understood. "So, Carl II will have to move to protect Antwerp."
"Exactly. The Prince said that as long as we march faster than the Hanoverians and threaten Antwerp before they reach Liège, the Austrian army won't be in any danger."
"But," Napoleon pondered, "going deep into the Southern Netherlands and fighting in the heart of the rebel territory doesn't seem like a wise decision. Carl II could even cut off our supply lines and just wait for us to surrender."
Colonel Dumont shook his whip. "Who said we're going to have a decisive battle in Antwerp? Your understanding of 'flanking maneuvers' isn't deep enough." He paused, feeling a bit embarrassed. In truth, he wasn't very well-versed in these tactics either. He had only learned about them from attending the staff meetings where the Prince explained his strategy. He was just parroting what he had heard.
"Ahem, well, 'flanking' and 'penetration' are actually two different tactics. The goal is to manipulate the battlefield situation and put the enemy in a disadvantageous position. Once we force Carl II to turn north, our army will…"
He abruptly stopped, realizing that the subsequent military plan was highly classified, and Major Buonaparte wasn't yet authorized to know. "You'll find out soon enough. Anyway, the Prince is definitely a tactical genius."
When it comes to commanding an army in battle, Joseph, who only attended military school for a year and a half, might not compare to any of the field officers in the Imperial Guard Corps. But in his mind, he held advanced tactical theories from centuries in the future and had countless real-world battle scenarios to reference.
Many tactical theories are straightforward once explained. Applying them to the current battlefield can easily overwhelm an opponent unfamiliar with such strategies.
For example, most European generals of the time focused on deploying formations and finding the most advantageous angle of attack. Very few considered large-scale flanking maneuvers. Even a genius like Frederick the Great only maneuvered within the theater of operations, and that was enough to dominate his contemporaries.
But Joseph was bringing the theories of a future "flanking maneuver master" from the East, which would surely give Carl II a run for his money.
Of course, even in a direct confrontation with the Hanoverian army, Joseph believed the Imperial Guard Corps had a good chance of winning. While only about 14,000 troops were available to engage Carl II—two regiments had to stay with General Leo to prevent him from being overwhelmed by Blücher, and other troops were needed to maintain order in Luxembourg—the training, morale, and equipment of the Imperial Guard Corps gave them a significant advantage against the 24,000 Hanoverian and Dutch troops.
However, Joseph wasn't willing to accept the potential heavy casualties that could result from a head-on battle with a numerically superior enemy. The Southern Netherlands offered many favorable conditions for flanking maneuvers. For example, in the French-speaking regions of the Southern Netherlands, the French army was even more popular than the Brabant rebels and could easily obtain supplies. Additionally, Austria's decades of rule had established deep roots, with Austrian officials still in place who could provide intelligence and support, even if they had been ousted.
Most importantly, the Southern Netherlands had too many critical points for the Prussians and Hanoverians to defend, giving Joseph numerous tactical options.
…
North of Brussels, in the Southern Netherlands Parliament, a group of liberal deputies under Vandernoot's command were angrily pointing at Unck, who sat in the front row. "The Hanoverian army is marching to Liège right now! We should be coordinating with them to crush the Austrians! But you're hiding our troops away!
"This is our fight for the freedom and democracy of the Southern Netherlands, and you're ruining its future!"
Unck remained unmoved, while his faction responded smoothly, "Freedom and the people must first survive. Our army is exhausted after heavy fighting. When the time is right, they will fight again."
The core conservative deputies had already been informed by Unck of a secret agreement with the French: as long as the Southern Netherlands didn't get involved in the war between France and the other nations, after the war, France would only take the southern Namur province and support the independence of the Southern Netherlands.
Unck never believed that the weak Southern Netherlands could challenge Austria on its own. The real choice was between siding with Prussia or France. As far as he knew, Prussia and Britain supported Holland's annexation of the Southern Netherlands. In comparison, France's appetite was much smaller, wanting only Namur. Additionally, many conservative deputies were from French-speaking regions and preferred to work with France.
Some conservative deputies, after learning of Unck's agreement, even considered mobilizing the southern regions to assist France in driving out the Prussians.
Just as a liberal deputy was about to argue back, a military officer violently pushed open the chamber doors and burst in like a frightened bull.
Vandernoot frowned, growing increasingly frustrated with the army's lack of discipline lately. He was about to reprimand the officer when the man shouted in terror, "The French main force has bypassed eastern Brussels and is less than 10 miles from Antwerp!"
Ten miles, or about 16 kilometers, meant the French could reach Antwerp in just a day and a half of marching.
The Southern Netherlands Parliament fell into a stunned silence. It took Vandernoot a good seven or eight seconds before he finally shouted, "Quick! Send for help from Carl II! His army can't have gone far!"
(End of Chapter)
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