Descending On France 1780
Chapter 142 - 135 Night Raid

Chapter 142: 135 Night Raid

Night had fallen, and the sentries at the outer perimeter of Lafayette’s first brigade’s camp were yawning.

"Perk up!" the Sergeant overseeing the watch scolded, "Open your eyes wide, the enemy is right in front of us!"

The sentry quickly stood at attention, then couldn’t help but yawn again.

The Sergeant directly slapped the back of the sentry’s head: "Damn it! I need to wake your brain up!"

"Stop! Don’t hit me! I know I’m wrong, Sergeant!" the sentry immediately pleaded for mercy, "It’s pitch-dark at this late hour, no one will come to attack us by surprise! If I were the enemy, I would’ve been scared off and run away by now!"

The Sergeant curled his lip: "What you’re saying is indeed the truth, we do have a huge advantage, and it’s likely that tomorrow’s battle will end in our victory. But because of that, this is exactly why we need to be on high alert to prevent the enemy from getting any clever ideas!"

The sentry shouted, "Yes!"

The Sergeant nodded his head and started to inspect the next sentry post.

No sooner had he left, the sentry yawned again, then leaned against a large tree, his eyes beginning to look dazed.

Just then, a glint of a blade flashed in the darkness, and before the sentry could make a sound, his throat was slit by a dagger.

The face of Jean Lannes, who led the surprise attack force, emerged from the darkness, and he gently laid down the sentry’s body, then whistled into the darkness behind him.

Following that, soldiers from the attacking force began to emerge one after another from the darkness.

A Senior Sergeant reported to Lannes: "Many are left behind, we only have this many with us."

"No need to worry," Lannes waved his hand, "The enemy’s camp is just ahead! Torches are readily available; let’s pick them up right here and advance!"

With that, Jean Lannes charged at the forefront toward the enemy camp.

Everyone followed closely behind!

**

Lafayette had just finished dinner served by the orderlies and was about to write in his war diary by candlelight in his tent when shouts erupted outside, "Fire! Fire!"

Lafayette had just lifted his head when a loud boom resounded from outside.

Lafayette immediately stood up, shouting, "Someone come!"

An orderly immediately lifted the tent curtain and entered: "General!"

"What’s going on?"

"I don’t know, there’s a fire in the distance, and sounds of explosions."

No sooner had he spoken than Chief of Staff Bertier burst into the tent: "This is bad, General, I think it’s a nocturnal assault by the enemy!"

Lafayette frowned: "A nocturnal assault? Stabilize the troops immediately. A nighttime attack can only be carried out by a small force; we can’t let chaos spread within the ranks!"

Just then, another explosion was heard outside.

Bertier: "It could be an explosion from the Artillery’s gunpowder."

At that moment, someone else broke into the tent, the commanders of several battalions stationed around Lafayette’s headquarters: "General, we’ve been attacked by Frost! We just..."

"Damn fool! Stop panicking!" Lafayette raged, "I refuse to believe Frost’s army can march at night, especially without torches! That’s impossible! The enemy must be a small contingent, maybe only a few hundred. Hold the line!"

Just then, Lafayette heard someone shouting outside, "Lafayette has been killed! Our army is defeated! Run for it!"

Lafayette flew into a rage: "Seize whoever is shouting that, he’s inciting panic! Capture him and execute him!"

Saying so, he burst furiously out of the tent, bellowing, "I am Lafayette! I’m right here! Everyone calm down!"

**

Meanwhile, at Davout’s location.

Anning was still standing beneath the beech tree at the mountaintop, observing the night sky with a telescope.

Davout stood beside him: "General, a major battle awaits tomorrow, you should go and rest. Even if the night raid doesn’t produce results, we can still defeat Lafayette tomorrow."

Anning was about to reply when suddenly a light appeared in the distance.

At first, it was only a small fire, but it quickly joined into a large blaze.

Anning: "Look! There’s a fire! Lana and his men have succeeded!"

Davout also looked towards the flames: "It seems like a few tents in the camps have been set on fire, probably not many."

Anning: "You don’t understand, even if only a few casualties were caused, their raid will still throw the enemy camp into chaos, which is hugely beneficial for tomorrow’s battle!"

Davout: "Yes, that’s for sure. Now that the fire has started, General, you should return to the central army’s tent to rest."

Anning shook his head: "No, I want to stay here and watch these flames. Imagine how great it would be if we took this opportunity to launch a surprise attack!"

Davout frowned: "That’s not realistic. In the night, let alone an attack, even ordinary marching is difficult to maintain, and torches would be of no use."

Anning could only sigh.

Since Davout had said so, it must be the case. The level of organization of the troops of this era, as well as the subjective initiative of the soldiers, could not support formal night-time operations.

Therefore, Anning often felt that the comparisons made online before his time travel between modern armies and ancient armies were utterly meaningless.

Anning: "I hope Lana returns safely."

Davout: "Do you need me to send some troops forward to rendezvous with them?"

"No, no need, I don’t want to risk another batch of well-trained troops in the dark. I will need you to hold this key position tomorrow," Anning said, yawning, "I’m a bit sleepy too, I’m going back."

Davout: "Good night, General."

**

At this moment, Lana had just ignited a supply wagon loaded with gunpowder, and the violent explosion almost threw him out.

He was unconscious for a while before he opened his eyes and got up.

Looking around, the officers were organizing firefighting, and there was no sign of the comrades who had come with Lana for the raid.

Lana raised an eyebrow and muttered, "My mission should be about over too."

He quietly moved his hands and feet, crawling on the ground.

Fortunately, the situation was chaotic at the moment, and no one noticed him.

Even a team of soldiers extinguishing the fire ran past him without taking a second glance at Lana wriggling on the ground.

Struggling, he crawled into the bushes next to the camp.

After hiding in the bushes, Lana observed the situation and decided to spend the night here and wait until General Frost defeated the enemy the next day.

Indeed, Lana had no doubt that Mr. Frost would prevail, for he looked so confident when they had set out.

Mr. Frost had said, "Lana, don’t feel too much pressure. Even if your stealth attack fails, we can still defeat Lafayette tomorrow. Just do your best and make sure to stay alive!"

Lana nestled himself among the roots of the bushes and, with the noise of the enemy running and shouting, carelessly drifted off to sleep.

**

The next morning, as the first ray of dawn appeared from the East, Lafayette looked at his disheveled soldiers.

"Damn it," he cursed.

At that moment, Bertier came running from a distance, saluting Lafayette: "General, the losses from last night have been counted. Roughly five hundred injured, over two hundred dead, but we lost quite a lot of supplies.

"Also, the troops of the first division have been putting out fires all night and are extremely exhausted."

Lafayette cursed again: "Damn it! Send out the Cavalry, I want information on the enemy’s formation."

Bertier: "I sent out scouts at dawn, and the first wave of Cavalry has returned. The enemy has formed up on the unnamed hill in front of us, occupying the mill and barn that are advantageous for defense, as well as the nearby low stone wall."

Lafayette got up: "Good, it seems Frost is ready for a decisive battle here. The first division will serve as the general reserve, recovering their strength on the spot. The second and third divisions, a combined force of twenty thousand troops, will form up immediately!"