Descending On France 1780
Chapter 234: Napoleon at Sedan 227

Chapter 234: Napoleon at Sedan 227

Anning was busy expanding his army and engaging in a battle of wits with the Parliament, while Napoleon finally saw the coalition’s military flag at Sedan.

"I thought they were going to drown in the mud of early spring in France," Napoleon muttered as he used his telescope to observe the enemy shifting their formation from marching columns to horizontal lines.

Infrastructure in France is currently in a very poor state—well, it’s not yet the industrial age, so of course the infrastructure cannot be compared with that after the industrial revolution.

After all, cement had not been invented at this time, and asphalt was a rare paving material only available in its producing regions.

The rural roads in France were specifically flattened, but they couldn’t withstand the spring rains.

The mud caused the coalition to advance slowly after crossing the border, and only now did they reach the front of Sedan Fortress.

Napoleon even suspected that the coalition had low morale and was deliberately procrastinating.

He put down his telescope and said to his adjutant beside him, "Hurry, get everyone ready. The enemy will likely only conduct a probing attack today to test our defense strength. Let’s hurt them so they will have more concerns when they attack tomorrow!"

Just as he finished speaking, the coalition’s cannon fired.

Napoleon quickly raised his telescope: "Firing from such a distance?"

As he spoke, the sound of a cannonball whistling through the air followed, then a "Duang" sound as it hit the earthen slope of the fortress wall.

The outer wall of the bastion was all sloped, providing high defense against cannonballs.

Maybe the Urban Cannon could break through the walls of Constantinople, but it would definitely not manage to damage the walls of a bastion.

Napoleon looked towards the direction of the rising smoke: "Well, it’s a 24-pound cannon; no wonder their advance was so slow, they had to push this thing forward."

A 24-pound heavy cannon is usually mounted on warships, installed on the lowest deck of first-rate ships of the line.

It’s extremely troublesome to use this thing on land because it’s damn heavy.

It’s not known whether it was the Prussians or the Austrians, but they stubbornly pushed this heavy cannon to the frontline and fired at the Sedan Fortress.

On the sea, this kind of heavy cannon might destroy the wooden decks of warships effortlessly, but on land, facing thick sloped outer walls, even such a heavy cannon is ineffective.

In this era, attacking a fortress is purely a meat grinder battle; the garrison can kill a large number of enemies with cleverly designed fortifications.

To conquer a well-defended fortress like Sedan, the attackers had to undertake earthworks, a process that would invariably be lengthy.

Napoleon was now brimming with confidence: "Hmph, I don’t need reinforcements. With the forces I currently have, I can hold the coalition back until the counterattack begins in July!"

**

Grand Duke Carl was observing the Sedan Fortress with a telescope, admiring as he watched: "The French military engineers have done a beautiful job; this fortress is very well built. I fear the siege will be exceptionally long; we can only hope that hunger and disease will make the French surrender."

Carl’s Chief of Staff said worriedly, "The nobles who escaped from Paris to lead us here said that the French Army is gathered in large numbers within Paris City. If we delay too long, we might have to face a huge number of French troops.

"Although most of them may not have received much training, a flintlock in the hands of a new recruit is almost as deadly as in the hands of a veteran."

Flintlocks are inaccurate, and there’s not much difference between the shooting skills of veteran soldiers and new recruits. Even though veterans theoretically can reload more smoothly and quickly, the inherently poor firing rate of flintlocks makes this advantage less significant.

Carl: "No, that’s not what I’m most worried about. My biggest concern is the enemy’s General!"

Chief of Staff disdainfully asked, "That Leatherworker?"

"He may come from humble beginnings, but his ability to defeat many experienced generals is a testament to his outstanding military talent! He is also extremely adept at commanding a ragtag army, turning them into an elite force!

"If we take too long in these fortresses, what we might face in Paris would not be a mob, but elites trained by a fierce general. We might be drowned by the sheer number of the French Army."

The Chief of Staff somewhat unbelievingly said, "Just yesterday, news came that there has been a complete uprising in the western part of France. Marshal Alvizi and Duke Brunswick both believe that the French Army we’ll be facing would amount to no more than two hundred thousand people, evenly matched with us. Everyone thinks this estimate overrates the French!"

Carl didn’t respond, just gazed at the battlefield.

The newly arrived Prussian-Austrian coalition launched a tentative attack on the fortress, and the coalition’s line infantry was approaching the bastion of the fortress.

The troops at the forefront had already entered the trenches, and the French garrison atop the fortress was continuously firing, enveloping the whole fortress in gun smoke.

Carl: "It’s futile, no, it won’t work. I oppose wasting troops like this. We should first surround the fortress, settle in, then approach gradually through engineering works."

Chief of Staff: "You just mentioned we needed to act quickly, or else we’d be swallowed by the French Army..."

"Acting quickly and wasting troops like this are not the same!" Carl sighed. He was not the highest commander of this campaign.

He could only watch as the coalition followed the commands of the Command Department, attempting to storm the fortress as Marshal Alvizi and Duke Brunswick believed the French might not be adequately prepared.

How could that be possible!

Grand Duke Carl internally cursed while watching lives from Austria and Prussia being senselessly wasted in front of the solid fortress.

**

At nightfall, Napoleon ordered precious dried meat and wine be brought out to reward the soldiers who had inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy today.

During the banquet, Napoleon personally engaged with his soldiers—he was emulating his most admired General Frost, who liked to roam his camp, inquiring about the soldiers’ well-being.

"Everyone!" Napoleon stood on a transport wagon, stepping onto a barrel of wine, "Today, the coalition’s attack was easily repelled by us, leaving many of their dead beneath our city walls. Every day they attack, they will undoubtedly face the same defeat as today! We will steadfastly hold them off here until the General himself arrives to counterattack!"

After saying this, Napoleon took a big swig of wine and then smashed the tin cup to the ground, proclaiming loudly: "The General himself told me, hold steadfast and there’s a way! After our victory in the war, he will personally host a banquet in my honor!

"Just imagine, this is War God Caesar himself, coming to personally greet us, how thrilling that is!

"Of course, the General has never been stingy with material rewards, back in Italy he promised everyone the glory of conquest and Italy’s riches, and he delivered!

"My comrades! For the General, for the Republic, and for yourselves! Cheers!"

Under the spell of fine wine, the soldiers shouted together: "For the General, for the Republic!"

At this very moment, neither Napoleon nor Grand Duke Carl knew that this was just the beginning of their fate-driven duel.