Descending On France 1780
Chapter 242 - 235 ’The enemy is going to be in big trouble

Chapter 242: 235 ’The enemy is going to be in big trouble

Anning waited for more than a day by the Marne River, and the enemy arrived as expected.

Although the French Army marched forcefully to reach the riverbank as quickly as possible, one day of rest and reorganization had mostly restored them.

Moreover, in this battle the French Army was on the defensive, simply needing to crouch behind constructed fortifications and fire their guns, so the consumption of the soldiers’ physical energy was not a significant issue.

Anning put down his binoculars, picked up the champagne on the table, and took a sip.

Actually, he didn’t want to be so ostentatious, but for some reason, now the entire army believed that General Frost should drink champagne and enjoy a delicious steak when a battle began; otherwise, it was considered a problem.

So even the usually staid Bertier came to suggest that Anning honestly set up a table to drink and eat meat, to prevent wild speculations.

Therefore, Anning had Vanni set up a table on the high ground by the Marne River, complete with a sun umbrella, accompanied by red wine and steak.

He strongly suspected that he would have to maintain this whole appearance when commanding in the future.

As soon as the enemy appeared, the cannons immediately began to roar.

However, after only a few shots, the enemy moved out of range and began to encamp on the opposite side of the Marne River.

Bertier commented, "They didn’t rush to cross the river but chose to camp first, waiting for their troops to recover their strength. The enemy’s actions are entirely in line with military common sense. This Prince Schwarzenberg is at least a commander with some common sense."

Anning asked, "Then according to military common sense, when will the enemy attack us?"

Bertier: "Tomorrow, I suppose. Generally speaking, before a formal battle occurs, both armies will encamp very close to each other, even within sight of each other’s camps, just like now. General, the many battles you’ve commanded often don’t follow this principle, which is why you have gained quite a few advantages.

"I suppose that’s because our troops’ morale is high and after long marches, we don’t need time to regroup. This is a distinctive feature of our army, different from the old Kingdom Army."

Anning: "To be precise, this is a characteristic of the Citizen Army, a feature of a nationalist army."

Bertier: "But now, this characteristic can’t help us. After all, we can’t cross the river now to attack the enemy; we can only wait for them to be ready to make a move."

Anning was about to respond when a Messenger Soldier arrived.

"Report, Lasalle is crossing the river upstream, and should arrive by tomorrow."

Anning calmly corrected the Messenger Soldier: "He’s not yet a general."

"Sorry."

Anning nodded and waved the Messenger Soldier away.

Bertier asked, "Should we have Lasalle launch a night raid on their camp tonight?"

Anning: "There’s not enough time; by the time the Messenger Soldier gets to Lasalle, it will already be well into the night. Now our army is evenly matched with the enemy in strength; it’s better to fight a conventional battle."

Bertier: "I’m still worried, after all, our troops are untrained, many of them haven’t even mastered loading their weapons."

Anning: "But our morale is high."

In actual history, when the French Army first faced the coalition, they were in a terrible state of training, and furthermore, the real French Army was a mixture of the old army and the Self-Defense Army, full of internal contradictions.

The army in Anning’s hands, at least, had few remnants of the old army and was an intact formation.

Moreover, in actual history, the French Army defeated the coalition at Valmy, basically without any geographical advantages, relying solely on high morale and solid predetermined positions, making the coalition unable to advance.

The French Army did not attack because Demure, the commander of that battle, knew that the poorly trained French Army would be doomed once they left their positions to fight in the field, so they hunkered down and engaged in a stalemate with the coalition.

And then the French Army won.

Anning was extremely familiar with history and thus prepared to replicate that strategy.

High morale means you can do whatever you want! He stood up from the table and said to Vanni, "The battle probably won’t happen today; you clean up. Is there a way to ensure the steak won’t spoil?"

Vanni: "Yes, salt it a bit more for preservation. But are you sure you want to eat such a salty steak tomorrow? Better finish the steak today, and I’ll provide you with a fresh one tomorrow."

Anning raised an eyebrow and could only sit back down and start eating his steak.

Vanni: "Drink some wine, too. Isn’t it greasy to eat just steak?"

Anning picked up his glass and took a big swig of champagne.

Bertier: "I suggest leaving only half the troops in position, and the rest should pull back to the camp to rest."

Anning: "Fine, go arrange it."

Bertier nodded and left. Moments later, the French troops began to leave their positions and move into the tents behind the lines.

A considerable number of troops passed by Anning, all of them watching him eating steak.

"Some busybody asked loudly, ’General, since the enemy didn’t attack today, does that mean your meal wasn’t to your satisfaction?’"

Anning laughed in response, "Indeed! These damned fellows just launched a probing attack and then retreated. Their commander Schwarzberg must be a worthless wimp without balls!"

The soldiers burst out laughing, mocking the trash on the other side, and the air was suddenly filled with a joyful atmosphere.

After everyone had finished their meal, Vanni said in a low voice, "So the steak wasn’t to your liking, huh."

"No no, it’s very much to my taste. I was just, you know, setting the scene, that’s all!" Anning hastily explained.

Vanni tilted her head, "Oh, I see. I thought you preferred your steaks rarer or more well-done."

While saying this, Vanni looked up at the coalition camp gradually being erected on the opposite bank of the river, and asked, "Will the battle last many days?"

"I’m afraid so. After all, this time we’re not the ones on the offensive. We have to fight until the enemy completely loses the will to fight. It’s unlikely to be a quick and decisive annihilation battle where the victor is determined in one day."

"I see, I thought it would be another swift victory. I haven’t prepared enough then. Please allow me to take a carriage back to Paris to bring some necessary items over."

Anning was shocked, "What, you actually need to take a carriage from Paris to bring things? I thought everything you needed could be pulled out from under your maid’s skirt!"

After all, the skirt of the perfect and suave maid was a four-dimensional treasure bag; no matter if it was a massive amount of flying knives or a Desheka heavy machine gun, she could easily take it out.

Vanni looked at Anning as if he were a fool, "How could that be possible! I’m just better at planning and using transportation resources. I always ask the supply team to transport it under the guise of carrying the General’s personal belongings."

What the hell, so all this champagne and steak were things acquired by using transportation resources?

Anning’s face fell, "This isn’t good; we can’t use up the valuable resources of the supply train just for my personal needs..."

Vanni: "Really? Should I not arrange for it next time?"

Anning reluctantly placed his hand on his forehead, remembering Bertier’s words: "Without champagne and steak at the front, morale might waver."

Anning: "No, please do continue making the arrangements."

Vanni: "Oh. But I’m going back to Paris this afternoon, and I probably won’t be back tomorrow. You’ll have to move the small table and pour the wine yourself."

**

The next day, early in the morning, the Austrians began artillery shelling across the river.

So on the side of the French Army camp, horns for an urgent assembly began sounding everywhere.

Anning lifted the curtain of his tent, carrying a table in his right hand and a bottle of champagne in his left, and just like that, he came out.

Bertier was coming out of his own tent to report to Anning, but upon seeing Anning in this state, he hesitated.

Anning: "Vanni went back to Paris, so I had to move it myself."

Bertier’s mouth fell open, and it took him a while to respond: "Ah, I see. You could have called some messenger soldiers."

Anning: "No need, this thing isn’t heavy; I can just carry it myself."

Then Anning walked towards his command position.

The soldier bearing the military flag had already arrived early, but upon seeing Anning come up like this, he was completely stupefied, as if unsure whether to help or not.

After all, nobody had ever seen a commander-in-chief in such a get-up.

The infantry brigades arrayed on both sides of Anning’s command position were all looking at him in shock.

Anning gave an awkward smile, "The maid has gone back to the city, no choice but to do it myself."

Then, under everyone’s gaze, Anning set the table properly, flipped over the chair that was on it, and set it up.

He sat down in the chair, opened the champagne, and then realized he didn’t bring a glass.

Well, with only two hands, there really was no room to carry a glass.

Anning thought about it and decided, hell with it, he’d just drink straight from the bottle.

Seeing this scene, the soldiers exchanged looks, and then Anning heard someone say, "See that? The General is in such high spirits today; the enemy’s in for some bad luck!"

Anning raised an eyebrow; what the devil, could it be that anything I do boosts our army’s morale?

Thinking this, the French Army’s artillery began to return fire on the coalition.

Then Anning saw the coalition’s engineers pushing pontoon bridges into the water from afar.

Great, they hadn’t just been camping since yesterday; they had been building pontoon bridges too!