Descending On France 1780
Chapter 354 - 347 Cavalry’s Pride

Chapter 354: 347 Cavalry’s Pride

Alvizi Command.

"Report! The French Army has captured one of the three river-crossing bridges!" The Messenger Soldier rushed into Alvizi’s dining hall, barely catching his breath before shouting loudly.

Alvizi immediately stood up: "What? What are the guards at the bridge doing?"

A staff officer with a stern face said: "They might be changing shifts, right at the moment when the troops from last night are handing over duties to the day shift."

Another staff officer added: "The night shift troops are very exhausted, and the relieving troops are not yet ready..."

"No need for explanations!" Alvizi waved his hand grandly and then asked the Messenger Soldier, "Are the enemies Cavalry or Dragon Cavalry?"

Dragon Cavalry are actually mounted infantry, carrying rifles and still combat-capable after dismounting, able to form defensive arrays like infantry.

The Messenger Soldier replied: "Cavalry! I saw their half-sleeves clearly; everyone had them!"

Alvizi: "Then they can’t hold the bridge, it’s just a trick by Frost! Organize troops to reclaim the bridge, and then... um, then pull back the troops from the opposite bank and destroy the bridge!"

After Alvizi finished speaking, the Chief of Staff began issuing specific orders.

Then Alvizi went to the window and looked out at the shimmering Danube River.

"Is even the Danube River betraying Austria?" he murmured softly.

**

Lasalle: "Many say that cavalry can’t be used for defense, and the Austrians must think the same!"

At this moment, he stood on a logistics wagon left behind by the bridge-guarding troops, addressing the gathered Cavalry on the bridge deck.

"Indeed, we only have pistols and Horse Swords, lacking even rifles that could serve as spears, but our hearts seeking victory will never be defeated! France is with us!"

Together, the Cavalry shouted: "For France!"

The equipment of the Cavalry is not suited for defense; Horse Swords and pistols are for close combat, and without the striking force provided by horses, these weapons are at a clear disadvantage against the spearmen in infantry columns.

Moreover, Horse Swords have no particular advantage over bayonet-fitted rifles.

This isn’t a game with a cyclical counter system of sword beats axe, axe beats spear.

Moreover, Horse Swords require space to be wielded effectively, while bayonets only need to thrust.

The Austrians were already forming their ranks.

Lasalle: "Don’t worry, as long as we get into close combat, we hold the advantage!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Austrians opened fire, with shells landing in front of the bridgehead position, bouncing off and breaking the wooden stakes used for building the positions.

Splinters flew past Lasalle’s face, leaving a trail of fresh red blood.

"Don’t be afraid! Hold the formation!" Lasalle shouted.

The Austrian infantry began to advance, with Artillery also opening fire.

Lasalle jumped down from the wagon and joined the Cavalry crouching behind a barricade made of earth-filled baskets.

"Wait for the moment! Keep your heads down!"

The Austrians advanced to within thirty steps of the barricade, and an officer ordered in German: "Halt!"

A drummer played a brief drumbeat, and at the moment the drumbeat sounded, not a single Austrian soldier stepped forward.

Although the Austrians were beaten badly by the French, their training was not poor; after all, the Holy Roman has always been a power in Europe.

"Raise arms!" the officer ordered again.

The drummer played a continuous aggressive beat, synchronizing with the soldiers’ uniform rifle-raising movements.

"Fire!"

This time, the drumbeat was completely drowned out by gunfire. In fact, the command to fire is the one least likely to be misunderstood by soldiers on the battlefield; as long as they hear gunfire, they just pull the trigger, and they can’t go wrong.

Bullets rained down furiously on the basket in front of Lasalle, the soil inside quivering desperately.

Just as the sound of unison firing subsided, Lasalle leapt up: "Now is the time! Only thirty steps, charge!"

The Cavalry youngsters jumped up from behind the street barricade and rushed towards the Austrian line that had just fired.

Some of the youngsters carried rifles they had picked up, while the rest all brandished horse swords and handguns.

An experienced army would definitely know that at this time, all they needed to do was to form a dense formation and point their bayonets forward, making it impossible for the enemy.

But the Austrians—they were reloading!

When the Austrian officers saw the French rushing down, they issued their respective commands, some shouting "Prepare to meet the enemy," and others shouting "Stop reloading."

And the Austrian soldiers, who were reloading out of muscle memory, were bewildered by the chaotic orders!

The situation with the military musicians was similar; they had no idea what to play at this moment, and in an army like the Kingdom’s where soldiers have virtually zero initiative, they mechanically acted according to the commands and music they heard.

So, they directly didn’t know what to do.

Ultimately, faced with the fierce advance of the French Army, most decided to follow their most fundamental instinct—turn around and run!

Alvizi just arrived at the bridgehead to supervise the fight and immediately started cursing when he saw the scene: "You’re scared of the Cavalry when they’re on horses, and you’re scared when they’re not on horses?"

The Chief of Staff suggested, "It’s the gunfire that caused the chaos. I think for the next charge, we just rush with bayonets without firing."

Alvizi nodded, "Hmm, good! That’s the way to do it! Immediately rally the scattered troops! Organize another attack!"

**

At this time, Napoleon was marching towards Ulm, when suddenly a few Cavalry rode at full speed, shouting as they ran: "Lasalle has taken a bridge! Right across the bridge is the Austrian-held Ulm!"

Napoleon slapped his thigh, "Excellent! This clears the biggest obstacle to our surprise attack, the Danube River is conquered too! We cannot miss this opportunity, let all units discard their provisions and tents and march light!"

The Chief of Staff asked, "What about camping?"

"A true man can sleep anywhere! All units hear this, throw away your provisions and tents!"

Napoleon’s order was immediately passed down in waves, and French soldiers discarded the packs on their backs by the roadside, only carrying guns and running forward.

**

Meanwhile, on Lasalle’s side, he had already repelled two attacks.

Ever since the Austrian army started charge without firing and just used bayonets, the battle situation deteriorated rapidly. The Cavalry brought by Lasalle had suffered over half in losses, with the rest all injured.

He himself was injured on the left arm, which was dangling by his side, blood flowing freely.

But Lasalle still rallied his troops: "Gentlemen of France! From today onwards, no one can say the Cavalry can only attack! We are also great at defense!

"Think about it, after today’s battle, how much bragging material we’ll have when we return!"

The remaining Cavalry laughed heartily.

The Cavalry are all heavy drinkers, and boasting in the tavern is their favorite activity.

As the laughter died down, suddenly someone said, "If we were the Dragon Cavalry, it might not have been this rough."

"I take offense to that!" Lasalle immediately fired up, "We are the pride of the horseback, our uniforms are those left by God’s Whip Attila! Can our pride be compared to mere mounted infantry?"

Lasalle wanted to say more but was interrupted as a Sentry shouted, "The enemy is coming again!"

"Lads! We’ve fought this hard, if we don’t hold on till the end, it’ll all be for nothing! Pull yourselves together!"