The French commander at this time was Oudinot. That's right, yet another relic of the Napoleonic era. Oudinot had been the bravest marshal of the First French Empire, but he was now eighty-one years old, just one year younger than Radetzky.
Oudinot was neither an outstanding strategist nor a master tactician. Even Napoleon had judged him to be "short on brains."
As the supreme commander of the French forces, the tactics he employed were extremely simple and brutal.
"Attack! Attack! Attack again! Until the trenches are filled in! Until the city walls are torn down! Until every Belgian is drowned in blood!"
Oudinot's tactics were simple and effective, but they came at a tremendous cost. His two corps had a combined strength of forty thousand, yet they had lost nearly a quarter of their number in less than a week of fighting.
That quarter did not refer only to those killed. It also included the wounded, the sick, and those on leave.
In fact, since the two sides' firepower was completely unequal, the French could greatly reduce their own casualties if they had enough ammunition to keep wearing down the Belgians.
Belgium was close enough to France that there was no need to worry about supplies.
Oudinot was certainly not the best choice France could have made at that time, but the departments of the French Provisional Government were in utter chaos.
The Provisional Government's first choice had been the capable and battle-tested General Bedeau. Unfortunately, the old fellow was a staunch Royalist.
He adamantly refused to accept the Provisional Government's appointment, leaving it with no choice but to appoint General Bellevue.
The latter was far less capable than the former, and his standing in the army could not compare to Bedeau's at all.
The result of making such a