The encounter lasted only an hour and a half. More than 10,000 men of Milius's vanguard were surrounded and annihilated.
Fortunately, Milius's marching column had been stretched out over a great distance, with more than ten kilometers between its front and rear. This gave him the chance to lead the main force eastward and escape.
Nördlingen, a city in western Bavaria.
The Chamber of Commerce President, the Police Commissioner, and other officials wore ingratiating smiles as they led the citizens in scattering colored paper and cheering loudly to the accompaniment of the band.
Ranks upon ranks of proud French Soldiers marched down the middle of the streets. The formation was so long that Nördlingen's officials were already too exhausted to raise their arms, while word had it that the rear of the column was still three miles south of the city.
In a Cafe at a street corner, a middle-aged man dressed as a craftsman frowned at the Cannons continuously passing before him and counted silently. "Forty, forty-one, forty-two...
"God, has our city been occupied by the French?"
His words immediately made several other customers in the shop nervous. A few years ago, Moreau had easily thrashed the Bavarian Army, and Ney had once even brought his troops to the gates of Munich.
The owner shot the man an annoyed glare. "Don't talk nonsense. The French have come to help us."
"Help us?"
The young nobleman seated in the corner took over. "Haven't you heard? The armies of Austria and Saxony invaded Amberg more than a month ago. His Majesty has formally declared war on them.
"That means the French are now our allies."
Although the Franco-Bavarian Mutual Defense Treaty had been signed years ago, Bavaria had never made it public in order to avoid Austria's reproach.
In fact,