The Crown Prince's first battle

Nefza Mountains.

Semiz said to the Orderly Officer beside him, "General Kehler has ordered us to double our scouts and wipe out all the Tunisia outcasts in the vicinity."

"Yes, Commander!"

No sooner had the Orderly Officer left than a Messenger rode up on horseback along the seemingly endless column of Albania mercenaries, handing a piece of intelligence to Semiz's attendant.

The latter opened the document, glanced at it, and bowed to Semiz, saying, "Commander, Tunisia's Bey issued a statement a few days ago opposing our interference in Tunisian affairs and expressing great anger at our counterinsurgency efforts. He also requested the help of our French brothers to stop our army."

"Ignore them." Semiz scoffed. "Tunisia scum have become brothers with European? They are a disgrace to the Islamic World!"

The attendant put the intelligence away. "Pasha, Tunisia have been doing business with European for many years, and there are also a large number of France people in the country. It's not surprising that they would be influenced by them."

"By the way, I heard that those Tunisia outcasts have started claiming to be ' Roman descendants,' which is absolutely ridiculous."

"That's good. I'll be even more excited when I kill them." Semiz flicked his whip forward. "Give the order to speed up the march! I'll make those lowly people regret their Rebellion!"

"Look! That's His Crown Prince!"

Among the Police Academy cadets dressed in white Military Uniform, wearing black Tricorn Hat, and carrying the latest model Auguste Percussion Cap Gun, someone pointed to a distance and shouted.

Immediately, the orderly marching ranks were thrown into disarray. Soldiers looked up and shouted excitedly, "It really is His Highness! He's here to fight alongside us!"

"I saw it too! Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Long live the principal!"

"Your Highness will lead us to victory!"

"Look, His Highness is walking just like us!"

It wasn't until the officers ran around giving orders that the column finally managed to re-align and continue advancing.

Upon hearing this, Joseph waved to the soldiers, which immediately sparked another huge cheer.

He looked back at the column stretching up the hillside, his heart filled with boundless pride. This was his personal Royal Guard Legion, and he would be fighting alongside them on the battlefield for the first time.

Perhaps, in the future, I will take them all over Europe and leave a glorious chapter in history.

"Your Highness, you really don't need to go into battle with the army." Berthier glanced at the excited soldiers and whispered to Joseph, "The enemy outnumbers us three to one this time, it's really too dangerous."

"You see, your presence has greatly boosted morale. Even if you remain in a safe place now, the soldiers will still feel your presence with them."

He looked north and said cautiously, "Actually, if you agree, you can turn towards the coast now, and you'll be able to board a naval Warship in less than three days."

"Huh? Warship?" Joseph, somewhat surprised. "Shouldn't the nearest Warship be in Port of Bizerte? Why is it here?"

Berthier, head bowed, said, "Lieutenant Colonel Andre and I both believed you shouldn't risk participating in the battle, so we contacted the Combined Fleet, and they sent a ship to follow you..."

Joseph shook his head with a wry smile, "I know you mean well, Lieutenant Colonel Berthier, but this really isn't necessary."

He gestured to the advancing white column. "This is my legion. I will lead them in battle frequently from now on. This is just the beginning."

Joseph knew that in this era where the right to survival was determined by war, he had to be a good warrior—only King who knew how to wage war could bring prosperity and strength to his country.

Although he doesn't know how to command battles yet, he still needs to stay with the army so that the soldiers know that their Crown Prince isn't just sitting in the Versailles Palace enjoying himself, but is fighting alongside them through thick and thin. Only such an army will become his personal guard and his reliable support.

Furthermore, although he himself was not yet skilled in warfare, he had a wealth of later concepts and military cases to refer to, which could provide useful suggestions for combat deployment.

For example, this preemptive strike tactic can greatly reduce troop losses and gain strategic initiative. I can set the general direction, and the specific combat operations can be left to military geniuses like Berthier. I can also learn how to fight by following in their footsteps.

Berthier tried to persuade him again, but seeing that the Crown Prince remained unmoved, he had no choice but to give up.

He made one last effort. "Your Highness, at least get back into the Carriage."

Joseph looked up at the unique terrain of the Atlas Mountains —low, gently sloping hills covered with pale yellow, hard earth, almost no vegetation taller than 20 centimeters, with only a few sparse weeds dotting the ground. It appeared extremely vast and desolate.

The army doesn't have "Gem- like" Carriage equipped with high-end shock absorption; riding in Carriage on such roads is practically torture.

He had tried riding a horse before, but due to the lack of riding experience, large blisters formed on his inner thighs within just one day, forcing him to walk.

Unexpectedly, this greatly boosted morale, a stroke of good luck indeed.

As darkness fell, the War Drum in the Royal Guard Legion's ranks began to change tone, eventually ceasing to Bugle Call.

The officers of each company began directing the soldiers to their designated resting positions—the scouts had already scouted the area ahead on horseback and marked out suitable areas for the night.

After a simple dinner, the soldiers sang and drank for half an hour to relax— Wine was a necessary military supply, and each person's ration wouldn't let them get drunk—then they spread Blankets on the ground and slept in the open.

The people were spaced about half a meter apart, like neat little squares, creating a unique "carpet" covering the Atlas Mountains.

Inside the officer's tent, Joseph sipped his vegetable and beef soup while Berthier and the others discussed battle plans around a map.

"Since the day before yesterday, we've been encountering more and more Algiers scouts. It seems they're not far from here," said the Cavalry Battalion commander.

Berthier pointed west of Nefza: "We'll arrive here tomorrow. Be prepared for an encounter at any time."

Beside him, a Major chuckled, "The Algerians must think we're still in Tunisia City. Little did they know we're practically on their heels."

Berthier smiled and nodded, "Your Highness's tactics will surely catch the enemy off guard. I can't wait to see the shocked expressions on their faces when they encounter our army."

Yes, Joseph's plan was to use offense as defense. Utilizing the Royal Guard Legion ' high-speed marching capabilities, Forced March 110 kilometers in three and a half days, heading straight from Tunisia City to the border between Algiers and Tunisia.

Then, on the battlefield of their choice, they caught the marching Algiers army off guard.

The Algiers Army, which set off a week earlier than the Royal Guard Legion, has only just arrived east of Annaba, having traveled a little over 170 kilometers.

Berthier suddenly remembered something and turned to ask the staff officer beside him, "Where is the Moulins Legion?"

"Here," the staff officer pointed to the western side of Bizerte on the map, "It's still a day's journey away."

Berthier frowned, then looked at Joseph: "The Algiers are very close and could discover us at any moment. Perhaps Lieutenant Colonel Andre's Infantry won't make it to the first battle."

The Moulins Legion was considered quite outstanding among the old-style French Army, but in terms of marching speed, it was still far behind the Royal Guard Legion. Therefore, only about 400 of their cavalry kept up with the Royal Guard Legion, while their Infantry lagged far behind.

Joseph didn't say much, after all, if a real fight broke out, he, as a newly recruited officer, wouldn't have much say.

"This is your authority, esteemed Commander."

While Berthier's command skills may not be on par with "top-tier" commanders like Lannes, Surt, and Massena, he would at least rank in the middle among Napoleon's Marshal, and dealing with the Algiers Guard Corps should not have been too difficult for him.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness."

Berthier bowed slightly to Joseph, then looked at the map. "The terrain from Nefza to the northwest is all uphill; I believe that the best position for the decisive battle is in this area."

Joseph looked at the contour lines on the map— the Tunisia Mountain were south of Annaba, so the route from Algiers to Tunisia was mostly elevated, except for a short section from Nefza to Bizerte where there were some discontinuous hills and the terrain became slightly lower.

Police Academy officer Le Drian, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. "The terrain here is indeed excellent. It's just that our scouts haven't yet located the main force of the Algerians..."

As he was speaking, he heard the rapid sound of horses' hooves, and then a scout cavalryman strode into the tent and shouted, "Your Highness, Lieutenant Colonel, we have discovered a large enemy force, numbering over 10,000. Judging from their clothing and weapons, they appear to be Albanian Mercenaries."

"Why are there only a little over ten thousand people?" Berthier asked, puzzled.

"That's still unclear, Lieutenant Colonel. But it certainly won't be too far off."

Little did he know that Albanian Mercenaries, in order to gain the upper hand in raiding Tunisia, had taken advantage of their slightly faster marching speed to leave the Algiers Guard Corps more than ten kilometers behind.

Semiz, considering that the troops were still in Algiers, let him go.

Berthier asked the scouts for the enemy's exact location, quickly measured it on the map, and then turned to the senior officers in the tent, saying, "They're only about 20 kilometers away. It seems we'll encounter them as early as noon tomorrow."

"If the enemy forces become disorganized, it will indeed be a rare opportunity for us!"

In the desert of the Atlas Mountains, five cavalrymen dressed in Ottoman- style light yellow robes, loose riding breeches, and upturned boots were Mercedes-Benz westward along the northern slope of the hill.

Suddenly, the lead cavalryman raised his hand and whispered in French, "Enemies!"

The other four immediately looked into the distance and, sure enough, spotted three or four Algiers scout cavalrymen.

They had clearly seen them too, and with disdain for the Tunisia scum, they roared, drew their Scimitar, and charged forward in Horizontal Formation.

The "Tunisia outcasts" reacted swiftly, turning to the right in unison and taking short-barreled lances from their saddles.

The two sides closed the distance rapidly, and at the moment of closest approach, the "Tunisia outcasts" unleashed a volley of fire at the other side.

An Algiers cavalryman was immediately thrown sideways, his foot caught in the stirrup, and he was dragged hundreds of meters by his horse.

The "Tunisia outcasts" skillfully holstered their guns, drew their Saber, and, led by their commander, circled around before turning their horses and galloping behind the Algerians.

The latter was taken aback and hurriedly pulled the reins to the left, trying to catch up with the enemy.

Just then, the "Tunisia outcasts" suddenly made a sharp turn and sped off to the right, creating a figure-eight confrontation between the two sides.

The Algerians were clearly flustered. In the instant their horses were side by side, two of them were cut down by the "Tunisia scoundrels." The remaining man was terrified and turned his horse to flee.

Cavalry battles are all about Courage. Whoever runs away first will basically become a fish on a chopping board—it's easy for others to swing their swords forward and slash, but it's almost impossible to twist their waist and slash behind them.

The "Tunisia outcast" gave chase, and after running four or five hundred meters, he cleaved him off his horse with a single blow.

The five victorious cavalrymen, their faces beaming with excitement, turned back to clean up the battlefield. "They actually charged in! We're so grateful to them!"

"Obin Sergeant, are these four enough for us to get promoted?"

"Yeah, Blanche just took down two, he's definitely going to get promoted to Sergeant. As for you, you didn't seem to get a single one, so don't even think about it."

"Damn it! If we keep going, we'll probably run into more enemy scouts."

Five Tunisia -dressed Royal Guard Legion cavalrymen quickly mounted their horses and continued to mop up enemy scouts along the edge of the designated battlefield.

Similar situations occurred throughout the vicinity, with Berthier dispatching half of his cavalry, dressed in Tunisia attire, to mop up enemy scouts. He also had 400 Moulins Cavalry, so he had no concerns about the cavalry's stamina.

Thus, although the Albanian Mercenaries sensed something was amiss, they maintained that it was merely Tunisia tribal forces harassing them.

It wasn't until they were less than 5 kilometers away from the Royal Guard Legion that Semiz truly realized they were facing an army of several thousand men—in the open Atlas Mountains, at this distance, the enemy army could be seen directly through Telescope.

The Albanian Mercenaries, who had been marching, were suddenly thrown into chaos by Semiz's hasty order to change formation. As the officers relayed the order, the Albanians erupted into a frenzy of shouts and neighing horses.

Unlike the war scenes in movies and TV dramas, real battles are never about officers giving orders and soldiers immediately lining up like Machines, fiercely drawing their weapons and starting to fight.

With the communication capabilities of the 18th century, it took more than 20 minutes for 13,000 mercenaries to simply convey the order to "change battle formation" to every soldier.

When it came time to queue, it was even more chaotic. You blocked my way, I took his place, and some soldiers couldn't even find their officers.

Meanwhile, the Royal Guard Legion was already prepared. When the Infantry approached to within about 2 kilometers of the enemy, the vanguard stopped, while the rearguard maintained their column and spread out to the sides.

In just over ten minutes, a formation of more than 30 rows in front, with nearly 100 columns in each row, was formed.

Immediately, drums sounded in unison, and dozens of drummers led the way, followed quickly by the Infantry battalion.

More than ten minutes later, just as the long marching column of Albanian Mercenaries had barely managed to regroup, the Royal Guard Legion had already closed to within 500 meters of them.

On the hillside to his side and rear, Berthier lowered his Telescope and signaled to the Orderly Officer, "Order the Infantry to deploy into battle formation. Artillery to begin firing."