The Fourth Silesian War
"Yes, the war has only just begun." William II slammed his hand on the table beside him.
"The Austria have attacked Silesia many times before and have always suffered a crushing defeat. This time will be no exception!"
"They will even taste the bitter fruit of Leuthen's actions once again!"
He was referring to the Battle of Leuthen, a fierce battle fought during the Seven Years' War between Austria and Frederick the Great's Prussian Army in Austria's attempt to retake Silesia.
Frederick displayed his full military talent in that battle, using only slightly more than half the number of Austria, and through brilliant tactical command, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Austria —of the 90,000 Austrian Army, 22,000 were killed directly and 14,000 were captured. The Austrian Defenders in Breslau was also affected, surrendering almost without a fight, and giving Frederick another 17,000 prisoners.
After this battle, Prussia firmly established its ownership of Silesia, making it arguably Frederick the Great's pinnacle of power.
However, William II overlooked the fact that Prussia no longer had a military strategist like Frederick the Great.
Moreover, after Frederick's death, Prussian Army deteriorated, and the Junker Nobles became lax, resulting in an overall decline in combat effectiveness compared to the time of Frederick the Great.
Prince Heinrich knew that Prussia would find it difficult to replicate the glory of the Battle of Leuthen, but at this crucial moment, he could not afford to dampen King Majesty's morale. So he clenched his fist and declared, "Yes, Your Majesty, we will once again teach the weak Austria a lesson!"
After delivering his words of encouragement, he immediately brought up the specific plans. "Your Majesty, we must take advantage of the time before the Austria attack to make thorough preparations."
"I suggest that we immediately form Allied Forces with Saxony to deal with the Austria."
"And Hanover," William II added, "As well as Hesse-Kassel and Mecklenburg. We must assemble a formidable army that will astound Austria."
Prince Heinrich was taken aback by this. Saxony was adjacent to the Silesia region, so it was not surprising that they were involved in this war. However, His Majesty the King wanted to bring the United Kingdom into it as well.
In fact, William II was quite certain of his confidence when he said that.
Hanover was essentially United Kingdom exclave in the German Territories, and King George III of the United Kingdom was himself the Prince-Electors of Hanover. United Kingdom had been working to weaken the power of Austria and France by using Prussia, so it was quite possible to persuade Hanover to join the war.
Unlike Hesse-Darmstadt, which joined the Seine-Rhine River Trade Agreement, Hesse-Kassel belongs to Lower Hesse and is politically pro -Prussia. Mecklenburg is right next to Prussia and dares not disobey Prussia's demands. Both of them should be able to join the Allied Forces if offered some benefits.
"Your strategy is excellent, Your Majesty," Prince Heinrich praised, then continued, "But before resorting to diplomacy, there are two more things we should do."
"First, we must immediately dispatch General Drissen and Krokow with the Imperial Guard Corps to Liegnitz and Ratibor to garrison them, in order to hold back the Austria offensive in the early stages of the war and wait for our main force to complete its assembly."
"Secondly, we must recall the Duke of Brunswick as soon as possible; his command will be key to our victory."
William II was not particularly knowledgeable about warfare. Upon hearing this, he merely feigned serious consideration before entrusting all military matters to Prince Heinrich for execution.
However, just as the latter was about to bow and leave, William II's valet hurried over and handed the King an urgent report with his head bowed.
William II opened the letter, quickly scanned it, and frowned as he said to his uncle, "This was sent by the Duke of Brunswick. He discovered that the Austria have redeployed their troops from the Southern Netherlands back to their homeland. Luxembourg currently has less than 5,000 troops, so they are preparing to launch a general offensive against the Austrian Army in the next few days."
"But you just said that he needs to return to Silesia, so..."
Prince Heinrich pondered for a moment, then suddenly nodded and said, "Your Majesty, perhaps the Duke of Brunswick is right."
"The achievements his 20,000 soldiers can make in the Southern Netherlands will far outweigh the benefits of his return to Silesia."
"He will be able to completely sever Austria's control over the wealthy Southern Netherlands, and at the same time, achieve a brilliant victory before the fighting in Silesia breaks out. This will have a great boost on our soldiers in Silesia."
"Before that, we only need to hold the two fortresses in the west and south of Silesia and wait for the Duke of Brunswick to return in Triumph —his 20,000 troops, plus the Netherlands Army, will not take too long to deal with Luxembourg's 5,000 defenders."
"But..." William II hesitated.
Prince Heinrich stepped forward again and whispered, "Your Majesty, if we can drive the Austria out of the Southern Netherlands, we can use it as a Southern Netherlands chip should our army's situation in Silesia turn unfavorable."
The Southern Netherlands is Austria's only outlet to the Atlantic Ocean. Its economy is also relatively developed due to overseas trade. Its area is comparable to Silesia, and it could be exchanged for at least half of Silesia.
William II also pondered, "If we can influence the Southern Netherlands, United Kingdom will be more supportive of our fight in Silesia."
United Kingdom viewed the Low Countries as a springboard for the European Continent powers to reach the Atlantic Ocean, and also as a strategic location that could threaten United Kingdom, so it has always regarded it as a strategic focus [Note 1]. If Prussia had a military presence in the Southern Netherlands, United Kingdom would certainly be willing to offer substantial benefits in exchange, such as sending troops to participate in the Silesia War.
But then he added with some concern, "But who will command the Silesia battlefield? Or perhaps, dear uncle, you could once again display your former prowess?"
Prince Heinrich followed Frederick the Great in his campaigns, participating in the Silesian Wars and the Seven Years' War, and was also a formidable general.
Prince Heinrich pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I am indeed no longer young. Perhaps we could recall the Duke of Brunswick to Silesia and have the Marquess of Wahlstatt lead the army of the Southern Netherlands. There are very few Austria there; he should be able to handle them."
The Marquess of Wahlstatt he mentioned is Blücher, who was then serving as the Duke of Brunswick's deputy and later became a Prussia Marshal in the Anti-French Coalition.
Kregnitz, Northwest Austria.
This is the only route to the Gnitz Fortress on the southwest side of Silesia.
Beside the narrow mountain path, General Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, the former commander of the Austrian Army, lowered his Telescope and signaled to his staff to speed up the march.
A moment later, a rapid drumbeat resounded from the several-kilometer-long column beside him, and the soldiers quickened their pace.
General Wurmser was well aware that the Austrian Army's current speed of advance was almost equivalent to the results of their campaigns—the sooner they reached Silesia, the more territory they could capture before the Prussia were prepared.
Then, he turned to look at the hazy white "thin line" at the back of the queue.
Those were France reinforcements.
The France were not only slow in their march, but they also carried themselves with great pomp and circumstance, as if they were there to save Austria.
"Only 30,000 soldiers," General Wurmser sighed in dissatisfaction. "This will reduce our original numerical advantage by half."
According to the original agreement, the France would send at least 50,000 troops to support Austria, but only 30,000 French Army arrived before the Austrian Army began its advance toward Silesia.
General Naundorff, the cavalry commander standing nearby, also shook his head. "France's Finance situation is very bad. It is said that they have not even been able to raise enough supplies for 50,000 soldiers, so they can only send troops in batches."
"I heard from Vienna that His Majesty the Emperor has allocated 400,000 Florin to the France to purchase supplies in order to urge them to act. If all goes well, the rest of the French Army should be able to join the battle in half a month."
"Half a month?" General Wurmser's lips curled slightly. "In half a month, we may have already breached Breslau, and those France can serve as decorations for our entry ceremony."
Breslau is the capital of Silesia, located in the heart of the Silesia, and is a strategic location controlling the north-south passage through Silesia. It can be said that capturing Breslau would essentially secure victory for the entire Silesia.
Of course, the Upper Austria had also occupied Breslau in history, but were then soundly defeated by the military genius Frederick the Great and driven back to Bohemia.
However, the Austria tacitly believe that without Frederick, Prussia will no longer be able to avenge the humiliation of its three previous defeats in the Silesian Wars.
As the two were talking, they saw two cavalrymen galloping towards Northeast. They stopped a short distance away and reported loudly, "General, our vanguard has crossed the Liegnitz border and has not yet spotted Prussian Army."
General Wurmser was secretly delighted; it seemed that, just as he had predicted before the war, this would be a surprise attack that would catch the Prussia completely off guard.
General Naundorff leaned closer and said, "Should we report the situation here to Marshal Lacy? His main force should still be a day's journey away."
General Wurmser glanced at his vast vanguard force—comprising 25,000 Austrian Army, 10,000 French Army, and 3,000 Bavarian Army.
A powerful army of nearly 40,000 men broke into the undefended Silesia. The battle may have been over before Marshal Lacy's main force arrived.
He immediately shook his head. "You see, there are no Prussia here at all, and the warplanes never wait for us."
"While we wait for the Marshal, the enemy may have already noticed something amiss."
General Naundorff frowned. "So what is your plan?"
"Accelerate the march and deploy troops on both flanks of the Liegnitz Fortress," General Wurmser said confidently. "On one side, cut off their connection with Breslau, and on the other, guard against the Saxony people."
To the west of Liegnitz lies Görlitz in Saxony, while to the east it borders Breslau. It is not only a bridgehead for attacking Silesia, but also a threat to Saxony once it is captured.
General Naundorff hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "Your deployment is reasonable, but I think it is still necessary to report to Marshal Lacy."
"Yes, reporting military intelligence is necessary. We should also accelerate our advance on Liegnitz."
By noon the following day, the vanguard of the Austria Allied Forces, marching at breakneck Forced March, could already see the Liegnitz Fortress in the distance.
When the last France troops finally arrived at the front, General Wurmser barely allowed his troops to rest before immediately dispatching the Bavarian Army and 5,000 Austrian Army to the west to defend Saxony, while he led the main Austria force and the French Army to launch a strong attack on Liegnitz from the east.
Although the France were prone to showing off and a bit slow, Wurmser knew that their fighting ability was still quite good, at least no worse than the Austrian Army.
In the evening, the surveying team delivered the topographical map of the area near the Liegnitz Fortress to General Wurmser's tent.
Yes, although Austria controlled Silesia for over a century, it didn't even do a proper topographical survey. It wasn't until Frederick the Great gave it a sound beating that it realized it was less familiar with Silesia than the Prussia.
Standing before the battlefield map, Wurmser pointed to a high ground northeast of Liegnitz and said to the French Army commander, General Kellermann, "Your Excellency, I request that you lead your troops to garrison here first thing tomorrow morning."
He then pointed to a gentle slope adjacent to the fortress. "I will deploy my main force here and set up Artillery positions here."
"From here, we can directly bombard the fortress's area."
"Once the Prussia defenders are driven out by the cannons, I will hold them off from the front, while you, General, will charge out from their flank and rear, taking advantage of the higher ground. We will surely defeat the Prussia in one fell swoop."
He turned to his staff officer and asked, "How many soldiers are defending Liegnitz?"
"According to our previous intelligence, there should be no more than 8,000 men, General."
"Excellent." Wurmser nodded. "Victory will surely be ours."
Before dawn the next day, the French Army packed up their tents and Northeast of Liegnitz as the first rays of sunlight broke through.
However, they had only gone less than 3 kilometers when the cavalryman on reconnaissance rushed back to report to Kellermann, "General, a large number of enemy troops, at least seven or eight thousand, have been spotted on the high ground directly ahead, and they have already formed ranks."
General Kellermann felt a chill run down his spine. If he were to continue in marching formation and engage in a direct confrontation with the Prussia, whose numbers were nearly equal and who had already formed ranks, it would be tantamount to suicide.
He still vividly remembered the scene more than a decade ago in Westphalia, when his army was met with a crushing defeat by Frederick.
"This is very likely the main force of Liegnitz's Prussian Army."
He made a judgment and immediately ordered one regiment to remain in place to set up a defense, while the others retreated in an orderly manner. At the same time, he sent someone to notify Wurmser to come and reinforce.
However, what he hadn't anticipated was that the Austria vanguard was in even greater trouble, already embroiled in a fierce battle. Wurmser also dispatched cavalry, requesting immediate France support.
[Note 1] Low Countries: The Low Countries are a name for the countries along the northwestern coast of Europe, named for their low elevation. They include the Netherlands, Belgium (called the Southern Netherlands in the 18th century), and Luxembourg.