The Southern Netherlands Rebel Army's Remarkable Resilience

At 10:30 a. m., Marquis Blücher, the commander of the Prussian South Netherlands, received a message from the vanguard that they had joined up with Altmann's army and had spotted the Austrian defenses.

Blücher was secretly pleased. As long as Leo's Austrian Army didn't escape, his battle in Luxembourg was basically over.

Just as he was about to order a full-scale attack on the Austria, he saw several Hussars charging towards him like madmen, shouting from a distance, "Report! General, a large enemy force has appeared about half a mile to the south. The number is unknown, but there are at least seven or eight thousand!"

Blücher frowned immediately. Where did this enemy come from? He had sent out scouts two miles away, almost to the vicinity of the town of Diekirch, but had not received any reports of any other troops being spotted.

Even the Austrian Army defending against Diekirch couldn't possibly have traveled this far in half a day and suddenly found themselves right in front of them!

Two Puri is almost equivalent to 15 kilometers. With such a large reconnaissance range, he had been cautious enough. He just didn't expect to be facing the Royal Guard Legion, whose marching speed was abnormally fast.

Another Hussars chimed in, "General, judging from their Military Uniform, those should be France."

Blücher was completely stunned. A France? How could this be?

He had just received a report from the Intelligence Department a few days ago, France assembled in Verdun were heading to Silesia. How did they suddenly turn around and move to Luxembourg without any warning?

He gripped the riding crop tightly in his hand, thinking fiercely, "These idiots in the Intelligence Department, I must complain about them to His Majesty the King when I get back to Pozztan!"

However, the damned France were now very close, and a response was necessary.

After Blücher had his scouts mark the location where the French Army had been spotted, his expression turned grim. In order to stop Leo from escaping, he had ordered his troops to rush towards the Austria at full speed, resulting in the soldiers forming a long, narrow formation running east to west.

The French Army appeared precisely in the middle of this long line!

If they continue their assault on Leo's Austrian Army, their own flank will inevitably suffer heavy losses from the France. Although they have a numerical advantage, if their front and rear armies are cut off, they can easily be annihilated separately.

The staff officer beside him whispered, "General, we should put the Austria aside for now..."

Blücher glared at him and gritted his teeth, saying, "We absolutely cannot let Leo get away!"

Austria has been operating in Luxembourg for decades and wields considerable influence. If Leo continues to linger in the Luxembourg - Liège, his journey to Silesia to join the war will be further delayed.

He glanced at the map at the positions of his own troops, then his eyes lit up. "God help us, the Netherlands Army is right in front of the France."

He looked at the staff officer. "They're a tough nut to crack!"

"Order the Backhaus Regiment to cooperate with Altman in a strong attack on the Austrian Army. The battle must be over by 2 PM!"

"Yes, General!" The Orderly Officer immediately began making notes.

Blücher pointed to a mountain pass on the map with the heel of his riding crop. "Have the Netherlands Army defend this area and hold off the France at all costs."

He then pointed to the rear of the column. "The Dietlinde Legion should turn south immediately. If the Netherlands hold out until 3 p. m. at most, they will be able to reach the French Army left flank from the west."

Based on the Netherlands Rebel Army ' performance in his battles against the Austria Würmser Army, these fanatical liberals were extremely resilient, especially the priests among them, who could continue fighting in line for more than ten minutes with a missing hand!

At that time, less than 10,000 Netherlands Army held off the main Austria force for nearly 5 hours until the Duke of Brunswick completed his troop movements and encircled the Austria. They did not collapse.

Although the Netherlands Army currently numbers only 5,000, it is quite possible that they could hold off 7,000 to 8,000 French Army for about four hours, taking advantage of the narrow terrain.

Moreover, he would leave behind some cavalry and Artillery to support them, making the situation much easier than the last battle.

This is still the most conservative estimate. If Altman can quickly defeat the Austria, then they can also encircle the French Army from the east.

The staff officer beside him suggested, "General, should we send cavalry to harass the France and slow their advance?"

Blücher nodded. "Send Hilde with six cavalry squadrons to harass them."

The quality of the Prussian Army is now far inferior to that of the era of Frederick the Great. Only the cavalry, which is almost entirely composed of Junker Nobles, still has considerable fighting power, and they can often influence the situation of the Prussian Army.

Blücher then deployed the Artillery and the main Dragoons, and the Orderly Officer quickly relayed his orders to the various units.

The Prussian Army, which had been marching in a long, narrow line, immediately responded.

The 5,000 Netherlands Rebel Army in the middle of the column formed a defensive line near the mountain pass to block the French Army. The Backhaus Legion at the front continued to advance, annihilating the Austria as quickly as possible. The Hilde Legion, which was originally in the rear, turned 90 degrees and rushed straight at the left flank of the French Army.

Meanwhile, Blücher positioned all his Artillery on the hillsides on both sides of the Netherlands Army to prevent the French Army from quickly breaking through. In addition, 10 Dragoons squadrons, or about 1,500 men, were positioned to maneuver on the French Army right flank, waiting for the right opportunity to enter the fray.

It can be said that his deployment, given his numerical superiority, was almost textbook perfect.

However, no unit like the French Royal Guard Legion was ever mentioned in Prussia military textbooks.

Then his knowledge and experience could very well become a huge pitfall.

Around noon, the main force of the France Royal Guard Legion had arrived less than two kilometers outside the mountain pass where Blücher was stationed.

Although it's called a mountain pass, it's actually quite wide, with about 3 kilometers of flat land between the low hills on both sides.

However, as long as the middle section is blocked, the two sides cannot pass – the enemy can cut off the marching column with a diagonal Horizontal Formation by slightly changing their formation, and then the cavalry will naturally come to mop up the troops that have broken away from the main force.

Berthier spotted the enemy Infantry Line at the mountain pass through his Telescope and turned to Joseph, saying, "Your Highness, it seems the Prussia are quite confident and are preparing to attack Major Lefebvre while simultaneously engaging us in a decisive battle."

There are two Infantry Line in front; an experienced commander could probably estimate at a glance that they number no more than 6,000.

This was clearly not Blücher's main force.

There is only one possibility: the Prussia divided their forces.

Joseph smiled and nodded, "That means their scouts didn't have an accurate count of our troops."