Miscalculation

Blücher kicked over the ornate Italy- style chair, grabbed the communications soldier by the collar, and demanded sharply, "What's going on? How many France have arrived?"

"More than 10,000..." the latter said, head bowed and trembling. "Their Infantry Line broke through the Netherlands lines with just one attack."

"Ten thousand men?" Blücher loosened his grip, releasing the communications soldier, but still shook his head repeatedly.

Even if the estimate of the enemy's size was wrong, the 5,000 Netherlands Army, plus the cavalry and Artillery he sent, totaled nearly 7,000 men blocking the mountain pass.

With proper defensive arrangements in place, holding off 10,000 French Army for an entire day should not be a problem.

But right now, they've only managed to hold out for about an hour!

Was Duke of Brunswick wrong in his assessment of the Southern Netherlands fighting prowess? Were those guys actually just pathetic trash...?

"That's not right!" Blücher immediately shook his head again. The same men, carrying a far larger Austrian Army, fought extremely tenaciously, and their morale even surpassed that of the Prussia Infantry.

"General," the staff officer beside him called out, noticing his absent-mindedness, "What should we do now?"

Blücher suddenly realized that now was not the time to worry about the fighting strength of the Southern Netherlands. His army had been cut off by the France, and if not handled properly, it could very well be annihilated.

He tried to calm himself, strode to the map, hesitated briefly, and pointed to a mark X on the east side, the position of the remnants of the Austria. He told the Orderly Officer, "Have the Backhaus Regiment and Altman Regiment leave 1,000 men to keep watch on Leo. The rest of the troops withdraw immediately."

"The Dietlinde Legion must be here by 2 p. m.!" He pointed sharply to the South on the map. After the French Army broke through the Southern Netherlands Army defenses, that area became French Army rear.

Blücher took a final deep breath. "Maximilian and two regiments are here to delay the French Army. The Artillery and the rest of the Infantry are moving north to set up a defensive line at Winceler Town."

"We still have a numerical advantage. As long as we fight steadily and surely, we will definitely be able to defeat the France on the main battlefield!"

After losing Witt's Southern Netherlands Army and some cavalry, Blücher still had 16,000 soldiers. If he joined forces with the Prussian Army stationed around Winceler, his army would number close to 20,000.

At this point, Blücher could simply retreat his main force and withdraw the legions sent to the east and west, thus forming an encirclement. Then, by leveraging his numerical superiority, he could turn the tide of the battle.

"Yes, General!" The Orderly Officer turned and left the tent, quickly relaying his orders to the entire army.

On a gentle slope a few kilometers to the Northeast, Leo, his face pale, watched the ever-growing Prussian Army and said in a trembling voice to Lefebvre beside him, "Major, there are probably six or seven thousand enemies, and they're carrying cannons..."

"His Highness the Crown Prince's troops haven't arrived yet. Shouldn't we retreat north first?"

Lefebvre also looked grave—he only had about 2,000 men at his disposal, Leo's Austrian Army was practically useless, and dealing with the more than 6,000 Prussian Army equipped with cannons would certainly be extremely difficult.

But he firmly shook his head. "No, His Highness will definitely come to reinforce us before noon."

He then smiled again, "Even if Your Highness hadn't come, I wouldn't have left. Retreat is no honor for a soldier."

Just as he was about to send his cavalry to raid the Prussia ' cannons while they were regrouping, he suddenly saw a commotion break out in the enemy lines.

He quickly raised his Telescope and saw more than a dozen Prussia Orderly Officer riding back and forth in the army formation, clearly announcing some important orders.

Before long, a Hussars up, whip in hand, and shouted to him, "Regiment Commander, the rear guard of the Prussian Army is turning around; it seems they are about to retreat!"

Lefebvre's eyes lit up immediately. He slapped Leo on the shoulder and laughed loudly, "See? I told you! His Highness has come to our aid!"

Although the latter's military rank was three levels higher than his, he nodded with a forced smile, completely unconcerned. "Yes, you're right. We're finally safe! Oh, thank God! Praise be to the valiant Crown Prince!"

"Now I need to go back to my tent and have a cup of Coffee to calm my nerves."

"Wait!" Lefebvre grabbed his arm, raising his Telescope again to observe. "If the Prussia retreated because of His Highness's attack, we cannot let them have their way."

Leo was stunned for a moment. "What, what are you going to do?"

Lefebvre smiled, "We'll take the initiative!"

"No, no! You must be joking..."

Lefebvre proved he was serious with his actions; just half an hour later, his regiment and the two accompanying Cavalry Company dragged the Austrian Army along and launched a fierce attack on the Prussia opposite.

Lefebvre brought the Austrian Army with him because he knew the Prussia ' target was Leo, so as long as the Austrian Army were around, the Prussia ' firepower would fall more heavily on them.

The Prussia commander Altman, who was in charge of pursuing Leo, never expected that the Austria, who were outnumbered, would dare to launch a preemptive strike.

However, the Marquis Blücher's order was for him to return to reinforce immediately. At this time, apart from the 1,000 men covering the rear, the other soldiers were already on the march.

He had no choice but to grit his teeth and urge the troops to speed up their withdrawal; the Marquis's plans were the most important thing.

But before his main force had gone a kilometer, the sound of hooves came from behind— Lefebvre was confident of victory even against an equal number of the Prussian Army, let alone a mere 1,000 enemy soldiers.

He personally led his Column in a charge, almost effortlessly crushing the rearguard, and then pursued Altman closely.

Mura gazed at the winding Prussia marching column in the distance, his heart filled with excitement and anticipation. The Royal Guard Legion had been on the defensive all day, and he had no chance to claim any merit. Now, he finally had the opportunity to make his boast come true—that it was not impossible to kill ten of these Infantry who were not in formation.

At the command of the Cavalry Company, Mura began to jog, and then brandished his Saber to fight the Prussia cavalry who had rushed to defend him.

Blücher's Guard had just loaded his luxurious furniture onto the Carriage and were about to spur their horses forward when two Hussars galloped past them like madmen, shouting urgently at Blücher, who was not far ahead, "General, a large number of the French Army have appeared behind us!"