The Artillery Captain Trapped in a Desperate Situation

Previously, the French Army bombardment had come from the western part of the central section of the battlefield, and the Prussian Army ' attention was also focused on that area.

At that moment, artillery shells suddenly flew out from near the right flank of the Prussian Army, catching both soldiers and officers off guard. The terrified soldiers stopped in their tracks, but without officers to restrain and command them, chaos immediately broke out in the ranks.

Because those five shells were hit so accurately, causing 28 casualties among the Infantry Line, an experienced Prussia veteran immediately exclaimed, "That must have been a French Army Artillery, otherwise they couldn't have hit so many people!"

His words sparked even greater chaos, until a hastily arriving officer Whip him to the ground, at which point the surrounding clamor of fear subsided.

Despite being "promoted" by the enemy to the Napoleon Regiment, an Artillery Napoleon Regiment, they quickly repositioned their guns and completed the reloading of Ammunition.

Five more loud bangs erupted almost simultaneously, the shells tracing low arcs as they accurately struck the Prussia Infantry Line once more.

However, this time the Prussia had spread out somewhat, and their results were almost halved compared to the last time.

Napoleon, observing the battle results through his Telescope, said to his Orderly Officer, "Adjust the azimuth by one degree to the left."

"Yes, sir!"

As the five cannons roared again, the right flank of the Prussia Infantry Line that had just been attacked was swept by the whistling iron balls, and once again, limbs and torsos were scattered all over the ground.

Napoleon's company was highly trained—this was all thanks to Joseph's willingness to spend money to train the gunners with a large amount of live ammunition, and the gunners also had to receive extra Mathematics lessons, with those who excelled receiving additional allowances—the cannons had an extremely high rate of fire and excellent stability; after seven consecutive salvos, a jagged gap had clearly appeared on the edge of Prussia's right flank.

Although the soldiers dared not leave their posts under the officers' orders, some soldiers who had experience in the War of the Bavarian Succession noticed the clump of bushes nearby.

They immediately suggested to the officer, "Sir, let's move over there, then the France gunners won't be able to see us!"

"Yes, sir, that won't get us out of line. Those damn cannons are too accurate..."

The three company commanders near the shelling position immediately exchanged glances, some of them tempted. Although they were shouting for their soldiers to maintain formation, they were actually quite nervous about being bombarded by the artillery, wondering if the next shell would graz them.

They quickly made a decision to have the team shift slightly to the west. This did not violate orders from their superiors; when the forward direction was difficult to traverse, shifting laterally by ten meters or so was quite normal.

However, at the same time they issued their orders, cannon fire broke out from Napoleon's side.

When the soldiers learned that the officer had ordered them to press themselves against the bushes to block their view, they ignored the restriction of "moving ten meters or so" and practically shoved themselves against the edge of the bushes.

Meanwhile, the Prussia cavalry finally located Napoleon's position, and then a cavalry squadron charged straight at him. 150 cavalrymen were enough to wipe out this small-scale artillery Artillery.

A France Hussars quickly informed Napoleon of the Prussian Army cavalry's movements, urging him to move on as soon as possible.

As Napoleon watched the widening gap in the Prussia Infantry Line through his Telescope, he firmly ordered his Orderly Officer, "Adjust the azimuth one degree to the left, maintain rapid fire."

The Artillery Company soldiers immediately continued loading Ammunition, and under the pressure of the approaching Prussia cavalry, they unleashed a barrage of shells on the enemy Infantry Line.

At the right flank of the Prussia line, soldiers gritted their teeth and complained. Although the shelling hadn't cost them many men, everyone's feet were instinctively drawn towards the thicket.

On the Infantry Line, the Prussia soldiers who were originally shoulder to shoulder with them, having escaped the artillery fire, were laughing at those who were desperately hiding, unaware that the distance between them had widened to seventy or eighty paces.

Berthier had received a report from the Artillery battalion commander and was watching with great interest the Artillery position that Captain Bonaparte had ingeniously chosen, when he suddenly noticed a clear gap in the Prussia line formation!

A thought suddenly struck him, and he turned to the Orderly Officer and shouted, "Quickly! Concentrate a battalion and attack the enemy's right flank! There's a gap there!"

"Yes, General!"

Ten minutes later, the five Infantry formed an assault Column and, led by their respective company commanders, rushed toward the right flank of the Prussian Army to the rapid beat of drums.

Napoleon's side had already led his Artillery to withdraw from the temporary positions. They held out until the sound of the Prussian Army cavalry horses' hooves drowned out the cannon fire, and only after firing one last shot did they retreat.

They came to launch a surprise attack, so they had no Infantry cover and could only retreat when faced with cavalry.

Napoleon ordered the abandonment of the five cannons. He had already observed the enemy's line formation, and as long as the corps commanders did not miss the opportunity, the loss of five cannons was insignificant.

Upon seeing the empty French Army Artillery, the Prussia cavalrymen left a dozen or so men to nail the gun ports shut, while the others scattered to search for the French Army Artillery they had just encountered.

Hearing the increasingly clear sound of hooves behind him, and glancing at his own lines in the distance, Napoleon knew it was impossible to turn back. He could only shout to his company, "Halt! The Prussia are catching up!"

He waved his hand forcefully. "But they will not be facing artillerymen who are at the mercy of others, but warriors who dare to fight them to the last drop of blood!"

"Now everyone pick up your Percussion Cap Gun. Those without weapons, stand in the back and help pass Ammunition and blasting rods."

"Let's teach the Prussia cavalry a lesson!"

To be honest, the soldiers of the Royal Guard Legion were not very convinced of the Corsica company commander who had been parachuted in, and were even somewhat resistant to him. It was only after witnessing Napoleon's extraordinary ability to calculate ballistics that they reluctantly accepted him.

Today, this Corsica bumpkin led them in a brilliant surprise attack, throwing the Prussia into disarray.

Seeing the Dreadnought and heroic expression on the company commander's young face, and hearing his impassioned words, everyone's blood boiled, and they shouted in agreement, "Yes, we must take down a few Prussia cavalrymen!"

"Listen to the company commander, line up! Have you all forgotten how to form ranks?"

"Come on, all of you, raise your guns! Remember to fix bayonets!"

Glory awaits us!

Soon, fewer than 40 gunners lined up in a straight line, anxiously awaiting the appearance of the Prussia cavalry. It wasn't that they didn't want to form Hollow Square Formation, but rather that they hadn't brought enough Percussion Cap Gun.

Napoleon drew his sword and stood solemnly at the right end of the column, silently thinking: I really want to go back to my vineyard and see my mother working under the grapevines again...

(End of this chapter)