Blood and Courage

650 men? Vorst immediately protested, "That's all the cavalry I have. You have no right to move them..."

Captain Diboa did not let him finish, merely smiling as he said, "Give me your cavalry, or face the Prussians alone."

"No, don't..." The Commander-in-Chief of the Netherlands Army waved a hand in defeat. "The cavalry is under your command. At a time like this, we cannot turn on one another."

"A very correct decision!"

Diboa turned to the curly-haired French second lieutenant. "Andre, proceed according to the original plan. How soon can you depart?"

Andre raised his hat in salute. "Yes! My men have completed all preparations and can move at any time. It's just that the Dutch cavalry may need a little more time."

Diboa nodded. "Those men are under your command now. Go teach them how to improve their efficiency."

"Yes!"

The cavalry second lieutenant departed. Diboa looked at the Dutch officers in the tent. "Then, does everyone now agree to take the initiative and attack the Prussian vanguard?"

The others nodded silently.

"Very good. Thank you, gentlemen." Diboa stepped before the map and pointed to the Sibella River. "Mr. Vorst, deploy the Hague Guard Corps here."

One Dutch officer said with some displeasure, "There is no longer any Guard Corps. They are all troops of the States General."

Diboa nodded unconcernedly. "Fine. Whatever they are called, they will be combined with my artillery and wait for the Prussian vanguard here."

"The Freedom Legion will form a line two hundred meters to the south and receive the Prussians' first assault."

The so-called Freedom Legion was a militia force formed by the Dutch Patriot Party, while the Hague Guard Corps had once been William V's elite troops. The difference in their combat strength was self-evident. Of course, those Guard Corps troops had also taken part in the operation to exile William V, so there was no need to doubt their loyalty to the States-General.

A Dutch officer immediately objected. "You're using the Freedom Legion as cannon fodder! Why aren't the French taking the front?"

Vorst raised a hand to stop him. "Captain Diboa is right. Without veterans holding the rear, the Freedom Legion will quickly collapse before the Prussian Army..."

Yet Diboa said calmly, "The Freedom Legion does not need to fight the Prussians to the death. Once battle is joined, they need only give way to both sides. What concerns me is their level of training—whether they can carry out the tactical arrangement without falling into chaos."

Vorst suddenly straightened his chest and said in a deep voice, "I will personally command the Freedom Legion."

Diboa nodded and continued, "After that, we will do this..."

Under the strokes of his pencil, the area less than 2.5 kilometers wide between the Sibella River and Abcoude Lake had already been filled with Dutch and French units.

South of Amstelveen.

"Report!" A Ranger came before Andre, reined in his horse, and raised his hat in salute. "Prussian movements have been spotted three kilometers to the east. More than four thousand men, mainly infantry, with a small amount of cavalry."

Andre nodded. This should be the Prussian vanguard. He immediately turned and ordered, "The entire force will move one kilometer west. Advance slowly and quietly. Watch out for Prussian scouting patrols."

"Yes!"

Andre checked his pocket watch, then took out a map. According to the earlier intelligence, the main Prussian force was fifteen kilometers from here, right downstream along the Sibella River. At their present speed, they would be able to bypass them by noon tomorrow.

Just as he had expected, at two o'clock the following afternoon, the Rangers discovered a large Prussian convoy. However, more than three thousand Prussian troops were guarding it.

Andre ordered the entire force to form up west of the Sibella River, only then noticing that his palms were drenched in sweat.

He had graduated from Military Academy less than two years ago. This was his first time commanding an actual battle; it was impossible not to be nervous. Originally, he had merely been the second-in-command of this Cavalry Company, but the company commander had contracted Dysentery on the journey to the Netherlands and returned to France for treatment midway through. Thus, in the nick of time, Andre had been appointed commander of the French Army volunteer Cavalry Company.

He looked toward the distant plains and riverway, suddenly feeling worried.

He was not afraid

of facing the Prussians. This was merely a harassment mission for now; even if it were a decisive battle, he was confident that with his glorious blood and fearless courage, he could crush the enemy army!

Five days.

Even if he died in battle, he believed his blade would lie between his corpse and the Prussian Army.

What worried him was what would happen after five days.

After the French volunteers and Dutch Army had held the Prussian Army back for five days, would the Prussians truly retreat?

His uncle had learned through internal connections that this operation plan had been devised by the Crown Prince, a thirteen-year-old boy's military plan...

Andre tried hard not to think too much. He was not afraid of death; to die on the battlefield was a soldier's destiny. What he feared was a meaningless death. Especially since he had come to the Netherlands in a private capacity—if they failed to preserve the Patriot Party in the end, the military might not even acknowledge that he had died for his country.

I hope that Child of Divine Grace is truly as miraculous as everyone says.

Who knew how long had passed before a Ranger's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Report, the Prussian convoy is coming."

A sharp gleam flashed through Andre's eyes. He swept his hand forward and shouted, "Attack!"

The French Imperial Guards Cavalry Company took the lead, with the former Dutch Imperial Guards cavalry behind them, as they pounced upon the Prussian baggage train.

While they were still far away, a piercing Bugle Call sounded from the Prussian Army. Great numbers of infantry rapidly assembled, forming dense lines with their backs to the convoy. Muskets and bayonets pointed forward as they waited in tight formation.

Dust billowed and hooves thundered. Andre saw only the dense mass of Prussian soldiers in the distance before raising his Charleville Model 1728 Carbine and firing a shot toward them.

The cavalrymen behind him fired as well. Explosions of gunfire rang out, and the battlefield was instantly shrouded in smoke.

Yet they were still more than four hundred meters from the Prussian Army. Their bullets could not possibly inflict any harm.

But the dense gunfire still made the Prussian commander extremely nervous. There appeared to be nearly a thousand cavalrymen before him—could this be the main Dutch force?

Having fired, Andre immediately led the cavalry in a sharp turn southward, galloping past the Prussian formation from more than three hundred meters away.

After waiting more than twenty minutes without seeing the enemy charge, the Prussian Army was cursing as it prepared to break formation and continue its march when a large force of cavalry suddenly attacked from their flank and rear, accompanied by dense gunfire.

The Prussian commander's face darkened. He once again ordered his men to form ranks and meet the attack, but the enemy cavalry merely circled before them and galloped away with a howl.

The Prussian cavalry guarding the convoy was too few in number to pursue them at all.

And so, under Andre's command, the cavalry came and went, went and came, forcing the Prussians to remain in place in defensive formations. Only when the main Prussian cavalry force arrived to reinforce them near nightfall did Andre finally call it off.

Andre had the troops rest for several hours in a dense forest, then immediately ordered them to march north through the night, straight for the Prussian main force's assembly ground.