Besiege the stronghold, strike the reinforcements

As Derrison rode along with the winding marching column, occasionally glancing to his staff and talking, he suddenly heard the faint roar of cannons coming from his side and ahead.

The entire Prussian Army formation immediately stopped, and the soldiers peered around in alarm.

Derrison's face also darkened. He had been very cautious throughout the journey, even while marching on Prussia territory, he still sent out a large number of cavalry to conduct reconnaissance.

Previously, all the Hussars reported that they had not found anything unusual ahead, so what was the cause of this cannon fire?

He hurriedly ordered his troops to converge on him and form a defensive formation.

Then, he looked at his advisor beside him and shouted, "Leon, send someone to find out what happened!"

"Yes, General!"

Before his orders could be relayed, two messengers rushed in and, upon seeing him, anxiously reported, "General, our vanguard has been attacked, and General Brecht's two regiments have been routed..."

"How is this possible?" Derrison frowned. "Who is attacking us?"

"They look like France."

"Damn it, where did they come from?!" Derrison was completely baffled. Logically, the cannons should have been positioned in their path of advance to ambush them, but why hadn't his Hussars spotted them?

He had no idea that those were Horse Artillery from the Royal Guard Legion, who had been concealed 6 kilometers away, and only approached quickly after spotting his troops, then opened fire from their flanks and fronts.

How many enemy soldiers are there?

"It's still unclear; the shelling came too suddenly..."

Derrison, being an experienced commander, quickly calmed down and made a swift judgment.

If the enemy has Artillery, then it is likely a large force, so the first priority is to delay their attack.

He immediately ordered Fenn Legion to set up a defensive line on the spot and launch a blocking attack. The other troops assembled near the woods to the north.

The Fenn Legion, mostly composed of elite Prussia Guard Corps, moved very quickly, gathering on the south side of the main force in just over half an hour. Meanwhile, the Prussian Army's winding marching column slowly moved north.

However, the French Army who ambushed them clearly had no intention of giving them a chance.

Soon, Hussars reported to Derrison that tens of thousands of the French Army Infantry appeared on the southwest side and were heading this way.

Derrison broke out in a cold sweat. His main force was at least three or four kilometers apart, and it would take at least three hours for them to regroup and form ranks.

He immediately took command of the two Grenadier beside him, joined forces with Fenn, and together they constructed a temporary defensive line. He also ordered Krokov to lead all 12 Hussars to hold off the French Army at all costs, buying time for himself.

On the high ground Bur River, Joseph saw through his Telescope nearly two thousand Prussia cavalrymen surging toward the Royal Guard Legion Infantry Line.

He wasn't nervous at all. After two years of Military Science, he could tell that the Prussia cavalry was completely unprepared; their formation was scattered and disjointed, and they had launched an attack hastily.

That's basically suicide.

Don't assume that because cavalry is well-equipped, fast, and has a strong impact, they can always crush Infantry. In reality, cavalry is not meant for head-on battles. Their advantage lies in using mobility to quickly attack the enemy's weak points and then slip away. But if they engage in a direct confrontation with Infantry, especially a charge against a well-organized Infantry Line, they are unlikely to win unless their numbers are roughly equal.

Sure enough, when the Prussia cavalry charged haphazardly into the French Army Infantry Line, they were immediately met with a volley of fire. The first 20-odd horses neighed and fell, tripping up many of the cavalry behind them.

Next, the soldiers who had finished firing planted their bayonets diagonally in the ground and crouched down. The soldiers in the next rank raised their rifles and fired, then held their Percussion Cap Gun level, pointing their bayonets forward.

Then came the third volley...

When the Prussia cavalry charged close, they were met with three rows of dense bayonets. They had no choice but to pull on the reins and turn, splitting to the sides.

The image of cavalrymen fearlessly charging into bayonets in movies and TV shows is meaningless—even if you can overpower two or three Infantry, someone will immediately fill the gap. Your and your horse's corpses become stumbling blocks for your teammates, slowing down the entire charge. And a cavalryman who has stopped running becomes a target for the Infantry.

The Royal Guard Legion's Infantry Line very long, and the Prussia Hussars, with their small numbers, simply could not possibly complete the task of flanking them. Moreover, Royal Guard Legion cavalry were on standby to provide cover for the infantry from the Infantry and rear.

The Prussia cavalry had no choice but to circle around and regroup at a distance. This single, disorganized attack had cost them at least a company, or more than 150 men.

But Derrison's orders to Krokov were to hold off the French Army at all costs, so he had to raise his sword again and shout orders to his Royal Guard Legion.

After the third such attack, the Prussia cavalry, hampered by heavy casualties, became hesitant and reluctant to advance.

In fact, these Junker Nobles cavalrymen were already quite good. If it were a unit with slightly lower morale, they would have already started to flee during the second charge.

Berthier again suggested sending the Royal Guard Legion cavalry to intercept them. Joseph, looking at the shaky Prussia cavalry through his Telescope, finally nodded in agreement.

Cavalry was the most lacking unit in the Royal Guard Legion. Only the cavalry obtained from the Paris Guard were relatively strong in combat; most of those trained later could only serve as Rangers. Therefore, Joseph used them very carefully, and even the slightest loss would cause him great distress.

However, after several rounds of attrition, the Prussia cavalry were now struggling to even regroup.

When 700 Royal Guard Legion Hussars suddenly appeared on their left, even though Krokov personally led his squires to meet them, almost no one followed behind him.

Immediately, the Prussia cavalry were split in two. Most of them fled north, while the rest were met with a volley of fire from the catching French Army Infantry quickly abandoned their horses and surrendered.

While Derrison's Infantry Line were still in disarray, they saw Hussars fleeing back.

He had a small group of defeated soldiers brought before him, and heard them say in a panic:

"General, the enemy is only eight or nine hundred paces away."

"General Krokov? We don't know where he is either."

"The enemy's defenses are tight, and their firepower is extremely strong..."

Derrison's heart sank. He had done everything he could to salvage the situation, yet he hadn't even managed to buy an hour... It seemed the enemy force numbered at least thirty or forty thousand.

Damn it, such a large army has been in Oberon for at least two days, and not a single person has noticed!