Chapter 840: Perfect Plan
Joseph nodded. "Yes, the 4th Infantry Division will be the first to reach the Ardennes Plateau."
Massena was overjoyed. He casually clenched a fist and said, "Excellent! With so many reinforcements, we can launch a counterattack against Ferdinand!"
After the armies of Thuringia, Upper Hesse, and the other states had been crushed, the Allied Forces still had nearly 140,000 troops on paper. However, 30,000 of them under the Duke of York had only just arrived north of the Ardennes Plateau and had not yet entered the battlefield.
Another 15,000 troops were tied down besieging Luxembourg Fortress, leaving only around 95,000 men as the main force actually fighting on the Ardennes Plateau.
Once France's Southern Netherlands Army Group arrived, Massena would have 83,000 troops under his command.
If the 5,000 men of the Oudinot Corps, currently out on raids, were recalled as well, that would make 88,000.
On the Ardennes Plateau, the French Army's numbers would be very close to those of the Allied Forces.
With such a small disparity in strength, the French Army's combat power could absolutely crush the Allied Forces.
Under such circumstances, Massena had every confidence that he could win a great counteroffensive victory in Luxembourg.
After calmly working through the matter again, he looked at Joseph. "Your Highness, if the 4th Infantry Division can hold back Frederick's corps for half a month—no, ten days will be enough—I am confident I can defeat Ferdinand's main force!"
Frederick was the Duke of York's given name.
The reason Massena had not launched a counterattack before was partly because the disparity in troop strength was too great. More importantly, he feared that if he became locked in a standoff with the Brunswick Corps in Luxembourg, the Duke of York might arrive from the north and trap