Augereau and Marmont exchanged a glance, both wearing grave expressions.
Even if Bajachaza had truly been routed yesterday, the 15,000 Austrian soldiers to the north alone were enough to demand their attention.
After days of fierce fighting, Augereau's Corps had only a little over 16,000 soldiers still fit for combat.
Should the enemy forces in the west and south turn around and counterattack, the French Army would face utter annihilation.
Augereau hesitated for a moment before finally telling the Orderly Officer, "Order the troops pursuing the enemy to pull back at once.
"Have the Corsica Regiment proceed to the Saint-Leon Village area and establish a defensive line..."
Of course, Karl Ludwig did not have 15,000 soldiers at all.
His Moravian Corps numbered fewer than 7,000 men in total, but he had spread them across a stretch two kilometers wide.
Alvinzi's main force lay to the southwest, so the French cavalry had never paid much attention to the north. In their hurried reconnaissance, they could only estimate the enemy's numbers from the width of their formation.
Inside the Moravian Corps' temporary headquarters, Karl Ludwig listened to the cavalry officer's report on the French Army's movements, and his expression eased somewhat.
His plan had worked. Augereau was indeed beginning to contract his defenses.
But he could fool them for two days at most. After that, the French cavalry would surely spot the flaw.
Before then, Bajachaza's and Würmser's forces had to join Marshal Alvinzi's reinforcements. After resting and reorganizing, they could launch a counterattack against Augereau and stabilize the situation on the left flank.
Karl Ludwig looked back at the map. Meanwhile, he still had to guard against the French taking a risk and launching a surprise attack.
At that thought, he turned to the Orderly Officer beside him. "Send the engineer