Chapter 40: Encirclement, Pursuit and Interception
When the labor marshal heard the bad news, his body on horseback shook violently and he almost fell off the horse.
He looked at the guard and shouted loudly:
"This is impossible. An army of more than 100,000 people is enough for Prussia to kill pigs for several months. It only took a short time for Prussia to be defeated."
The personal guard did not answer Marshal Laodong's question but presented Marshal Lacy's letter.
The letter stated:
"Marshal Laudon, I must tell you some unfortunate news. Our army suffered a defeat in Saxony. Our army is no longer able to complete its mission against Prussia. I will lead the army to retreat. I ask you to take the army back to Prague and wait until
After the reinforcements from Vienna are sent, I will go to Prague to meet you. Before that, please be sure to stop the Prussians."
After reading the letter, Laudong's face turned the color of pig liver. He tore the letter into pieces and looked at the Austrian army on the left and right. The Labor Marshal yelled unwillingly: retreat.
Seeing the Austrians on the opposite side slowly retreating, Prince Henry laughed and said:
"Send an order to the army, and the whole army will advance slowly, and these Austrians must be held back.
As a result, the entire battlefield became very strange. The Austrians formed a defensive formation and retreated, while the Prussians followed closely in the footsteps of the Austrians. The two sides faced each other in silence without firing a single shot.
After the Saxon and Prussian armies rested for three days, William and Dessau left the camp with an army of 40,000 people. Their goal was Bohemia. Prince Ferdinand stayed, and he had to guard the Austrian prisoners of war and dispatch
The troops kept an eye on Marshal Lacy.
Before leaving, William specially summoned Archduke Leopold. Looking at the guy in front of him who later became the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, William said with emotion:
"Your Majesty the Grand Duke, I have admired you for a long time. You have the beautiful character of the ancestors of the Habsburg family. Although our army was lucky to win this battle, my admiration for you will not change."
"Your Majesty the King, you are too polite. I lost this battle. This is an undeniable fact. I see the shadow of His Majesty Frederick in you. I believe you will be a great king in the future." Leopold
De said with a wry smile.
"Your Excellency, if you have any requests here, you can tell Prince Ferdinand and we will try our best to meet your requests, but I would like to ask you to write a letter to Queen Theresa and take me to express my greetings to Queen Theresa.
Highest respect and greetings," William said elegantly
"Your Majesty, I will, but I hope you can release our people when the ransom comes. I think a great king will agree to these small requests of mine." Leopold understood what William meant, and he
Said to William
"Of course, we are all civilized people, and these are the rules that civilized people should follow," William said calmly.
Leopold got the answer he wanted and said goodbye to William.
William looked at Leopold walking out of the tent, he shook his head and said to himself:
"William, if you don't want to be as aggrieved as him in the future, you must work harder and be more diligent."
William marched toward Bohemia with an army of 40,000 men. William was very happy when he saw the soldiers with their heads raised and their chests raised. When the soldiers saw the king who had brought them victory, they shouted "Long live His Majesty the King".
Seeing the Prussians following him closely, Marshal Laudon had a splitting headache. He had no good way to get rid of these enemies who were like candy.
Laudong knew that he could not continue like this. Even if the entire army safely retreated to Prague, the large area of land north of Prague would be easily captured by Prussia.
On this day, Laudon's army stopped in a small town called Pippo, one hundred kilometers north of Prague. To the east of this town was the Labem River and to the west was a flat land.
Laudon decided to rely on this town to resist the Prussian army. Of course, what Laudon didn't know was that William was leading a victorious army of 40,000 to rush towards him.
In mid-October 1779 AD, the Austrian Bohemian Legion led by the Labor Marshal stopped their retreat in the town of Pipo, and the Prussians were only thirty kilometers away from them.
Prince Henry asked his bodyguards on horseback:
"How far is His Majesty's army from here?"
The guard replied:
"When we contacted him two hours ago, His Majesty was still a day and a half away from us. His Majesty asked someone to give this letter to you." He handed the letter to Henry.
"Prince Henry, I will lead the army behind the Austrians. Please be sure to hold back the enemy in front of you and prevent the Austrians from discovering our intentions. If we win this battle, our army will gain a comprehensive advantage on the entire battlefield."
After reading the letter, Prince Henry tore it up and said with a smile:
"Your Majesty has a big appetite. The Austrians across the way will suffer."
Since William and his army entered Bohemia, they have been on the road at high speed. The army's scouts have been sent out to conduct inspections within a hundred miles of the army's route. If the scouts find suspicious people appearing, they will be arrested immediately.
Wait for the army to pass before releasing it.
Through this method, even if Austrian spies discovered the Prussian army, it was unlikely that they would inform Laudon of the news.
If Lacy hadn't been smart and retreated early, he wouldn't have been able to withdraw even if he wanted to withdraw one day later. A good opportunity slipped away from William, and William also suppressed his anger. How could he let Laodong escape this time?
, William was determined to defeat Laodong's Bohemian Legion. If he could not win with a superior force of two to one, would he be worthy of the glorious title of time traveler?
Looking at the Prussian army that appeared in front of him the next day, Laudon smiled slightly and said to himself:
"The defeat of Saxony was due to Lacy's incompetence. Henry, we are both old rivals. You don't think you can defeat me with 40,000 people. You underestimate me."
The Prussian troops marched forward in a diagonal formation with neat steps to the music of drummers in each queue. When they saw that they were not within the shooting range of the Austrians, some veterans even blew their whistles along with the music.
.
The armies of both sides were getting closer and closer, and the faces of the enemy soldiers on the opposite side were clearly visible. The officers of the Prussian and Austrian armies shouted:
"Stand, load, aim,,,, fire." Following the officer's instructions, a burst of thick fog rose from the arrays on both sides. "Bang, bang, bang" the sound of musket fire came one after another, and the artillery units on both sides coincided with each other.
They also opened fire one after another.
The neatly arranged troops on both sides became scattered under the attack of artillery fire, but the soldiers seemed to be unable to see the casualties of their comrades. The first row fell and the second row quickly made up for it. They were under the command of the officer.
Load the ammunition carefully, then aim and fire.
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