It was not until Ferdinand saw the French army dispatching a large number of troops and starting to rush towards the defense line of the Second Imperial Division that Ferdinand realized that this was the enemy's general attack, and the target was his left flank.
"Quickly, order the Empire's Second Division to immediately assemble towards our formation, and at the same time, immediately order the Twelfth Division to start attacking from behind the enemy's side!"
The 12th Division, which had been sent out by Ferdinand the Younger before, also reached an excellent attack position, which happened to be behind the main force of the French army.
Immediately after Ferdinand the Younger's order was issued, a signal flare flashed over the Prussian army's main line. Seeing this, Cruyff, the commander of the 12th Division, immediately ordered the entire army to move forward.
An order for the French army to attack Napoleon's main line at the position of his flag.
After seeing the signal flares lighting up in the Prussian army, Napoleon also looked to his side and rear. When he saw the Prussian 12th Division beginning to attack, Napoleon's face showed a smile.
When the 12th Division began to make a roundabout route, Napoleon made some special arrangements for this. He never put the Second Division in his hands into battle. This is also the reason.
Under Napoleon's order, the French Second Division had already built a defensive fortification near the formation. At the same time, all the French artillery was quietly mobilized to the side and rear positions at this moment.
After all, now on the frontal battlefield, the two sides have been strangled into a mass. In this case, in order not to accidentally injure his comrades, the artillery is naturally somewhat unable to use its hands and feet. In this case, Napoleon decisively assigned the artillery to the first
The position of the second division.
The main force currently attacking the left wing of the Prussian army is the three thousand cavalry of the French army and the French Guards. Relatively speaking, the combat effectiveness of the Second Division of the Empire was not outstanding. Napoleon deliberately mobilized the army to target it.
Next, the Imperial Second Division was soon divided into two parts with the Prussian Central Army.
After cutting off the contact between the enemies, Napoleon decisively ordered the cavalry to continue to kill the remaining soldiers of the Imperial Second Division, while the French Guards cooperated with the previous First Division to continue attacking the Prussian army.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, the enemy's defenses are too tight. We have no chance to take advantage of it. Now all the units have suffered heavy losses. It is completely futile to continue the attack!"
After the 12th Division launched the attack, Cruyff discovered that what was in front of them was not the empty French army's main formation as he had imagined, but countless enemy troops on tight guard.
And when the 12th Division launched its charge, the French artillery caused the 12th Division to suffer heavy losses immediately.
Although the Twelfth Division also has artillery, because Ferdinand Jr. wanted to stick to his own position, he concentrated most of the artillery in the Twelfth Division on the frontal battlefield, resulting in the current situation of the Twelfth Division.
There are less than twenty artillery pieces.
On the other hand, the French army had nearly a hundred French artillery pieces firing non-stop on the opposite side of the 12th Division.
After hearing the words of his chief of staff, Cruyff said:
"Marshal Ferdinand has issued an order. Our target is the French army's main line. Even though the troops have suffered heavy losses, no one is allowed to retreat until we have achieved our goal and broke through the French army's main line! Even if I
Even if the 12th Division fights to the last man, they will break through the French defense line for me!"
Everyone could understand the determination in Cruyff's words. Seeing what his division commander said, the chief of staff of the 12th Division immediately gritted his teeth and began to mobilize the soldiers around him to reinforce the battle.
of various groups.
In fact, when Cruyff said the above words, his heart was actually bleeding. You must know that for Cruyff, the 12th Division is like his child, although he
He was not very old, but as early as when Prussia began to reorganize its troops, he served in the original main component of the 12th Division.
From the establishment of the 12th Division to the present, Cruyff has been watching the division grow, watching his troops and his soldiers fall one by one. How can Cruyff's heart not bleed?
?
But military orders are hard to disobey! In Prussia, the first article of military regulations is that soldiers must obey orders as their bounden duty! If Cruyff dared to preserve his strength and postpone the attack on the French army, then he would definitely not have to be the division commander after the war.
Went down.
The Twelfth Division had 7,000 troops before launching the battle against the French main line. However, an hour after launching the attack, this number quickly shrank to less than 6,000 troops.
Within an hour, nearly a thousand soldiers were killed. It must be said that the cruelty of this battle exceeded everyone's imagination.
Under the desperate tactics of the 12th Division, although the position of the French Second Division had not yet been breached, it was still instigated by the Prussian army's fearless spirit. The officers of the Second Division
We are all wondering whether the enemies opposite us are all a bunch of lunatics!
While the Twelfth Division was fighting endlessly, the French Guards also cooperated with the previous French First Division to tear apart the defense line of the Prussian Eleventh Division.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, retreat! The life or death of the 12th Division is unknown, but now the defense line of the 11th Division has been breached. If this continues, our army may be in danger of being annihilated!"
"Damn it! If our army retreats now, wouldn't it give the enemy an opportunity to pursue our army? Moreover, the position has only been broken through in a few places, and it is not yet defeated. If we escape now, I'm afraid the army will immediately
collapse!"
Seeing the unfavorable situation of the 11th Division, a staff officer immediately suggested a retreat to Ferdinand Jr., but Ferdinand Jr. was furious about this.
For Ferdinand the Younger, this battle would be a turning point in his military fortunes. If he could defeat Napoleon in this battle and even annihilate the main force of the French army, then he would become one of the top generals in Europe.
But if he is defeated by the French army led by Napoleon, then the current advantage of the coalition forces will turn into a disadvantage. France is thousands of miles away from Prussia, and a major defeat may ruin the advantages that countless Prussian soldiers had gained with their lives.
"Organize my guards, and ask those in the headquarters who have no combat missions to prepare immediately. They will serve as a new force to launch a counterattack on the lost positions on the front line!"
Ferdinand the Younger gave an order, and the Prussian army headquarters immediately burst into excitement. Two hundred of Ferdinand the Younger's guard soldiers and more than a hundred staff officers and heralds from the headquarters were gathered together, and then they immediately headed towards the third
The 11th Division rushed to the position captured by the French army.
On the battlefield, the appearance of any army with a certain strength may change the situation of the battle. Although Ferdinand Jr. did not invest many troops. There were only more than 300 people, but among them were 200 of Ferdinand Jr.'s own guards.
, and as the dignified marshal's guards, these soldiers are naturally elite beings.
Although the addition of this raiding team did not change the situation of the battle, it finally made the front line that was about to collapse regain a more stable trend.
However, this change was very displeasing to Napoleon. For Napoleon, seeing victory in sight, he would never allow any changes that would affect the victory of the French army. Therefore, Napoleon immediately removed the troops from the Second Division.
In the sequence, five brigades with nearly a thousand soldiers were dispatched to reinforce.
As a result, the strength of the French Second Division quickly dropped to 7,000 men, but it still had an advantage over the Prussian 12th Division.
"God bless, this attack will go smoothly!"
After praying, Cruyff immediately ordered nearly a thousand cavalry from the 12th Division, which had not been used before, to immediately enter the battlefield.
A full division can have 2,500 cavalry. However, the 12th Division also suffered heavy losses in previous battles, and the division's cavalry strength was only close to a thousand men.
In the previous attack on the French Second Division, Cruyff had never been willing to send out the cavalry in his hands. After all, he was facing a heavily guarded French army. In this case, rashly throwing in cavalry would only make these troops lose.
The hard-won elite cavalry went to die.
But now Cruyff saw an opportunity. Amidst the fearless attack of the Prussian soldiers, the French Second Division wavered a little. After Napoleon ordered the deployment of troops, it could be seen from the telescope that the French Second Division wavered.
The defense depth of the Second Division had become thinner, so in this case, Cruyff decided to invest his precious cavalry power in a desperate fight.
.....................................
"Make the army move faster!"
Lu Molin looked at the army that spread for several miles in front and back, and gave orders to his officers with a somewhat anxious look on his face.
"General, the soldiers are already very tired after a night of fighting. If we ask the soldiers to speed up, I am afraid that even if we rush to the battlefield, the soldiers will not be able to display their combat effectiveness!"
The chief of staff of the Seventh Division stood beside Rumolin and said to the division commander, but how could Rumolin care about so much at this time?
"No matter what, continue to speed up. Even if it is similar, you have to run for me. As long as you can catch up with the battle, it is a great achievement! The main force of the army is here with us. Your Majesty the Marshal does not have many troops. If the enemy comes out in full force, I am afraid.
Even the Marshal will be very strenuous!"
Under Rumolin's insistence, the entire marching team soon sped up. Although these soldiers were very tired, they couldn't care less at this time.
It only took four days for the Prussian envoys sent from České Budejevice to arrive at Karl's army. Karl had already been attacking Wagram for two days before. However, facing the desperate Alexander, the two men
In three days, Karl's troops failed to capture the city.
Wagram was formerly a fortress that complimented the east of Vienna, and when Alexander fled here, it was reinforced at all costs. For this reason, Alexander also specially forcibly recruited more than 10,000 people from the Wagram area.
Facing such a fortress, even Karl felt a headache.
The previous battles caused certain losses to Alexander's Hungarian army. However, after Alexander decided to ask Prussia for mediation, he deliberately concentrated most of the army in Wagram Fortress.
During the battle, Karl only annihilated more than a thousand Hungarian troops.
Currently, in the city of Wagram, there are still 8,000 Alexander's Hungarian troops, plus more than 10,000 Austrian civilians. For a while, Karl, who has nearly 30,000 troops outside the city, is helpless.
The Prussian envoy rushed to Karl's army and immediately asked to see Karl. When he learned that the Prussians had sent an envoy, although Karl was a little stunned, he still went to see him.
"Dear His Highness Karl, I am here to express my regret for the changes that have occurred in your country on behalf of the Kingdom of Prussia. In addition, as a big and peace-loving country, Prussia does not want people who are also God to fight each other. Therefore, our country
I hope your ministry can return to a state of peace with His Highness Alexander, and for this, our country is also willing to mediate!"
It is undeniable that when Karl heard such words from this guest from České Budejevice, he felt quite uneasy in his heart.
Before Karl could speak, Ferdinand, who was also in the military tent, said;
"Your Excellency, the Prussian envoy, what happened in our country is our country's internal affairs, and according to the Prussian-Austrian Armistice Agreement, your country has also stated that it has no intention and no right to interfere in our internal affairs. I don't know why you are actually sending your Excellency here now to claim to mediate.
I think I have the right to doubt your identity!"
After hearing what Ferdinand said, the Prussian envoy smiled slightly and said:
"The civil war in your country is certainly your country's internal affair. However, the war between His Highness Karl and His Highness Alexander caused a large number of people to be displaced, and a large part of these people poured into Prussia. This has to attract the attention of our country!
Please also note that the Austrian side of the Prussian-Austrian Armistice Agreement was signed by His Highness Alexander on behalf of Austria. Our country has to doubt the possibility of your country tearing up the armistice agreement if His Highness Alexander fails!"
The Prussian's words immediately made Karl and Ferdinand unable to refute.
Indeed, the original Prussian-Austrian Armistice Agreement was signed by the envoys sent by Alexander and the Prussians, and on the Austrian side, it was signed and sealed by Alexander himself.
It seems that it is normal for the Prussians to doubt whether Austria will continue to recognize the armistice after Alexander's defeat.
And Karl had indeed thought in his mind that after he defeated Alexander, he might sign a new peace agreement with Prussia depending on the situation. After all, the existence of this agreement meant that Alexander's regime was recognized by Prussia.
As for Karl wanting to tear up the armistice agreement, if Karl really did this, then it can only be said that the Archduke's mind became stupid overnight. After all, Austria has now lost the capital to continue to fight against Prussia.
Continuous civil strife has caused chaos in Austria. In this case, even if Karl defeated Alexander, he still needs to sort out the current chaotic situation in Austria. In this case, how could he think about it?
To provoke Prussia.
"This. Your Excellency, the envoy, don't worry about it at all. For us, the armistice agreement signed with your country not only represents Alexander. It also represents the entire Austrian people. No matter how the people in power in our country change, but for us and your country,
There is absolutely no objection to the armistice agreement between the two countries."
"I believe in the sincerity of His Highness Carl, but the impact of the civil war in your country has spread to our country. Therefore, our country hopes that your country can return to a peaceful state as soon as possible! In addition, Her Royal Highness the Queen of our country does not want her home country to continue to be harmed.
The harm caused by war, therefore, I hope His Highness Karl can take into account the desire for peace of the people of your country and the calls of friendly countries to stop the civil war!"
Facing this somewhat aggressive Prussian envoy, even though Karl had a good temper, he still felt a lot of anger in his heart. At this time, the Prussian envoy seemed to feel that he had not irritated Karl yet, and only heard
He continued:
"His Royal Highness Karl, we are entrusted by His Highness Alexander to officially come to your country for peace mediation! Please give your Highness Karl a reply as soon as possible so that I can reply to our government and His Highness Alexander!"
Hearing that it was Alexander who asked the Prussians for mediation, the anger in Karl's heart suddenly emerged.
"What will happen if I don't accept your country's mediation!"
"Then our country's Marshal Dessau will lead 50,000 Prussian troops to personally come to mediate!"
The messenger said coldly, and his words immediately extinguished most of the anger in Karl's heart.
Before that, Karl also considered Prussia for his attack on Alexander, so he sent people to investigate the situation of the Prussian army. It was not until he learned that Prussia had no intention of participating in this war that he would confidently lead the army to destroy Alexander.
.
But now, when he heard about Dessau and the 50,000 Prussian troops, he still felt a tremor in his heart.
Prussia put too much pressure on him. He had experienced the Prussian military front when he was under Tuha. Therefore, although he was full of hatred for Prussia, he never showed this hatred.
"Our country will give you three days to respond. If you do not respond within three days, then our country will send Marshal Dessau to intervene!"
After saying that, the envoy left the military tent with a bit of hesitation.
"Karl, do you have an idea in mind? I didn't expect Alexander to ask Prussia to come forward. This is really..."
After a moment of silence in the military tent, Ferdinand looked a little depressed and said to Karl.
Shortly after listening to Ferdinand's words, Karl actually smiled and said:
"Don't the Prussians want us to respond within three days? Then as long as we capture Wagram within three days, there will be nothing to say about this matter!"