Seeing that the forward of his army was very close to Ferdinand the Younger's flag, Napoleon's face suddenly turned ashen.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, we'd better retreat temporarily! The enemy's reinforcements will arrive soon, and although we have won the victory, the soldiers have been exhausted a lot. In this case, faced with the addition of the enemy's new force, our army's situation will
You will definitely be at a disadvantage!"
"Nonsense! Your Excellency, Marshal, we cannot withdraw now. Although our army has suffered heavy casualties, the number of troops that can continue to fight is still more than 10,000. The enemy is running wildly from Trapp, and the enemy's physical strength is not greater than mine.
How much, as long as we can hold on, the current victory will become a turning point in the current situation in our country! We cannot give up all our previous efforts!"
Before Napoleon could speak, the officers under his command immediately divided into two voices.
In fact, in Napoleon's mind, when this multiple-choice question was placed in front of him, he also had a very headache.
Indeed, no matter which of these two options is chosen, there are pros and cons for Napoleon. If he continues to fight, if the French army wins, it means that from now on, the coalition army, which has lost all its main force, will be completely lost in the battle situation.
Initiative, at least before the coalition forces receive reinforcements, the entire battle situation will immediately change from offensive to defensive!
But the risk is not small. Although Ferdinand the Younger has been defeated, his army was only defeated rather than rout. This is full of variables! If Ferdinand the Younger was defeated, then Napoleon would not do it at all.
Instead of thinking about it, he immediately ordered the army to attack while he was victorious.
Ferdinand the Younger gave up his position and led the army to slowly retreat westward. Although his army had less than 8,000 people left, it could still be seen from the retreat of the coalition forces that these coalition forces still maintained their organization.
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It was precisely because of this situation that Napoleon felt a little troubled.
"Marshal, you can't hesitate any longer. We must make a decision as soon as possible. If we want to continue the attack, we need to seize the time even more!"
Napoleon was not a mother-in-law. What's more, for the French army, if they could not expand their results, with the annihilation of the Fourth Army, Paris would have become an isolated city, and there would be no reinforcements to count on!
"Order the entire army to continue the attack and make every effort to destroy the enemy's remaining troops before the enemy's reinforcements arrive!"
An officer's reminder helped Napoleon make up his mind, and then as Napoleon's military order was issued, all French soldiers immediately desperately pursued the remaining coalition forces led by Ferdinand.
This immediately made the eight thousand coalition soldiers led by Ferdinand even more miserable. At this time, Ferdinand was also struggling to command the army to resist the French attack.
"How could this happen? This is completely different from what I imagined before!"
The decline of the army made Ferdinand's face turn pale. Most of the more than 20,000 coalition troops were elite Prussian soldiers. But under such circumstances, the coalition forces were actually led by Napoleon in the field with a method that was almost the same as that of the coalition forces.
The army was defeated, which was difficult for Ferdinand to accept psychologically.
"More than 10,000 elite troops have been lost. How can I have the nerve to return to Brandenburg?"
Ferdinand's mood was very complicated at this moment. As the momentum of the coalition forces became more and more declining, everyone at this moment felt helpless. If there was no hope of reinforcements, I am afraid that this army would collapse immediately.
Finally, when Ferdinand was almost desperate, the reinforcements led by Rummelin rushed to the edge of the battlefield. At this moment, Ferdinand only had more than 5,000 troops that could continue fighting.
Seeing the flag of the Prussian army appear in sight, Ferdinand was about to burst into tears at this time. After all, this situation could be called a desperate situation for Ferdinand.
As soon as Rumolin led the army into the battlefield, he was shocked by everything he saw. No wonder it was him. Except for Ferdinand, who was still trying to support himself in a corner, the situation on the entire battlefield had completely changed.
French Army.
But at this time, the army led by Rumolin himself could be said to be at the end of its strength. Apart from ordering the army to move closer to Ferdinand's position, he was unable to help the coalition forces that were cut into countless pieces.
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After Rumelin led the army to join the battlefield, Napoleon's face was full of amusement.
Just as he had imagined before, looking at the actions of the Prussian reinforcements, he could understand that these Prussian troops were not a fresh force. Instead, they were completely exhausted.
Although after the Prussian army came to the battlefield, Napoleon found that the enemy's reinforcements should have about 20,000 troops, but the weakness of the offensive is an undisputed fact. If it were a new force, I am afraid that the coalition troops should be more than 20,000.
The choice is to immediately launch a fierce attack on the French army on the battlefield instead of choosing to move closer to Ferdinand like now.
However, although the French army expanded its advantage, it was not able to completely annihilate Ferdinand's army. This also caused the balance of power on the battlefield to change again, and the French army fell into a disadvantage.
However, Napoleon was not afraid of this. He began to mobilize his troops to block Rumelin's move towards Ferdinand. However, after the battle progressed to this point, the French army was unable to launch another large-scale offensive.
The French army's combat strength on the battlefield is about 13,000, while the coalition forces have nearly 30,000. However, under this disparity in strength, the coalition is still helpless against the French army, and the French army faces more than 30,000 troops.
Our own coalition forces have no good solution in a short period of time.
It was already noon, but both sides were in a stalemate on the battlefield, and for a while no one could do anything to the other.
Suddenly, a piece of information was handed over to Napoleon from the mouth of a coalition prisoner of war who had just arrived for reinforcements. According to the prisoner's confession, the French Fourth Army in the Trapp area had been annihilated by the coalition forces.
This news came from the mouths of most prisoners of war, so there is no possibility of forgery.
If this happens, it means that the Fourth Army is really doomed.
Napoleon was greatly shaken. He raised his eyes and looked at the situation on the battlefield, wondering what was going on in his mind.
After a while, Napoleon ordered the army to temporarily stop attacking the coalition forces, and then he rode his horse to the forefront of the battle.
When he saw Napoleon's flag moving towards the front, even though Ferdinand didn't know what Napoleon was going to do, in tit for tat, Ferdinand also came to the front.
Then a cavalryman ran out from the French army. The cavalryman held a white flag and ran quickly to the front of the Prussian army line and said loudly:
"Marshal Bonaparte of our country invites the commander of your army to meet and talk!"
The words of this cavalryman were very powerful. On the battlefield that became quiet, this voice could be said to spread quite far. Even Ferdinand, who was still some distance away from the forefront, heard a rough idea.
And then someone reported this to Ferdinand.
Ferdinand smiled freely and then straightened up his demeanor. Seeing that Ferdinand seemed to be going to the appointment, several Prussian officers immediately gathered around and said:
"Marshal, you cannot take any risks. This must be a French conspiracy!"
"Your Excellency, Marshal, you must be on guard against others!"
But in Ferdinand's ears, he did not follow the advice of these officers.
"It's okay. Since the enemy's commander is so enthusiastic, I still have to go for it. Otherwise, if the soldiers think that I, Ferdinand, are timid, wouldn't it be ridiculous!"
It seemed that these officers were about to speak, Ferdinand waved his hand and then rode towards the front of the Prussian army's line.
But in the French army, after learning that Ferdinand readily agreed, Napoleon ignored the dissuasion of his men and came to the center of the battlefield alone.
Napoleon's position was only three hundred meters away from the defense line of the Prussian soldiers. In fact, beyond this distance, he had reached the range of the weapons in the hands of the Prussian soldiers. However, under the restraint of the officers, no soldiers opened fire rashly.
It has to be said that personal heroism has a huge market in Europe. Since the Middle Ages, stories of knights and princesses have been circulating in Europe. In all the stories, the knight who rescued the princess alone is simply an idol worshiped by all Europeans.
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In fact, it can be seen from the battles in European history that aside from the casualties of soldiers, generals rarely die on a large scale. The reason is precisely in European wars. Even if the other side is defeated, those generals are rarely killed in battle.
Defeated generals and nobles can also receive special care, which can also be seen as mutual respect between noble generals.
Shortly after Napoleon came to the center of the battlefield alone, Ferdinand also came as promised. Like Napoleon, Ferdinand did not lead even a single guard.
"Hello, Marshal Bonaparte. I admire your bravery very much!"
"Dear Marshal Brunswick, I see all the precious qualities of the Brunswick family in you, and I admire them very much!"
After the two of them finished speaking, smiles appeared on their faces, and Napoleon even took the initiative to reach out his hand and shake it with Ferdinand.
"Marshal Braunschweig, this battle has reached the current situation. It is meaningless for both of us to continue fighting. Therefore, I think it is better for both of us to stop fighting. In my opinion, your army has lost its main force.
, upholding the spirit of chivalry, I allow your army to leave the Paris area through our defense lines without pursuing it!"
"Marshal Bonaparte, is it too early to say this now? Although you and your army deserve my respect in this battle, I don't think that if you continue to fight, you will definitely lose.
It’s our army!”
Hearing Ferdinand's words, Napoleon burst out laughing.
"Yes, your army can indeed continue to fight, but you must know that I have not yet used the remaining 20,000 troops in Paris. It only takes half a day to get here from Paris. Our army can persist, but I am afraid that your army will not.
Aren’t you going to go down?”
Ferdinand was speechless at what Napoleon said. What Napoleon said made sense. So far, the French have been able to mobilize 20,000 troops in Paris, while the coalition forces have already mobilized all their troops.
On the battlefield, although the number of troops exceeds 25,000, the physical strength of the soldiers has already reached its limit. If the fight continues, not to mention half a day, I am afraid that many coalition soldiers will be tired in just two hours, let alone half a day.
fell to the ground.
Don't forget that the reinforcements led by Rummelin ran for dozens of miles. Coupled with the previous battle, the army under Rummelin was actually more tired than the soldiers led by Ferdinand.
The reason why Napoleon asked Ferdinand to withdraw his troops from the Paris area was precisely because Napoleon envisioned building a large defense circle in the Paris area, and this defense circle naturally included towns near Paris, some of which
The town was still under the control of the Allied forces, so Napoleon asked the Allied forces to withdraw from the Paris area.
In addition, to a certain extent, this war was won by the French. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for Napoleon to return to Paris without saying a word. Otherwise, I am afraid that the criticism from all over Paris would kill him to death.
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Under this circumstance, Napoleon's request for the coalition forces to leave the Paris area to eliminate the threat to Paris can also be seen as Napoleon's preparation to explain to everyone in Paris.
But not long after, Ferdinand seemed to have thought of something. He only heard him say:
"Marshal Bonaparte, your army does have some advantages, but I can tell you a piece of news. Our army has tens of thousands of reinforcements on the way to Paris. I got this news. I don't know if you are still the same as before.
Where’s the confidence?”
After saying that, a playful smile appeared on Ferdinand's face.
What Ferdinand said was not wrong. Although Prussia was not prepared to send large-scale reinforcements to France, it had never stopped replenishing the army in France. In addition, the newly established Third Empire
The division is also on its way, and nearly 10,000 soldiers sent by the British have also arrived in Calais not long ago and are rushing to Paris, so Ferdinand's so-called army of tens of thousands is actually not wrong.
But after hearing the news from Ferdinand's mouth, Napoleon's face suddenly changed.
For Napoleon, with the French Fourth Army being annihilated by the coalition forces, this means that from now on, the only organized army the Bourbon royal family can count on is now only the more than 40,000 troops currently in Paris. It is said that they are gathered in
It is not an exaggeration to say that the 40,000 troops in Paris were the last straw for the Bourbon dynasty.
The Fourth Army had been destroyed. Under this situation, it was completely meaningless for Napoleon to be trapped in Paris, because although Paris could be held for a period of time, it could not last long without external reinforcements.
And now, Ferdinand told him that the coalition forces were coming to support tens of thousands of troops. Once the coalition reinforcements arrived, the coalition forces would once again pose a threat to Paris. The consequence of this was that the coalition forces with a steady stream of supplies would inevitably
would overwhelm the French trapped in Paris.
Seemingly sensing Napoleon's thoughts, Ferdinand continued:
"In this battle, your wisdom defeated me. Although the current situation is a stalemate. But I understand that you have actually won. If I were in another place, then I would never be able to achieve your level.
So to show respect for you.
I promise you to temporarily withdraw our troops from the Paris area, but I also want to tell you that in ten days at most, I will make a comeback, and I will definitely avenge my previous disgrace!"
Hearing what Ferdinand said, Napoleon's face gradually calmed down, and then he only heard Napoleon say:
"Marshal Braunschweig is indeed a famous Prussian general, but please rest assured, since our army can defeat you once, there will definitely be no problem the second time!"
After speaking, the two exchanged a few words and then returned to the army.
After Napoleon returned to the army, he immediately ordered the troops deployed in the north to make way for a passage to allow the coalition forces to leave. Napoleon's order was immediately opposed by many French officers.
"Marshal Your Excellency, we can't let the tiger go back to the mountain! Now is a great opportunity for our army to take advantage of this moment to annihilate the enemy. If we succeed, we can not only remove the threat of Paris, but also take advantage of the situation to regain the territory we lost!
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The words of an officer seemed to represent the aspirations of all officers. They thought that although they and the enemy were evenly matched, the situation of the French army was the best since the war between the coalition forces and the French army began. In this case,
If the enemy is allowed to leave, Paris will not be able to afford a subsequent counterattack.
"Confused! Do you think I just want to put the enemy back? Yes, we have some advantages over the enemy at the moment, but the enemy's military and national strength are there! Among the enemies are the Prussians, the Dutch, and the British.
People, even if we completely wipe out this enemy force, how many people do you think we will have left after the war?
But the enemy is composed of several countries, and the enemy's reinforcements are on the way. In this case, a partial victory is not what I need!
The enemy can get reinforcements, but what about us? Don’t forget, we only have an army of more than 30,000 people now, and thanks to those damn heretics, our southern region is almost separated. In this case, if we
If the Lord loses everything, what will he do to deal with the next situation?"
Napoleon's words made all the French officers unable to hold their heads up.
Indeed, at present, all the Bourbons can count on is their army of 40,000, oh, no, it should be said to be less than 35,000.
The Battle of Paris is over, but the French army does not look victorious. Their mood is still very heavy. The only role of this battle is to allow France's national destiny and Paris to continue for a while.