On October 27, 1793, the Prussian army captured Hanover, and Prince Edward in Hanover became a prisoner of war in the hands of the Prussians.
When the news reached the United Kingdom, the entire British Isles were stunned by the Prussian army's attack. Although the British had made certain preparations before, when the Prussians really captured Hanover, the British still felt deeply in their hearts.
Some are unacceptable.
Moreover, when the Prussians arrived in Hannover, the Prussian Navy, which was cooperating with the British Royal Navy in carrying out port blockade missions in the English Channel, weighed anchor and returned to Prussia without notifying the British Royal Navy.
In response to the Prussian Navy's departure without saying goodbye, the commander of the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet, who had just received an order from the British government to "immediately seize Prussian Navy ships if necessary," had a gloomy face as if he wanted to eat people.
Later, when his officers asked whether to pursue the Prussian Navy, the commander thought for a while and did not accept the proposal.
Because in accordance with the alliance between Britain and Prussia, Prussia dispatched all its naval warships. The total number of various warships was more than thirty. Although the British home fleet is large in scale, it is now in this sea area.
There is only one detachment of the Home Fleet and only about twenty battleships. Under such circumstances, if a rash pursuit is made, the unlucky person may not necessarily be the one.
After the Prussian navy weighed anchor and returned home, Ferdinand the Younger, who had just completed the withdrawal from the Paris area, also received a military order from Brandenburg. Under this situation, Ferdinand the Younger immediately ordered the entire army to be on alert, and then ordered Prussia to
The Seventh and Fourteenth Divisions of the army and two divisions of the Holy Roman Empire began to surround the British army's garrison.
As for the other Prussian troops, they were ordered by Ferdinand the Younger to move quickly to the west, targeting the Anglo-Dutch coalition whose main force was currently concentrated in Rouen.
After the First World War in Paris, Duke Andrew currently has less than 6,000 British troops in his hands, while the rest of the British troops on the European continent were all previously divided to cooperate with the Dutch William III to attack along the French coastline.
territory.
And just when Ferdinand the Younger was temporarily unable to take care of Paris in order to launch arrangements against the British, Louis XVI in Paris also received information that the British and the Prussians had turned against each other. In particular, it was mentioned that the Prussians had sent a large army.
Prepare to receive news from Hannover by force.
After Louis XVI informed Napoleon of the news, Napoleon did not take action immediately. Instead, he immediately sent scouts to investigate the coalition forces that had withdrawn from the Paris area.
When Napoleon learned that the coalition forces were filled with British and Prussian troops preparing for war and that the Prussian army surrounded the British army, Napoleon immediately met with Louis XVI.
In the secret room of the Paris Palace, there were only two people, Louis XVI and Napoleon. After Napoleon saluted and reported the intelligence obtained from the investigation to Louis XVI, Louis XVI said with some sigh:
"I didn't expect that when Paris was almost at the end of its rope, the enemy actually broke out into civil strife first. I wonder if God is also blessing us in France!"
After sighing, Louis XVI said to Napoleon energetically:
"Napoleon, if you send troops to attack the enemy now, will you be able to bring victory to France?"
"Your Majesty, I think now is not a good time to send troops. Besides, I think now is the best time to negotiate peace with the enemy!"
Hearing what Napoleon said, Louis XVI frowned and then said:
"Why do you say that? Seeing that the enemy has already started civil strife, it is time for us to send troops to defeat the enemy and avenge our shame. Why do you think of negotiating peace with the enemy now!"
Seeing Louis XVI's face looking a little ugly, Napoleon quickly said:
"Your Majesty, it is undeniable that the enemy's upcoming civil strife is the best opportunity for us, but Your Majesty! I believe you also know the current composition of the enemy. Do you think that if there is a war between the British and the Prussians?
If so, who can win? Or just discuss the current situation. If a war breaks out between the two sides, who will have the last laugh between the Prussian army and the British army in France?"
"It goes without saying that the British have insufficient troops. Even if the Dutch are added, the British may not be the opponents of the Prussians. Moreover, Prussia has sent reinforcements. On the other hand, the British, even if the British want
It will also take several months to send additional reinforcements to the European continent."
Louis XVI gave Napoleon's answer without hesitation, and upon hearing Louis XVI's answer, Napoleon quickly said:
"That's exactly what your Majesty is! According to me, if Prussia and the British go to war at this moment, I think the Prussians will definitely win for now. After all, although the British navy is the best in the world, its army is nothing at all.
Strong.
Moreover, the Prussian army in France numbers tens of thousands. Even after the last Battle of Paris, the Prussian army still has more than 30,000 troops. What's more, the Prussians have garrisons in various regions in the north. All these garrisons are included.
If so, the enemy can gain an army of nearly ten thousand people.
As for us in France, with the Fourth Army of Prince Condé being annihilated, our army now only has 30,000 troops in Paris, and among these 30,000 troops, there will inevitably be troops left to guard Paris. In this case, even if
It is because we are facing the fact that the enemy is in civil strife, and our army is unable to completely drive the enemy out of France!"
Napoleon kept analyzing Louis XVI, but after he finished speaking, Louis XVI still looked a little unhappy.
"Then what do you think we should do? Even if there is a great opportunity for the enemy's civil strife, we can't expel the enemy and regain our homeland? Or, after the enemy's civil strife ends, will we have to experience the humiliation of Paris being besieged by the enemy again?"
"Your Majesty, I believe that the enemy's civil strife is a great opportunity for us. The interests of the Prussians do not lie in France at all, and the reason why they sent such a large army to France is precisely in exchange for an alliance with the British.
!
The alliance between Britain and Prussia is about to collapse. Under this situation, even if the Prussian army wins, they will not continue to stay in France. After all, the distance from France to Brandenburg is too far. The enemy
We also have no intention of occupying our French territory.
Under such circumstances, it is completely acceptable to the Prussians for us to negotiate peace with the Prussians!
In addition, I have always believed that if the kingdom wants to rise, it must quell the rebellion in the south. In this war, the rebellion in the south actually ignored the safety of the empire. Even during the siege of Paris, there was not a single reinforcement.
faction, which is enough to show how rampant the rebellion was in the south.
You must first pacify your homeland before fighting against foreigners! If you want to regain your homeland and strengthen France, you must completely wipe out those rebels. Only after pacifying the rear can our Kingdom of France be able to rise again!"
Napoleon's words moved people.
Indeed, there are currently only 30,000 troops in Paris. It will be very difficult for such a number of troops to destroy either the British army or the Prussian army.
Since there is trouble between the Prussians and the British, it means that for the time being, both parties can no longer care about Paris. In this case, it is better to take the opportunity to send troops to annihilate the so-called revolutionary parties in southern France.
If this guy is completely wiped out, France will have a chance in the future.
After listening to Napoleon's words, Louis XVI fell into deep thought. After a while, Louis XVI said with a look of reluctance:
"What you said makes sense, so you must pay attention to the enemy's movements during this period. If Prussia and Britain really go to war, then I authorize you to negotiate peace with Prussia and the British!"
....................................
The war between Britain and Prussia was about to break out as Hanover was captured by Prussia, and in Beauvais, France, the situation became even more serious.
The British troops guarding the camp were fully armed, and outside the British camp, soldiers from the Prussian Seventh Division, the Fourteenth Division, and the two Imperial Divisions also coldly aimed their weapons at those
Comrades who were fighting together just a few days ago.
"Marshal Ferdinand, I strongly protest against the actions of your army. Your army has no right to restrict the actions of our army! If your army insists on going its own way, then I will persuade our government to stop providing logistics supplies to your army!"
Standing outside the camp, Duke Andrew shouted loudly to Marshal Ferdinand who was in the Prussian army.
After hearing what Duke Andrew said, Marshal Ferdinand also said:
"Okay. Your Majesty the Duke, we all know that not only did I receive the order from our government, but you must have also received the order. At present, I am still the supreme commander of the coalition forces. Without my consent, your army actually prepared
The whole army is heading north. In this case, I naturally have the right to restrict the actions of your army!"
The reason for this tense situation still has to start with the British army.
After retreating to Beauvais, Duke Andrew also received news from the British government. At the same time, the British government ordered Duke Andrew to immediately lead the army to retreat north to the coastal cities in northern France.
Just when Duke Andrew was preparing to move his army north in accordance with the order, the movements of the British army were naturally discovered by the Prussians who were always paying attention. Then Ferdinand ordered the British army station to be surrounded, and Ferdinand also strictly ordered that as long as there is a British
If anyone dared to leave the camp and go north, the Prussian army would immediately launch an attack.
It was under Ferdinand's strict order that all the Prussian troops mobilized with great fanfare and surrounded the British army's camp.
"By the way, Duke Andrew, as for the logistics supplies provided by your country, I would like to remind you that your government has not sent supplies to the front line for five days. At present, the logistics supplies in the army rely on previous storage.
!”
Since he was going to fall out with the British, Ferdinand must have made full calculations.
It has indeed been a week since the UK provided any more logistical supplies. However, fortunately, there are still some supplies stored in various supply depots previously established. Coupled with the supplies currently in the army, according to Ferdinand's calculations
, this material is enough to sustain the current army for a month.
Although one month is not enough time, it is enough for the Prussian army.
Don’t forget, nearly half of the territory of the Austrian Netherlands was allocated to Prussia. After Prussia took over the Austrian Netherlands, in order to prevent accidents, Prussia also hoarded a considerable amount of supplies in Brussels.
.
The British army currently in France, even including the Hanoverian army, is only a little over 20,000 men. Although it seems like a lot, Ferdinand is confident of forming an overwhelming advantage over the British army.
After all, Duke Andrew currently has a British army of more than 6,000 people. If this army is annihilated, the British will only have an army of more than 10,000 people. As for Prussia, although the reinforcements have not arrived yet, they are really
An army of forty thousand is indispensable.
Standing in the camp, Duke Andrew seemed a little silent. Although due to selfish reasons, the British army's logistics supplies were not put together with the Prussian army, so the supplies in the British camp are barely adequate, but no matter how much supplies they have,
It's not worth sitting back and having nothing!
What's more, if the Prussians really go to war, there is absolutely no hope of holding the British camp. After all, the Prussian army besieging outside is more than three times the British army.
"Puke Andrew, I advise you to stay patiently in the camp for now. If your two countries are really at war with each other, then I advise you to surrender as soon as possible!"
After speaking, Ferdinand no longer paid attention to Duke Andrew, but began to arrange the deployment of the army.
There was already an uproar in London. Although many people in the upper echelons of Britain were clamoring to fight to the death with the Prussians and show the power of the Prussians, most rational British people completely ignored these things that seemed to them completely
Crazy remarks.
If Britain and Prussia really go to war, what should we do with the British soldiers on the European continent? Don't forget, many of these soldiers are from London.
"Snapped!"
"A Hanover only lasted a few days. Are you too incompetent or are the Prussians invincible?"
In the palace, George III angrily threw a sculpture at his hand to the ground and broke it into countless pieces, and he even scolded the British ministers in the room with a ferocious expression.
"Your Highness, although we have made preparations, reinforcements to Hanover have not been sent yet. Who knew that the Prussians would capture Hanover so quickly! And right now, our top priority is still the British soldiers deployed in France. Who knew
Will the Prussians immediately launch a large-scale offensive? With the current military strength, it is impossible to compete with the Prussians on the European continent!"
The British Minister of War spoke to the angry-looking George III.
"What else can we do? Send reinforcements! Are we going to watch our soldiers being driven into the sea by the Prussians?"
George III stared at the Minister of War and said, but when faced with George III's questioning, the Minister of War said:
"Your Majesty, apart from the five thousand troops we have assembled to send to Hanover, London may not be able to send reinforcements to the European continent in a short period of time!"
"Then what should we do? We can't just withdraw our troops from the European continent! Tens of thousands of our soldiers have died in Europe. Are we going to give up the land that has drained the blood of the British Empire for no reason just because we are afraid of the Prussians?
To the Prussians?"
George III paid no attention to the implied withdrawal of troops in the words of the Secretary of War.
In the UK, the military department and government do not want to be independent. The British Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy have always been members of the British cabinet.
Therefore, in this case, the words of the Secretary of War not only represent the thoughts of the military, but can also be regarded as the thoughts of the British government cabinet.
After George III finished speaking, Prime Minister Peter Jr. immediately said:
"Your Majesty, our country has paid a high price this year because of the war on the European continent. Under such circumstances, if you are really determined to fight the Prussians, then I think the top priority is to withdraw our troops from the European continent!
After withdrawing our army, we can completely use our consistent tactics. With our powerful navy, the Prussians are not qualified to fight our country for a long time!"
While Little Pete was speaking, George III sat back in his seat, and after listening to Little Pete's words, he said:
"What about those areas that have been occupied? Besides, we want to withdraw our troops from the European continent, but the Prussians will definitely not let us do so. According to intelligence, Brandenburg has made a plan to annihilate the main force of our army in France.
The battle plan was sent to the front line.
In addition, although our navy is powerful, it can only blockade ports and attack coastal cities. Don’t forget that Prussia is based on land. In addition, Prussia’s only overseas colony is North America, and there are quite a few troops stationed in that colony in Shanghai.
The army does not think that the Prussians can be killed by sheer attrition!"
George III's words were not very loud, but everyone in the room could hear them clearly at this moment.
In the past, Britain's world-leading naval power was something they were very proud of, but now it has become an unspeakable regret in their hearts.
Because it pursues a navy-first policy, the United Kingdom has never paid much attention to the existence of the army. Even before the North American War of Independence, the total strength of the entire British army was only 30,000. Even now, as the United Kingdom has painstakingly established
After the 60,000-strong expeditionary force was completely wiped out by Napoleon, the total strength of the British Army was less than 40,000.
Looking at Prussia, the official designation of the Prussian army so far is twenty-three divisions, and the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth divisions are also under preparation. Once the preparations for those two divisions are completed, it means that Prussia