Chapter 188: Invincible Defense (4)
The experiment with explosives to destroy the barbed wire had been quite successful, but the plan to drive away the sheep and trigger landmines was abandoned after just one trial. During the experiment, they had simply set off a firecracker among the sheep, causing the entire flock to scatter in all directions. By calculating the direction in which most of the sheep had fled, they realized that the majority of the flock had gone in the opposite direction.
If they were to charge into battle with a flock of sheep, there wouldn't be too many landmines to step on, but the comical sight would undoubtedly dampen the morale on their side. After all, how could they expect the flock to form an orderly formation and bravely charge ahead to trigger the landmines?
In the end, Bagration suggested, "The French landmines have limited power. We can push hand carts in front, and the others can follow in the cart tracks."
"Doing that would expose us to long-range French artillery fire," someone pointed out.
Artillery had limited range when using shrapnel, and though solid shot projectiles had a longer range, their killing radius was quite restricted. They were effective against linear infantry formations, but when dealing with scattered troops, their effectiveness diminished. However, if they followed Bagration's approach, it would essentially be a column advance. In a column advance, they'd be vulnerable to solid shot projectiles, and getting hit by those would be catastrophic.
"I think if we're going to advance in a column formation, we shouldn't bother with pushing carts," Archduke John chimed in. "In the past, when we were fighting the French on the Northern Front, their troops lacked discipline and couldn't form proper formations. They often advanced in columns. They would charge towards us, facing artillery fire.
Columns are easier to maintain, even while on the move. With sufficient morale, an army can swiftly advance in a column. Though they might suffer heavy casualties if hit by artillery while in column formation, the fast approach reduces the number of times artillery can fire. Also, because they're in a column, the muskets can only harm the first one or two rows. So, the French, using column formation, rapidly attacked us, with fewer casualties than we expected.
Once they reached a close range, the French would deploy into line formation, volley fire, and then engage in bayonet combat. Relying on numerical superiority and high morale, the French repeatedly defeated us using such straightforward tactics."
While Napoleon faced off with the Russian and Austrian coalition in Italy, the situation in the northern front was rapidly deteriorating for the French. After retreating to Lige, the French army faced a Prussian pursuit, and both forces found themselves in a standoff near Lige.
The French had suffered significant casualties during their retreat and had lost nearly all their cannons. Although they received reinforcements from within the country upon reaching Lige, the peculiar weapon procurement system meant that the reserve units received little funding for weapons. As a result, the troops mainly possessed outdated smoothbore muskets.
If not for the fortifications at Lige, the French would have been in dire straits once more.
However, a few days later, the British army arrived with their cannons, putting the French defensive position at Lige in jeopardy.
Even during the retreat from Hanover, the French government, especially Carnot, had realized that the situation on the northern front was becoming critical. The best course of action was to recall the Italian Army and rush north to confront the British. Otherwise, another battle like the Defense of Verdun might be on the horizon, and if that battle were to be lost, Paris would likely see white flags flying once more.
Consequently, the Provisional Government issued a flurry of orders to Napoleon, demanding that he promptly bring his troops back to France to confront the British. However, Napoleon claimed that the intense fighting and inability to retreat made it impossible. He disregarded all those orders. In one month, the Provisional Government sent twelve orders to Napoleon, but he remained unresponsive, firmly established in Italy.
For over half a month, the Russian and Austrian coalition had been in a standoff with the French, occasionally engaging in minor skirmishes. However, no major battles occurred, and it seemed like everyone was on holiday.
During this time, the Russian army diligently practiced the column attack strategy, using explosives to breach the barbed wire and other tactics. Finally, including Field Marshal Kutuzov, everyone felt that their training was sufficient. The time for the decisive battle had arrived.
