Make France Great Again

The walls that were once used for defense are now nothing but ruins, and the tents that provided rest for Prussian soldiers have also been hit by a round of indiscriminate cannon fire. One cannonball accidentally struck the wooden room where ammunition was stored, igniting the entire room. Ron only heard a deafening explosion behind him; four Prussian soldiers and a warrant officer transporting the ammunition died on the spot. The wood pieces turned into high-speed shrapnel, mercilessly reaping the lives of nearby Prussian soldiers.

"Save me... God, please..."

Many Prussian soldiers affected by the explosion lay on the ground, emitting painful wails. The cries spread like a plague to the surrounding Prussian soldiers.

Due to Prussia's universal conscription and three-level reserve system, many Prussian soldiers transitioned to the second reserve level upon becoming veterans. Most new recruits were from the petite bourgeoisie or farmers who fled the estates of East Prussian landlords. For Prussian soldiers who had experienced peace and served less than three years, this scene was sheer hell on earth.

A trench comrade from one moment might the next moment be lying on the ground, covered in blood, intestines spilling as they stretch out a blood-soaked, muddy hand begging for help.

Which recruit could withstand such torment!

Some Prussian soldiers were so frightened by the gruesome scene they couldn't even hold their guns, and a few pampered ones wet their pants.

These phenomena were very normal behaviors in the camps, especially for Prussian troops participating in war for the first time.

However, no Prussian soldier dared to flee. The military discipline, severe to the point of being almost perverse, made it impossible for Prussian soldiers to dare to make any unnecessary moves unless absolutely necessary.

The first three tenets of Prussian military training doctrine must be mentioned here. The first rule is "Soldiers are scum," the second "Scum should be beaten," and the third "Make soldiers fear the whip more than the bullet."

When building this army, King Frederick personally punished soldiers, and he was ironically given the affectionate title "Soldier King" by the soldiers.

Although after the Napoleonic Wars Prussia slightly restrained the habit of whipping soldiers, the lower-rank officers still imposed harsh corporal punishment on the soldiers; each year a number of Prussian soldiers would "accidentally" become disabled.

August Bebel's father was crippled by beatings in the Prussian army. On his deathbed, Bebel's father angrily said: "I would rather let him starve than join the army."

Some soldiers closed their eyes, praying for God's blessing, while officers, accustomed to the brutality, drew their swords to release the heavily wounded soldiers from their suffering.

As the highest commander of this army, there was not a hint of pity in Ron's eyes. He immediately ordered the colonels of the first and second regiments to prepare to confront the approaching Austrian army.

The two colonels, still in shock, swiftly obeyed Ron's orders and began taking action, passing the orders to their camp majors who further passed them to their respective captains. The Prussian company commanders, molded by strict discipline, ordered warrant officers and senior sergeants to regroup the troops.

Thanks to the fact that most soldiers in the Prussian army had received primary education, they could swiftly regroup and ready the troops following Ron's directives.

If they were like the serf soldiers of Tsarist Russia, Prussia would likely collapse the moment Austrian cannons were concentrated, unable to assemble the army.

Of course, Tsarist Russia also had solutions for such situations. The renowned Russian General Suvorov once said, "Bullets are softies, bayonets are heroes." As long as the Russian army launched a charge at the enemy before total collapse, everything would be fine.

The hollow battalion-based formations were established in less than ten minutes, and the regimental staff immediately reported the troop's casualties to Ron.

"Major General, the first and second regiments lost a total of 340 men in this round of shelling, including three lieutenants and one captain!"

The staff report pained Ron deeply; the war had just begun, and nearly two companies of troops had been lost. The Prussian army's ability to respond to unexpected situations was indeed somewhat worrying.

However, now was not the time for Ron to reorganize military discipline.

"The first regiment advances at the battalion level, the second regiment follows closely behind!" Ron issued the order to the regimental staff again.

In the era when communications relied on shouting and message transmission relied on running, horseback was undoubtedly the fastest choice.

The regimental staff hurriedly issued Ron's instructions.

After the regimental staff left, the Prussian reconnaissance cavalry captain rode up to Ron, reporting the enemy's approximate location.

Ron quickly spread out the map, and a nearby guard hurriedly brought over an undamaged kerosene lamp from the tent. Under its light, Ron marked the locations provided by the cavalry captain.

"Tch!" Looking at the map where the Austrian army's positions seemed evident, Ron couldn't help but exclaim, "Their appetite seems rather large, huh!"

He then turned to a nearby guard and asked, "Do you know who the opposing commander is?"

After thinking for a moment, the guard replied, "I remember it's someone called Albrecht Friedrich Rudolph..."

Ron also remembered Albrecht, whom Prince William had mentioned before, and couldn't help but exclaim again, "Truly worthy of being Grand Duke Karl's son!"

"General, what's the matter?" the guard asked Ron with a puzzled look.

"Look here!" Ron pointed to the marked place he had drawn and said, "There are forests on both sides of the Fulda region, with only one route leading to Kassel. Theoretically, if we block this passage, our army will be unable to move on a large scale. At that point, we might only be able to pass through here!"

Ron pointed to the forest on the left side of the map. Marching a large force through the forest is undoubtedly taboo, especially marching in the dark, as one slight misstep could cause our forces to fall into disarray, not to mention the significant issues concerning supplies and ammunition.

Suvorov's grand tactical maneuver in the Alps became a monumental achievement in military academic history because he decisively abandoned the risk of having his logistics cut off to conduct a flanking maneuver, then successfully defeated the three armies of Moreau, MacDonald, and Jourdan.

In 1940, Gangmolin confidently assured that the German army would not choose to go through the Ardennes Forest, also based on these considerations.

Ron continued, "However, the opposing commander doesn't just want to block our retreat; they also need to guard against us breaking through the forest. If I am not mistaken, both sides are already filled with Austrian troops, and the forces stationed in the Fulda region are likely more than we imagined!"

"What should we do?" the guard inquired of Ron again.

"Charge!" Ron responded with a word, "We must completely engage their forces, only then can Prince have enough time to retreat."

Under Ron's orders, the hollow square formations, organized into battalions, continued to advance, with the only twenty-some bronze smoothbore cannons of the Prussian army behind them.

[The Prussian army of 1850 still used bronze smoothbore guns, and their army, after more than forty years, remained the same as during the Jena battle... No, worse than the Prussian army of the Jena period.]

The Prussian army encountered the Austrian army in the southern part of Fulda.

The commander of the Austrian Imperial Army, Albrecht, watched the Prussian force through his binoculars from horseback. He had clearly given the Prussian army ample time to flee, so why were they rushing to their deaths?

"Who is the commander on the other side?" Albrecht asked the Lieutenant General beside him.

The Lieutenant General shook his head in response, "I don't know, probably some unknown little figure!"

"If every small person in the Kingdom of Prussia is like this, it will be rather difficult for us to win!" Albrecht couldn't help but shake his head as he looked at the imposing square formations opposite.

"Hmm?" The Lieutenant General wanted to reproach Albrecht for overly praising others, but with Felix Schwarzenberg's orders in mind, he held his tongue.

When the Prussian army fully entered Austria's effective range, Albrecht swiftly issued an order.

"Open fire!"

All 75 artillery pieces were concentrated by Albrecht, and the sounds of cannon fire erupted one after another.

Under the formidable artillery suppression of the Austrian Empire, the tightly arranged Prussian forces showed a brief tendency to rout.

Had it not been for the prestige held by various levels of Prussian officers within the army, the Prussian solid square might have risked collapse.

It was only now that Ron realized the initial round of shelling was likely a deliberate act of leniency from the opposite side.

He could only hope to delay matters for as long as possible, and that Prince William could break through smoothly.

"Fire!" Ron also issued the command to open fire.

Compared to Austria's 75 artillery pieces, the 20 cannons of Prussia seemed somewhat meager.

At the same time, the hollow square formations, under Ron's orders, formed into three ranks of column formations, advancing against the Austrian Empire's artillery towards the Austrian forces.

Austrians, in turn, fiercely counter-attacked, with both sides firing at less than 400 yards from one another.

In medium to short-distance shooting, the Kingdom of Prussia's Dreiser Needle Gun regained some prestige, as the Austrian Empire's column formations continued to sustain casualties.

However, these casualties were insignificant to veterans who had experienced the "bloody battles of Hungary and Italy," with each fallen soldier being rapidly replaced by the next.

In the night-shrouded Fulda, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia slaughtered each other.