The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 844 Napoleon's Unbearable Burden
If Mo Zibu were in Mo Gongze's position, he would realize that the Napoleonic Wars in European history were essentially a competition to see who was the least bad, at least in the early stages.

Napoleon Bonaparte came from a relatively humble background. Although he was exceptionally talented, his art of command and leadership in war were remarkable even in the context of China's five-thousand-year history, ranking him among the top ten or even the top five.

However, in terms of political wisdom and strategic vision of the overall situation, Napoleon was hampered, and seriously so, by his background and shallow education.

Because what Napoleon had at this time was the script of the First Emperor sweeping across the six kingdoms and unifying the world, or the script of Emperor Gaozu of Han, an old horse still in its stall, inheriting the Qin dynasty's ambition and unifying the world.

Both scripts share a common feature: they integrate a culturally similar region and do something groundbreaking for the first time.

If it weren't for the First Emperor, the Qin Dynasty rulers throughout Chinese history, who consistently pursued their ideal of unifying the world, their ideals would have been far less realized than those of the Qin emperors.

Without Emperor Gaozu of Han establishing the Han Dynasty and continuing to perfect the unification step by step, integrating the Chinese nation which was about to fall apart again, there would be no resilience in the later Chinese civilization of reunification after a long period of division.

Europe, it could be said, had reached this extremely critical juncture, and fate entrusted this heavy responsibility to Napoleon Bonaparte.

It's a real pity that Napoleon didn't have the family background of the First Emperor, nor the extraordinary talent of Emperor Gaozu of Han, who could see the big picture from small details and learn without a teacher.

He was successful militarily, but he kept making strategic mistakes, and in the end, he offended everyone he could win over.

This included, but was not limited to, forcing Prussia into the anti-French coalition, attacking its former staunch ally Spain, slapping Alexander I in the face who only wanted to save face, and forcing the Russians to fight him to the death.

In particular, Napoleon's attempt to marry Catherine Pavlovna, the sister of Alexander I, was a classic example of a man who courted disaster.

Because Alexander I was a sister-obsessed man, he had an affair with his sister Catherine Pavlovna, who was actually his most beloved mistress.

Alexander I even regarded his sister Catherine Pavlovna as the most important woman in his life. At the time, the two lived in St. Petersburg at the same time, but if they did not see each other for more than a day, they would definitely exchange affectionate letters.

In this situation, Napoleon wasn't going to propose marriage; he was going to cuckold Alexander I. He wasn't satisfied with the French army slapping Alexander I in the face; he wanted to slap him himself.

This marriage proposal became the final straw for Alexander I, leading the self-proclaimed Holy King to resolutely and firmly embark on a path of opposition against France.

Thus, thanks to Napoleon's shortsighted and reckless reliance on force, Europe, with its relatively small cultural differences, lost its last chance for unification.

At least, the cultural differences among the countries surrounding France in Western Europe are not that great.

The Age of Exploration brought together merchant ships, leading to close economic ties and eliminating the previous situation where a region could be divided solely based on its terrain.

More importantly, the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution profoundly influenced these countries, and it is no exaggeration to say that there are countless intellectuals and high-ranking members of society within them who regard France as their teacher.

It can be said that the timing and productivity were ripe, and if Napoleon had the vision and methods of the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Gaozu of Han, he would have been very likely to unite the four countries of Britain, France, Spain and Italy into a single entity.

If these four countries could truly unite, it would be a true rebirth of the Roman Empire, and the United States would have no place in world history.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in these situations.

1805 10 Month 3 Day.

Under the orders of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, large French armies marched into the Rhineland.

The right wing was led by Jean Lannes and Joshua Murat, and included the famous Imperial Guard, also known as Napoleon's Old Guard.

The central army was mainly composed of Louis Davout's Third Army and Jean Soult's Fourth Army.

The left wing included Bernadotte's First Army, August Marmont's Second Army, and a small number of Bavarian auxiliary troops.

The three armies numbered nearly 120,000, a formidable force rarely seen in Europe. They were not only swift and disciplined, but also highly motivated. The soldiers, singing war songs, could march more than 40 kilometers a day on foot.

This is because although the fruits of the French Revolution fell into the hands of Napoleon and his followers, who became emperors, princes, dukes and marshals, they did not fully enjoy the fruits of this victory.

A portion of this flowed into the lowest strata of society, primarily in the form of land, creating over two million middle peasants who owned approximately thirty acres of land, as well as some wealthy peasants.

Even many farmers who had no land before the revolution now possessed several acres of precious land that could feed their families to the point of being half full.

This stands in stark contrast to the situation before the Great Revolution, when 90 percent of the peasants only had 30 percent of the worst land.

At the same time, the Revolution abolished a large number of exorbitant taxes imposed on peasants, greatly reducing their burden and almost completely shattering their personal dependence on the nobility.

It can be said that, although the land revolution during the French Revolution was very incomplete, landless peasants still accounted for more than 30% of all peasants.

However, as the first progressive policy in European history to adopt the Chinese principle of "land to the tiller," the French Revolution was the first in Europe to break down aristocratic superstitions, and its impact was enormous.

Millions of French middle peasants enthusiastically joined the imperial army to defend the lands they had gained during the French Revolution, dedicating themselves to the country with great passion.

In contrast, English soldiers were forcibly conscripted by police with ropes from impoverished workers in major cities and extremely poor farmers in rural areas.

Austrian soldiers were also forced to register all eligible men under pressure from the government's secret police, and then selected from among them.

As for the Tsarist Rus' Empire, the vast majority of its rank-and-file soldiers were composed entirely of serfs who had no personal freedom.

These people at the very bottom of society have not enjoyed many benefits, yet they have to bear the brunt of all the hard work. It would be strange if they had much initiative. Once the harsh military law could no longer control them, escape was inevitable.

It can be said that the outcome of the war was already decided before it even began.

. . . .

Salzburg, Austria.

The Austrian military conference concluded, and the battle plan was officially finalized. Baron Karl Mark von Leiberich, the newly appointed Chief of Staff strongly supported by Emperor Franz I, basked in applause with a triumphant air.

The Austrian pro-war faction, led by him, proposed an invasion of the Electorate of Bavaria to provoke the French army into launching an attack.

At this time, the electorate of Bavaria in southern Germany, centered on Munich, was the most powerful of the German peoples, apart from Austria and Prussia.

In particular, in 1777, Maximilian III, Elector of Bavaria and the youngest son of the Wittelsbach family, died without an heir.

Both being from the eldest branch of the Wittelsbach family, Elector Karl Theodor of Palatinate was also Elector of Bavaria.

After half a century of division, the Wittelsbach dynasty once again unified the two electorates of Bavaria and Palatinate, and its power rose rapidly.

At this time, they turned to France, hoping to use France's power to strengthen Bavaria and make it a new power in Europe.

Therefore, Maximilian I, the successor Elector of Bavaria, even reluctantly agreed to marry his daughter Augusta to Eugène Beauharnais, Napoleon Bonaparte's stepson, in order to help him rise from a non-nobleman to the ranks of the top nobility.

From these perspectives, Baron Leiberlich, the Austrian Chief of Staff, had no problem in choosing the enemy to attack.

Bavaria has always been a troublemaker within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1779, Austria even fought the War of the Bavarian Succession with it. Now, it has allied itself with the French Empire, making it a major threat to Austria.

By attacking Bavaria, Austria could both eliminate a potential powerful enemy on its flank and attack the French Empire, which it would have to defend, thus drawing the French into the trap set by the Austrian army.

However, a large part of Baron Leiberich's plan relied on the Russian army to assist in defending the right flank of the Austrian army. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for hundreds of thousands of Austrian troops to defeat hundreds of thousands of French troops on their own. The combined Russian and Austrian forces would have been needed to fight together.

Although even the Tsar himself went to Vienna to participate in the meeting that formed the anti-French coalition, the main force of the Russian army was still in southern Poland, near Bohemia.

It wasn't that the Russian army was deliberately delaying; rather, the Russian army, mainly composed of serfs, lacked initiative among its soldiers. Unless forced by their officers, they were unwilling to march quickly.

The Russian army was in a slightly better position during the battle against the Yu on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, because at that time they were defending their homeland and were afraid that the Yu would rush in to burn, kill, and plunder their hometown, so they were very motivated. Of course, the Yu did the same.

This time, however, it was an expedition to a place they had never been before, and fighting against the French army, which posed no threat to their families and property. The Russian army's operational capabilities and fighting will suddenly dropped by a level, and their marching speed was ridiculously slow.

Amidst the chorus of praise, the smug Baron Leiberlich suddenly spotted three oddballs.

The emperor's younger brother, Archduke Karl, and his cousin, Archduke Ferdinand Joseph.

And Prince Ferdinand Karl Albrecht, the Belgian prince, Grand Duke of Transylvania and Governor-General of Hungary, whom Baron Leberrich disliked the most, also known as Mogonze.

These three guys were the ones who opposed his perfect battle plan.

"This is really unreasonable. The Russian army has just entered Bohemia and is at least 100 Vienna miles away from here. Even if the Russian army marches at a forced pace, it will take at least 15 days."

If the French army arrives during this gap, they could easily encircle us.

At that time, the Austrian Empire used the Vienna li as its unit of distance. One Vienna li was equivalent to approximately 7.3 kilometers. In other words, the Russian army was at least 700 kilometers away from reaching its designated location.

Archduke Karl's assessment that the Russian army could arrive in fifteen days was a gross overestimation.

Baron Leiberich, seeing that even the Emperor had approved his battle plan, was still opposed by the three men, angrily retorted, disregarding Archduke Karl's status:

"The valiant army of the Rus' Empire will surely arrive on time, as His Majesty the great Tsar Alexander himself promised!" "Foolish!" At this moment, Archduke Ferdinand Joseph, who was nominally the commander-in-chief of the northern army but had been outmaneuvered by Emperor Franz I's last-minute manipulation of the situation by sending Baron Leiberlich as his chief of staff to seize command of the army, was furious.

The Austrian Empire suffered many crucial defeats due to conflicting orders.

The reason why the Battle of Hornlinden was such a crushing defeat three years ago was entirely because Emperor Franz I always wanted his confidants to seize power, which resulted in the Austrian army having four commanders who were severely defeated by the French army. And now they still haven't learned their lesson.

"How foolish, Baron! You entrust the safety of hundreds of thousands of elite imperial troops to a promise from a foreign monarch."

I ask you, what if the Rus' Empire's army hadn't arrived in time as His Majesty the Tsar had said, leading to another devastating defeat at Hornlinden for the Empire?

Will we bear the consequences, or will someone else? Will His Majesty the Tsar take responsibility for this loss based on a mere verbal promise?

Baron Leiberich's face turned red from Archduke Ferdinand Joseph's scolding. He was about to retort when he heard Emperor Franz I speaking from the throne.

“As a subject, you should not question the promises made by a powerful monarch, Your Majesty. I believe that the army of the Rus' Empire will arrive within the time promised by my brother, Tsar Alexander.”

Archduke Ferdinand Joseph wanted to say something more, but upon hearing Emperor Franz's words, he sadly closed his eyes.

Clearly, Archduke Ferdinand Joseph's questioning of the Tsar was interpreted by Emperor Franz as a questioning of his choices and abilities, which greatly displeased Franz.

"Your Highness, what do you think?" After successfully silencing Archduke Ferdinand Joseph with a single sentence, Emperor Franz simply took matters into his own hands and turned his attention to the last troublemaker, Prince Moggenberg of Belgium.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the Belgian Royal Guard to accompany you." Moggallzer was far more cunning than Archduke Charles and Archduke Ferdinand Joseph.

Of course, it was also because he didn't care how badly the Austrian Empire lost, as long as the country didn't collapse. In fact, a worse defeat would make things easier for him.

Emperor Franz nodded in satisfaction. In his view, Prince Ferdinand’s refusal to discuss the matter was an admission of weakness. In any case, he had no intention of sending the Belgian Army (the Three Guards of Lupin) into battle; those Serres Guards were quite cunning.

"Your Majesty, I request that 30,000 men be transferred from the legions of northern Italy to the north. In case the Russian army cannot arrive in time, these 30,000 men can be used to stabilize the defense of the right flank."

Even at this point, Archduke Karl was still worried about the future of the Austrian Empire. He even gritted his teeth and pulled 30,000 men from the Southern Route Army in Northern Italy, which he commanded.

Looking at Archduke Karl, Mo Gongze couldn't help but silently mourn for him and the Austrian soldiers and people for three seconds. Having such an emperor was truly their misfortune.

Emperor Franz I thought Archduke Karl was really being incredibly tactless, but looking at his younger brother's thin body and anxious, worried eyes, Franz I forced himself to nod and then left the meeting room without looking back.

. . . .

It must be said that Archduke Karl was indeed the most militarily gifted commander on the Austrian side. He accurately predicted the movements of the French army, which was to take advantage of the fact that the Russian army had not yet arrived and to outflank the Austrian army from the right flank to defeat it first.

However, the French army's marching speed far exceeded the Grand Duke's expectations.

Archduke Charles's 30,000 troops from northern Italy had only traveled a little over 100 kilometers. When the Russian army had just reached west of Vienna, still 300 kilometers from the main Austrian force in the Ulm region, the French army had already completed the encirclement of the Austrian army.

In this battle, the French army made a major detour, passing through southern Prussia, bypassing the main territory of the Electorate of Bavaria, and striking directly behind the Austrian army, blocking their retreat.

On October 8, Joshua Murat launched the first attack, defeating more than 10 troops of Austrian General Franz von Offenberg in Wirgen, northeast of the Austrian army.

Murat used twice the number of elite guards as Offenberg to launch a surprise attack on the unfortunate Austrian general, so much so that the Austrian army was routed by the French cavalry before it could even deploy.

In despair, Offenberg retreated to the vicinity of the Vergensen City Square, leading his remaining 3,000 men of the 37th Infantry Regiment in an attempt to put up a stubborn resistance.

But soon French artillery and grenadiers arrived, and their fierce firepower shattered the morale of the Austrian troops, who lost their will to resist after only a brief exchange of fire.

Offenberg avoided being captured in the chaos, unlike his fate at the Battle of Hornlinden, but almost all of his 5,500 men were wiped out, with more than 500 killed or wounded and another 3,000 captured.

On October 9, Marshal Soult marched further south toward Augsburg and Landsberg, the most important logistical hubs for the Austrian army.

The Austrian commander, Baron Leiberlich Funke, never expected the French army to suddenly appear behind him, and had not deployed many troops to defend the city. Augsburg and Landsberg were quickly captured.

This sealed the fate of the Austrian army, as Augsburg was not only one of its logistical supply centers but also a crucial route for its retreat from southern Prussia back to Vienna.

Upon receiving the news, Baron Leiberlich was alarmed and immediately dispatched troops to reinforce Gintsburg, northeast of Ulm, as this was the only option for the Austrian army to retreat eastward.

Although it's not as easy as Augsburg's eastward route, it's better than nothing. As long as we have Gintsburg, we can still lead our main force out of the French encirclement.

As expected, Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout was already waiting for the Austrian army in Ginzburg.

Although the Austrian artillery was far more powerful than the French artillery, and Ginzburg was still in Austrian hands, the Austrian infantry was completely outmatched by the French infantry in direct combat.

With boundless enthusiasm and an iron will, the French soldiers, drawn from the conscripted Austrian troops, routed their forces.

The Austrian commander could only send the Hungarian cavalry to reinforce, but the Hungarian cavalry, already intimidated by the French army's bravery, had lost their courage before the battle even began. They launched three group charges, but were all driven back by the French infantry who quickly changed formation, suffering heavy casualties.

Even after the death of Colonel Gérard Lacourteau, the French army did not lose its organizational structure. They quickly reorganized a temporary combat command team according to rank and continued to attack the Austrian infantry under artillery fire.

The battle raged into the afternoon, and the Austrian army's morale collapsed, forcing them to retreat. The French army seized the opportunity to capture Ginzburg and take control of this important crossing point on the Danube River.

At this point, the Austrian commander, Baron Leiberlich, realized that he might be doomed.

Because the French forces in Ginzburg were fewer in number than the Austrians, and had only one-eighth the number of artillery, they were able to withstand the direct bombardment from Ginzburg's artillery and break the Austrian forces.

This shows that the French army, after being trained and reorganized by Napoleon, was much better than it was at the Battle of Hornlinden.

The Austrian army was not as strong as it had been at the Battle of Hornlinden, because many of its elite troops had already died there, and many of the new troops were only temporarily recruited.

In desperation, Baron Leiberich prepared to break out to the north, heading east from south of Mainz back to Prague.

But the French army once again demonstrated its formidable fighting power, proving that the Austrian army was no match for them.

Under the personal command of Baron Leiberich, 23,000 Austrian troops attacked Haslach and other places north of Ulm, where the Austrian army was stationed.

French General Pierre Dupont defended this crucial location with only 4,000 men, and despite the Austrian army's relentless attacks of 23,000 men, he still managed to hold the Haslach line.

Pierre Dupont's troops, at the cost of 600 casualties, killed or wounded 1,200 Austrian soldiers and captured nearly 6,000. Baron Leiberlich had no choice but to retreat hastily to Ulm, his morale plummeting to rock bottom.

On October 13, the Austrian army attempted to break out from another direction but was again blocked. Subsequently, the French army encircled and completely surrounded the city of Ulm.

Just six days later, on October 19, the Austrian army, whose retreat route was completely cut off and whose food, weapons and other supplies were completely lost, ran out of food and could not hold out for even one more day.

Baron Leiberich and his more than 40,000 Austrian troops shamefully surrendered to French Emperor Napoleon.

Of the 80,000 Austrian troops who entered the Electorate of Bavaria, only more than 10,000 Austrian soldiers led by Lieutenant General Michael von Kinmaier broke through the encirclement; the remaining 60,000 Austrian soldiers were either killed in battle or captured.

The Austrian army suffered extremely heavy losses in this absurd battle, with more than twenty generals captured and more than one hundred artillery pieces lost, while inflicting no more than three thousand casualties on the French army.

Emperor Franz I of Austria once again used his short-sighted wisdom to botch this war that was crucial to the fate of Austria.

He first seized military power through his cronies, discarding all correct opinions, and then entrusted the lives of 100,000 troops to a promise from Tsar Alexander I.

Napoleon's French army fought well in this battle, but it would have been extremely difficult to achieve such a brilliant result if Franz I hadn't been so incompetent.

Subsequently, the retreating Austrian army under General Kinmayr encountered the Russian army led by Kutuzov, which had arrived in Braunau. The two armies merged and began their retreat, with the French army following under Napoleon's orders.

Kutuzov deployed a blocking force along the Ens River, hoping to repel the French army's safe retreat.

During the battle, the French army led by Louis Davout was in high spirits. After a pursuit of hundreds of kilometers, the army remained in good order. More than 2,000 French vanguard soldiers quickly broke through the Russian army's interception with their strong fighting power.

Kutuzov saw the French army charging from afar from the mountain, and a familiar feeling welled up in his heart, just like the Khitan guards shouting "Long live the King!" on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea.

In an instant, Kutuzov knew that his arrangement would not stop the French army. He then left Lieutenant General Balagetian to delay the French army while he led the main force away, because the Russian central and rear guard were unaware that the Austrian army in Bavaria had been completely wiped out and was still gathering in this direction.

Three days later, the main French force caught up with the rearguard general, the Georgian prince Balagdion, at Amstein, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

The French army was in high spirits and launched a fierce attack against the Russian-Austrian allied forces, which suffered heavy losses. In half a day, the Austrian army lost more than a thousand men, the Russian army lost more than three hundred men, and several hundred were captured.

However, Balaguetien withstood the French offensive and used the artillery on the mountaintop to inflict nearly a thousand casualties on the French, forcing the French commander, Joachim Murat, the brother-in-law of Emperor Napoleon, to halt the pursuit.

Kutuzov also saw the situation on the battlefield clearly. With the Austrians having lost confidence, the battle was over, and he had no need to fight against the French army, whose morale was high, for the sake of the Austrians.

Kutuzov quickly adjusted his strategy, retreating north across the Danube River while burning almost all the important bridges across the Danube to delay the French army.

But with Kutuzov gone, Vienna was wide open, and once the French repaired the bridge, Vienna would be defenseless.

(End of this chapter)