The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 920 The Final Battle in France (Part 1)
September 28, 1814, the 39th year of the Guangzhong reign of the Great Yu Dynasty, originally the 19th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, the Mid-Autumn Festival.

After more than ten days of troop deployment and the collection of provisions and supplies, the Sixth Coalition against France officially began its march on France.

Just days before the anti-French coalition marched into the country, a massive anti-French uprising broke out in Antwerp, Belgium.

The French have occupied Belgium for nearly twenty years, and with the help of hundreds of thousands of French-speaking people, they have still failed to assimilate the remaining two million people. On the contrary, it has made the Belgians hate the French even more.

That takes some skill.

Under the brutal rule of the French Empire, Belgium's industry was completely controlled by the French, hundreds of thousands of able-bodied men were conscripted to serve as laborers for the French army, and half of the country's grain was often requisitioned.

This forced ordinary Belgians to resort to collecting shellfish on the beach and catching frogs in the river to eat.

If this region hadn't been so rich in resources, and if France hadn't had to develop Belgium's textile industry during the Continental Blockade, it's estimated that a third of Belgium's population would have died before this nightmare ended.

This brutal rule rapidly catalyzed the formation of Belgian national consciousness, and even the Greater Netherlands national consciousness.

These Belgians realized that foreigners could really do whatever they wanted to you, and that even if their own people were rotten and didn't look like rulers, it was still better than being ruled by foreigners.

So much so that the period when Mo Zirong ruled Belgium as a prince of the Holy Roman Empire was described as a golden age of equality for all.

This is all in contrast to the rule of the French. During the reign of Mo Zirong, there was a broadly representative parliament, relatively relaxed control over speech, and the punishment of heinous nobles and clergy. There was even a small-scale land reform.

In comparison, it truly deserves to be called the golden age.

On September 24, the Antwerp Uprising, facilitated by a French mole within the army and orchestrated by Count Talleyrand, quickly spread throughout Belgium.

Even in Middlesbrough and The Hague in the Upper Netherlands, some people raised troops in response.

Large numbers of Belgian farmers and fishermen, in utter misery, joyfully welcomed Mogonze's Antwerp regiment as they landed, armed with pitchforks and harpoons.

They preferred to eat shellfish and frogs themselves rather than supply the army with dried fish and black bread.

With the help of these Belgian civilians, the 2,000 troops of Shangchuan Town, the 3,000 troops of the Xia Fan Antwerp Regiment, and the 18,000 Swedish troops, commanded by Qin San and Qin Dingyang, quickly arrived in Brussels.

Taking advantage of the French troops' inability to react, Qin San drove them out and recaptured the Belgian capital.

Despite the escalation of the situation, Napoleon still did not send a single soldier to Belgium, but instead distributed a certain amount of military equipment to the French-speaking population within Belgium.

The French emperor saw through the anti-French coalition's scheme; the turmoil in Belgium was merely a minor ailment, and the key lay in the main coalition force advancing from the Rhineland.

As Napoleon had predicted, Qin San's offensive slowed down after his more than 20,000 troops captured Brussels.

Because blocking his way were over 600,000 French-speaking Walloons.

These people, who shared the same ancestry as the Gauls, were first-class citizens during the French rule of Belgium and had done a lot of work for the French army. Now, fearing being purged, they had no choice but to put up a fight.

10 month 1 day.

The anti-French coalition's 180,000-strong army approached Strasbourg, the capital of the Alsace region.

This was the last stronghold of the French army on the banks of the Rhineland. With the loss of Strasbourg, the next war would have to be fought on French soil, their traditional homeland.

In response, the General Staff of the Anti-French Allied Forces made detailed plans.

After Marshal Blücher of Prussia led 60,000 Prussian troops, including some from the Holy Roman Empire, to capture Mainz, which was under French control, he then circled around from the south to the north, cutting off the French army's retreat.

Mo Gongze was appointed commander-in-chief, but the main force of 160,000 men, actually commanded by Li Xingtai, set off from Stuttgart, crossed the northern Black Forest, defeated small French troops, reached the Rhine River, and approached Strasbourg head-on.

However, the great battle did not immediately begin. Firstly, the allied forces' supply transport was relatively backward, especially since the metal bullets needed for the needle-firing guns of the Dayu army were still piled up in Vienna, making it unsuitable to launch an immediate battle.

Secondly, the allied forces were waiting for Archduke Charles's southern army to achieve results in Switzerland.

Because if Archduke Charles fails to conquer Switzerland, then the French army in Switzerland can cross the Jura Mountains from Basel and attack the Allied flanks.

But if Archduke Charles were to conquer Switzerland, the Swiss allied forces would be able to outflank the French army in Strasbourg.

The success or failure of this battle depended entirely on the situation in Switzerland.

But Napoleon made a fatal mistake; he did not expect the Allied forces to send nearly 100,000 men to attack Switzerland, leaving the French forces in Switzerland with very few troops.

At this time, the Swiss Confederation's army consisted of only about 40,000 men under the command of Delanders, the French-speaking governor of the Swiss Confederation appointed by Napoleon and a puppet leader, as well as a portion of Italian troops.

Of course, another possibility is that Napoleon simply couldn't spare any extra troops to reinforce Switzerland, and could only hope that the Swiss would fight back because they were unwilling to submit to the Habsburg family any longer.

Switzerland did put up a resistance, but the gap between the two sides was too large.

Switzerland's elite troops had long been wiped out by Napoleon at the Battle of Budapest, and among the 40,000 men under Delanders' command were even pure militiamen armed with pitchforks.

This was no match for Archduke Karl's 100,000-strong army. The Swiss certainly did not want to be ruled by the Habsburg family again, but the Austrians wanted to avenge their humiliation and change the Austrian Empire's status as the humiliating Electorate of Vienna.

Therefore, after Archduke Karl uttered the famous line, "Austrians who still want to eat white bread should die here," outside Zurich, the rotating capital of the Swiss Confederation, the Swiss army was inevitably defeated by the Austrians.

Because France effectively controlled Austria, and Emperor Franz I was under the surveillance of French officers, most of the flour produced on Austrian soil was requisitioned.

Austrians work hard all year, and all they deserve is oatmeal porridge and rye porridge with lots of wild vegetables, as well as black bread with sawdust that is sour, hard, and astringent, and can cause intestinal obstruction.

Metternich was indeed ruthless. Napoleon originally did not intend to push Austria to this point, but with Metternich's excessive cooperation, France still ended up in this situation.

After their victory at the Battle of Zurich, the raging Austrian army immediately launched an attack on Bern. Delanders' army was defeated again, and he himself was captured by the Austrians.

The French and Italian troops stationed in Lausanne had no choice but to hastily retreat to Geneva, where they frantically dug fortifications to prevent the Austrian army from advancing into Lyon, France.

The original plan was for Archduke Charles, after taking control of the Swiss Confederation, to travel south from here to Italy and sever the connection between northern Italy and France.

But the battle went so smoothly that Archduke Karl had enough time to reinforce the main force.

After keenly sensing the changes on the battlefield, he wrote to Mo Gongze, requesting that a small number of troops be left to confront the French army near Geneva, while the main force headed north to cooperate with the main army in attacking Strasbourg.

Mo Gongze did not hesitate and immediately replied in agreement.

On October 14, Archduke Charles led 10 Austrian troops north and arrived at Brülly, 10 kilometers south of Strasbourg, on October 17.

At this point, the Allied forces had surrounded Strasbourg from the north, southeast, and southwest, leaving the French army with only a narrow passage to the west as their retreat route.

Just one day before Archduke Charles arrived in Bruel, Napoleon led 130,000 French troops to Nancy in the Lorraine region.

Now, Napoleon faced a choice: whether or not to defend Strasbourg, which was now isolated and outnumbered.

Defending was extremely difficult because Strasbourg was surrounded on three sides, and the troops could not deploy at all. They could only hold the city, which put them at a disadvantage in terms of manpower and situation.

If we don't defend, then we must withdraw our troops as soon as possible. The allied forces will soon be regrouping, and if we delay any longer, we won't be able to leave.

An hour later, Napoleon finished his discussion with the marshals, and Strasbourg still had to be defended.

This is because, for the French, the Alsace region, with Strasbourg at its head, is not traditionally considered French territory.

Because the Alsace region has always been passed from hand to hand among various powerful European nations and ethnic groups.

Today belongs to you, tomorrow to me. France has only truly controlled this place for about seventy years, and for most of that time it was a free city with a strong sense of independence.

Therefore, losing this area will not have a significant impact on public morale, but the situation is different for the Lorraine region west of Strasbourg, led by Metz and Nancy.

Although Lorraine and Alsace always appear together in history textbooks, the Lorraine region is considered by the French to be their ancestral homeland.

If Strasbourg were to fall and war were to break out in Nancy, it would deal a very serious blow to the morale of the French people and Napoleon's prestige.

"I need the bravest and most defensive marshal to hold Strasbourg for a month," Napoleon began to explain his plan.

"I led the main force north from Metz, took Cologne, and then turned south to seize the large amount of supplies that the Prussians had stockpiled in Mainz."

"Finally, the French army will advance rapidly south from Mainz, engage the enemy in a decisive battle east of the Danube, and utterly defeat them!"

The marshals began to whisper among themselves, while Chief of the General Staff Marshal Berthier offered an explanation.

"The main force of the so-called allied forces that are opposing us this time is actually the Seris Army, which has about 40,000 men."

We have confirmed that at least three units of the Seris Imperial Guard and four units of the Seris Royal Legion are involved.

However, although these Seres troops were very powerful, they were in a completely unfamiliar environment.

Therefore, as long as we first defeat the weak but very important Prussians and Austrians, the powerful Seres army will become blind and deaf.

I think that after losing these elite troops, Emperor Seres will realize that he cannot become too deeply involved in Europe.

"If we send another delegation to request peace talks, we will surely obtain Emperor Seres's consent."

Berthier's intelligence was accurate; the number of troops Da Yu used in this battle was around 40,000. If the Anxi Army and Liangfan Army were also counted as the Imperial Guard and the Capital Garrison, the number of their designations would match.

At the same time, if the French army could indeed inflict heavy losses on these 40,000 troops on the European continent, it would certainly force Maurice to be more cautious in dealing with Europe. However, the primary objective for victory was for Strasbourg to hold out, so who should be sent to defend Strasbourg?

Napoleon looked around, and everyone around him lowered their heads. Strasbourg was surrounded by 270,000 to 280,000 enemy troops on three sides. It would be no easy task to hold out for a month under such an intense siege.

"Your Majesty, let me go. I have a lot of experience dealing with sieges in Spain." At the critical moment, Marshal Massena stepped forward.

Among Napoleon's marshals, Lannes and Masséna were probably the most capable. Now that Lannes had long since died in battle, Masséna was the only one who could give Napoleon some peace of mind.

"Andrei, you always appear when I need you most. The Empire and I myself will always remember your merits!"

Napoleon was delighted, but Masséna remained unfazed by the emperor's praise.

Do you think he wanted to step forward? The emperor's eyes were fixed on him the whole time; how could he not step forward?
On October 19, Marshal André Masséna led 10,000 elite French troops into Strasbourg, surrounded by 70,000 French troops.

Seeing that the French army was determined to defend Strasbourg, the war broke out.

This battle was practically a battle between two mirror images, because Andrei Massena and Li Xingtai were almost identical commanders.

Both men were fiery and brave in battle, skilled in using surprise tactics, but at the same time, they were unconventional and did not care much about military discipline. They were able to get along well with their officers and soldiers, and were able to win the loyalty of their troops. They were commanders with a strong sense of chivalry and江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry).

The only difference is that Li Xingtai was fond of fame and wished that history books would record him as the second Huo Piaoyao after his death.

Massena, on the other hand, was a womanizer who wished he could have the chance to sleep with every beautiful woman in the world.

On October 21, the main force of the Allied forces, numbering 10 men and led by Li Xingtai, began to cross the Rhine River. After half a day of resistance, the French troops on the banks of the Rhine destroyed their fortifications and retreated to Strasbourg.

Li Xingtai ordered Yang Fang to lead 10,000 elite troops to follow and launch a fierce attack on the fortresses outside Strasbourg. They quickly captured two, and the situation seemed very promising.

But then came the bad news: Massena knew he couldn’t stop Li Xingtai from crossing the river, so he simply took the opportunity to lead 40,000 troops south to attack the Austrian army, which was only a dozen kilometers away from Strasbourg.

The Austrian army had just won a great victory in Switzerland, and while the soldiers and generals were arrogant and exhausted, they were so unprepared that they didn't realize the French army had gotten within two kilometers of them.

The 60,000 Austrian troops were thrown into chaos. Under the fierce attack of 40,000 French troops, they only lasted for six or seven hours before collapsing completely, suffering more than 10,000 casualties. They fled south for more than 70 kilometers before regaining their footing.

Archduke Karl once again demonstrated his strengths in strategy, tactics, and military training, but also his tendency to be unable to maintain composure in the face of unexpected situations.

Li Xingtai reacted immediately. He personally led 20,000 cavalrymen south along the Rhine River and intercepted the French rearguard that was about to return to the city before the French army in Strasbourg could sound the alarm to Masséna.

Massena was forced to turn back to provide reinforcements, and engaged in battle with Li Xingtai's forces only seven or eight kilometers from Strasbourg.

Li Xingtai, occupying the advantageous terrain, ordered Di Feihu to lead 4,000 cavalrymen to dismount and act as infantry to hold the line, while the remaining cavalrymen ambushed on both flanks, waiting for Massena to attack.

Massena also saw through Li Xingtai's plan, and only sent a few thousand troops to attack Di Feihu from both sides with the captured rear guard, while he himself held onto 20,000 troops without moving.

This battle immediately turned into a contest of combat effectiveness among elite troops.

If Li Xingtai couldn't resist adding more troops, his cavalry would lose their element of surprise, and Massena could easily provide support or even encircle him.

If Massena couldn't resist adding more troops, his army, mostly infantry, would be easily caught by Li Xingtai's cavalry if he made a move. Infantry in motion is very difficult to defend against cavalry.

The battle raged until the early hours of the second day. Despite being attacked from both sides, the French forces were still unable to break through Di Feihu's four thousand men.

Not only because of the superior equipment, but also because Di Feihu's forte was fighting this kind of ambush warfare, just like he did in the Battle of Austerlitz.

As the sun rose, Masséna chose to back down, because the main force of the anti-French coalition began to cross the Rhine in large numbers and would soon be encircled.

As soon as he made a move, Li Xingtai followed suit. He first used his cavalry to charge the retreating main force of Massena, causing the main French force to tremble with fear and make arbitrary moves.

He then immediately turned around and attacked the French army that was separated from the main force, forcing Masséna to abandon his rearguard and the three thousand men he had sent to attack Di Feihu's troops.

In their first encounter, Massena lost seven or eight thousand men, almost entirely squandering the victory he had just won against Archduke Karl.

Massena then dared not leave the city again, focusing all his efforts on defending Strasbourg and the surrounding bastions.

On October 24, the Allied forces used large-caliber artillery to destroy the bastions outside Strasbourg and fired a large number of incendiary shells into the city, causing multiple fires.

However, Massena's skillful command stabilized the situation in the city.

At this point, Li Xingtai began to feel that something was wrong, because no matter how he looked at it, he felt that the French army's defense of Strasbourg was meaningless.

Moreover, the war has progressed to this point, so why hasn't Emperor Napoleon appeared yet?

Subsequently, Li Xingtai ordered his cavalry to search upstream and downstream along the Rhine River. As expected, they ran right into the French army that had just successfully launched a surprise attack on Mainz.

Immediately afterwards, Li Xingtai ordered Austrian Field Marshal, Prince Karl Philip of Schwarzenberg, to lead troops to garrison outside Strasbourg.

He personally led an army of 130,000 to Mainz and demanded that Archduke Karl lead the Austrian army to Strasbourg as soon as possible.

Upon learning that he had been discovered, Napoleon immediately ordered Joachim Murat to lead his main cavalry force to harass the main force of the anti-French coalition heading north.

Murat accomplished his mission brilliantly. His harassment caused considerable losses to the anti-French coalition forces, but since the coalition forces were located on the upper reaches of the Rhine, they could quickly reach them by water.

Therefore, the French cavalry achieved considerable success, but the delayed mission was almost completely accomplished.

On October 28, the anti-French coalition established a defensive line in the Mannheim area, 10 kilometers south of Mainz, and Napoleon's plan to attack Prussia and Austria first and then destroy the French army completely failed.

The French army had no choice but to launch an offensive, and fierce fighting broke out between the two sides outside Mannheim.

Because the 100,000 French troops were relatively concentrated, they did not need to arrive in stages like Li Xingtai's 130,000 troops, and thus initially maintained a firm grip on the initiative in the war.

By the second day of the battle, the anti-French coalition had suffered significantly more casualties than the French army, but the French army's advance was becoming increasingly slower.

The Prussians, who had been the lackeys of the French for several years, were terrified when their stronghold, Mainz, was captured in a surprise attack.

They feared that they would be defeated again, and that Prussia would suffer the same fate as after the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit.

Under Marshal Blücher's command, the Prussian army performed exceptionally well, not only thwarting French attacks on multiple occasions but also launching several brilliant counterattacks.

On the afternoon of October 29, the audacious Li Xingtai entrusted his main force to Generals Yang Fang and Gui Han, while he himself selected 10 cavalry to cross the Rhine River and actively seek out the main force of the French cavalry.

At dusk, Li Xingtai, relying on his keen sense of smell, determined the direction of the French cavalry's attack and captured Joachim Murat's cavalry, who were attempting to outflank and attack the Prussian army.

Against the backdrop of the sunset, the two sides engaged in a fierce cavalry duel, with the Dayu cavalry ultimately emerging victorious due to their superior commanders, cavalry training, and equipment.

Murat's 20,000-plus cavalry suffered more than 30% casualties, with a large number of his most valiant French Guards cavalry killed. Even the commander-in-chief Murat himself only managed to escape under the cover of night.

Subsequently, Li Xingtai further circled around and frequently harassed the French army.

Meanwhile, Archduke Karl's 30,000 Austrian troops and a large number of Prussian troops arrived. Although the allied forces were scattered, their numerical advantage was still obvious.

Murat's defeat and the continuous reinforcements from the Allied forces put immense psychological pressure on Napoleon, causing him to hesitate about whether the battle could be won.

Just then, news of Kutuzov's burning of Moscow reached the French army.

Napoleon could not determine whether Kutuzov was implementing a scorched-earth policy or was truly unable to resist and had no choice but to burn Moscow, because true and false information were spreading everywhere.

Under pressure from multiple sides, Napoleon decided to withdraw his troops. He no longer cared about the opinions of the French and decided to fight again in the Lorraine region.

At least there he could mobilize a large number of militia as an auxiliary force, so that he wouldn't be at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.

On November 1, the French army began its retreat. Instead of heading north back to Mainz, they retreated directly west towards Metz.

The anti-French coalition forces also pursued the enemy under Li Xingtai's command. The two sides were entangled in the snow and ice for four or five days before finally separating.

In this battle, the French army suffered more than 20,000 casualties, while the anti-French coalition forces numbered nearly 50,000.

Although the anti-French coalition forces appeared to have lost, the vast majority of their losses came from Prussian and Austrian troops, who were not elite soldiers and could be easily recalled if they died.

The French army suffered heavy losses, particularly its elite troops, so in reality, the French army lost this battle.

While the French army was retreating, Napoleon still notified the garrison in Strasbourg. Marshal Masséna, after many hardships, brought back nearly 50,000 of the 70,000 troops in Strasbourg.

However, instead of a welcome, he was met with a barrage of accusations. Napoleon believed that Masséna's premature loss of the outer bastions allowed the anti-French coalition forces to freely cross the Rhine River for reinforcements, ultimately forcing the main force to retreat.

This sounds somewhat reasonable, because Massena's bastions on the river were indeed lost very quickly, and it was precisely because of the loss of the river bastions that the Rhine could not be blocked with artillery.

But in reality, it's nonsense, because no matter who was sent, even if it were Napoleon himself, he couldn't defend these fortresses.

Moreover, the biggest reason for the French defeat was that Li Xingtai discovered the French army's movements, preventing the French from successfully launching a surprise attack on the main Prussian army in the north.

But at this point, in order to maintain his prestige, Napoleon had no choice but to shift the blame.

Subsequently, Napoleon replaced Marshal Masséna with Louis Davout, and Marshal Masséna, who was nearly driven to death by anger, took the opportunity to resign and return to Paris.

The war entered its second phase, which began to break out in France.

(End of this chapter)