readx;? On May 4, at about 5 p.m., the last French support units had completed the landing on the banks of the Danube at the Erchingen beachhead. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoSince the river was crossed during the day, and it was much safer than the night smuggling of the first regiment, the river crossing operation was naturally smoother than that of the first regiment.

It didn't take long for more than 6,000 soldiers from the 3rd, 8th and 9th regiments to march into Elchingen and join Lampard's 1st Regiment. At the same time, in recognition of Lampard's command ability, the headquarters of the Rhine Corps also made an exception to give Lampard full command of the river crossing operation, mainly responsible for mobilizing the strength of the four regiments of the French army that had crossed the river to complete the expansion of the Danube inland front.

The strength of the first regiment and the three subsequent French regiments has reached nearly 9,000 people, and if you want to talk about the establishment of the Austrian army, it can be regarded as an infantry division, and the commander is at least the rank of major general. The French Rhine Corps was very different, with two divisions and two Baden divisions under its control. Bernadotte's first division was the direct division of the Rhine Corps, with an establishment of more than 30,000 men, and three infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade, with an establishment of at least 7,000 people. Lampard's current power is at least above that of a brigade commander, although it is somewhat out of step with his rank of lieutenant colonel.

There is no doubt that Brion, in addition to his own direct subordinates, or is really capable, generally does not easily give so much power to a middle-level officer. Although Frank Lampard is also a high-quality mid-level officer in the Rhine army, there are also many leaders in the army. Therefore, Lampard can get so much attention because of Bernadotte's strong support.

After all, Frank Lampard is known in the army as a direct officer of Bernadotte, and his performance in the Danube landing was amazing, and the defeat of 6,000 Austrians by one regiment is already a good record. Even if Briand doesn't say anything, Bernadotte, as the top boss, will naturally have to be rewarded. There was even talk in the army that Lampard might be promoted to colonel and brigade commander as soon as the battle was over.

To be honest, Lampard didn't dare to think about the position of division commander for the time being, after all, the entire Rhine Army plus Sirte's Baden Army was only six divisions, and the highest rank was Briand's lieutenant general. In this way, the commander of the 1st Brigade was a springboard for officers to step into the upper echelons, and at the same time became an important force in the Rhine Regiment. But after becoming a brigade commander, it may be difficult to continue to be promoted. At this time, the commanders who could become major generals were undoubtedly veterans who followed the Brion faction in the early years, and they all had good military exploits. If the brigade commander still wants to continue to climb up, then he can only obediently mix qualifications.

As far as Lampard's current combat mission is concerned, it should be much less difficult than the previous landing operation. The French army had basically cleared the Austrian defense forces along the Danube, and even if the Austrian army below mobilized troops to launch a counteroffensive, the French army with its 9,000 troops could cope with it with ease. Moreover, more than half of the pontoon bridge has already been built, and no matter how bad Lampard is, he will at least be able to cross the Danube with the main French army.

On 5 May, the four French regiments were ordered to join forces and march in unison to continue the attack inland, and the French 1st Regiment extended nearly 10 kilometers in depth before finally encountering the Austrian troops as an interceptor force in the Nersingen area.

Encountering Austrian troops on the march was naturally expected by Lampard, and he even looked forward to an early exchange of fire with the Austrians, after all, the French landing force at this time had won several battles in a row, morale was high, and the troops still had enough ammunition in the previous battles because most of them were white-knuckle battles. Moreover, the French army had nearly 9,000 troops, and not only had the courage to fight the Austrian army, but also had the strength to confront the Austrian army.

On the other hand, the Austrian army deployed only 2,000 troops of two infantry regiments in the Nersingen area, but after the Ersingen defense line was broken by the French army, more than 2,000 deserters ran back from the front line. After that, Archduke Charles specially mobilized more than 10,000 soldiers of the Austrian Fourth Division, led by Prince Schwarzenberg himself, to speed up the march overnight and arrive in the Nersingen area.

In the Austrian defense line on the Danube, once Elchingen is lost, then the next route of the French army will inevitably be in the Nersingen area, so it naturally becomes the focus of the Austrian army's defense. Moreover, Archduke Charles naturally understood how it was possible for a mere 4,000 Austrian troops to hold back such a large French army, let alone recapture the Elsingen area. Therefore, the Fourth Division was hastily sent to the battlefield by Archduke Charles.

The Austrian Fourth Division, which was commanded by Archduke Charles in the early years, can be said to be a descendant of the Archduke Charles. The full strength is about 12,000 troops, and it has an artillery regiment, a cavalry brigade, and two infantry brigades under its jurisdiction.

The division, which was now part of the Austrian German Legion, was well-equipped, had excellent soldiers, and had experienced a hundred battles, and this time it was an Austrian unit appointed by Archduke Charles to France. After fighting the Rhine Corps, it was used as a reserve for Archduke Charles, so it did not suffer many casualties in the Battle of Ulm. It can be said that among the current troops of Archduke Charles, only the Fourth Division still maintains a combat effectiveness that is not much different from the original.

It stands to reason that Archduke Charles should never send the last elite troops into battle so early, but I am afraid that the current situation of the war is not up to his will. Nelsingen is the gateway to the current Austrian command in Ginzburg, and if the French still take Nelsingen, it would be a matter of letting the French invade Bavaria. Although even holding on to Nelsingen may not be of much use to the current war situation, Archduke Charles is currently trying to play a role in the Fourth Division.

Marshal Alvinzi's 50,000 elites are about to arrive on the battlefield in Bavaria, and Archduke Charles has made up his mind that he can hold on for a day, even if he can't hold on, he has to continue to hold on. In this way, it seems that the aim of both the French and Austrian armies was to stall for time.

Frank Lampard, who commanded four regiments in the rear, looked at the Austrians in white uniforms in the telescope, and made a rough estimate and found that there were really a lot of Austrian troops blocking the way, and the number of enemies was at least 7,000. Due to the large number of enemy troops this time, Lampard did not have the patience to count, so Lampard estimated that the Austrian army on the opposite side had at least one division or so.

After a few victories, Lampard was as conceited as many of the officers of the Rhine Army, and he did not think that at least one division of troops on the opposite side could take on the 9,000 French troops under his command. Moreover, the pontoon bridge in the rear was almost completed, and besides, how many enemy troops to defeat was not on his list, but it was directly linked to his military resume. Lampard didn't think much of it and immediately gave the order to start fighting.

Apparently Frank Lampard was looking away this time, and after the encounter with the French, the Austrians did not try to defend as before, but took the initiative to attack as the French tactics did.

In this case, it is the military quality of the soldiers of the two armies that can determine the victory. The Fourth Division is a well-known elite unit of the Austrian Army, and its training intensity and elite degree are naturally comparable to those of Brion's troops. In addition, the commander, Prince Schwarzenberg, was a young and fierce general of the Austrian Empire on a par with Archduke Charles, and the Austrian army did cause some panic in the French army as soon as they came up.

Due to the small gap in combat effectiveness, there was an unprecedented fierce battle between the French and Austrian armies on the battlefield. At this time, the numerical inferiority of the French army was gradually revealed, and the original number of the Austrian Fourth Division was not much different from the full strength, and the help of 4,000 Austrian troops was added. The French lost several hundred soldiers in two battles in the Elchingen area. Now against the Austrians, all the reserves have been sent to the battlefield, which has barely closed the gap in the front caused by the numerical inferiority.

One by one, the French soldiers on the battlefield fell, and the Austrians launched a more violent offensive at random, and it was only then that Lampard came to his senses. The difference in strength between the French and Austrian armies was so great that the French army could not take advantage of anything at all.

Even so, Lampard ordered his troops to go on the offensive!

"Report to the regimental commander that the 3rd Regiment of the left flank of our army has been unable to receive support for a long time, and has been routed by an infantry brigade of the enemy. ”

"It is reported that the 8th Infantry Regiment on the right flank of our army has been surrounded by enemy regiments, and the casualties are increasing, and rapid support is requested. ”

As soon as one of the heralds finished speaking, another herald rushed to him and said, "Sir, the commander of the 9th Infantry Regiment of our army has died on the battlefield, and the 1st Regiment is still fighting with the enemy, asking for support. ”

"Support, support, where do I have soldiers to support them. Frank Lampard smashed his binoculars in anger: "Victor, send our guard platoon up." I promised the division commander that I would never live up to his expectations, and even if I die here today, I will never retreat. ”

Before Victor and other command officers could react, Lampard walked up to the soldiers in the guard platoon and drew his sabers: "Soldiers, the Rhine Legion has never retreated since the start of the war. Today, we must not disgrace the glory of the soldiers who have sacrificed our lives and rush with me。。。。。。 ”

Hearing only a 'whoosh' and a stray bullet pass through, Lampard suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. In the next moment, as if all his strength had gone out of thin air, his sturdy body couldn't even be stable, his right hand took advantage of the saber, and then he fell to the ground with his legs weak.