"Take it for the country, because the food is for the enemy, so the army can have enough food"

- The Art of War

March 27, 1796

Italy, Savoy, Nice

When Napoleon first arrived in Italy, he inspected his troops; What catches your eye is an army of beggars in rags, hungry and demoralized.

"No French general with a way would accept the post of commander of the Italian legion." It was only then that he understood the true meaning of the words.

This is an abandoned army. The officials of Paris were reluctant to provide for it, and the soldiers and officers under its jurisdiction did not know what military discipline was, and theft was commonplace.

The 43,000 men of the regiment had no salary, no military rations, no fodder, no shoes and socks, no clothes, no camp tents, no camp furniture, no means of transportation, and their material life was extremely poor. The hungry army looted and stole everywhere, rebellion and desertion occurred from time to time, and morale was very low.

Napoleon was well aware that if he wanted to improve the combat effectiveness of the army, he had to rectify military discipline, but how easy was it to say? Just shooting some people won't help at all.

What the officers and soldiers under his command really need is to be fed, clothed, and mailed to their families when they have money. Paris would not provide these necessities, and in order to obtain them, they would have to be obtained from the enemy with bayonets.

So, in his famous speech:

"Soldiers, you lack food and clothing, the republic owes you a lot, but the state has not yet had the strength to pay its debts. I have come to lead you into the richest plains under heaven. The fertile provinces and rich towns are all at your disposal. Soldiers, in the face of such a prospect, can you not muster up the courage to persevere? ”

It was his first speech to the soldiers, but it was enough to go down in history.

Later, under the excellent command of the young commander, the Italian army won a series of victories in Piedmont. Piedmont, the gateway to northern Italy, was thus opened by Napoleon in less than a month. And his generous promise was fulfilled - the troops were heavily supplied.

Get back to business

At this time, Jean Durde also wanted to emulate His Majesty the former emperor, and the French soldiers who were familiar with that allusion also began to work hard to do their old business - robbery.

The Walloon region was a land of abundance, and the French officers and soldiers reaped a lot of harvest, snatching enough food for months in just one day, and even replenishing their weapons and ammunition.

Not to mention that the looted property was enough to pay them dozens of times. In addition, they set up 12 camps for military prostitutes, including a hospital specializing in the treatment of syphilis.

Napoleon won six victories in fifteen days, captured 21 military flags, and was so excited that he didn't sleep well for a month.

Jean Durde now won nine victories and captured dozens of flags in just one day, a unique record in the history of Europe.

Therefore, his whole body had swelled to an incomprehensible extent, not only surround the 40,000 main force of Prussia with only 10,000 men left, but also divided 5,000 men to continue the pursuit of the remnants of the enemy, intending to take the fortress of Liège as well.

Usually, the siege of the city must be surrounded by three missing one, so that it is convenient for the enemy to cover and kill behind when he escapes, so as to achieve the purpose of breaking the enemy's heart and annihilating the enemy's main force.

However, Jean Durde did not intend to let go of a single Prussian, his aim was to completely destroy the living forces of the German Confederation in one battle.

Albrecht's vanguard confronted the French reconnaissance sentry in the Wallonia area and engaged in a fierce exchange of fire, with the elite of the hundred battles on one side and the newborn calves on the other but in high morale.

The hunters on both sides scuffled together in the swamps and hills, fighting with all their might, and it was only through the natives of Wallonia that they were able to wipe out the stubborn sentinel force.

After the battle, it was discovered that this so-called army had less than 500 men, but it had the momentum of 5,000 men, and even suppressed the Austrian vanguard with 3,000 men for a time.

However, before Albrecht could rebuke his incompetence, he immediately sent his most elite 5,000 cavalry to launch a tentative attack on the French defense, and then led his 20,000 elite troops to a decisive battle under the city of Namur.

At this moment, he is ready to break the boat.

Although it was an outpost, the strength of this force was much stronger than he realized, and the rest of the French troops in Belgium who broke through were probably only stronger than that.

Albrecht was vaguely worried, if he couldn't quickly eat the French army in Namur, I was afraid that the 100,000 Dutch troops behind him would also turn against him and stick a knife in the back.

By that time he was the sinner of Austria for the ages, and he even regretted whether he should have listened to Franz's advice and let himself take responsibility for garrisoning Wallonia, leaving the rest to the Dutch and Belgians.

But now I can't manage so much, I can only hope that time is on my side.

Wallonia, the city of Namur

The Prussian soldiers in the city shivered. They didn't know exactly how many French troops were besieging the city in front of them; Maybe 100,000, maybe 200,000, in short, their situation is very bad, and the feeling of being surrounded is extremely uncomfortable.

Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, the proud deputy commander-in-chief of the German Confederate forces, resolutely refused to surrender to his opponents, and seemed to be ready for a last-ditch effort.

The morale of the officers and men fell to the bottom, and the groans of the wounded soldiers who had been trampled on by their own people echoed throughout the barracks.

The civilians of Namur had intended to join the French, but the constant news from outside the city proved that the French army were beasts in human skin.

In order to avoid being raided by the beasts outside the city, they spontaneously organized a militia to help defend the city. But even this could not change the low morale of the Prussian army, fortunately, Namur was a fortified city, and it should be possible to wait for reinforcements to arrive.

The French army outside the city lived an imperial life, even exaggerated to the point that almost every accompanying soldier was accompanied by a temporary prostitute, and two men were waiting to be sent, drinking fine red wine and eating ham that civilians could only eat once a year.

Jean Dourd used the residence of a senior official as his temporary headquarters. Having just executed three "incompetent" mayors, he is smug and enjoying the pleasure of power.

"Give you a week, I will take 100,000 light and strong weapons with me to break through Berlin, and then destroy Vienna first, and then slaughter Moscow"

Senior officials in the province of Hainaut and the province of Bratban barely managed to squeeze out a smile.

"I'm sorry, my honor, General Jean Tourde, but we have only 600,000 people in our two provinces, and 100,000 is equivalent to one-sixth of the population. As for the weapons, we have already given them to France, and our stocks have been emptied. ”

"Just those rags are called weapons?" Jean Durde disdainfully raised his gun and pointed it at the two dignitaries, who immediately obediently raised his hands.

"General, we really can't help it. Otherwise, when you conquer Namur Province, the three of us will figure out a way together."

Before the words could be spoken, a deafening explosion was suddenly heard outside, and the five thousand cavalry of Albrecht, the advance party sent by Albrecht, had reached the outside of Namur.

The commander, Major General Gabrinz, found that the French were resting and defenseless, and that it seemed as if they were having a celebration party, so he decisively launched a surprise attack.

These 5,000 elites carried cavalry guns and rocket launchers with them, after all, cavalry storming the trenches was no different from sending them to death. Soon, fifty rocket launchers lined up with thirty six-pounder cavalry guns launched a fire cover on the French position at the north gate.

Who would have thought that at this moment, instead of hiding in the trenches, the "tough" enemy would swagger in the open space singing, dancing, drinking and merrymaking.

When rockets burst above their heads, there was nothing to cover their bodies.

The sudden "fireworks display" instantly deprived the French army outside the northern city gate of a large amount of vitality, and then the marksmen began to count the remaining enemies.

The stunned French were unable to organize an effective counterattack, and the most ridiculous thing was that the Prussian officers in the city actually thought that it was just a fireworks display.

The Prussian army enjoying the fireworks at the head of the city and the Austrian army chasing the remnants of the enemy under the city form a strange and ridiculous picture.

When the French troops from other places arrived to help, a deafening explosion sounded again on the west side of the city of Namur.

(End of chapter)