To the west of Namur, I don't know how long it took for a French infantry regiment to support the northern gates to be wiped out, and less than 600 of the 2,500-strong siege survived.

This was Jean Tourde's first defeat since breaking through the Franco-Belgian border, and it was so miserable that it lost nearly a third of his troops.

Ironically, after suffering such a large loss, his officers could not effectively discern the number of opponents, and only knew that it was a sizable cavalry group.

As to what weapons were used and what tactics were used, it is not known which of the armies of the German states.

Annoyed, Jean Durde immediately shot his two regimental commanders, and although he did not have this right, he could not control so much at this time.

It was imperative to retreat to the province of Hainaut, which was located on the Franco-Belgian border, to replenish the supply of troops and to stand by for reinforcements. Although he is very reluctant to give up the opportunity to be a hero, the fact is that there is a strong enemy army that has already targeted him.

After thinking about it, Jean Durde ordered his men to let the remnants of the surviving troops besieging Namur quickly assemble, take everything they could take with them, destroy on the spot what they could not take away, and not leave any items to the enemy.

The senior officials of the department of Hainaut and the province of Brattban said that they would not go to France together, but the corners of Jean Durde's mouth curled an arc.

"We are your heroes, do you want to betray us and become lackeys of the German Confederation?"

Facing the muzzle of the black hole, the two high-ranking officials said in unison.

"Don't dare, don't dare, long live France, long live General Durde."

Jean Durde nodded in satisfaction, and was about to leave the door when a herald stumbled in.

"Report! The general discovered the German Confederate army, the first army of Austria. ”

"It's just in time! I'm fighting the elite, and the brothers will break through with me head-on! ”

On January 5, 1843, General Jean Tourde died, 7,000 French soldiers were killed and 8,000 captured.

In Namur, Albrecht finally met Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, deputy commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, who had been besieged for several days.

"Archduke Albrecht, you are our savior, quite a father."

"You also have the demeanor of your ancestors, the capital was breached in the first 18 days. And now you're stuck in the city with twice the superior forces of your opponent," Albrecht muttered quietly.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing, I mean scared you. How about these damned Frenchmen who don't keep their covenants and attack their allies privately, and they leave it to your army? ”

Albrecht didn't care about the captives, but rather that they were hot potatoes, and Franz said that he would treat the captives preferentially, but at this time the princes of the German Confederation clearly resented him, and the local people also said that they would be punished.

Albrecht simply threw this pot directly to Prussia, and he could still be a favor.

Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig's attitude immediately changed from gratitude for being saved to reverence at the moment.

Because from the perspective of the latter, the former is to share the credit with himself, which is the key to saving Prussia's face. So, he asked with concern.

"What about you?"

"Haha, I'm afraid I'll have to rush back to China immediately to prove that I'm still alive, after all, Vienna is a mess now."

Indeed, as Albrecht recounted, Friedrich was arguing to attack mainland France from Toulon to avenge his eldest brother. Franz was also ready to go to the front and named Julius Jacob von Heineau as his deputy.

This henau is also known as the Arad Executioner, the Hyena of Brescia, and the Habsburg Tiger.

Fortunately, Albrecht returned unscathed, and by the way, he also cleaned up the invincible French army.

The dramatic reversal of the tide of war has left the ruling classes of all countries scratching their heads. King Wilhelm II of the Netherlands, who had learned of the result, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and fortunately did not follow the advice of the British to set up a pursuit of the Austrian army in the rear, otherwise he would have crashed headlong into the wall.

Nearly a week into 1843, the total strength of the German Confederation volunteers in Wallonia and Luxembourg was close to 200,000.

The 20,000 French troops had been completely eaten before, and the French troops who wanted to invade the Franco-Belgian border after that were all closed. It seems that all this is just a ploy by the German Confederation to lure the enemy deeper, but fortunately his lover persuaded him.

Wilhelm II's secret lover, Miss Caroline, also breathed a sigh of relief, she never expected that the army of the German Confederation would be so useless, and Prussia was really a shame for the Great Powers.

The question then arises, how did this waste come to an end in its own homeland, Poland, in the first place.

Franz was also a little confused by the war situation, how could the hundreds of thousands of German Confederate troops be scattered and fled by just 20,000 French troops? Could it be that the Prussian side did it on purpose?

But it seems that it is not very likely, Franz suddenly thought of another possibility, could it be like Captain Chang's micro-manipulation during the anti-encirclement and suppression?

After several reversals, the Austrian War Ministry was enraged, and they felt that the French were treacherous and unworthy of the land agreed upon in advance.

Naturally, Metternich, the master of balance, came out to play a round, to lay out the facts and reason, to explain the strength of the French army and the importance of France in this crisis.

The financial steward, Count Korollov, admitted that Austria needed France, but that the losses were so great that the French had to pay a little price.

Albrecht, who had returned victorious, gave his opinion, feeling that the looting of the French army in Wallonia had made him lose his heart.

It is now entirely possible to vote to decide who belongs to Wallonia. At least in contrast, most of the people are more nostalgic for the days of the Austrian Netherlands than for the civilized France that plundered them.

However, this proposal was immediately opposed by Franz, and if Louis Philippe did not reap the benefits, the local conflict would turn into a large-scale war.

Moreover, Russia has not yet taken a position, and Austria, which is located in the middle of the European continent, cannot afford to take this risk, but its claim for Namur or the neutralization of the land can be considered in the interest.

And the locals who have just experienced the war will certainly agree with this approach. In addition, Austria can provide land and other types of help to Belgians who do not want to be French.

They were free to settle in the Empire's overseas colonies or other undeveloped lands, and the Church did its best to facilitate them.

Although most Belgians in Wallonia speak French, many actually know a little German or Dutch. More importantly, they can be scattered and distributed everywhere, and in a decade or two they will automatically become Austrians.

At the same time, it is possible to use the atrocities of the French in Wallonia to make a good article, after all, Britain and France are the so-called beacons of the world at this time, and Franz does not want to be reversely attracted by other countries to immigrate.

This series of reversals also made the scalps of the group on the other side of the Channel tingle, who first heard that there was a new Napoleon in France, and then died on the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

Paris first claimed to avenge him, but the next day it turned into a denunciation that he deliberately provoked war and undermined the friendship between France and the German Confederation

(End of chapter)