Chapter 247 Heixinggen Brigade

Shortly after the start of the Third War of Conquest, France began to mobilize its troops on July 15. The next day, the French Parliament voted to formally declare war on Prussia.

Immediately afterwards, the four southern German states (Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, and Hesse) with rising nationalist sentiments completely fell to Prussia.

Prussia currently has three armies. The southern part is mainly the Third Army led by Crown Prince Friedrich William (Frederick III). It consists of:

5th Army: Commander Kirchbach

6th Army: Commander Tumplinger

11th Army: Commander Bose

1st Bavarian Army: Corps Commander Tann Ratzamhausen

Bavarian 2nd Army: Commander Hartmann

Württemberg Division,

Baden Division,

2nd and 4th Cavalry Divisions

Heichingen Brigade.

Because of the special nature of the Princely Kingdom of Hechingen, it was classified as a separate combat unit, which was theoretically at the same level as the Prussian army.

In this war, the Hechingen Brigade was completely formed by the Hechingen royal family. In addition to the personnel, the weapons and equipment were also self-sufficient, provided by the Hechingen Arsenal in the German region. It was easier for the German army to integrate logistics with the Prussian army.

Leopold served as commander of the Hechingen Brigade, under the direct leadership of Legion Commander Frederick III.

A total of 4,372 people participated in the war in the Princely Kingdom of Hechingen. In addition to the third-year students of the former Hechingen Military Academy, there were also some second-year and first-year students, as well as some conscripts recruited by Hechingen and Sigmaringen.

…

"Dong dong dong..."

As the bell rang, the temporarily formed Hechingen Brigade assembled on the playground of the Hechingen Military Academy.

The Hechingen Brigade consisted of two infantry regiments. Under the leadership of Leopold, they were quickly assembled. Then they turned to Stuttgart and headed west along the road. Taking advantage of the convenient location, they reached the border in three days. area. Except for the army of the Grand Duchy of Baden, which is fighting on the mainland, other states and the Prussian army have not yet arrived.

The Third Army, mainly composed of the South German states, was supplemented by the Prussian army. This German army had a total of 12 divisions, about 130,000 people (about 125,000 people in history), and was deployed in Baden and Karlsruhe in South Germany. The nearby Palatinate region.

Heixingen was originally close to the Grand Duchy of Baden, and the Heizingen Brigade, as a national army, was the smallest of the Third Army, so its mobilization was more flexible.

Two days later, the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which was next to Baden like Hechingen, arrived in Baden. On the same day, the Prussian army led by the Crown Prince of Prussia also arrived in the north.

As the supreme commander of the Third Army, Frederick III first reviewed the armies of other states, except for the army of the Kingdom of Bavaria that had not yet arrived.

Frederick III was the most confident about the Prussian army, but Baden and Württemberg had been at peace for a long time and had not fought a war for a long time, so it was difficult for people to trust him. As for the Bavarian army, it was not too bad either. After all, the two countries fought against each other last time.

Soon the armies of all the states were assembled. Looking at the bustling armies of the states, Frederick III was very dissatisfied, and his frown never relaxed. Compared with the Prussian army, its level was too poor, and its equipment was in a mess. An army is equipped with weapons from the Prussian, Prussian and Austrian countries at the same time. Even its organizational skills are so poor on weekdays. How can it be compared with the battle-hardened Prussian army on the battlefield? Moreover, the enemy opposite is the French Army, which is recognized as the number one army in the world.

Just when Frederick gave up hope on the armies of other states, the Hechingen Brigade located in the corner of the corner attracted his attention.

The first impression: young, the second impression: capable, the third impression: neat.

"Leopold, is this the Hechingen Brigade?" Frederick III came to Leopold and asked.

"Yes. Your Royal Highness, they are all a team formed by military students recruited by the Hechingen royal family."

"Uh! Didn't I hear that Ernst was not interested in the military? Since he wanted to form an army, why didn't he go directly to the army? Prussia could provide him with a position."

"Hahaha, Ernst is not interested in the military. It's just an excuse. He is just self-aware. I think business is the right choice for him. Besides, these cadet soldiers are completely prepared by him for his colony. If you want It's totally impossible to get him into the army," Leopold laughed.

"Alas! Prince Constantine is also considered a famous general, why didn't Ernst inherit this from him?" Frederick sighed.

"Everyone's choice is different, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Besides, Prince Constantine has always had a son, and Heixingen is just a single seedling. Naturally, he doesn't want Ernst to come into contact with the battlefield again."

"Not to mention anything else, Ernst's so-called Hechingen Military Academy is quite good. I heard that he serves as the principal himself and can manage the army in front of him like this. His ability is pretty good, and it looks better than other armies. It’s a lot pleasing to the eye, but it’s a pity that the number of people is too small.”

"Haha, after all, the South German countries have their own military systems. If France had not declared war, they would still have continued to exist independently. And the Prince of Hechingen was originally a Prussian prince, so the Hechingen Brigade naturally copied the Prussian army template. , its instructors are all selected from retired Prussian soldiers, and one thing you don’t know is that although Ernst is the principal of the Hechingen Military Academy, he is actually a hands-off shopkeeper who does not participate in teaching and training at all, especially After my business grew, I often traveled on business, and many times when I visited Hechingen, I couldn’t see him anywhere,” Leopold said with a smile.

"Ernst is a good person, but he does too many things. In addition to business, he also engages in overseas colonization. Naturally, he has little time in Hechingen, but overseas colonization does not seem to be very difficult? Even he, a businessman, can do it. With such smooth sailing, shouldn’t post-unification Germany be more actively involved?” said Frederick III.

"Overseas colonization is indeed very attractive, but the British are not easy to deal with, and although the place Ernst colonized is not a bad place, it is not much better. After all, even the Portuguese have been there for hundreds of years. I didn’t see them attacking East Africa.”

"Forget it, don't think about it anymore. The most important thing now is to deal with the French. If France is not defeated, Prussia and Germany will not have a future at all. But at present, these troops, the South German State, Baden and Württemberg troops see It's not as good as Hechingen, even the Bavarian army is probably too weak, and our battle with France is probably not going to be easy," said Frederick III.

"It's hard to say. The elite troops of the Kingdom of Bavaria should still be good, and the image of the troops is secondary. Only on the battlefield will you know whether they have strength." Leopold said.

"Then do you think this seemingly well-trained Hechingen brigade can make achievements on the battlefield?"

Leopold replied confidently: "Of course, although these are student soldiers and have never actually entered the battlefield, they will inevitably suffer some disadvantages, but as long as they survive the first stage, they will definitely become an elite force."

…

The enemy opposite the Prussian Third Army was the French First Army. The two sides faced off along the border area from Saarbrücken to Strasbourg.

(picture)

The Franco-Prussian War broke out. The declaration of war aroused great patriotic enthusiasm in France. People poured into the streets to see off the departing team, shouting: "Fight to Berlin and kill Prussia!" Such farewell scenes were seen across the country. On train platforms in remote rural areas, Wine was pushed into the windows of trains full of soldiers to teach them a lesson to the "square-headed Germans."