Chapter 357 Going around in circles

Chapter 358: Going around in circles

Joseph knew how difficult life was for the lower classes in this era. If he took away their food and livestock without paying, the whole family would probably starve to death.

In addition, local supply was actually much more economical than transporting through the narrow supply line from France. After all, the transportation costs and losses were gone, so it was really unnecessary to save the farmers' living expenses.

In addition, paying for supplies could leave a good impression on the people of the Southern Netherlands, making local supply easier in the future. Maybe some locals would take the initiative to send supplies to the Guards camp to sell in order to make a little difference.

At 3 pm, the Guards began to move southwest, bypassing the south side of Antolf, sticking to the border of Brussels, and heading straight into the province of Ghent.

Joseph still rode on the left side of the marching column, waving to the soldiers from time to time to boost morale, and the soldiers responded with excited cheers.

Berthier urged his horse to catch up, bowed slightly and said to him: "Your Highness, Major Masson sent a message that he did not choose to attack because the Hanoverian army was in a tight formation."

Joseph nodded: "He did the right thing. The key to the penetration tactic is not to take advantage of the opportunity, but to prioritize preserving one's own manpower and cut the enemy's formation as completely as possible."

Masson's battalion plus two companies of soldiers, a total of less than a thousand people, were mobile forces operating near the Hanoverian army.

Joseph's order to him was to implement penetration operations when the enemy was pinned down and in chaos, further disrupting the enemy's formation.

At present, there are still too few officers in the Guards Corps who can stand alone. Lefebvre was left to help Leo, and the only one left was Berthier. People like Davout and Napoleon are still relatively immature, and their military ranks are not enough to lead a corps alone.

As for this Masson, he was quite clever in the previous action in cooperation with the Onck exercise, so he became the only mobile force.

If Napoleon and others could be of great use, or if he could recruit powerful generals such as Massena, Moreau, and Lannes, Joseph would definitely make the Hanoverian army be pierced like a sieve.

"Talent is always the most valuable resource..." Joseph sighed secretly. However, he also knew that the training of the army is not a matter of one day or one night. To be honest, the growth rate of the Guards Corps is already very amazing.

I believe that if a more brilliant victory can be achieved in the Southern Netherlands this time, the Guards Corps will be able to attract more talents and usher in the next wave of blowouts.

In the middle and rear of the marching column, Napoleon pulled the head of the regiment to ask: "So, our real goal is Ghent?"

Before Colonel Dumont could say anything, he immediately reacted: "No, Ghent has no goal to mobilize the enemy..."

Colonel Dumont smiled and said: "That's right, there are only more than 8,000 Southern Netherlands rebels there."

"That's the main force of the rebels." Napoleon's eyes suddenly lit up, "Our goal is not Ghent, but Brussels!"

Colonel Dumont looked at the young major in surprise. When he was in the staff meeting, he had no idea that there was any connection between Ghent and Brussels. It was not until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said it that he suddenly realized it.

But this Buwanaba only took a few seconds to figure it out!

He asked unwillingly: "Oh? Why do you have this inference?"

Napoleon answered very quickly: "It's very simple. If the main force of the rebels in Ghent is eliminated, then Brussels is an apple that can be picked at any time. The rebel parliament will even surrender to us directly."

"Then why don't we attack Brussels directly?" Colonel Dumont continued to ask.

"That would put our army in danger. If the Hanoverian army returns quickly, and the main force of the Ghent rebels also go to Brussels at the same time, it is likely to form a pincer attack on our army."

Ignoring the surprised look of the regiment commander, he continued: "Even if the enemy is not well coordinated, our attack on Brussels is likely to cause the rebels' parliament to flee to Ghent. In that case, even if we occupy that city, we will not gain any strategic advantage. After all, it is just an isolated city deep behind enemy lines."

Colonel Dumont almost blurted out "All right".

He calmed down and coughed dryly: "You are really young and promising. Perhaps in a few years, this regiment will be handed over to you."

Napoleon simply responded with a "thank you for your compliment", but in his heart he was full of admiration for the young prince who proposed this series of tactics. He was less than 16 years old and had only studied military theory at the Paris Police Academy, but he had such incredible command ability!

If Corsica had such an outstanding leader, the road to nation-building would be smooth sailing. He silently said in his heart.

East of Brussels.

Karl II looked westward, frowning.

General Bronckhorst, the Dutch commander, looked at the intelligence in his hand and wondered: "The French only circled around Antolf and left? To the west? Where are they going?"

"Ghent." Karl II uttered a word, and then reluctantly summoned the herald, "Order the whole army to turn west immediately.

"Order, speed up the march, and leave all unnecessary baggage to the rear! Speed, I want speed!"

"Yes, Marshal!"

Bronckhorst hesitated and said: "Sir Marshal, if the French want to go to Ghent, we don't have to pay any attention to them. "

"Then what?" Karl II said in a low voice, "Witt's army is no match for the French."

He still clearly remembered that Witt's 5,000-strong army was surrounded by more than 2,000 French regiments and was almost annihilated.

"If the main force of the Southern Netherlands Army is gone, those in Brussels will surrender immediately!"

Bronkhorst hesitated and immediately understood the connection, and quickly ordered the Dutch army to turn quickly.

On the other side, the Southern Netherlands Rebel Army in Ghent also received the news and began nervously preparing defensive positions.

However, just as the Hanoverian army walked northwest for three days and was about to reach Ghent, Karl II suddenly received a report from the hussars, saying that the French army turned again and headed southeast.

Karl II hurriedly unfolded the map and marked the movements of the French army on it. Then he was shocked to find that in order to pursue the French, he had gone too far north. At this time, the Hanoverian army and the French army were almost the same distance from the scorching sun.

He suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. It turned out that the French were going around in circles, and their real target was the Prussian army in Liege!

He hurriedly ordered and immediately went to Liege for reinforcements.

What he didn't notice was that because of many days of high-speed marching, the Hanover Army, with better quality soldiers, had already pushed the Dutch away by seven or eight kilometers.