Chapter 442: The Marshal's Temptation (Please read on)

Chapter 443 The Temptation of the Marshal (please read more)

Silesia.

Southeast of the Austro-Prussian front at Lignitz.

In the Austrian command post in Wałbrzych, General Leo, who was wearing a brand-new admiral's shoulder insignia, handed a glass of crystal wine to the French lieutenant colonel in front of him, with a friendly smile on his face: "You must Try this, my dear old friend, this is the fine wine of Bordeaux given by His Majesty the Emperor." [Note 1]

"Thank you for your hospitality." Lefebvre took the wine glass and raised it as a gesture, "It took me a full month to get here from Algiers, and then I came to visit you right away. You have already been promoted. I am a general, so congratulations to you!"

After Leo returned from the Southern Netherlands, Leopold II personally signed the commission and promoted him to general.

Leo smiled and raised his glass: "Your help is indispensable."

He was absolutely telling the truth. Without Lefebvre's help, he might have been captured by the Prussians.

"Oh, by the way, I also prepared a lunch for you. The cheese stewed beef and roasted pork knuckle here are quite delicious."

Lefebvre exchanged greetings with him and went out, seemingly casually saying: "By the way, why did Marshal Lacy send you here? I mean, you should definitely make contributions on the main frontal battlefield instead of staying in this remote place. small town.”

General Leo spread his hands: "After all, he is the commander-in-chief. But it's not bad to stay here, every day..."

He almost said "fishing", then he coughed and changed his words: "Ah, inspect the defense line, train soldiers and so on."

"Yes, they are all loyal to His Majesty the Emperor." Lefebvre nodded, then moved closer and said seriously, "But as a loyal old friend, I don't think you should be so free now."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"To be honest, with your current prestige and your achievements in the Southern Netherlands, you can definitely be awarded the title of Marshal." Lefebvre looked very regretful, "However, His Majesty the Emperor may think that you are still a bit young."

Leo has just reached the age of 35. If he can become a marshal, he will indeed be very young.

"What can I do?" Leo smiled and waved his hand, "I am very satisfied with the current situation."

He was indeed satisfied. Without his "adventure" in the Southern Netherlands, he would have basically ended his life as a major general.

Lefebvre stretched out his right index finger and thumb and said, "Actually, you are only a little short of a marshal."

He lowered his voice again and said: "Marshal Lacy doesn't seem to want you to threaten his status.

"You see, Wałbrzych is at the end of the battle line, and there will be no fierce fighting at all. When the war is over, you will no longer have the opportunity to gain merit."

Leo blinked, feeling that what his old friend said made sense. Especially the word marshal stirred his heart like a pretentious beauty.

He immediately wondered: "But I'm afraid Lacy won't agree to transfer me to the frontal battlefield. You know, there are all his own people there."

Lefebvre nodded and said thoughtfully: "Perhaps, you can open up the situation elsewhere."

"other places?"

"Yes, such as Ratibor. There are not many Prussian defenders there. You can capture it alone."

Ratibor is a smaller province in the southernmost part of Silesia.

Leo wondered: "But even if we recapture Ratibor, we will face the Oder River, which will have almost no impact on the battle situation."

To get to Breslau, the capital of Silesia, from Ratibor, you have to cross the Oder River. Prussia only needs to send a small number of troops to defend along the river, and it will be difficult for the Austrian army to attack it. The Prussian army could move down the Oder River from Breslau, quickly deploy troops on the north side of Ratibor, and take it back.

However, south of Latibor is the Sudeten Mountains, and it cannot threaten the Austrian mainland from here, so both sides of the Silesian War paid little attention to Latibor.

Lefebvre smiled slightly: "All you need is a little merit to be promoted to marshal. And recovering the land of Silesia, no matter where it is, is enough for you to become marshal."

Leo's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this. yes! Why didn't you think of this?

When he is promoted to marshal, he can return to Vienna and enjoy the blessings. As for the situation in Silesia, that is Lacy's business.

"Thank you so much!" He looked at Lefebvre with some excitement. "You always give me the most correct advice. This was the case in the Southern Netherlands. You are really my best friend!"

He said with some hesitation: "But, are you sure I can capture Ratibor?"

My family knows my own business. In Luxembourg, his army was defeated by the Prussians. In the end, it was Lefebvre who led more than 3,000 soldiers to turn the tide, and he achieved a great victory.

"The Prussian garrison of Ratibor should not exceed 7,000 men. Your legion has 16,000 soldiers. You leave a little to defend Wałbrzych."

Lefebvre said, gesturing around: "There is nothing to defend in this damn place. If you lead a superior force to launch a fierce attack, you will be able to quickly defeat the Prussians."

Leo looked at him eagerly and said, "My old friend, can you come with me?"

Lefebvre immediately said seriously: "I am willing to fight side by side with you, but this is related to your promotion to marshal, and I should not share your military exploits.

"Oh, after you recapture Ratibor, I can help you defend it. I promise."

Lefebvre then said a lot of encouraging words, and after a while, Leo's eyes finally became firm.

Three days later.

Leo looked at the hazy Ratibor in the clouds and turned to the staff officer: "Have the Prussians made any unusual movements?"

"Not yet, General. The enemy troops are hiding behind the town's defense line."

Leo nodded and ordered: "Order the soldiers to pay attention to concealment. Launch the general attack as planned at 10 o'clock."

He brought 12,000 troops this time. According to Lefebvre, as long as they launched a fierce attack unexpectedly, they would soon win.

"Yes, General!"

Two hours later, the artillery of Leo's army appeared on the southwest side of Ratibor, and 2 12-pound guns and 7 6-pound guns roared at the same time.

After more than 20 rounds of artillery fire, a large group of Austrian infantry formed a column and attacked the Prussian positions from the west and south with the sound of military drums.

Leo had been with Lefebvre for so long, and regardless of his actual combat ability, he at least seemed to have learned 70% of it.

The Prussians did not seem to react, and it took a long time before the cannons began to fire back.

The Austrian soldiers, under the fire, quickly rushed to the first line of defense outside the city, and at the order of the officers, began to spread out to both sides and formed a horizontal column.

[Note 1] Wałbrzych is the current Polish place name. I really can't find the name during the German occupation, so I will use this name for the time being.