Chapter 754 Savior

Chapter 755 Savior

The Austrian soldiers in the city were shocked, but their sight was blocked by their own people, and their heads were even stepped on by the broken soldiers who jumped from the wall. For a while, they were unable to shoot effectively at all.

In this moment of chaos, several columns of the French army rushed near the city wall.

The Austrian officer was so anxious that he shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Idiot, get out of here! Shoot, shoot! Fight them off!"

At his order, gunshots finally rang out from behind the crenellations of the city wall, and a dozen French soldiers fell to the ground.

However, after only a few seconds, they rubbed the area where they had been shot, got up again, picked up their guns, and continued to shout and stride towards the city wall.

After more than a year of preparations, all members of the French army's direct corps are now equipped with bulletproof inserts, especially the soldiers charging in the front row, who are wearing "heavy-duty" inserts.

As long as you are not hit in the head and neck, being shot from a distance of 40 steps is not life-threatening at all.

The "resurrection" of the French army made the Austrian soldiers even more panicked, and the shooting from the city became increasingly sparse.

The two fastest French columns have already arrived at the city. Some soldiers spread out to suppress fire, while others climbed up the low city wall...

Lefebvre was still mobilizing artillery to bombard the city wall, but suddenly noticed that the Austrian army on the east side began to become chaotic.

After a while, a messenger came on horseback and shouted to him:

"Report to the general that Major Davout has entered the city."

Lefebvre smiled and shook his head. The young man Davout was always so fierce in fighting, and he actually broke through the enemy's defense without cannons.

He then ordered his troops to move eastward and enter Wavre through the gap created by Davout.

Bodies of Austrian soldiers could be seen everywhere in the city, but the damage to the buildings was not serious. At this time, all the residents were hiding in their homes and did not dare to come out, and the streets seemed very quiet.

Just as Lefebvre was wondering where the enemy's defense focus should be, another messenger came to report that Davout had occupied the iron ore warehouse in the middle of the city...

In the French temporary headquarters outside Wavre, Gayard looked at the French Crown Prince in surprise:

"Your Highness, you are saying that the Flemish riots in Langdon, Art and other places have subsided!"

Joseph said calmly: "When I entered the Walloon District, I had already sent people to deal with it. Judging from the time, it should be fine now."

Gayar hurriedly said: "But this kind of thing really shouldn't distract your precious troops."

Joseph smiled and shook his head: "It's just three companies, you don't need to worry."

Yes, Joseph only sent more than 300 soldiers and basically stabilized the situation in Wallonia.

This is why he dared to ask the Walloon Chamber of Commerce to ignore the riots and gather the police to stop the Austrian army.

The Walloon Chamber of Commerce followed Joseph's instructions and asked officials from various cities to evacuate in advance to avoid being damaged by riots.

When the French army arrived, they gathered local citizens and followed the army to launch a siege against the rioters.

The Walloons also hated the Flemish people who caused the riots. As long as the French army suppressed the rioters with firepower from the front, they would rush forward like wild beasts and tear the rioters into pieces.

Especially after the rioters did not wait for the support of the Austrian army, but heard that the French army had entered the Wallonia area, they lost their will to resist.

In this situation, sixty or seventy French soldiers can solve the riot in a city.

In fact, Joseph had another purpose for making such arrangements, which was to establish the prestige of the French army in the Wallonia region.

Under the leadership of French soldiers, the citizens of Wallonia drove away the damn rioters and restored their peaceful life. To them, the French soldiers were heroes and saviors.

If someone suggested that Wallonia be annexed to France at this time, it would definitely be unanimously approved by everyone.

Gayard was talking to the Crown Prince about dealing with the riots when he saw an officer knocking on the door and coming in. He stood at attention and said to the Crown Prince:

"Your Highness, General Lefebvre has entered Wavre. He says the battle will be over in two hours."

Gaya's eyes widened in shock. At this time, only an hour and a half had passed since the Crown Prince ordered the attack on the Austrian army.

You know, in the past few days, when 10,000 Austrian troops faced 4,000 Walloon police, it took them three full days to barely break into the city.

But now the French army is still at a disadvantage in terms of strength. What kind of terrifying combat effectiveness is this!

Two hours later, Wavre gradually returned to calm.

Gayard felt a little unreal. Sure enough, he took the Walloon police officers into the city to rest before dark.

At 6 o'clock in the afternoon, as the person most familiar with the situation in Wavre, he was invited to participate in the French army's combat meeting.

In the temporary conference room, a captain staff officer was introducing the intelligence detected by the cavalry in front of the map:

“Currently, all enemy troops in Wavre City have been cleared.

"The main force of the Radesky Army still has about 6,000 people, and it has now retreated north to the town of Mafone, 6 kilometers away."

Count Radeski did not expect that the French would appear so soon, so the Austrian army in the north of the city was rushing into the city in a chaotic manner. As a result, it was attacked by Lefebvre and collapsed with little resistance.

Radesky reacted relatively quickly and immediately ordered his most elite grenadier battalion and a skirmisher regiment to break off the rear. As the sky began to darken, he was able to withdraw the main force.

However, even so, he lost more than 4,000 troops in Wavre in half a day.

The staff continued: "According to the estimate of the General Staff, Josias's main force will arrive in the town of Mavrgne as early as tomorrow afternoon, with a force of about 30,000."

Josias is the name of Prince Cobourg.

Lefebvre frowned and said to the staff in charge of marching dispatch: "When will the 4th Infantry Division arrive?"

The latter immediately said: "If nothing unexpected happens, it will arrive in Wavre tomorrow morning."

Lefebvre breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Joseph: "Your Highness, the enemy will definitely be eager to recapture the city of Wavre. I think we can use Wavre as bait to ambush them.

"Specifically, let Mr. Gaillard's police force defend the city, and we will deploy the main force on the southwest side of the town of Mavrgne. When Josias's main force goes to Wavre, we will attack from their side and rear. "

Davout immediately added: "We can also capture the town of Mavrgne at the same time and cut off the Austrians' retreat. "

Joseph did not comment, but looked up at the map: "According to the marching speed of the Austrian army, Josias's corps should be near Uccle now."

Lefebvre nodded subconsciously: "Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly: "Tell me, if you were Marshal Josias, what would you think our army would do next?"

Lefebvre thought for a while and said: "You should think that we should hold on to Wavre."

Wavre is the main road on the south side of Brussels. As long as it is defended here, the Austrian army can be prevented from continuing to move south to Namur.

Joseph nodded: "So, we have to give him a 'surprise'."