Chapter 813 Napoleon's decisive battle
Chapter 814 Napoleon's decisive battle
Napoleon stood on the waterwheel north of Marengo Village and saw through the telescope that Jubel led his soldiers to launch a charge.
But soon, they were repelled by the neat infantry lines of the Austrian army.
Napoleon's heart began to beat violently.
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He knew very well that Chervoni must be gathering the soldiers who had just fled, and the Austrian defense line at the entrance of the village would gather more and more enemies.
And Junot and Sérurier on the flanks could be broken through by the enemy at any time.
By then, he would be surrounded by enemies twice as many as himself!
Lucien suddenly stumbled over, panting:
"My, our artillery position was attacked by enemy cavalry..."
Napoleon was not surprised, because he had not heard the sound of his own artillery for a long time.
He stared at the Austrian defense line at the entrance of the village.
That should be the last force of Chervoni. As long as it is broken, it can attack Melas's command post.
But the Jubel Corps obviously has not much spare strength.
Napoleon looked to his side and found that he had less than 3,000 recruits left.
It was called a reserve army, but in fact it was only because they were afraid that they would affect the battle of the Moulin Corps that they stayed behind.
Napoleon gritted his teeth and growled in his throat.
No, it's not time to admit defeat yet.
Even if they are just recruits, I have to give it a try!
He jumped off the waterwheel, climbed on his horse, came to the front of the newly established Wangre Regiment, drew his sword and shouted:
"Now, we are only one step away from a glorious victory!
"I need your strength to give the Austrians the final blow.
"I will charge with you and crush the enemy with the guns in our hands!
"Come on, brave French lions!"
The recruits did not seem to react. They probably knew that they were going to launch an attack, but they looked at each other. Only a dozen officers shouted:
"Crush the enemy!"
"Give the Austrians the final blow!"
Napoleon frowned. With such morale, it would be difficult to break through the enemy's defense line.
He suddenly thought of something, turned his horse's head, pressed the hilt of the sword to his chest, and changed his tone to solemn:
"Behind you is the great Crown Prince!
"Follow me to defeat the enemy!
"In the name of the Crown Prince!"
This time the soldiers did not hesitate at all, and almost shouted like a conditioned reflex:
"In the name of the Crown Prince! ”
“In the name of the Crown Prince!”
“Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!”
Most of the instructors in charge of recruit training were former veterans of the Guards Corps, and they often told the recruits about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s brilliant achievements in North Africa, Silesia and other places.
This made all the recruits idolize the Crown Prince and yearn for the Guards Corps. At this moment, when they heard “In the name of the Crown Prince”, they immediately felt their blood boiling, as if they had become a member of the Guards Corps.
Napoleon nodded with satisfaction and turned to run towards the Austrian defense line at the entrance of the village.
He was The drums behind them sounded, and 3,000 new recruits followed closely with shouts.
When they were less than 200 steps away from the enemy line, Napoleon heard sporadic gunfire from the front. Lucien hurriedly brought the guards to catch up and protected him in the middle.
Napoleon looked back and saw that the new recruits were excited and their formation was in a mess.
He breathed a sigh of relief. Now the whole team would only cause more chaos. He simply pointed his sword forward and shouted:
"Everyone, put on the bayonet!"
The drums suddenly became more urgent.
Although the new recruits lacked combat experience, they were not afraid of the battlefield at the same time. With fanatical light flashing in their eyes, they hurriedly put the bayonet on the muzzle of the gun.
Napoleon pushed the guards in front of him away and strode towards the enemy:
"Follow me! Launch a bayonet charge!
"In the name of the prince!"
The bayonet charge of this era was actually a very dangerous tactic. Because once it is launched, it means giving up the formation and the possibility of retreat, and the only way left is to defeat the enemy.
And as long as a few soldiers hesitate and retreat during the charge, a chain reaction will soon occur. Even if there is only one step away from the enemy, it will eventually turn into a great rout.
Therefore, commanders are usually reluctant to engage in hand-to-hand combat unless they are absolutely sure or desperate. Even the combat regulations of many countries clearly stipulate that hand-to-hand combat is prohibited in most cases.
At this time, Napoleon had no other choice.
Either break through the Austrian line.
No mistake, one shot, one content, one look!
Or accept the result of defeat.
He doesn't want to fail.
He is a proud Corsican eagle, and one day he will fly up to the clouds and overlook the earth.
He would rather die here than surrender in humiliation!
Napoleon's pace is getting faster and faster, and Lucien has to trot in front of him.
"Puff", the guard soldier on Napoleon's left was shot in the chest, and warm blood splashed on his cheek.
There was no sign of hesitation on his face. He just held the sword tightly and walked forward step by step.
The firepower of the Austrian army became more and more intense, and the recruits behind him kept falling down with muffled groans, but no one stopped. Colonel Bonaparte's back in front inspired them, making them forget all their fears, leaving only the desire for victory in their hearts.
Just as Jubel gathered his troops, he heard Menil pointing to the southeast and shouting excitedly:
"It's Colonel Bonaparte. Look! He's charging!"
Jubel looked at the soldiers who were so tired that they were almost unable to stand, hesitated for a moment, and gritted his teeth and gave an order:
"The skirmisher battalion will attack immediately. The others will switch to a column and prepare to charge!"
Napoleon was held down by Lucien and the guards 30 steps away from the enemy. "It's too dangerous, you can't go forward!" - The situation where the highest commander takes the lead in charging into the enemy's formation only appears in movies. If the commander really rushed up, all members of the guard would be court-martial.
The fact that Napoleon could rush to such a close position to the enemy was enough to motivate the soldiers.
After the Austrian army fired the last volley and knocked down more than 60 French soldiers, the French army still did not collapse.
A new recruit captain shouted "In the name of the prince" and rushed into the infantry line first. More than 2,000 new recruits behind him immediately rushed up.
The Austrian army had no chance to reload, and the soldiers hurriedly fought with bayonets, but their momentum was already much weaker.
The French recruits took advantage of the momentum and knocked hundreds of enemies to the ground in one encounter, and blood splashed on the Austrian infantry line. The shouts of "In the name of the prince" resounded outside the entire Marengo village.
Napoleon shook Lucien's hand away and shouted to the captain of the guard:
"Bessières, don't worry about me, you go and help too!"
The latter hesitated for a moment, nodded silently, and rushed up with more than 30 guards.
Compared to shooting, hand-to-hand combat can produce great psychological pressure on people - an enemy who is close at hand swings a bayonet and stabs at you is much more frightening than an invisible bullet.
Therefore, hand-to-hand combat is basically decided in an instant.
In less than half a minute, the soldiers on the right side of the Austrian line began to flee in panic.
