#852 - A fragile alliance

October 16, 1793.

The surrender ceremony for Luxembourg, after days of preparation, was officially held in Diekirch.

This location is more than 20 kilometers away from the actual surrender site of the Allied forces in Rodershausen, but Rodershausen was deemed too desolate, so the General Staff decided to hold the ceremony in Diekirch, the second-largest city in Luxembourg.

Reporters from various countries who had been invited had already occupied the best spots on both sides of the road, and painters, with a keen sense of business opportunity, dispatched a large number of artists to set up their easels and prepare to record this historic moment.

Behind them, more than 5,000 onlookers gathered. It should be noted that Diekirch had a population of less than 30,000, and the city was almost entirely deserted at this time.

At ten o'clock in the morning, amidst the music of organs, cornets, flutes, and military drums, several Prussian black eagle flags appeared in sight.

Although the blue-gray uniforms of the Prussian soldiers were tattered, they carried flintlock rifles and marching packs on their backs, and their formation was very neat, even maintaining parade-like spacing, making them look nothing like a defeated army.

This was partly because the Prussians overemphasized formation training—more than 70% of their daily training was devoted to practicing formations, and the soldiers had developed extremely deep muscle memory for lining up.

On the other hand, it was Joseph's requirement. He wanted to display the "majesty" of the Prussian army. The stronger the enemy appeared, the greater the contrast and impact when they surrendered.

The surrender procession was very long, taking more than an hour to fully arrive at the surrender ceremony site under the "escort" of over a thousand French cavalry.

In reality, there were only slightly over 7,000 Allied soldiers here; the others had long been dispersed into prisoner-of-war camps in various locations. Otherwise, with more than 40,000 people crowded here, chaos could easily break out.

Afterward, Joseph, wearing a smart hussar uniform and a dark blue tricorn hat, walked onto the oak platform in the middle of the field, surrounded by a group of French officers.

The music around them immediately became louder, and the tune changed to the solemn and majestic 'Long Live Henry IV'.

The crowd erupted in a tsunami of cheers, 'Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!'

'Glory to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!'

'God bless the Chosen One…'

'France is invincible!'

In fact, most of the people here were Luxembourgers, who had been under Austrian rule three or four years ago, but this did not prevent them from fully embracing the role of the French at this moment.

Because France was indeed too powerful, and it was really great to be French!

Fortunately, Luxembourgers had outstanding 'linguistic talents' and needed to be proficient in German, French, and Luxembourgish from an early age, so they shouted without any hesitation at this time.

Joseph raised his hand to signal the military band to stop.

Just when everyone thought he was going to deliver a speech about 'the glory and strength of France,' they heard the Crown Prince say loudly, 'Let us observe three minutes of silence for the French soldiers who sacrificed themselves in this battle. It was they who defeated the enemy with unparalleled courage and perseverance. May their souls enjoy eternal peace in heaven.'

The surroundings instantly quieted down, and everyone followed Joseph in crossing their fingers and bowing their heads in a prayer posture.

The French soldiers present were all red-eyed. They were both mourning their dead comrades and moved by the fact that France had not forgotten their sacrifices.

After the moment of silence ended, Joseph nodded to Berthier beside him without giving any other speech.

The latter immediately shouted, 'Begin the 'Surrender of Swords'!'

'Where's Ferdinand? I'm sure General Masséna captured him.'

'Maybe he was seriously injured…'

At this time, the Duke of Brunswick, standing below the wooden platform, wearing an ordinary black dress and pulling his hat down very low, looked gratefully at Joseph and breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart.

His mind couldn't help but recall the heart-stirring words that the French Crown Prince had said to him three days ago.

Joseph said with righteous indignation, 'The failure of this war is not your responsibility at all. On the contrary, you have demonstrated the excellent military capabilities of a successor to Frederick the Great with your outstanding command and fearless courage.

'If Franz II had not suddenly transferred Count Clerfayt's 30,000 troops to the Southern Netherlands, our army would have faced an extremely difficult war—at that time, your army was at an absolute advantage, and I did not have a very good opportunity.

It was the selfish and short-sighted behavior of the Austrians that ruined the victory you might have achieved.

For you, for the brave Prussian army, I have always held due respect. Therefore, I don't think you should be subjected to the humiliation of a surrender ceremony.'

At this time, the French Crown Prince really fulfilled his promise and preserved his reputation.

Of course, Joseph did this not because he admired the old Prussian general, but to maximize the division of the Prussian-Austrian alliance—the two countries had fundamental conflicts of interest in vying to be the hegemon of Germany. This time, they were forced together by Britain to declare war on France.

As long as he could seize the opportunity, it would not be difficult to break up their alliance.

Historically, Prussia was also one of the most active countries to withdraw from the anti-French alliance.

In addition, the Duke of Brunswick was senior enough in the Prussian military and relatively incompetent. If he were allowed to return to Prussia with dignity, he might still continue to control the Prussian army.

This would prevent Blücher, the mad dog and fanatic who 'bites and doesn't let go,' from having the opportunity to rise to power—Joseph had already received news last week that Blücher had miraculously shaken off the French army's pursuit and escaped back to Prussia.

On the red-carpeted oak platform, Joseph grasped the sword handed by Brigadier General Möllendorf and tapped the broken tip of the sword three times on the latter's right shoulder.

This was a customary ritual, representing that the Prussian army would completely give up resistance and hand over control of the army to the victor.

Breaking the tip of the sword was the dignity that the victor left to them, indicating that 'honor is not damaged, only the blade is broken'.

Dense drumbeats sounded again around them. The surrounding crowd erupted in even more intense cheers than before.

In the open space in front of the wooden platform, Prussian soldiers began to throw their weapons and equipment into the wooden fence one by one, making rhythmic 'bang bang' sounds.

Before long, flintlock rifles and backpacks were piled up like small mountains, and the black barrels of the guns reflected the sunlight, filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

At this moment, the reporters and the public present fully realized that the mighty Prussian army in front of them had been completely defeated by the French, by the Crown Prince on the platform holding the enemy's sword!