Chapter 257: Both Sides Calculating
The French people, whom Ernst claimed would never surrender, were at this very moment lowering the drawbridge of Wissembourg and warmly welcoming the "imperial" Prussian Third Corps.
Despite their spiritual support for France, the Prussian artillery was blasting the homes of Wissembourg's residents. Meanwhile, the French Army, in the course of its defense, kept climbing onto rooftops and damaging the tiles, causing the townspeople great distress. So, "Please, just stop fighting!"
Of course, the French Army wasn't about to heed the civilians. When the French were pushed by the Prussians into the cramped confines of Wissembourg, the residents themselves raised white flags and invited the Prussian troops into the city. This infuriated the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the French 74th Regiment, Captain Léo, but there was nothing he could do.
Naturally, it only reflected the personal actions of the residents of Wissembourg and did not represent France as a whole—after all, this was the Alsace-Lorraine region.
The Battle of Wissembourg made a mockery of the French side, but the French soldiers fought valiantly. Once the German coalition forces entered the town, they engaged in fierce street fighting with the French Army.
Ultimately, the French lost because they were simply outnumbered. They drove back the Bavarians only to face the Prussians and other German states, even a Seventh Brigade made up of Poles. Moreover, they had no effective way to counter the Prussians' advanced Krupp artillery. Under artillery bombardment and short on manpower, their defeat was never in doubt.
Eight French battalions confronted twenty-nine German battalions. While the German victory was guaranteed, their losses actually exceeded those of the French—particularly the Bavarians, who suffered grim results.
Before the war, the Bavarian Army had deployed some of its best troops from its two corps, but they were hammered by the French in their first battle. Nonetheless, Prussia's newspaper The National lauded the Bavarian Army: "The Bavarians have crushed the enemies of Germany… The flames of war have borne witness to their unwavering loyalty."
After the victorious German forces occupied Wissembourg, Crown Prince Wilhelm and the German generals stood solemnly before the body of General Douay, who had once served as superintendent of France's Saint-Cyr Military Academy. Douay would rest there forever.
The Prussians were astonished by General Douay's captured map—not just crude in quality but too small in scale to be used for operational command. At least Douay himself had a map; lower-ranking French officers had none and relied only on crude sketches. Meanwhile, Prussian officers as low as second lieutenants typically possessed excellent maps—though the Bavarian Army lagged behind that standard, proof that unity of purpose between Bavaria and Prussia was lacking.
For the country bumpkins from Germany, it was their first time seeing African troops. They gawked at the captured Algerian soldiers as if viewing animals at the zoo. Strictly speaking, it wasn't truly the first time if you counted the soldiers of the Hechingen Brigade—who were "Africans" in citizenship, at least—but it was indeed their first time seeing Black soldiers (not that the Algerians themselves were necessarily Black).
…
The countryside west of Diewillette. Here there was an unusual patch of woodland amid extensive farmland.
France's 54th Brigade was currently resting and preparing to prevent the Hechingen Brigade and Robert's Prussian Third Brigade, farther east, from moving west to reinforce Kirchbach's forces.
"Colonel, we spoke with a villager who told us that Diewillette is held by the Hechingen Brigade. Apparently they speak with a South German accent and have many Easterners integrated among them."
"Easterners?"
"Yes, people with the same appearance as the inhabitants of our Far Eastern colonies (Cambodia and Vietnam)—yellow-skinned."
The French had obtained this intelligence from the residents of Diewillette who had fled to the countryside to escape the fighting. Due to historical factors, local inhabitants spoke both German and French and thus knew something of the Hechingen Brigade.
"Likely similar to how we have Algerian units—colonial troops. But do the Prussians even have colonies in the Far East?"
"Could be mercenaries. Although Prussia remains mostly active in mainland Europe, they do have diplomatic ties in the Far East."
"How are they positioned in Diewillette?"
"According to townspeople who fled, the Hechingen Brigade started digging in the day they arrived, surrounding the entire place with fortifications."
"Interesting!" said the commander of the 54th Brigade. "We rarely see that among the Prussian Army, especially now that the Prussians are on the offensive and we're the defenders. Usually we'd be building fortifications to impede a Prussian attack."
"Our intelligence also indicates that this unit marches under the banner of a German principality—a so-called 'Hechingen Brigade' from the Principality of Hechingen. Hence their unit designation differs from the Prussian Army's."
"That explains it! This must be one of those patchwork units from southern Germany, thrown together because of the war. This could be an opportunity," the 54th Brigade commander mused.
He placed little stock in the combat effectiveness of troops from the southern German states, which was only natural; apart from Austria and Prussia, no German-state army had ever forced France to go all out.
"What if we crush this force and take Diewillette?"
"That might be tricky. According to what we know, the Prussians also have a brigade stationed east of Diewillette in Vilvisan, only two kilometers away—so they can respond swiftly."
"Two kilometers means they could get there in as little as half an hour, especially lugging baggage trains that slow them down. If we can finish our fight in half an hour, it won't be a problem. By the sound of it, that 'Principality of Hechingen' can't be very large, so mustering any army is no small feat. Otherwise, they wouldn't be forced to use so many Easterners or waste time building all these fortifications—which suggests their commander also realizes their limited combat capabilities. This is our chance. Order the men to finish resting. At first light, we attack and take Diewillette quickly. After that, we'll be ready for the other Prussian brigade."
…
At around ten o'clock that night, a French force slipped quietly into the wooded area west of Diewillette—an unusual sight given the surrounding farmland. Their strength was unclear, but it was likely no less than the Hechingen Brigade's. Heinrich woke Leopold in their improvised command post to report:
"Around 10:00 p.m., some French troops stealthily entered that forest to our west. We can't yet gauge their size, but it's probably not smaller than ours."
"That forest sits between Diewillette and Saverne, meaning they've bypassed Stanley to move south. The French must be planning an attack on Saverne, and this force is in support—either to interfere with Saverne or come at us. Judging by the distance, I think they're more likely targeting us," Leopold replied groggily.
"This is a good opportunity. The Hechingen Brigade should attack at once!" Heinrich proposed.
"Oh?" Leopold sounded surprised.
"The French have shown up unexpectedly, skirting Stanley to get here—almost certainly to coordinate with their main force. They wouldn't take this risk otherwise. Marching around Stanley to arrive here suggests they moved at a fast pace and must be worn out. They'll surely rest in that forest, and that's their weak spot. If we strike now, we can catch them off guard."
"Alright. Anything else?" Leopold asked. "We don't know the size of the French force, which is a huge risk."
"Your Highness, precisely because we don't know how many French are out there, we should seize the initiative. The French likely have good information about our strength. If they outnumber us, they'll test us at dawn anyway, and we'll lose the initiative. If they are fewer, we can use the darkness to our advantage and won't lose much even if it's a close fight. We actually know that forest better than they do, having passed through it by day, while they arrived after dark. The environment will limit the effectiveness of their Chassepot rifles, especially at night, and both sides will have difficulty aiming. If we prepare additional close-combat weapons, we'll be the ones with the upper hand."
"That makes sense. Should we move out immediately?" asked Leopold.
Heinrich shook his head. "No rush. Let's get ready first. Give the soldiers a late meal to restore energy. We'll attack around midnight, when their men are likely dozing off. They've been marching all day, so by eleven o'clock they'll be exhausted. That's our best chance to strike."
"Night battles…" Leopold muttered with some worry.
"There's nothing to fear about fighting at night. If we can't see them, they can't see us either. Our Dreyse rifles have worse range and accuracy than the French Chassepots, which puts us at a disadvantage in open terrain. But they've stopped near the forest, where the trees limit rifle range severely. In the dark, everyone's essentially firing by feel. If we equip our troops with more melee weapons, we might actually come out ahead."
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