The Fox of France -
Chapter 83: The Battle of Jemappes
Although Joseph hadn't given Dumouriez any advice, Dumouriez was a clever man. He quickly realized that his current goals were similar to those of the Duke of Brunswick across from him. So he began secret discussions with the Duke of Brunswick about the withdrawal of the Prussian and Austrian coalition forces.
Afterward, the Duke of Brunswick began a slow retreat, and Dumouriez followed discreetly, almost escorting them from Verdun to Valenciennes.
The recapture of Valenciennes was another great achievement, and for this, Dumouriez received high praise from the government and the assembly. His reputation was now rivaling that of the infamous Lafayette from years past.
The Duke of Brunswick, on the other hand, swiftly withdrew his Prussian forces to Coblentz. It was said that young Duke Charles had suggested to the Duke of Brunswick that redirecting their forces in that direction would give the Austrians in Belgium more freedom of action. Still, the Duke of Brunswick did not adopt his advice. Because if they followed Charles's suggestion, while it might provide more help to the Austrian forces in Belgium, it would also expose the Prussian army to greater risks. After all, the Duke was a Prussian general, and he had to prioritize Prussian interests.
Following the retreat of the Duke of Brunswick's army, Dumouriez allowed his forces two days to rest and then prepared to join the battle in Belgium. Everyone took the opportunity to rest.
Napoleon, never one to sit still, had been studying maps for hours, and he sought out Joseph to discuss his insights. However, when he entered Joseph's temporary residence, he saw Joseph's grim expression, as if something had upset him.
"What's wrong? Has something happened?" Napoleon asked. He noticed a letter on Joseph's desk and added, "Did Lucien get himself into trouble again? Did he cause some mischief?"
Joseph shot Napoleon a sideways glance and thought to himself, "Lucien causing trouble? Isn't that your doing? You taught him to 'be bold and act decisively' every day. His behavior is your influence, isn't it?"
"In my opinion, Joseph, you turned Lucien into a troublemaker. You know he's mischievous, and you've taught him a bunch of skills. It's no wonder he causes trouble..." Napoleon didn't care about Joseph's thoughts and went on the offensive, shifting the blame beautifully to Joseph.
"Lucien is fine," Joseph replied, shaking his head. "Mr. Carnot promised to watch over him, and I trust he'll do a good job."
"True, with Lucien's foolishness and Mr. Carnot's guidance, there's no need to worry," Napoleon admitted. He had great respect for Carnot's abilities and character.
"Then why are you not happy?" Napoleon inquired further.
"Clavier has taken advantage of the Austrian occupation of Valenciennes to repeat his tricks and make some more money, while we're not in Paris, and Mr. Carnot is too busy to catch a ride..." Joseph grumbled.
Napoleon knew about Joseph and Carnot hitching rides with Clavier on his public carriage for profit. He knew how much they could earn. He frowned and said, "That heartless guy. He didn't even wait for us to catch the ride... One day, I'll put his head on a lamppost!"
Two days of rest later, Dumouriez led his army towards Belgium. With high morale, the French army made rapid progress, entering Belgium in late October. By early November, they reached the vicinity of the primary Austrian defensive position at Jemappes Heights. Capturing this strategic high ground would secure all of Belgium for the French.
At this point, the Austrian forces defending the high ground numbered around 25,000 troops, supported by over 40 pieces of artillery. Dumouriez had approximately 45,000 troops available for the assault, accounting for those used elsewhere. The French outnumbered the Austrians and had more artillery.
However, these advantages didn't guarantee victory. As Joseph put it, "In most cases, defense is a more powerful strategy than offense."
The French army, particularly the volunteer forces, had high morale but lacked training. Their military skills were far from impressive, bordering on dreadful. Maintaining formation while advancing was a challenge. If they followed the conventional approach, they would need to stop and reform ranks every twenty to thirty paces, slowing down their advance. In a situation with limited artillery and musket fire, this might be acceptable, but here, it exposed them to more rounds of cannon and musket fire and greater casualties.
During their march towards Belgium, Joseph, Napoleon, and Dumouriez proposed a new tactical approach known as "column assault."
Column assault involved advancing in multiple columns rather than a single line. Maintaining columns was simpler than lines, even for poorly trained volunteer forces. Columns presented a smaller target area for enemy fire, making them less vulnerable to cannon and musket fire.
Nevertheless, the column assault required a high level of morale because the lead soldiers were almost certain to die. In this tactic, the lead soldiers bore the brunt of enemy fire, making their courage and determination essential for the entire assault to succeed. Joseph, Napoleon, and Dumouriez didn't reveal the extreme danger of being a lead soldier, and they emphasized the glory of being at the forefront for the fatherland.
For the French of that time, it wasn't a significant issue. The volunteer forces already had high morale, and their ignorance of the risks involved in leading a column made it easier for them to volunteer for this task. Joseph, Napoleon, and Dumouriez had no intention of enlightening them. Moreover, they highlighted the expectations of the fatherland and the honor of leading the column.
Of course, immediately forming columns and charging forward wasn't the answer. Such an all-or-nothing approach required perfect timing.
"We must deliver the decisive blow when the enemy is relatively exhausted," Dumouriez told Joseph as he prepared a force of 4,000 for the assault.
The next morning, the French launched one attack after another against the Austrian forces on the high ground. But thanks to the terrain and well-positioned artillery, by around 2 p.m., they had repelled five or six consecutive French attacks.
"Joseph, have you tallied the number of shots fired and the frequency of fire for each of the enemy's cannons?" Dumouriez asked as he sat on a large stone, gazing at the Austrian defenses, addressing Joseph.
"I have taken a count. If they haven't concealed some of their cannons, they should have around 45 cannons. By now, each cannon has fired many times. The lowest count is 20 shots, and the highest is 43. All their cannons are firing at a slower rate now," Joseph reported.
"They've fired so many times; their barrels should be overheating. It's time," Dumouriez declared, rising from his seat. His guards brought him his horse.
Dumouriez mounted the horse and rode to the front of the assault force. He delivered a speech to the troops.
"Children of the fatherland, children of France, before you stands the army of Europe's most despicable feudal lords. They fear that the winds of French freedom will reach their lands, and they dread their people saying, 'Why can't we be as free and equal as the French?' So these wretched men have united, saying, 'Let's destroy France, let's crush their revolution, let's make them slaves again, let this world remain in perpetual servitude!' My children, they want to subdue us, destroy us, trample us underfoot, take our labor's fruits, and steal our wives and children! Can we allow that?"
"No!"
"No!"
"Down with the feudal lords, down with all tyrants!"
First, the drummer, a child placed among the soldiers, shouted loudly. Then, the soldiers followed suit, chanting enthusiastically.
Dumouriez waited for the chants to subside a bit before continuing, "So, children, children of France! For France and for the freedom of all French people, for the wives and children of all French people, I command you, France commands you, march with me, follow the seasoned French soldier before you."
With those words, Dumouriez spurred his horse forward and raised his sword. "Advance! Advance!"
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