Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Austrian Silesian Army Headquarters.

Bertier shifted his gaze from the map, looking somewhat uneasily at Lefevre, "Do you think there’s any chance that General Leao could actually rout the Prussians at Ratibor? After all, he has the absolute advantage in troop strength."

The latter smiled, "If it were another officer in command, even an ordinary battalion commander, we might indeed need to worry about that. But the commander now is Leao, and please trust me, what he excels at is positioning his soldiers where they shouldn’t be.

"Moreover, his ability to train soldiers is also very... ah, average. So, only the less than 2,000 soldiers left by General Willemze are somewhat capable in battle; the rest can’t even perform a proper volley."

"Now I’m actually a bit concerned that he will be overwhelmed by the Prussians..."

Joseph interjected, "General Leao has the advantage in troop strength, he should be able to hold out for at least five or six days. I have already sent Major Mason to Ratibor to support him."

He looked towards the distant Prussian position, "Now it all depends on when the Duke of Brunswick makes his move."

As they were speaking, the sound of horse hooves came from outside the tent, and soon a courier walked in quickly, saluted Joseph with his cap, and said:

"Your Highness, General Leao’s attack on Ratibor has failed, and now he is surrounded by the Prussian Army."

Mason had the Hussars standing by, keeping an eye on the battle situation at Ratibor, and this courier was sent by him.

The courier continued:

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"According to the scouts, it was because General Leao failed to notice the Prussians’ movement on the flank, insisting on using the main force to attack the front, resulting in the Prussians flanking from the rear. Then he mistakenly withdrew the attacking troops, and the enemy forces in front immediately pressed forward, ultimately pincering them."

Joseph immediately gave Lefevre a look of commendation, laughing, "You were right in your prediction, he does indeed excel at incorrect movements."

Lefevre sighed, "12,000 men surrounded by 7,000 Prussians, he has really outdone himself this time."

Bertier looked at Joseph, "Your Highness, shall we have Major Mason reinforce immediately?"

Joseph shook his head, "We have to believe in General Leao. His corps is the best-equipped in the Austrian Army; even if they are surrounded, they should be able to hold out for a few days.

"Now go immediately and inform Marshal Lacy and the Duke of Brunswick about the situation with the Leao Legion."

Joseph then said to another officer, "Please send someone to notify Potsdam that they can start acting."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The officer was a liaison from the French Intelligence Bureau with the Crown Prince and immediately left with Bertier to carry out the order.

...

East of Legnica.

In the Prussian headquarters, the Duke of Brunswick looked at the map in disbelief, shaking his head:

"What the devil do these Austrians intend to do? Attacking Ratibor makes no sense."

Just half an hour earlier, he had just received intelligence sent back from Austria that Leao’s Legion of over 12,000 men had suddenly attacked Ratibor, but Colonel Erwin, who was responsible for defense, reacted quickly, exploiting the Austrians’ negligence, and surrounded them on the outskirts of Ratibor.

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(A portrait of Blucher in oils)

Blucher, who had been battling with Leao in Liege for a long time, was not about to miss this perfect opportunity to kick a man while he was down and immediately spoke loudly:

"Marshal, the Erwin Legion has only 7,000 men; it’ll be difficult to annihilate the enemy. I suggest immediately reinforcing them!"

General Delrisen by his side suggested:

"Ratibor has no strategic value. If Colonel Erwin can hold it, that’s enough. We don’t need to insist on annihilating the enemy."

Duke of Brunswick thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "No, we should reinforce Erwin immediately."

"But..."

"Though Ratibor is worthless, this Leao holds great prestige in the Austrian Army," the Duke of Brunswick stood up with his hands braced on the table, "if we can capture or kill him, it would deal a huge blow to the Austrians’ morale.

"The national treasury is already in a lot of trouble. If we can end the war sooner, we should try our best to do so."

He looked toward Blucher: "Take 10,000 men to Ratibor immediately, cut off the Austrians’ retreat to Ostrava, and ensure Leao is either killed or captured."

Blucher was instantly overjoyed: "Yes, Your Grace!"

Meanwhile, in the tent of Marshal Lacy, a similar argument was taking place.

Naundorf voiced loudly, "Deploying two regiments to rescue Leao’s Legion is enough; we shouldn’t commit too many forces to Ratibor."

Bertier immediately shook his head, "Your Excellency, you must consider that if the Prussians also send troops to Ratibor, then this small reinforcement will not suffice."

Wilmze, who had a good relationship with Leao, hurriedly expressed support:

"Ratibor is our territory too. Why not take the opportunity to retake it? General Leao has the advantage in troop numbers; he was just unfortunately surrounded. Once his troops are out, taking back Ratibor should be very easy."

Seeing Lacy still hesitating, Bertier added fuel to the fire, "Marshal, if next week’s newspapers in Vienna report ’The Spear of the Southern Netherlands successfully recaptures its homeland,’ it will surely boost everyone’s spirits."

Upon hearing this, Marshal Lacy’s brow instantly furrowed, for what he heard in the chief of staff’s words was this—if "The Spear of the Southern Netherlands" gets captured in Ratibor, it would be a nightmare for Austria.

And if this prestigious general should have an accident, the Emperor would most certainly blame it on himself, the overall Commander.

With this in mind, he hesitated no longer, turning to Wilmze he said, "Take 10,000 soldiers and head to Ratibor for reinforcement immediately."

"Yes, Marshal!"

Meanwhile, in Potsdam, the political center of Prussia, the streets were abuzz with talk of the army’s victory at Ratibor.

All the newspapers’ front pages featured headlines like "Invading Austrian Army Crushed by Erwin Legion, Leao Captured" and "Great Victory at Ratibor, 12,000 Austrian Invaders Encircled."

As for pamphlets, they went so far as to boost the enemy casualties to 30,000, and the Austrians’ pride—Leao—had already been captured. The Austrian Army was currently fighting desperately to prevent Leao from being publicly tried in Potsdam.

Of course, all of this was orchestrated by the French Intelligence Bureau’s spies in Potsdam. Spreading this kind of news, which was music to Prussian ears, was the easiest task for spies.

In Sanssouci Palace, William II was also beyond excited. Even though various reports were flying around and the situation in Ratibor was not yet certain, Leao being surrounded was a done deal.

After such a long stalemate in the Silesian theater, there had finally been a major breakthrough.

After consulting with Prince Henry briefly, he immediately drafted a Commendation Order, promoted Erwin to Major General, and heavily praised the Duke of Brunswick.

Just three to four days later, all eyes in the Germany region were fixed on Ratibor, a seemingly insignificant province.

Both Prussia and Austria had 40,000-strong armies rushing there, ready to stake everything on Leao in a desperate gamble...

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