Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 129

"How is the other battlefield? The battle would have started by now."

"Both the Imperial Guards led by His Majesty and Marshal Soult's corps repulsed the enemy's frontline defenders and entered into full-scale battle with the main force. All the results about that were reported three hours ago."

"Report the war situation from time to time."

"Yes, sir. Shall we prepare to dispatch a support unit separately?"

"You don't have to do that. We wait here."

Quickly repel the enemy in front of you and move to help the allies around you. According to the correct strategic judgment for such a situation, Marshal Oudinot should immediately help Napoleon or Soult's corps.

But Oudinot did not do that. Rather, he ordered his engineers to repair the village of Wachau, which was occupied by the battle a while ago, and did not show enthusiasm for expanding the territory he controlled, as if he wanted to rest. Because all of this was a strategy prepared in advance.

'In the future, fierce battles will continue around this place. Let's strengthen the construction of the fortress so that it doesn't break.'

Oudinot's serious eyes lit up as he carried out the orders that the Emperor had given him.

On the way to Lindenau Village, there were long-grown bushes and forests spread out in early summer, which was a suitable terrain for the defense to engage in guerrilla warfare.

The commanders of the Coalition sent a separate eastern unit to the tree forest to delay the advance of Napoleon's corps, causing additional damages. Napoleon's choice to deal with this was as follows.

"We aim for the moment when those who engaged in the war step down to receive ammunition and others supplies. Reconnaissance cavalry follow their traces from their rear, and the Chasseur Regiment will engage in irregular warfare after hiring a guide from here."

Originally, it was the norm for the Chasseurs and the light cavalry to act as bait and for the main force to take the lead. Napoleon turned it upside down. His corps, waving the Emperor's banner, lured the enemies and the Chasseurs and the light cavalry intercepted them.

The operation succeeded remarkably and neatly swept away the Prussian-Swedish guerrilla troops. Thanks to this, Napoleon's corps arrived at the village of Lindenau with little casualties due to the irregular warfare. There, the French army faced their old enemy and traitor.

Although you are now a crimlnal and traitor to the Empire, aiming your guns at your former comrades, you used to be the most loyal marshal of the corps in the past. You have a chance to deeply repent of your sin and reach purgatory. I want to give you an opportunity to come back with the generosity of the Empire...

The French troops reached right in front of the village of Lindenau. Their Emperor sent a letter with this content to King Karl XIV Johan of Sweden, formerly known as Bernadotte.

Rip! Rip! Rip!

Karl XIV Johan tore the letter apart at once.

"What should I do with this arrogant and vicious man? The tongues of Judas and Medea would not be as evil as this!"

The officers surrounding Karl XIV Johan looked surprised at his pouring anger. However, it was an obvious reaction for him because what Napoleon mentioned in his letter was his disgrace, which Karl XIV Johan wanted to bury the most.

Purgatory, a series of processes in which people prepared to face God after death, was a religious term meaning a state in which a sinful and incomplete soul was purified.

Purgatory did not exist in the Protestant worldview. It was a word and concept that appeared only in Catholic doctrines.

Napoleon's letter mentioning purgatory suggested the King's reconversion to Catholicism. It was like dismissing his conversion, which he had made after deep worries and conflicts, not being able to sleep for days, like a light whim of a child.

"Clearly convey my position to the slayer of Corsica, the author of this letter! Sweden's guns will not turn away from France as long as its 'majestic' dictator is in power!"

Karl XIV Johan was not a foolish person. Although he was sincerely angry at Napoleon's disgraceful behavior, he judged that this situation was not necessarily bad for him.

Achieving national political unity by setting up common hated external enemies had been a strategy of rulers since ancient times.

The King himself was insulted by the emperor of another country. Wouldn't it be a remarkable bonus if Swedish military officers, noncommissioned officers, and soldiers could unite and shout 'Death to Napoleon!' from this incident? The Swedish army faced Napoleon's corps arriving at Lindenau.

Karl XIV Johan expected them to sincerely anger and jump on the insult their King received. However, the reality was cold.

"Hey, did you hear about what happened at the meeting three days ago? The French Emperor asked His Majesty to change his mind."

"Really? How did His Majesty answer?"

"Of course, he rejected it and cursed fiercely, and it's good to save the prestige of the Kingdom... but isn't it a pity in our situation?"

"That's true. Damn, how long do we have to stay in this distant foreign land...!"

"It seems like the first thing for us to do is to worry about surviving against the Great Army led by the monstrous Emperor."

"Sigh... It's a terrible thing. How can we beat Europe's strongest army alone?"

The two soldiers, who were talking while chewing military biscuits, could not hide their gloomy looks. There were slightly different words among the junior officers who were managing military facilities such as trenches, waterways, and iron fences.

"I don't want to say this, but... No matter how bad the situation becomes, wasn't His Majesty originally French? Napoleon must have given him some comfort knowing that."

"That's true."

"We're fighting a war where the fate of the Kingdom is at stake. If we lose this war, we will lose everything. But His Majesty... Even if he loses, he has another place to go back..."

"Shh! Don't say that! There is no one who doesn't know how much His Majesty loves our country, so don't doubt it."

"I don't doubt his sincerity either! However... Wouldn't there be a difference in mindset between those who have a place to go back to and those who don't?"

Karl XIV Johan dreamed of becoming the second Gustav II Adolf. Just like when the crazy Swedish army won the Battle of Liitzen after the Lion of the North died at the hands of their enemies. Karl XIV Johan expected a rise in the Swedish army's morale after Napoleon's provocation.

However, there were two major factors that Karl XIV Johan did not think of. First, he was not receiving absolute support and respect from the Swedish like Gustav II Adolf did.

Second, it was the fact that the Swedish army had to face Napoleon and his undefeated elite French troops.

One tended to be submerged by their strongest emotions. And Napoleon was a giant with absolute strength and reputation who could show such pressure and fear to his opponents.

For the Swedish, fighting the incarnation of war that conquered Europe was greater than the honor and dignity of their king, who was a foreigner. Karl XIV Johan realized this too late.

"The rude man ripped the letter of His Majesty on the spot. He also cursed His Majesty the Emperor and the Marshals with words so vulgar that it would be difficult for me to repeat them. It was the behavior of a traitor that could not be forgiven."

The exasperated words of the officer sent as a messenger immediately spread throughout the French army. And in the village of Plagwitz (the base of the French military), the reactions that Karl XIV Johan wanted so much appeared among the French soldiers.

"Let's catch Bernadotte, that traitor! And kill him!"

"I will rip to pieces the traitor who insulted His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Let's send all those Swedes to hell without leaving a single one behind!"

In fact, it was Napoleon who deliberately stimulated Bernadotte to provoke his anger, but from the perspective of the loyal French soldiers, their great Emperor had sent a generous offer of reconciliation to his former comrade.

As a result, the Swedish king answering with terrible curses sparked a hot fire in their sleeping hearts.

The soldiers, enraged to the very end, all wanted to take the lead in this battle.

There were also soldiers who declared that they would not be discharged from the military until all the traitors, who insulted the Empire and the Emperor, and those who followed them were brought down.

It was also Napoleon's job to calm them down and rearm them with cold anger and reason.

Napoleon's troops arrived at Lindenau. The Swedish army was waiting for them and had already finished preparing for battle. Napoleon examined them through a telescope.

'You're pretending not to, but you can't avoid my eyes. This clutter is not like the Swedish army with strict discipline.'

He guessed that there was a high probability that his trick was the cause, and that he actually managed to hit him. Anyway, seeing the enemy army unable to fully focus on the battle was a fortunate sight from his point of view.

The brave advance of the French troops, which anger and determination had soared, marked the beginning of the Battle of Lindenau. From the beginning the French had more than twice the number of field guns.

In addition to the qualitative level of artillery officers and the bold deployment of Napoleon's artillery, the French army was able to overwhelm its enemies with the firepower of shells pouring into the battlefield.

Before Sweden came up with countermeasures, Napoleon immediately implemented the next level of operations.

"Send the grenadiers in and make them cross the trenches!"

The field of view had become extremely narrow due to dust, smoke, and debris created by the two armies' artillery fire. Napoleon did not miss this opportunity and sent his grenadiers in.

The Grenadier Regiment of the Imperial Guard, which had the heart of a lion, did not fear death and bravely advanced.

Having been trained with high intensity for a long time and accumulated numerous battlefield experiences, they faithfully fulfilled the Emperor's orders.

"Throw them!!"

The grenadiers threw their grenades forward, relying only on their individual senses and judgment, in a situation where their vision was obscured by smoke.

The grenades they threw were enough to turn Swedish infantry into hedgehogs waiting for the smoke to go away in the trench.

"Charge!"

"Woahhhhh!"

The French succeeded in breaking through the first trench line lightly. In the process, they suffered less damage than the Swedish army defending the place.

"I can see them shaking rapidly in my eyes, but what do you think about them?"

"My insight is not comparable to that of Your Majesty. However, I think that now is an opportunity to break them up."

Napoleon, who smiled as if he was satisfied with Andoche Junot's answer, ordered him after entrusting him with the command of ten battalions.

"As you know, you have to cross the White Elster River to go from Lindenau to Leipzig. However, this river is wide and has a strong current, so if the bridge collapses, the Swedish army will be destined to become our prisoners. They will react greatly if you show signs of hitting this place first."

"I will obey Your Majesty's orders!"

Napoleon nodded to Junot, who answered dignifiedly with loyalty. As soon as Junot left with the order, Napoleon looked for the cavalry commander.

"If they are not fools, they must have been thoroughly preparing for defense on the river bridge. In order for the Duke of Abrantes (Junot) to fully carry out his mission, military movements that can attract the enemy's attention are needed."

After drawing the attention of the enemy battery to the fast cavalry, the main force led by Napoleon moved forward and put pressure on them. Finally, if Junot's detached unit attacked the bridge, the Swedish army, which was already overwhelmed by the French, would have no choice but to retreat. It was exactly as Napoleon had predicted.

Surprised by the collapse of the defensive blocking line in an instant, the Swedish command was distracted by French guards walking around in colorful clothes, excessively focusing their firepower on them.

In the meantime, Napoleon's main forces safely advanced with their battery and infantry to secure an advantageous position. They occupied the outskirts of the village, and opened the iron gate to enter inside.

Panic hit King Karl XIV Johan and the Swedish Command. They were pushed back little by little, unable to respond to Napoleon's cards one after another.

In such a situation, the intelligence that Junot's unit appeared on the bridge on the White Elster River broke their thin patience.

"The ultimate purpose of the Coalition is to protect Leipzig's defenses, not here. Didn't Count Wahlstatt (Blucher) also ask you to cross the river at any time if the situation was not favorable?"

"It can be said that it was an achievement of the Kingdom to have blocked the army led by Napoleon himself to this extent. We need time to catch up with his soldiers."

Karl XIV Johan nodded with a sullen face. From Marshal of the French Empire to King of Sweden, he had to admit only then that commanding the French army and commanding the Swedish army were very different.

And he had to realize that the gap with Napoleon, with whom he had competed in a similar position in the past, was extremely wide, which was hard for him to accept.

The Swedish army succeeded in retreating while guarding the bridge. But in return, they had to leave most of their war supplies, such as ammunition, shells, gunpowder, hay, and clothing, as gifts to the French.

To prevent the French from chasing them, 10,000 troops, or about a third of the total corps, had to suffer from the misery of being consumed (injured or taken prisoner).

However, this was not all the misfortune of Sweden, or of the entire Coalition. The Coalition also lost in a battle between Soult's corps and Prussian forces in the western part of the PleiBe River.

Viscount Weitenburg, who was in charge of defending the region, retreated with about 5,000 casualties, and the western part of the PleiBe River was fully in the hands of the French army.

All three simultaneous battles (Wachau, PleiBe, and Lindenau) on May 19, 1818 resulted in French victories.

The Coalition lost about 20,000 troops, as well as the control of the western and southern sides of Leipzig. In the prelude to the battles surrounding Leipzig, Napoleon succeeded in taking the lead.

TL notes

Here's Karl XIV Johan (Bernadotte) painted by Fredric Westin, and Jean-Andoche Junot painted by Henri Felix Emmanuel Philippoteaux: