Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Northern border of the Walloon Region, France.

Major General Jia Yar, commander of the Wallon Garrison, lightly waved his whip and said to Lefevre beside him, "General, actually we can just head to Nijmegen directly. Those Flemings will only be a hindrance."

"They can at least provide logistical supplies," Lefevre gestured behind him, "Besides, we don't even have an engineering battalion."

This time he only brought two regiments of infantry, naturally without an engineering battalion. The local Wallon army also does not have this type of unit.

Two cavalry approached and said to Lefevre, "General, General Si Haike is waiting to welcome us outside Breda."

Lefevre smiled, "He's still so adept at socializing."

Jia Yar pursed his lips, "But he's not good at fighting."

In no time, bands on both sides of the road began to play, and Si Haike, along with a group of leaders from the Flemish Republic, warmly greeted, "Honorable General Lefevre, how long has it been since we last met? I often tell them about your heroic deeds of the past."

"Four years, I think." Lefevre nodded in return and somewhat surprised, "Are you going to personally lead the troops with me to the Netherlands?"

"No, no," Si Haike retorted awkwardly, "You know, there are too many government affairs to handle. General Tain will accompany you on the expedition. But I have specially assembled 3,000 of the most elite National Army soldiers for him."

He is now running for the presidency of the Flemish Republic, so naturally, he won't be leading troops to battle anymore.

Upon learning of the British invasion of the Netherlands, he immediately requested French military intervention—once Britain occupied the Netherlands, they would undoubtedly proceed south, and the Flemish Republic would return to Austrian control.

Coincidentally, France also received a plea for help from the Dutch Parliament, and after a brief discussion by the General Staff, Lefevre was quickly ordered to lead reinforcements to the Netherlands.

It's always better to fight on someone else's land than your own.

Si Haike eagerly gestured towards the opposite riverbank: "General, the dinner is ready, you see..."

Lefevre dismissed him impatiently, "If we delay any longer, the Dutch won't be able to hold out."

Just as Si Haike was about to say something more, Lefevre's adjutant hurried over with a grave expression, "General, news just came in that the Dutch have surrendered."

"Damn it! They didn't even last three days!"

The adjutant handed him the intelligence, "Apparently, the British have been digging the Val River's levee, forcing the Dutch Parliament to surrender."

Jia Yar looked at Lefevre, "General, what should we do now?"

Si Haike quickly said, "Please proceed to Antwerp quickly to establish a defense line. The British will be here soon!"

Antwerp is the capital of Flanders, only 120 kilometers from Nijmegen.

General Tain, who had been silent at the back, stepped forward and declared loudly, "We should advance and defend Breda. The waterways there are denser and can prevent the British from advancing on Middleburg."

"What are you saying? We must focus on defending Antwerp!"

"With all due respect, you have no understanding of military affairs..."

Lefevre frowned, pondered for a moment, and suddenly raised his hand to interrupt their argument, "No, we continue to Nijmegen."

Everyone stared in shock.

"How can that be, General?" Si Haike said nervously, "Antwerp only has less than a thousand soldiers..."

Lefevre appeared very confident, "As long as we defeat the British, Antwerp will be safe."

"But..."

"Do you find it unbelievable?"

Someone nodded.

"Then the British won't expect us to attack with inferior forces," Lefevre said. "His Highness the Crown Prince said, the best defense is a good offense!

"In a sense, the Dutch surrendering actually gave us an opportunity.

"Breda is only 55 kilometers from Nijmegen. With a forced march, we can reach the Val River by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow.

"The British troops will surely rest after their victory, and by then, they might not have started crossing the river yet!"

He looked at the Order Officer beside him, "Tell the soldiers to speed up!"

"Yes, General!"

Jia Yar whispered from the side, "Shouldn't we report the battle plan to the General Staff and wait for their approval before..."

Lefevre turned his horse northwards, "We do need to report, but by the time we get approval, it will be too late."

...

West bank of the Rhine River.

Cologne Fortress.

Lieutenant Colonel Saint-Cyr gazed at the quiet fortress across the river, which looked like a rural villa, turned to Ogero and said, "It's really boring.

"I heard Italy has been fighting for over half a month already. Maybe we should find a weakly defended Prussian spot and try a fight."

If the Allied Forces officers heard this, they'd surely cough up blood.

The French Army along the Rhine River only has the Third Army Group, plus one infantry division for defense, with a total strength of 45,000. The Duke of Brunswick on the opposite side has nearly 70,000 soldiers.

Yet, the French are clamoring for offense. It's no wonder; the French Army is bursting with confidence against England, Prussia, and Austria now.

"You're right," Ogero nodded. "In fact, I've already submitted an operational plan to the General Staff. Our hussars discovered a spot north of Koblenz with less than 4,000 enemy defenders a few days ago."

Saint-Cyr's eyes were lit up, ready to discuss battle details with the commander, the adjutant handed over a report: "Lieutenant Colonel, Worms was attacked by enemy forces this morning."

Worms is an eastern Rhine conduit, previously not known to have enemy deployments.

Saint-Cyr opened the report with bewilderment, "Picton's corps suddenly left Stuttgart and appeared around Manheim. Over 50,000 soldiers."

Ogero immediately frowned deeply.

Manheim is not the defense's focal point for the Rhein Army; pulling troops from Cologne to fill that area could give the Duke of Brunswick an opportunity.

Saint-Cyr evidently realized the same issue and pondered, "Should we have General Surt help with defense?"

Ogero shook his head, "The enemy likely did this deliberately to spread Baden's forces thin."

"Austria's main forces are north of Mantua. What threat can they still pose to Baden?"

"Picton's corps, combined with the Prussian and British troops, numbers 150,000," Ogero said. "And the Austrians might also move forces closer to Baden.

"If General Surt leaves Karlsruhe, Baden could be wrecked."

"Damn it... we'll have to wait for the General Staff's decision."

...

Northern Switzerland.

The Swiss Army led by Blucher was divided into western and northern sections, surrounding the Swiss capital Zurich with Commander Friedrich von Hotze's 20,000 Austrian soldiers.

At ten in the morning, an Austrian diplomat arrived at Hotze's command post, bowed, smiled, and said, "The Swiss refused, General."