Napoleon in 1812

An hour before France’s Middle Guard began massacres in the reed forest.

There were push-and-pull skirmishes between the French and the coalition forces south of the Arlanzón River. Between the towns of La Buena and San Felices, there were open plains and hills with low altitudes. The soldiers of both armies repeated their advances and retreats at the command of officers, filling the place with bodies.

“Aim!… Shoot!”

Tatatatatatatatata! Tatatata!

“Step down right away. Stand by after reloading!”

“Second row, forward!”

A brutal gunfight and a war of attrition ensued. In the wetlands and grasslands of the river basin, corpses and wounded soldiers of both armies piled up. The soldiers standing in the front row and pointing guns at each other had their faces full of grim determination and fear. This was what people often said about battles between infantrymen:

‘There are only two ways to leave your line. Defeat all the enemies in front of you, or be shot dead by the enemy.’

However, on actual battlefields, such brutality was rarely seen.

Infantry lines were collapsing in real time, because few soldiers could maintain their mental and fighting power. Therefore, after a few rounds of shooting, they retreated and had time to recover from the mental shock, reorganize the unit, clean their guns, and supply ammunition. If they were lucky, they could get out of the line without dying.

Napoleon changed the process of this rotation and made it a little more elaborated and shorter.

When they fired while advancing, the rear row moved forward and led the way. There, they shot and form a new battle line. It was the opposite when they fired while stepping back. Napoleon made the time of exposure to the enemy fire equal in all battalions.

Thanks to this, the French infantrymen were able to carry out a war of attrition, suffering relatively light damage from the front line to the rear line.

It was difficult to reduce the total amount of actual damage, but at least one battalion evaporated from their firing. By relieving the psychological pressure on the soldiers and saving time for maintenance of the unit, it eventually led to a rise in power itself.

This was why the French did not fall behind in this shooting battle, even against the coalition forces who had a majority of British soldiers. But the Allies had special weapons and special soldiers that the French did not have.

Tata! Tata! Tatata! Tata!

“They’re Riflemen! Keep your body down, Lieutenant Commander!”

“Everyone stands back, and stays in line! Don’t equip your bayonets!”

The fire from the rear of the British skirmishers and light infantry was a very cumbersome resistance from Napoleon’s point of view. Their aim shot forced the officers and non-commissioned officers to withdraw, and they had difficulty in commanding the infantry.

It was not like France did not have any rifle nor rifleman. Although its performance was inferior to that of the British Baker rifle, France also produced a rifle called the Versailles rifle, and had Chasseurs who knew how to handle it. The problem was that Nabot, the source of all evil, had stopped the production of the rifle because the production process was complicated, expensive and slow.

‘I will make sure to train riflemen again. I will create a special unit better than the English and make them pay back with interest.’

These were Napoleon’s thoughts, as he looked at the French officers withdrawing under the shooting of the British riflemen. The French and Allied forces had been searching for gaps in their opponents, seeking even a little more favorable terrain for them.

Napoleon looked at the long lines of the two armies with a telescope and figured out that now was the time to take action. If pressure was applied in this state, he could gain an advantage with an artillery attack. Now was the time to urge forward the deployment of batteries.

“Why on earth is the transport of cannons so slow!? It’s already been an hour since I ordered it!”

“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty!”

There was an accident in which half of the 24-pound cannons collapsed in an attempt to transport them over the river on a hastily built bridge. Frowning, Napoleon decided to quickly fill their place with lightweight cannons.

“These bastards’ asses are quite heavy.”

These were Berthier’s words next to him.

The coalition forces had briefly been embarrassed by the surprise attack of the unit led by Louis Nicolas Davout. The Allied commanders leading their troops in the battle lines quickly deployed the reserve forces in the rear to block their right side, instead of dealing with Davout.

The reserve forces marched through the gap between the main forces of the French army and its right wing, and confronted the troops of Davout head-on. This created a natural battle line, which could guarantee the security of the right side of the Allies.

They showed the greatest possible response in their situation. Napoleon realized once again that Arthur Wellesley was a formidable commander. And he could also recall the fact that cannon firepower was necessary to break them.

Soon after, it was finally the time that Napoleon and the French command had been waiting for.

“The cannons are all deployed.”

“What about the calculation of the shelling coordinates?”

“It’s finished too. If we supply enough gunpowder and shells, I’m confident we’ll show the British hell!”

Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin had a confident expression on his face.

Napoleon entrusted him with 150 cannons and 35 artillery battalions. This was equivalent to a third of the total artillery force of Napoleon’s Corps. For a fierce artillery shelling attack, they were planning on deploying them to the front and actively use the advantage of having more cannons than the coalition.

“I trust you and leave it to you. You don’t have to worry about your back, so wipe everything out as you wish.”

As if he had been waiting for these words, Perrin smiled and made a solemn salute.

===

Marshal Perrin, who was commanding the forward battery and artillery with a solemn expression, ordered the artillery officers to fire.

Boom! Boom! Booom! Boom!! Boom! Booom!!

150 cannons fired in unison.

It was impossible for the Allied forces to respond quickly, as if they had never thought the French would deploy cannons this far and fire at them. Like a field of corn that bison roamed through, the rows of enemy soldiers were crushed and smashed.

The coalition commanders could take comfort in the fact that the damage was reduced a little thanks to the British army’s unique thin battle formation.

“Marshal! The first shelling was very successful! Many French cannons fired where we wanted them to fire, and gave the enemies a deadly blow!”

“I know it from the look of it. Don’t spare compliments for the officers of each battalion!”

“However, this is the first time for our artillery to handle cannons this close to the enemy… A lot of officers are anxious.”

The lieutenant was not wrong. It was one of the worries that Perrin had as well.

Currently, the battery was only about 600 to 700 meters away from the enemy line. The artillery shelling from this close could massively wipe out the enemy with its destructive power, but it could not be denied that the entire battery was exposed to a huge risk.

The enemies could reach the battery in only five minutes if they were properly determined.

The distance between the battery and the enemy was even shorter than the distance between the battery and the French main forces, showing how bold this strategy was. If the other side had a brave commander confident in the maneuver, he would surely lead a handful of elite troops and smash the battery in. However, Perrin did not panic at this thought and carried out his duties faithfully.

The reason was…

“Will he not be able to cope with the little tricks of his enemies? You don’t have to worry about anything. Behind us is the great Emperor watching.”

This was because he had a greater faith and trust that could erase his anxiety. Many people noticed Napoleon Bonaparte’s change, as did Claude Victor Perrin, who had been serving him for a long time. Starting with his personality, speech, and habits, his Emperor had really changed a lot.

Among these changes, Perrin’s attention was on his military capability. The Emperor, who was called Europe’s greatest mastermind, progressed even further, perhaps after learning something from the Russian expedition. In particular, his ability to strengthen the paving stones of strategic advantage through skillful operational skills, using psychology to trick the enemy’s mind, was one of the most unusual features that the Emperor had not shown previously.

Now Marshal Perrin could fully trust and follow whatever the Emperor did. It was because he believed that Napoleon could present the right judgment and answer no matter what the situation was.

The French artillery was firing excitedly, using their superior number of cannons. But they were also carefully observing the enemy’s movements while firing their cannons, and soon noticed suspicious activities.

“The troops in front of us are changing the formation of their unit, preparing to gather. Considering their dense formation, it seems that infantry battalions are going to be deployed to capture the battery here.”

At the words of a staff officer, Perrin confirmed it with his own eyes. Through the lens of his telescope, he could see soldiers lining up with British officers who were busy directing them. The artillery officers were anxious, but Perrin’s faith remained unshakable.

“This is an order from the Emperor to the Marshal! The Allies are expected to deploy large infantry battalions to take over our artillery, so he said to prepare pellets and explosive bullets!”

It was the words of a messenger riding a horse.

Perrin asked him.

“Did the Emperor mention other units that could protect the battery?”

“His Majesty only added that Marshal Bessières was preparing for a ‘heroic counterattack’…”

Perrin just grinned without answering. That was what he had been waiting for.

“With this one move, Wellesley’s Corps will lose its power.”

=

Allied forces begun to advance.

Because they had lost a good location to use artillery (dry, soil-less land, strong ground, and low curves) to the French, they could not do much if they counterattacked with their own artillery. Eventually, capturing the French forward battery and firing their cannons back was the only way for them to get through this mess.

“Let’s guide to the gates of hell those who don’t know what they’re doing and try to get here!”

Perrin’s exclamation was not a bluff. Cannons armed with pellets were able to show a truly destructive power at a short distance.

Boom! Booom! Booom! Boom! Boom!

Pellets, which threw dozens of smaller iron bullets, were an excellent explosive ballistic weapon against infantry. Explosive bullets with gunpowder inside were bullets that required to calculate distances to set the time of explosion and shoot. Accurately calculating the time could cause a bullet to explode just over the enemy’s head, when sharp fragments such as nails, screws, and pieces of steel in the outer storage of the bullet were pouring out in all directions.

Its power was such that it turned the body tissues of the people who were within the scope of the damage into small pieces of minced meat. Screaming in English, Spanish, and Portuguese resonated desperately. Perrin’s battery fired again without any compassion or hesitation.

There were enemy soldiers who were hit by the second shelling and survived fortunately. Of course, their faces were imbued with a deep fear from which they could not escape.

“Marshal Bessières has arrived with elite cavalry!”

“The British cavalry is moving, too! This is where the key point seems to be!”

As Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières led his cavalry and moved to protect the battery, the Allied command also sent the British cavalry to intercept them. The Allied infantry was advancing to take over the French battery, while Bessières’ cavalrymen were tasked to stop it, and British cavalrymen were deployed to deal with Bessières’ cavalry.

Another messenger, sent by Napoleon, arrived with a new message on the bloody battlefield. It was an exquisite way to break the enemy’s joints.

“Fire!”

Perrin divided the battery into exactly two as Napoleon commanded. One side fired pellets and explosive bullets at the enemy infantry approaching at close distance like before. The other side’s ammunition was replaced with regular cannonballs, not pellet nor explosive bullet.

And its target was the British cavalry.

“Charge! Charge!!”

The British cavalry faltered after being hit by the French artillery’s surprise attack. Meanwhile, the French cavalry led by Marshal Bessières swept the coalition infantry. The infantry, once again shot and completely scattered, could not stop the French cavalry.

It was the moment when the infantry, which had been selected by the Allied forces, collapsed like a sand castle that met strong waves.

“The command has ordered a full attack!”

“The Allied flag is down! We have won!”

“Woaaaaah!”

As the soldiers cheered, Perrin clenched his fists. They had won again. Now France could never be defeated.