Napoleon in 1812

“I never thought I’d see the money of those damn island bastards here again! Things like this don’t change even if the world changes.”

Napoleon clicked his tongue while watching the Congreve rockets meteor shower raging in the Arlanzón River basin. The Congreve rocket was a new British weapon that had long plagued Napoleon and the French army in the other world.

Britain, which was one step away from the continent, and which had always been wary of the emergence of powers in Europe, and France, a traditional European power, could not coexist in any parallel world. Even in Napoleon’s original world, France and Britain did everything they could to destroy each other.

‘Those brutal and ignorant weapons are the sins of the islanders, born out of their disdain and cruelty.’

These were the first words that Louis-Alexandre Berthier, the chief of staff, said when he saw the Congreve rockets as they appeared for the first time in the history of war. From the French army’s point of view, these words were really deserved. Of course, for their enemy, the British army, such remarks were nothing short of the highest praise.

Due to the nature of parliamentary politics, which required to pay attention to public opinion, shedding the blood of many people in war should be avoided as much as possible. The Congreve rocket, with which the British could freely bombard enemies from a safe distance, was truly a revolutionary weapon.

As Britain had a good financial situation before the beginning of the war, they used these expensive weapons made by William Congreve very actively against France in the other world. In the early days of the war, Napoleon himself had led the French army to face the British and Dutch rebels who landed in the Netherlands.

The ‘Battle of Heerenveen’ was recorded as the first battle where the British used the Congreve rockets on a large scale.

Peeeeeeee-!!

The situation at that time had been similar and different.

At the Battle of Heerenveen, the British had begun to attack by mercilessly firing Congreve rockets, apparently trying to discourage the French from the very beginning. Roars, sparks, and explosions had poured out continuously. It had been a beautiful and brutal bombing, even causing the illusion of a meteor shower falling from the sky.

At that time, when the French experienced it for the first time, they had floundered away from the great panic. Even the elite soldiers of the French Republic could not help it in the face of unknown fear.

‘I really had a lot of trouble trying to recover and reorganize the officers and soldiers who lost their minds at that time.’

As he recalled the hardships of that battle, Napoleon frowned slightly. After having quickly reorganized his troops, he had used his unique psychological warfare to bring the British and Dutch rebels to the desired positions and had made them pay back several times.

“There’s a lot of damage from the damn explosives. The fire went crazy not only to our barracks and positions north of the Arlanzón River, but also to the supply depots and storages installed at the rear.”

Fitting his nickname ‘Le Rougeaud’, Michel Ney, Duke of Elchingen,^[1] reported the damage with a face like Burgundy red wine.

“Specifically, which storages are concerned and how much is the loss?”

“Two warehouses containing hay and fodder for the horses have been lost. In addition, the storage with the clothes and boots of the Imperial Army was half burned, and its contents were greatly damaged. Fortunately, the warehouses with gunpowder and food for the soldiers are safe.”

Napoleon, who was quietly listening to the report, turned his head in surprise as he took off his hat and swept up his head.

“The warehouses where hay and fodder are stored… Aren’t they located near the cathedral and the farm next to it?”

“That’s right, Your Majesty.”

“Then what happened to the corps’ wagons and carts that were also there?”

Michel Ney, who answered without hesitation, was speechless for the first time. He replied that he would check, but Napoleon could guess that there were no report coming from subordinates on this matter. Napoleon’s head was spinning, even though he was dissatisfied with the attitude of those who had not grasped these important issues in advance.

‘If two warehouses, that are several tens of meters wide, were completely burned down, then the whole area near the cathedral was devastated… The wagons and carts can’t be fine. This is getting messed up.’

It was not long before Michel Ney brought information about the damage to the carts and wagons that were stored nearby.

Napoleon could confirm that his guess was right.

“Of the 800 carts and wagons owned by the Corps’ supply units, 217 were damaged by the bombing. It seems that about 35 of them can be repaired or some of their parts can be transferred and used somewhere else.”

“That means that the rest are completely burnt down or destroyed.”

“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

At Napoleon’s cold words, Michel Ney bowed his head.

The damage to transport wagons and carts was a very painful problem in the operation of the corps. The reduction in available transportation naturally put restrictions on the movement and supply of the troops. In particular, some supply wagons were not only transporting food for the soldiers, but also hay, oats, and fodder to feed the horses.

The loss of supply wagons was not just restricting the movements of troops, but was also a serious problem that could threaten their lives and health. In short, it meant that the French army would not be able to follow the fleeing coalition forces after they used their fireworks.

Napoleon sighed slightly and gestured to him to leave.

‘It’s really messed up.’

=

Napoleon returned to the north of the Arlanzón River and let out swear words as he looked at the ruined French army. The damage to the headquarters’ barracks was greater than expected. The firepower and hit rate of a single rocket were insignificant, but it could show this formidable power if its target location was selected well and hit in large quantities.

As such, the number of French soldiers who were swept to death by the explosion of the thousands of Congreve rockets fired by the British troops was very small.

However, the explosive roar that seemed to rip out their ears, the painful agony of those who burnt to death screaming, and the fact that it was not possible to predict where the rockets would land caused extreme fear and anxiety.

It would take long for the soldiers who suffered from this to calm down. They also needed to extinguish the French military camp, which had been set on fire everywhere.

“We won’t chase after the enemy. We need to get the army together. Make the soldiers work on the maintenance of the army.”

These were Napoleon’s orders.

Having lost a lot of war supplies such as gunpowder, shells, wagons and carts carrying soldiers’ daily necessities, they could not chase the coalition even if they wanted to. Napoleon went around the battlefield, giving orders.

His eyes caught sight of a large group of French high-ranking officers.

“Seeing Arthur Wellesley running away after throwing away those expensive rockets, my resentment from the last battles seems to wash away, hahaha!”

“He ran away with his tail between his legs! It won’t be long before his title of ‘Iron Duke’ is changed to something closer to his real ability.”

“Although accurate estimates of the damage have yet to be made, the Imperial Army is expected to have made them pay an overwhelming price again this time.”

In any case, they did a lot of damage to the coalition forces. They had defeated them and had defended Burgos.

With this logic, the officers were celebrating today’s victory, calling it a great victory. One of the officers who was laughing and chatting noticed Napoleon approaching quietly.

“I-I salute Your Majesty the Great Emperor! Let’s ensure the salvation of the Empire!”

The officers around him came to their senses and also took an angular salute, showing their tension. Napoleon calmly approached them, receiving their greeting.

“You guys were celebrating today’s battle as if it were a great victory like Austerlitz or Hrodna.”

“Y-Your Majesty! We made a big mistake! Please forgive us…”

“It’s not a mistake. I have abolished censorship of the press and art, and I am not trying to control the officers’ thoughts. You have every right to speak your opinions and ideas.”

Napoleon spoke with a friendly tone while putting his hands on their shoulders. But as he continued, the officer’s shoulders hardened and their faces gradually turned pale.

“Based on your rank and affiliation, you must have participated in the staff meeting with me and the marshals.”

“That’s right, Your Majesty!”

“Then you must know what strategies and operations I led from the beginning. What do you think? Did today’s battle go as planned and give the results we wanted?”

“…I-I’m sorry! We were short-sighted.”

“Please forgive us!”

Napoleon grinned as he looked at them who were completely frightened.

It was like catching kids.

“There’s nothing wrong with you for not being able to fully execute the operation as planned before. It’s my fault for making clumsy tactics and failing to predict the enemy’s tricks. I mean it.”

In the end, he was not angry about today’s battle that did not produce the desired results. He was not even angry at the condescending officers who were talking as if they had won.

“You’re young, smart and astute soldiers. With some more experience, it would be possible for you to receive a baton decorated with an eagle (the baton of the marshals of the Empire). The future of the Imperial Army depends on you.”

“…Your Majesty…”

“If I were you, I would not care about the vain honor of considering worthless victories and defeats. Instead, I would analyze why we failed to completely overwhelm them and deviated from the original operation plan by reviewing the last battle. Then the next time we meet them again, wouldn’t we be able to win based on the lessons we learned here? I could also grow and develop in this way.”

“…!!”

“The complacency and the arrogance of thinking about convenience are not suitable for those who will be responsible for the future of the Imperial Army. I want you to reflect on what I said. The French Imperial Army could be greater than ever if you could be able to point out the deficiencies in my plans without hesitation, after learning like this.”

“This is advice that touches the heart… We will keep it in mind, Your Majesty!”

Napoleon returned to his barracks after patting them on the shoulders, as they were moved to tears. Soldiers and errandsmen were busily moving around the barracks to arrange their belongings as they prepared for the troops’ withdrawal.

But the ones Napoleon was looking for were nowhere to be seen.

‘It seems that there are no officers doing their own analysis of the battle. Well, I kind of expected it, but…’

The battle was already over. It was not without regret, but there was no need for them to be overly regretful or blame themselves for the results. However, it was a different matter not to reproduce this situation. In addition to the officers to whom he just spoke, Napoleon recalled those who still had sullen expressions, and sighed quietly.

‘Did the long-standing war dull their senses? They are so immersed in a small victory that they are neglecting something really important.’

There were still a lot of things to be fixed that were appearing in Napoleon’s eyes. It was too much.