Chapter 757: This Is the Surprise
Nine kilometers south of Uccle, thousands of French soldiers stood in formation, waiting.
Strangely, more than 4,000 soldiers on the northernmost side of the line wore light gray uniforms—clearly Walloon police uniforms rather than standard French military attire.
Indeed, the "French troops" threatening Count Radetzky at Maffeigne were actually Walloon policemen disguised in French uniforms.
After their disastrous defeat yesterday, they were no longer able to fight, but they could still stand in formation.
This deception was why Radetzky kept sending desperate reports to Prince Coburg, warning that the French were about to launch a major attack on Maffeigne.
Meanwhile, Joseph had hidden 4,000 French soldiers elsewhere.
During the night, he ordered the 4th Royal Infantry Division to force march to Wavre.
Even as one of Europe's finest units, the grueling overnight march had left over 1,000 men struggling to keep up.
At dawn, Joseph ordered Lefebvre to lead 13,000 of the least exhausted soldiers northward—directly attacking Prince Coburg's approaching army.
From Coburg's perspective, all 6,000 French soldiers near Wavre were focused on besieging Radetzky's troops.
Therefore, he was convinced that now was the time to press forward and seize Wavre.
What he never expected was that over 10,000 French soldiers would suddenly launch a surprise attack on his own army.
Lefebvre surveyed his troops. The men had dark circles under their eyes, their faces etched with exhaustion.
He sighed inwardly.
These soldiers had marched 25 kilometers the previous day, then another 8 kilometers at night, slept only four hours, and now had marched another 9 kilometers that morning.
Their bodies must have been pushed to the limit.
But there was no time to rest.
Riding past his men, Lefebvre raised his voice:
"Yes, I know you're all exhausted. Even standing must feel difficult right now."
He turned his horse, pointing eastward with his riding whip.
**"But the enemy is just as exhausted! They've been marching since morning to reinforce Radetzky, and now their formations are completely disorganized.
"I want you to hold on just a little longer—show those Austrians what real men look like!
"Let them tremble in fear as they watch you, the warriors of steel, crush them completely!"**
Then, drawing his sword, he lifted it high above his head.
**"You are the Crown Prince's Guard! You are the finest soldiers in Europe!
You will overcome everything!"**
Although officially restructured as the 4th Royal Corps, the men still proudly considered themselves part of the Crown Prince's Guard.
Hearing those words, their heads lifted.
The exhaustion in their eyes was replaced with determination and fire.
Lefebvre turned his horse toward the Austrian army.
"In the name of the Crown Prince—CHARGE!"
The soldiers roared in unison:
"IN THE NAME OF THE CROWN PRINCE!"
At that moment, they forgot their exhaustion.
Their legs moved to the beat of the war drums, and they charged forward.
Of course, this wasn't just pure motivation.
These were soldiers of the French New Army, trained under brutal physical conditioning.
Marching 5 kilometers in full gear was a routine exercise—so even now, they could still squeeze out their last reserves of strength.
By contrast, the Austrian soldiers had only marched 10 kilometers that morning and were already nearly drained.
Coburg's Response
Despite the shock, Prince Coburg reacted swiftly.
As the French closed the last three kilometers, he rallied five infantry regiments, forming a defensive line on his western flank.
Lefebvre had no choice—the flat plains around Brussels meant that 3 kilometers was the shortest distance they could close before being spotted by Austrian scouts.
Had Coburg been more cautious, he would have kept his forces at least 6 kilometers apart, preventing a surprise attack.
But in his rush to reinforce Radetzky, he had failed to maintain proper spacing.
In the chaos of the Austrian forced march, 3 kilometers was more than enough to remain undetected.
The First Attack – French Artillery
The first to strike were not the French infantry or cavalry—but their artillery.
Although Joseph had not brought horse artillery, the Royal Foot Artillery Battalion was still extremely fast.
At a distance of 500 paces, 10 six-pound cannons opened fire.
This was their maximum effective range, but at this moment, the Austrian army was scattered across the field, desperately regrouping.
Given the accuracy of the French gunners, hitting their targets was not an issue.
As the shells tore through the Austrian ranks, screams of pain filled the air.
Only 7,000 Austrian soldiers had managed to form proper battle lines—the rest were still scattered, trying to regroup.
Without officers to control them, the constant artillery fire only deepened the chaos.
Coburg's own artillery was positioned too far behind to offer proper support—only three cannons were able to return fire.
French Infantry Charges
Ten minutes later, 12 French infantry columns emerged from behind light infantry skirmishers, closing in on the Austrian battle lines.
"STAND YOUR GROUND! HOLD YOUR FORMATION!"
Austrian officers shouted desperately, but even the 600 skirmishers at the front were causing chaos.
Then, the French columns halted at 100 paces and began deploying into line formations.
In just 30 seconds, several long French firing lines stretched across the battlefield.
At the same time, light infantry seamlessly filled the gaps, ensuring continuous firepower.
"ADVANCE!"
6,000 French soldiers stepped forward, moving in perfect coordination with the drumbeats, pressing toward the Austrian lines.
At 60 paces, the Austrians panicked and fired first.
A volley of musket balls tore through the air.
Around 30-40 French soldiers were hit.
But thanks to bulletproof plates, only 10 were seriously injured.
The French drummers quickened the tempo.
The French line surged forward 12 more steps, closing the distance.
"AIM—"
"FIRE!"
A wave of musket fire erupted from the French ranks.
Due to their closer distance and superior marksmanship, the Austrian lines were instantly covered in blood.
Over 100 Austrian soldiers collapsed in a single volley.
"RELOAD!"
But the French didn't need an order.
Trained to near-perfection, they reloaded instinctively, their movements automatic.
Because French muskets had fewer loading steps, they finished just as the Austrians were raising their guns again.
But the French had advanced 12 paces forward!
As both sides fired nearly simultaneously, thousands of musket balls crossed the battlefield.
This was when bulletproof plates made the biggest difference.
The Austrians lost another 150 men.
The French? Only 40 were injured.
(End of chapter.)
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