Chapter 758: A Decisive Victory
The brutally one-sided firefight continued for six volleys—or rather, the French fired six volleys, while the Austrians managed only four.
Combined with the relentless artillery bombardment, the Austrian line soon collapsed, riddled with gaps.
No one knew who was the first to turn and flee, but the moment one soldier ran, others followed in panic.
Within minutes, the entire Austrian front line was in full retreat.
Prince Coburg frantically ordered his second line of infantry to fill the gaps.
But what he didn't expect was that the French, instead of maintaining their firing lines, quickly collapsed into assault columns, pushing through the fleeing Austrian troops and charging directly at the second line.
The Austrian reinforcements were completely unprepared.
Many soldiers were still marching forward to replace the broken first line.
Others had stopped, expecting to fire a volley.
As a result, the Austrian second line was uneven and disorganized—a crooked, broken formation.
The outcome was never in doubt.
Even a well-formed Austrian line had struggled to withstand the French assault—let alone this chaotic mess.
Within 20 minutes, Coburg's second defensive line collapsed completely.
Coburg had hoped to hold out until Gruber's elite force could retreat and regroup.
(He had ordered Gruber to withdraw the moment he saw the French attack.)
But to his shock, the French had broken him in just 90 minutes.
His bodyguards didn't wait—they threw him onto his horse and forced him to retreat toward Brussels.
However, after galloping only 2-3 kilometers, they found chaos ahead.
The Dutch army under Davidovich was also under attack!
Coburg felt his vision go dark.
Where had the French found so many troops?!
Even Brussels might be in danger now!
Panic-stricken, he changed direction, fleeing southeast toward Leuven.
What he didn't realize was that the "attack" on the Dutch army was being carried out by only four cavalry companies—just 450 men.
This was Joseph's entire cavalry force in the Southern Netherlands.
When Coburg's main army came under attack, Joseph had ordered the Dutch troops to regroup with him.
But the Dutch army was even worse than the Austrians.
After Davidovich ordered them to speed up their march, they fell into complete disarray.
So when the French cavalry suddenly appeared, the Dutch panicked, failing to form any proper defense and scattering in all directions.
As the fleeing Dutch soldiers spread rumors of a "massive French offensive," panic spread even further.
In the end, just four cavalry companies had caused nearly 10,000 Dutch soldiers to scatter in chaos.
Coburg received the wrong information, assuming that the Dutch army had also been overrun by a massive French force.
Believing Brussels to be lost, he redirected his escape toward Leuven.
Lefebvre's Pursuit
Lefebvre, watching thousands of Austrian troops running like headless chickens, finally let out a deep breath.
He couldn't help but admire the Crown Prince's strategy.
Had he followed his original plan—defending Wavre at all costs—right now, he would still be locked in a brutal fight against a fully assembled Austrian army.
Even if he was confident that his 20,000 men could defeat Coburg's 40,000-strong coalition, a defensive battle would have lasted at least a week.
Instead, including the march, they had defeated the Austro-Dutch army in just half a day.
Lefebvre quickly turned to his messenger:
"Have Reynaud's regiment pursue the fleeing enemy. The rest—gather the troops and return to Wavre!"
"Yes, General!"
Lefebvre knew that only 2,000 exhausted French troops and 4,000 Walloon police were holding Wavre.
If Coburg's forward units ignored this battle and continued their attack on Wavre, the city could still fall.
The safest option was to immediately march south with his main force.
This would allow many Austrians to escape, but at least he could block any remaining Austrian assault on Wavre and secure the city.
However, after marching only 4 kilometers south, his scouts suddenly returned with urgent news.
"General, nearly 10,000 Austrians are advancing straight toward us!"
Battle with Gruber's Forces
The ensuing battle lasted five grueling hours.
Lefebvre finally managed to defeat General Gruber's 9,000 Austrians.
It had taken so long because Gruber had a large cavalry force, while Lefebvre had none.
Whenever the Austrians were at a disadvantage, Gruber used cavalry flanking attacks, making Lefebvre's job far more difficult.
The tide only turned when the four cavalry companies (who had scattered the Dutch army) arrived to reinforce him.
Ironically, Gruber's own 1,000 Dutch cavalrymen helped end the battle—when they suddenly broke and fled, they exposed the Austrian cavalry's flank.
Without protection, the Austrian cavalry collapsed, and the battle ended.
Wavre – Joseph's Headquarters
Inside a chamber of the Walloon Chamber of Commerce, Joseph casually flipped through military reports from the Rhine Front.
Without looking up, he raised a hand to Eymond.
"Could you make me some tea? Thank you."
Eymond and Kersaud exchanged a glance, then anxiously looked out the window before bowing to Joseph.
"Your Highness, perhaps you should leave for Namur or Mons. It would be safer."
They had every reason to be worried.
At that moment, Wavre had only:
300 of Joseph's personal guards2,000 exhausted soldiers, too tired to fight4,000 Walloon police
If Lefebvre failed to defeat Coburg's army, and the Austrians advanced south, the Crown Prince himself would be in grave danger.
Joseph calmly took his tea from Eymond and smiled.
"I have absolute confidence in my army."
He wasn't recklessly gambling with his life.
First, he knew the true capabilities of the Austro-Dutch coalition.
In particular, the 20,000 Dutch troops were so weak that even 3,000 of his French soldiers could defeat them.
He had carefully planned every deception to confuse Coburg, and with Lefebvre launching the surprise attack, victory was almost guaranteed.
Second, he had sent out numerous scouts around Wavre.
If Austrian troops approached, he could leave immediately.
The southwest was completely secure—he could easily retreat if necessary.
Just as Kersaud opened his mouth to insist again, an officer burst into the room, saluted, and excitedly reported:
**"Your Highness! General Lefebvre has won the battle!
"He crushed the Austrian army south of Uccle.
"Josias fled toward Leuven with 5,000 survivors.
"Davidovich's Dutch army retreated to Brussels.
"On the way back to Wavre, General Lefebvre also defeated Gruber's corps—in total, over 4,000 Austrian troops were killed or captured."
Joseph glanced at the clock—5:30 p.m.
He had expected the battle to last at least another day.
But victory had come far sooner than expected.
(End of chapter.)
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