Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

The French Army's artillery fire had all been coming from a position to the west of the center of the battlefield, and the attention of the Prussian officers was concentrated there as well.

But suddenly, cannonballs flew out from the vicinity of the right flank of the Prussian Army, catching both soldiers and officers off-guard. The startled soldiers stopped in their tracks without any officers to restrain and command them, and the formation immediately descended into chaos.

Because those five cannonballs were so precisely targeted, they caused 28 casualties among the infantry lines. An experienced Prussian veteran exclaimed, "That must be a French artillery camp, otherwise they couldn't have hit so many men!"

His words spurred greater confusion until an officer who had hurried over whipped him to the ground, and the surrounding clamorous cries of terror faded somewhat.

The unit that the enemy had "promoted" to an artillery camp, the Napoleonic Battalion, quickly reset their positions and completed reloading their ammunition with remarkable agility.

Again, five thunderous booms sounded almost simultaneously, the cannonballs drew low arcs, and once more struck the Prussian infantry lines with precision.

However, this time the Prussians had spread out a bit, and the toll was nearly halved compared to the previous volley.

Napoleon watched the results through his telescope and said to the orderly officer, "Adjust the azimuth angle 1 degree to the left."

"Yes, Captain!"

As the five cannons roared once more, the right flank of the Prussian infantry, which had just been attacked, was swept by whizzing cannonballs, resulting in limbs and bodies strewn across the ground.

Napoleon's unit was highly trained—this was all thanks to Joseph's willingness to spend money to have the gunners practice with live ammunition. And the gunners were also required to improve on mathematics, with additional allowances for those who excelled—the cannons fired rapidly and with excellent stability. After seven rounds of simultaneous firing, the edge of the Prussian right flank had a significantly jagged gap.

Although the soldiers didn't dare abandon their posts under the officers' shouts, some who had experienced the Bavarian succession battle noticed the small thicket close at hand.

They immediately suggested to the officers, "Sir, if we move closer to that side, the French gunners won't be able to see us!"

"Yes, sir, that won't take us out of the line formation. Those damn cannons are too accurate..."

The three platoon leaders near the bombardment position exchanged glances, seemingly tempted. Although they were shouting at the troops to maintain formation, they were also rattled by the cannon fire, uncertain whether the next cannonball might hit them.

They quickly made a decision to shift the troops a bit westward. This did not contradict the orders from their superiors; when the path forward was not clear, it was common to sidestep ten or so meters.

However, as their orders were being relayed, another volley was fired from Napoleon's side.

When the soldiers learned that the officers were allowing them to cling to the shrubs for cover, they paid no heed to the "move ten or so meters" limit and almost instantly lined up at the edge of the thicket.

At the same time, the Prussian Cavalry had finally locked onto Napoleon's position, and a squadron of cavalry charged straight at them. A force of 150 cavalry was enough to clear out a small-scale sneak attack by the gunners. Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire

A French Cavalry Scout quickly informed Napoleon of the Prussian Cavalry's movements, urging him to move quickly.

But as Napoleon observed the ever-widening breach in the Prussian infantry line through his telescope, he firmly told the orderly officer, "Adjust the azimuth angle another 1 degree to the left, and maintain rapid fire."

The artillerymen continued loading their guns, pouring fire onto the enemy's infantry lines while under the increasing threat of the approaching Prussian Cavalry.

On the right flank of the Prussian line formation, the soldiers were gritting their teeth and complaining. Although the artillery bombardment hadn't cost them many lives, each of them had instinctively edged closer towards a certain grove.

On the infantry line, the Prussian Soldiers who were side by side with them and had not been shelled, were jeering at the embarrassed ones seeking cover, not noticing that the distance between them had grown to seventy or eighty paces.

Bertier had previously received a report from the commander of the artillery battalion and was interestingly observing the artillery position ingeniously chosen by Captain Buonaparte when he suddenly noticed a significant gap had appeared in the Prussian line formation!

His heart stirred, he turned to the orderly officer and shouted, "Quick! Concentrate a battalion and attack the enemy's right flank! There is a gap there!"

"Yes, General!"

About ten minutes later, five infantry companies formed an assault column and, led by their respective company commanders, hurriedly marched to the beat of the drum towards the right flank of the Prussian Army.

Napoleon had already led his subordinate artillery out of the temporary position. They had almost held their ground until the sound of the Prussian cavalry's hooves drowned out the cannon fire, only retreating after firing one last cannon shot.

They had come for a surprise attack, so they had no infantry cover; against cavalry, they could only retreat.

Napoleon ordered the abandonment of those five cannons. He had seen the condition of the enemy's linear formation and knew that as long as the corps commanders did not miss this opportunity, the loss of five cannons would be inconsequential.

The Prussian Cavalry, seeing the deserted French artillery position, left a dozen men to spike the guns while others scattered to search for the French artillerymen who had just been there.

Hearing the increasingly clear sound of hooves behind him and looking into the distance towards his own position, Napoleon knew it was impossible to get back in time and loudly called to his soldiers, "Everyone stop. The Prussians are upon us!"

He waved vigorously, "But they will not be facing defenseless gunners; they will face warriors willing to fight them to the last drop of blood!

"Now, take up your caplock guns. Those without weapons stand at the back row and help pass ammunition and ramrods.

"Let's show the Prussian cavalry a thing or two!"

To be honest, the soldiers of the Guard Corps hadn't been very respectful towards this Corsican captain who had suddenly appeared among them, some even mildly resistant. Only after witnessing Napoleon's exceptional skill in ballistics calculation did they grudgingly accept him.

Yet today, this Corsican islander had led them in a beautifully executed surprise attack, throwing the Prussian troops into disarray.

Now seeing the fearless and proud expression on their young captain's face and listening to his impassioned words, they all felt their blood boil, loudly echoing, "Right, we'll take down some Prussian cavalrymen no matter what!"

"Listen to the captain, form ranks! Have you all forgotten how to form a line?"

"Come on, lift your guns! Remember to fix bayonets!"

"Glory awaits us!"

Soon, less than 40 artillerymen had formed a straight line, tensely waiting for the Prussian cavalry to appear. It wasn't that they didn't want to form a square; rather, there weren't enough caplock guns to go around.

Napoleon then drew his sword, his expression solemn, standing on the right end of the line, silently musing: How I yearn to return to the vineyards back home just once more, to see my mother laboring beneath the grapevines...