Chapter 254: The end of the hero

On March 25, after waiting for five days, Kutuzov and Clausewitz finally lost patience. On the morning of the same day, the coalition forces launched a fierce attack on Napoleon's troops with two Cossack cavalry divisions as the main force. However, Napoleon also focused his defense on the Russian-Public coalition forces. Napoleon concentrated 70,000 people, and 80% of the cannons and heavy machine guns deployed two lines of defense to resist the attack of the Russian-Public coalition forces. The other side directly deployed 30,000 people. If the Grand Duke of Chali was fully

If the attack is strong, the 30,000 will not be able to withstand the attack of the Austrian army no matter what. Fortunately, the 90,000 French troops stationed in Erfurt restrained Grand Duke Chali, which made Napoleon dare to make such a bold arrangement. In other words, Napoleon was completely gambling. What he bet was that before the Austrian army launched an attack, his army could firmly defend the position and severely damage the Russian-Public coalition forces, so that he would have a great chance to achieve the final victory. But it would be too difficult to achieve that step.

Napoleon's first line of defense was deployed 10 kilometers northeast of Leipzig. Napoleon deployed a large number of cannons and heavy machine guns here, and appointed Marshal Dawu as the commander of the first line of defense. But his large number was only relatively speaking. Since the war started, advanced weapons did bring huge advantages to the French army, otherwise the French would not have won such a great victory in the early stage of the war. However, with the development of the war, the French army's heavy weapons also suffered serious losses, either malfunctioning or being discarded during retreat. Now Napoleon has only less than 300 75mm field guns and 100 heavy machine guns left in his hands. Moreover, due to excessive logistical pressure, the ammunition was also very insufficient. Because of this reason, Chief of General Staff Clark had been scolded by him many times, but this situation has not improved at all.

The distance of 50 kilometers only takes more than an hour for the full-speed Gösac Cavalry. At 10 a.m., two Cossac Cavalry Divisions appeared 4 kilometers away from Napoleon's first line of defense. Behind them, more than 100,000 infantry were coming. But how could the two legs of a man be compared with the four legs of a horse? The infantry was left far behind by the cavalry.

At 10 a.m., Lieutenant General Kleisky, who was the front line commander of the Russian army, was no longer patient. In his opinion, this was already the last battle against France, and he believed that Napoleon was sure to lose. If his troops could break through the French defense line, or even capture Napoleon, it would be an unimaginable honor for him, and his future career would be bright. But if the infantry arrived, it would be hard to say. Even if the French army could be defeated, the credit would not belong to him alone. Moreover, he believed that his two Cossack cavalry divisions were enough to defeat the French army. Therefore, Kleisky decided to throw away the infantry and launch an attack alone.

Kleisky's decision was supported by most people. After discussing with the warlike generals, Kleisky decisively launched an attack. This time, he decided to work with one blow and put all the two Cossack cavalry divisions into the battle without leaving any reserves.

The charge of the 30,000 cavalry was undoubtedly quite shocking, and the loud sound of horse hooves made the earth tremble. Many French soldiers were so scared that they curled up in the trenches and shivered, but most of them still took up the weapons in their hands. The reason is very simple. The Cossack cavalry was notorious for a long time. If they lost this war, then these robbers would definitely rush into France to burn, kill and loot. In order for their relatives to be killed and their wives and daughters to be raped, they must take up weapons to resist to the end.

After the Cossack cavalry entered the range, the artillery spoke first. Nearly two hundred 75mm field guns roared with death. One shell flew out of the gun mouth with a hot red light and smashed hard into the fast-paced Cossack cavalry formation. The explosions were endless. Under the charge of the Cossack cavalry, there were basically no shells falling. Almost every shell dropped, one or several Cossack cavalry could be killed. There were absolutely no injured people, because they could not survive even if they were injured and were disembarked. The comrades who were following behind would step on him into meat paste.

Relying on a fast charge, the Cossack cavalry quickly rushed through the French artillery area. Although the French artillery bombardment caused them to suffer heavy losses, they were still within a tolerable range. Seeing many cavalry heads breaking through the French artillery area, which was very close to the French defense line, Kleisky showed a victory smile on his face. He knew that the French defense line was definitely difficult to withstand the powerful impact of the Cossack cavalry. Victory was right in front of him, and he seemed to see the goddess of victory having set off a group of waves at him.

However, the Cossack cavalry rushed out of the artillery zone, which did not mean that they were safe. There were also very terrifying things in front of them. In an instant, the French army's defense line recalled a low "splash, splash" sound. Then he saw countless cavalry being knocked off their horses and trampled to death by their companions who quickly followed. Kleisky's face immediately became very ugly, as if he had swallowed a dead fly. "Damn, how did I forget the French army's possession of such damn weapons?" He knew what those things were spewed out flame tongues.

, He had seen enough in so many years of war, and that thing could definitely be called a nightmare for cavalry. Even the brave Cossack cavalry had only been slaughtered in front of them. Now he could only hope that the French army did not have many such terrifying weapons, and in that case he still had great hope of winning. But he soon became desperate, because he saw dozens of flames spurted out from the French position. But he did not want to give up, but kept ordering his soldiers to charge forward with a hoarse voice.

The Cossack cavalry was very brave. The French army opposite did not choose to retreat, but chose to launch a fierce charge towards death, even if they lost their lives. The battle lasted for 3 hours. The bodies of the Cossack cavalry were piled up with a thick layer in front of the French defense line. At this time, the remaining less than 5,000 people were left. But the French army still paid the price of thousands, because many Cossack cavalry successfully broke through the fire blockade of the French army. For every time a Cossack cavalry broke through, it was unexpected that the French army had to pay several lives to eliminate the Cossack cavalry. The most serious thing was that after this fierce battle, the French army had consumed a large part of the ammunition, especially the artillery shells and heavy machine gun bullets.

Kutuzov arrived at the battlefield, and more than 100,000 infantry arrived. Kutuzov had nothing to say about Kleisky, who launched a private attack and lost his troops, so he directly ordered the guards to shoot him. Then, the 140,000 Russian-Public coalition forces launched another attack, and the bloody battle began again.

The battle lasted for a whole week. Until April 2, the Russian-Public coalition forces failed to break through the French army's first line of defense, but instead lost nearly 40,000 people. Of course, the French army suffered a lot, and only more than 30,000 people were left in the first line of defense. And they were almost out of ammunition and food. As a last resort, on April 3, Dawu ordered the retreat, abandon the first line of defense, and retreat to the second line of defense.

Due to heavy losses in the attack, and the 2nd and 12th French army also arrived in Leipzig. Kutuzov and Clausewitz strongly demanded that the Grand Duke of Chari, who was in Jena, immediately launch an attack on Leipzig in order to cooperate with the Russian-Public coalition forces.

Under the strong pressure of Russia and Prussia, Grand Duke Chali had to leave 100,000 people to guard Erfurt's 90,000 French troops, and led 70,000 people to attack Leipzig from the southwest. The addition of the Austrian army made Napoleon attack from both sides. Although Erfurt's 90,000 French troops launched a fierce attack on Jena, he still could not break through the defense line guarded by 100,000 Austrian troops and could not provide reinforcements to Leipzig.

Napoleon had to withstand the attack of the 170,000 coalition forces with 120,000 people. If the ammunition was sufficient, it might not be difficult to complete this task, but in the absence of ammunition, it would be very difficult for Napoleon to defend Leipzig. What is the more desperate rear? Because the coalition forces could not win the war for a long time, on March 27, Russian Emperor Alexander, Austria Emperor Francis I and Pr. King Friedrich William III held a meeting in Warsaw and unanimously decided to increase troops to the exhibition again. Among them, Russia invested 80,000 again, Austria invested 70,000 people, and Prussia also invested the last 50,000 people into the war, sending a total of 200,000 again. After these troops appeared on the battlefield, they would bring a final blow to Napoleon.

In early April, Napoleon had already gained a certain advantage in the Battle of Leipzig, but on April 14, 200,000 coalition forces appeared on the battlefield, and the French army immediately suffered a catastrophe. Under the fierce attack of the coalition forces, Napoleon had to issue an order to retreat, and retreated thousands of miles and retreated directly from Leipzig to France. After the 200,000 French troops returned to France, only half were left.
Chapter completed!