French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 68: The Battle of the Meuse

"Machine gun, take that machine gun out!"

Lieutenant General Kirchbach, commander of the Fifth Army and a Prussian general, took advantage of the artillery fire and stood openly in his observation post on the east bank, pointing at a Mitrajoz machine gun strongpoint on the French position that was firing wildly, and loudly issuing orders.

It has 25 firing ports, which can fire all 25 bullets at the same time, or fire rapidly and continuously to create a firepower advantage.

The Mitrajoz machine gun, which appeared 10 years earlier than the Gatling gun, undoubtedly exerted a suppressive force on the battlefield.

Once the location of the French machine gun emplacement was identified, it was to be destroyed immediately. Urged by Kirchbach, four Krupp field guns adjusted their muzzles and aimed at the emplacement.

A few shells were fired, and the machine gun fire from that firing point stopped abruptly after a flash of fire.

In other words, Kirschbach couldn't see clearly, but on the French positions, after being bombarded by four shells, the machine gun emplacement was blasted into a large crater, and the machine gunner and ammunition handler were all killed.

"Well done, keep the attack going."

Although the darkness prevented a clear view of the devastation on the enemy's position, it was clear that the firing point never reappeared, and the unique flash of the machine gun during firing was visible.

Having confirmed that the firing points had been eliminated, Kirchbach excitedly shouted for the Prussian army to intensify its offensive. Prussia, repeatedly manipulated by Napoleon I during the Napoleonic era, had waited far too long for this moment.

Kirchbach was too optimistic. Just five minutes later, the French brought in another machine gun to replace the destroyed firing point.

A hail of bullets swept across the river once more, and the Prussian offensive was repelled once more.

While the stalemate continued at the Verdun crossing in the north, the Prussian 6th Army's offensive at the Dinant crossing in the center also encountered fierce resistance from the French.

In contrast to the relay-fire tactics employed in the north, the French deployed eight Mitrajoz machine guns directly here, creating a dense network of crossfire.

This weapon, with a rate of fire of up to 200 rounds per minute, became a nightmare for Prussian soldiers.

This is no less despairing than when someone is taking a dump and sees a dog constantly approaching them, the despair of not wanting a dog to lick their butt.

Compared to the current situation, where the Prussian army is advancing towards the opposite bank on wooden boats, unable to fight back and forced to endure the baptism of French gunfire, it is even weaker.

Bullets swept across the river like hailstorms in Prussia in August, and wherever they passed, Prussian soldiers fell in droves.

With each ship breaking apart, the sinking of a wooden boat symbolized the death of at least eight Prussian soldiers, and the turbulent waters of the Meuse River were stained blood red with the loss of so many lives.

The commander of the Prussian 6th Corps, Tumplinger, was a hot-tempered old soldier. He was furious when he saw his soldiers falling in droves on the east bank of the river.

"Sappers, erect a pontoon bridge immediately! I want to personally lead the charge!"

This is not the Napoleonic era. Tumplinger's second half of his statement was pure boasting, but the first half, as an order from a superior officer, still reached the lower ranks.

Under the cover of artillery fire, Prussian engineers braved a hail of bullets from the French army to begin constructing a pontoon bridge.

The soldiers pushed the pre-prepared pontoons into the river and then laid planks on them. The intention was obvious: the French soldiers, who could not let the Prussians succeed, began to concentrate their fire on the engineers on the pontoon bridge.

This was a life-or-death struggle, with French troops braving Prussian artillery fire while Prussian engineers erected pontoon bridges under French fire.

Prussian engineers fell one after another, but their replacements quickly took their place. As two of the top armies of the era, both sides possessed exceptionally strong willpower.

Many of the engineers' bodies fell into the river and were swept away by the current. Even with thousands of engineers and soldiers sacrificing their lives and with prior, clandestine preparations underway, it still took Prussia three hours to complete the construction of an 80-meter-long pontoon bridge.

This was already considered fast. If Prussia hadn't made prior preparations, the timeline could have been extended to 6 to 8 hours, and the number of soldiers killed could have been in the tens of thousands.

The wooden planks of the pontoon bridge were covered in blood, making them slippery to walk on.

"charge."

Tumplinger did not completely break his promise; although he did not charge ahead, he led the charge.

The Prussian commander drew his sword and led thousands of Prussian soldiers onto the pontoon bridge, shouting as they charged toward the west bank of the river.

Of course, the pontoon bridge couldn't accommodate so many people. Tumplinger shouted for the Prussian soldiers to come up. After about half of them rushed onto the pontoon bridge, the commander, who had been urging the troops to get on the bridge, finally stepped onto the pontoon bridge and personally launched an attack on the west bank.

At this moment, it was appropriate to greet the Prussian army with artillery fire. The French army, which had been wary of Prussian artillery fire and dared not expose its firing positions, immediately chose to expose one of its artillery positions in the face of huge gains.

French artillery fire reappeared on the battlefield and immediately bombarded the pontoon bridge. Under the fire of more than ten cannons, a 12-pound shell fired by a Napoleon cannon landed right in the middle of the pontoon bridge, blowing it into two pieces.

Dozens of Prussian soldiers fell into the river and were swept away by the swift current, but the remaining Prussian soldiers did not retreat.

The Prussian troops continued their advance on the broken pontoon bridge, and it seemed that a single 12-pound shell was insufficient to destroy it.

However, due to the collapse of the pontoon bridge, the Prussian army's deployment capabilities were greatly reduced. In the end, only a few hundred Prussian soldiers managed to reach the west bank of the river and occupy a small beachhead.

"Fix bayonets and charge with me!"

You, Tumplinger, dared to lead the team in an attack; you're a hero. I'm no coward either.

Seeing that Prussia had gained a foothold, if things continued like this, Prussia would send even more troops once the pontoon bridge was restored.

The commander of the French 5th Corps, De Fay, also personally led the reserve force to launch a counterattack against the Prussian troops on the beachhead.

The corps commander rode a white horse, brandishing a saber, and charged directly at the front of the column. Under the commander's personal leadership, the soldiers of both sides engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand battle on the beachhead.

The sounds of clashing bayonets, soldiers' shouts of battle, and the screams of those about to die echoed across this small beachhead.

Commander De Fay took the lead, wielding his saber and cutting down several Prussian soldiers. Inspired by him, the French soldiers, their morale greatly boosted, launched an extremely fierce attack on the Prussian army.

The battle lasted for more than half an hour. The Prussian soldiers who rushed to the riverbank were ultimately outnumbered and were all wiped out.

Tumplinger was also hit in the thigh by a bullet during the battle. Because several sections of the bridge were broken, he, the corps commander, was forced to wade through the icy river to retreat to the east bank. He developed a fever shortly after returning.

Given the current level of medical care, it's hard to say whether the aging Tumplinger can pull through.

The Prussian offensive at the Dinant crossing ended in failure, leaving behind more than eight thousand corpses.

At present, a Prussian corps is far from being as large as it will be in the future, and it is far inferior to the French corps-level forces.

The Prussian 6th Army, with a strength of just over 2 to nearly 3 men, had lost almost a third of its forces, rendering it virtually incapable of continuing to fight.

Without troop resupply, it was unlikely that the Prussian 6th Army could continue its offensive against the French 5th Army on the other side of the river.