French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 79 The French Northern Route Army Breaks Through, Is the Empire Gone?

The failure of the two armies' breakout attempts, even though it involved the French Marshal, the General, and the Emperor, was not the most important thing.

For France, what truly mattered was the French army on the northern route, which, according to the established plan, had to, was certain of, and absolutely had to break through successfully.

If this formidable French force also fails to break out, then hundreds of thousands of French soldiers will be annihilated by Prussia, and France will have no future in this war.

Therefore, just like the other two routes, at 4 p.m. sharp, the French troops on the northern route launched their breakout.

Bourbaki deployed his most elite Guards grenadier divisions at the forefront as a strike force.

As the Imperial Guard, the soldiers maintained the traditions of Napoleon's era, wearing towering bearskin hats and dark blue uniforms with red trim, advancing in skirmish lines.

Although the French army's combat methods were very traditional, as the war with Prussia continued, even if the Guards did not have a single "Eugene" who would take the initiative to use his authority to change the training methods.

However, as an elite guard, they still adopted the Prussian fighting style and made some modifications to their rigid combat style.

The Imperial Guard soldiers are all elites selected from the entire army, with an average service period of over six years and extremely rich combat experience.

Compared to ordinary French soldiers, they could fully utilize the range advantage of the Châteppé rifle, enabling them to begin accurate shooting at a distance of 500 meters.

If we compare the regular French army with the Prussian army, without considering factors such as artillery, in terms of individual soldier numbers, the French army would be roughly 1:1.2 Prussian.

As for the Imperial Guard, the ratio of casualties could be further increased to 1:1.5 or higher. With their geographical advantage, a 1:2 casualty ratio is not impossible.

Unfortunately, factors such as artillery cannot be ruled out, so even the Imperial Guard could not achieve a one-sided victory against the Prussian army, which had an artillery advantage.

They couldn't defeat Prussia, but they could manage Bavaria. As part of the allied forces, although Bavaria also received equipment from Prussia and were Germanic, their elite troops were still somewhat inferior to the Prussian army.

The Bavarian 2nd Army soldiers responsible for blocking the attack were unable to lift their heads in the face of the Guards' frenzied assault and could only hide in makeshift trenches and passively endure the beating.

When the Imperial Guard grenadier division advanced to within 200 meters of the Prussian lines, the division commander ordered an assault.

The Bavarian 2nd Army's Guardsmen, who had been advancing slowly and suppressing the enemy with gunfire, suddenly charged toward the Prussian positions with bayonets fixed to their Chassepot rifles and shouting "Long live France!"

They didn't need to shoot while moving; the French could cover a distance of 200 meters. In particular, the Prussian defenses were not well-prepared, and they hadn't had time to lay down barbed wire or other effective means of stopping infantry.

Seeing the French army's fierce and aggressive posture, Haltmann, commander of the Bavarian 2nd Army, also ordered his troops to organize a resistance.

However, facing the French northern army, which was fighting to the death and going all-in on the Guards, the severely unprepared Bavarian 2nd Army was simply unable to stop the Guards' advance.

The Imperial Guard soldiers easily broke through the Prussian army's first line of defense and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Prussians.

The Imperial Guard's fighting strength far surpassed that of the Bavarian army, tearing a three-kilometer-wide gap in the Prussian defenses. Bourbaki, who had been closely monitoring the situation, seized the opportunity and led his main force directly out through the breach.

"The 6th Army will cover the rear, and the rest will retreat to Monmedi at full speed."

Bourbaki, riding a white horse, urged the French soldiers on as they sped along the highway.

Bourbaki knew that Prussia would not stand idly by and watch such a large French army retreat. Prussian reinforcements would likely arrive soon, and they had to retreat as far away as possible as quickly as possible.

In fact, after defeating the central army that day, the two Prussian cavalry divisions immediately turned around and began to pursue the northern French army.

This is why it was an infantry division that pursued De Fay later. Two Prussian cavalry divisions, relying on their high mobility and at the cost of losing some horses, successfully caught up with the French army on the northern route at night.

Two cavalry divisions were in hot pursuit of the French army, constantly harassing the flanks and rearguard of the French forces on the northern route, trying to slow down their retreat.

Every now and then, Prussian cavalry would charge up, killing stray French soldiers and attacking French transport convoys.

In response to this situation, the French 2nd Cavalry Division, which was responsible for covering the main force's retreat, also engaged in several fierce battles with the Prussian cavalry.

Relying on its superior physical strength and condition, the 2nd Cavalry Division once achieved a casualty ratio of over 1:2.6 when facing a larger number of Prussian cavalry.

This pursuit was not sustainable. The Prussian army had forced its way from the central battlefield to the northern route, only to be blocked by French cavalry. With a frighteningly high casualty rate, the two Prussian cavalry divisions certainly could not continue the pursuit and send their own men to their deaths.

After a night of forced march, the French army on the northern route finally broke free of the Prussian pursuit in the early morning of September 16, after two Prussian cavalry divisions abandoned their pursuit, and reached their destination, Montmedy.

Here, the French troops on the northern route took a brief rest and replenished some supplies and ammunition.

Bourbaki did send out several reconnaissance teams in an attempt to contact the French forces in the central and southern routes, but all of them never returned.

"General, we can't wait any longer."

Compared to Bourbaki, who was worried about the war situation, General Vinoya, the commander of the 6th Army and devoted to the Republic, only wanted to return to his Greater Paris.

Seeing that they had stopped advancing, Vinuya urged the commander of the Northern Route Army to let Bulbaqi continue his journey as soon as possible.

"The main Prussian army will arrive here soon; we must retreat to Lance."

Although he was worried about the war situation and did not know what Vinua was thinking, Bourbaki knew that Vinua's words made some sense, so he nodded without refuting.

So, after being urged twice a hour by Vinoya, the French army on the northern route only stayed in Montmedy for three hours before embarking on its retreat again.

On the morning of September 18, the French army on the northern route arrived in Reims, but what awaited them was a bolt from the blue.

The mayor of Reims told them that Napoleon III had surrendered at Verdun, a coup had taken place in Paris, the Republicans had overthrown the Second Empire, and a provisional government of the Third French Republic had been established.

This news came like a bolt from the blue, causing a huge shock within the French army.

The soldiers, who were fighting on the front lines, could not accept such a thing happening in the rear, and they immediately began to discuss it.

Among the remaining 5-plus French troops, a diverse range of emotions prevailed: some wept bitterly, some cursed angrily, some threw off their military caps, and some even tore off the imperial insignia and trampled it underfoot.

Compared to the general public, the Imperial Guard soldiers were even more unable to accept this fact. They gathered together and demanded that General Bourbaki lead them back to Paris, overthrow the provisional government, and then rescue Napoleon III.

"I know everyone is in a hurry, but please don't rush."

Mayor Reims, who hadn't finished speaking, looked at the French generals arguing in front of him. He waited until they finished before continuing.