Novel Full Chapter 1320: 1225: No, You Still Can't Surrender
Chapter 1320: Chapter 1225: No, You Still Can’t Surrender
The weather quickly gave Blucher a heavy blow.
A large amount of ice formed on the south side of Roschitok Mountain, making it impossible to climb the sheer, almost vertical ice walls several dozen meters high.
In Blucher’s tent, the officers all hung their heads in dejection.
After a long silence, Huo Ce spoke up, “We should head back towards Schwyz and engage the French in battle…”
All the officers raised their heads, their eyes filled with defiance.
In the current state of the Prussian Army, not to mention fighting a battle, if the French delayed for more than ten days, their soldiers would be too hungry to lift their guns.
Blucher stared at the map intensely, shaking his head, “No, we’re not going to Schwyz…”
Just as the officers felt relieved, the commander continued, “We’re heading east, through the Panix Pass, returning to Venice from Chur.”
The faces of those in the tent turned pale, and they began to consider whether it might be better to fight the French after all. At least by fighting, they could surrender, while Panix Pass was said to be “the most perilous pass in the Alps.”
This cursed place was 2,438 meters above sea level, snow-covered year-round, with treacherous paths barely half a meter wide where one misstep could send you tumbling down the cliffs.
Especially now that winter had set in, it could freeze a person to death.
“General, it’s too dangerous…”
An officer began to speak, only to be interrupted by Blucher, “We must get out of here alive!”
He understood clearly that losing these 56,000 men would drop Prussia’s military strength to the bottom tier of European powers. Even if they won the war, they would be powerless to contend with Austria for dominance over Germany in the future.
That afternoon, the Prussian Army looted supplies from Glarus City and the next morning set off towards the most treacherous mountain pass.
The following day, the Prussian Army arrived in vast numbers at the Elm River, abandoning all heavy weapons and vehicles before entering the snow-covered Alps.
At that moment, cannon fire erupted from the mountain slopes ahead, shells landing on the frozen ground, bouncing nearly 200 meters, killing dozens of Prussian soldiers, leaving stark bloodstains on the pristine snow.
Blucher was taken aback, quickly reaching for his telescope to see French flags fluttering in the cold wind atop the hill.
Little did he know that Dawu had arrived here a month earlier, establishing two breastworks and a fortified artillery position on the hillside.
Joseph remembered clearly that in the historical Battle of Zurich, the Russian Army had escaped through Panix Pass. Although thousands of Russians froze to death or fell to their deaths along the way, they still managed to bring their main forces back to Austria.
Therefore, he had instructed Massena early on to deploy troops to block this pass.
Dawu had only 3,800 soldiers, but having secured the high ground in advance, coupled with the narrowness of the mountain path, meant that no matter how many troops the Prussian Army had, they could not breach the defenses in a short time.
Furthermore, Massena’s Army was following right behind the Prussian Army, arriving within a couple of days at most.
The most deadly concern was that after crossing the St. Gotthard Pass twice before, and now preparing to challenge the most dangerous pass, the Prussian Army had abandoned all of its artillery and could not even attempt a strong assault.
Blucher cursed and fumed for over ten minutes but ultimately had no choice but to order a retreat back to Glarus to start constructing temporary defenses there.
…
A few days earlier.
On the north shore of Lake Lucerne, Suvorov, having held out under the French Army’s fierce attack all day, had shouted himself hoarse.
The Prussians were supposed to arrive by noon yesterday, but it was already two in the afternoon, and the opposite side of the lake remained eerily quiet.
His guards were trying to place him onto a raft by the shore to escape to the other side—rafts constructed from every piece of wood they could find nearby, barely enough to carry three or four people.
“No one thinks they can make me abandon my soldiers!” Suvorov shouted with his hoarse voice, “Let go of me, that’s an order!”
He shook off his guard’s hands, mounted his horse, and returned to the frontline command post.
The left flank had already been routed, and under the French Army’s unbelievably accurate artillery fire, the main defensive line was steadily retreating.
Suvorov beckoned to an officer nearby, “Order all cavalry from the reserves to bypass the gap on the left and try to…”
A soft “snap” interrupted the latter half of his sentence.
It was likely a 12-pound shell, skimming lightly across his left shoulder, flinging more than a quarter of his body into the air.
The corpse, carried by the force of the impact, flew several meters before falling heavily on the ground. The source of this content s novel⁂fire.net
…
Paris.
Second floor of the Palace of Versailles.
The Duke of Broglie, the Minister of War, was personally reading the war report to the Crown Prince:
“…After the great victory at Lake Lucerne, General Massena has surrounded Glarus. In addition, the Udino Corps has encircled nearly ten thousand Russian troops in Alo.
“General Massena believes that the Prussian Army will soon surrender due to the lack of food, so he has not launched an assault…
“To date, our army has killed 7,300 Prussian and Austrian troops and 16,000 Russian troops on the Swiss battlefield. We have captured 24,000 Russians and 3,000 Hanoverian troops. We have routed 11,000 Russians…”
Joseph continuously nodded with a relaxed smile.
Massena fought this battle perfectly. Remember, in this age of poor communication, it was impossible to completely annihilate an army trying to escape.
In this battle, only 11,000 of the 60,000 Russian troops managed to flee, which is almost negligible.
Moreover, these people are still within Swiss territory, and given Switzerland’s mountainous terrain, it would be difficult for them to escape, likely to be captured later.
The Duke of Broglie continued, “In at most ten days, the Blücher Corps will surrender, and by then, General Massena’s achievements in Switzerland will include capturing or killing over 130,000 enemy troops.”
Joseph suddenly thought of something and raised his hand, “Wait, perhaps we should keep Blücher’s 70,000 men.”
“Actually, they only have 66,000, Your Highness,” the Duke of Broglie corrected with a smile.
“You just said that the Prussian Army is running out of food?”
“Yes, Your Highness, that is what General Massena reported.”
Joseph contemplated, “Then let’s find a way to send them some.”
“Ah? Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’m not joking,” Joseph said, “Then heavily promote that the ‘Prussian Corps’ is encircled yet still fights stubbornly, causing great trouble for the French Army, all while being ruthlessly abandoned by the Allies.
“Immediately contact General Massena and have him…”
After the General Staff officer finished the recording, Joseph continued, “As for those 27,000 prisoners, send them all to Nancy to work on the railroads. That will save us a lot of money.
“Eman, please have Mr. Theresa come to see me.”