Chapter 254: Parting on bad terms
According to Frederick's deployment, Kirchbach's Fifth Army and the Hechingen Brigade were mainly responsible for preventing the French Rhine Army from moving south to support the Chalons Army.
At this time, Napoleon III began to withdraw his troops. In order to prevent Prussia from cutting off McMahon's connection with the Rhine Army under his command and causing him to be surrounded from both sides, he ordered the French Fifth Army to immediately move south to support Marshal McMahon's troops.
…
"Your Highness Leopold, you will be deployed in Valdovisan, and I and the Fifth Army will defend Saverna. How do you think?"
Although the Hechingen Brigade was nominally at the same level as the Prussian army, Kirchbach did not see it that way. There was a difference of two levels. Although Leopold was of noble status and a member of the Hohenzollern family, the battlefield was not a stage where one could do whatever one wanted. Therefore, the main force would naturally have to be the large Fifth Army. In fact, although the Fifth Army was a regular Prussian corps, in fact most of its troops came from various states in the North German Confederation except Prussia.
Leopold ignored Kirchbach and turned to look for Valdovisan's location on the map.
After a long time, I finally found the so-called Valdovisan in a corner of the map, an inconspicuous little village located in the southeast corner of Saverna.
"Not here!" Leopold retorted.
"Although the Black Xingen Brigade is a temporary unit formed by students and has never been in the battlefield, its military quality is not weak and it does not need your protection. The small place of Valdovisan is too close to the rear. Even if you don't trust us, you shouldn't deploy the Black Xingen Brigade in a small village that is difficult to find on the map!"
"Your Highness Leopold, it's not that I don't trust you. I am well aware of your abilities. But as you said, the Hechingen Brigade has never been to the battlefield. To put these student soldiers on the front line, to be honest, I am not at ease. Moreover, I have seen your troops. Fifty percent of them are not German or even European. The combat effectiveness of such troops may come in handy in overseas colonies, but this is Europe." Kirchbach said arrogantly.
"Kirchbach! Put away your arrogance. In fact, the Hechingen Brigade belongs to the federal army. I only obey the orders of Crown Prince William and the General Staff. You have no right to control me. As for the combat effectiveness of this unit? I know better than you. I also participated in the Second Schleswig War and the Austro-Prussian War. There is no need for you to judge my subordinates!"
"That's a pity. In that case, Your Highness Leopold! Where do you want to deploy the troops?" Kirchbach asked.
In his opinion, the so-called Black Hingen Brigade was not capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility, but as Leopold said, he really had no control over him.
"Here, Davidlight." Leopold pointed to the small town on the east side of Saverna. A road connected Davidlight with Saverna. This area belonged to the flank of Saverna and its strategic position was second only to Stanburg in the northeast of Saverna.
"If you are determined to do so, then go ahead! But I have to tell you in advance that when we fight the French army, we may not be able to take care of this area."
"Hmph, you don't have to take care of it. In fact, if you can defend Saverna, you'll have to rely on yourself! As far as I know, the Fifth Army is just a temporary force formed by Prussia. Many soldiers are farmers who have just put down their hoes and were temporarily summoned from Hamburg, Saxony and other places. The opponent is France. Although their troops are small in number, they are all professional soldiers who have been on the battlefield for a long time." Although Leopold was angry, he still reminded him.
"Hahaha, I admit that the Fifth Army's combat effectiveness may be inferior to that of the French, but we have enough numbers, and we have the advantage of geographical location. There are also many Prussian veterans in the army. Under the leadership of Prussia, the new recruits from other states will also grow up quickly in the war." Kirchbach laughed.
"That's better!" Leopold said this and left without looking back.
After Leopold left, Kirchbach's expression immediately changed. He said to his men seriously, "Robert, you really don't know what's good for you!"
"Here, Commander!"
"That Hechingen Brigade has no combat power at all, but we cannot ignore the safety of His Majesty Leopold. You lead the Third Brigade to deploy at Vilvisan, on the right side of the Hechingen Brigade. If they get into trouble, you will step up and make sure that there are no loopholes in the defense line. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Commander!"
…
Leopold returned to the Hechingen Brigade's base with a gloomy face. Kirchbach was too arrogant. In fact, judging from their past battle records, Kirchbach's command level was only average, on par with himself. He had the ability to organize troops to fight, but was far from being a famous general.
Originally, he would not participate in the Franco-Prussian War. After all, as one of the protagonists in the Spanish throne event, his energy was focused on fighting for the Spanish throne before the war.
After France took action and the Spanish government retreated, he had no time to return to the Prussian army. If it were not for Ernst's request, he would still be in Sigmaringen!
"Your Highness Leopold, who made you angry?" Heinrich said when he saw Leopold was in a bad mood.
"Do I look bad?"
"Yes... a little."
Leopold rubbed his face with his hands to relax his muscles, and said, "It's not a big deal. I just had some trouble with Kirchbach. Kirchbach is just a little arrogant, but I don't indulge him."
"Yes, Commander Kirchbach?"
"Uh, how did he offend you!"
"Haha, he's just a pighead who took advantage of the kingdom's reforms. He's just a bit older and his abilities aren't outstanding. He even looks down on the Black Xinggen Brigade, which is the best execution unit I've ever led."
"Your Highness, don't be angry. The Hexingen Brigade does not have a record of success, so it is naturally unconvincing. Although the name of the Hexingen Military Academy sounds impressive, it is not well-known. Most of the students in my class are from the crash course and have already gone to Africa. This class of the Hexingen Military Academy has been trained for two and a half years and is much better than my class. Maybe in terms of training and professional knowledge, the military academy students who have undergone long-term training are better than many Prussian veterans, but on the battlefield, people don't care about their background. People only remember the winners. No matter if they are slandered or insulted, they only need a victory to know whether they are the real deal."
"Haha, you don't need to comfort me. In fact, I was not much better than Kirchbach at the beginning. When Ernst handed the troops to me, my opinion was actually similar to Kirchbach's. But after I really led this team and got along with them for a while, I changed my mind. Except for not having been on the battlefield, this unit is not inferior to the elite troops of the kingdom in any other aspect. It's not like I haven't led recruits before. In my opinion, the Hechingen Brigade is more than one level stronger than those temporary conscripts under Kirchbach."
"So, Your Highness, we should do our job well and prove that the Heixingen Brigade is not just a bunch of fancy moves, but a modern and powerful light infantry army."
(End of this chapter)
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