African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 15: Chapter 12: Interlude on the Battlefield

During the vigorous reorganization of the Heixinggen Development Company, the battlefield in Schleswig was in a stalemate.

After the Danish main forces successfully retreated to Flensburg, the new Danish commander began directing the Danish cavalry to delay the Allied advance.

In pursuit of the retreating Danish forces and countering the harassment by Danish cavalry, Prussian cavalry launched repeated attacks, with both sides engaging in a back-and-forth chase across the vast snowy plains.

Utilizing villages, forests, farmlands, and scattered buildings, the Danish cavalry appeared and disappeared unpredictably, often emerging from places unexpected by the German Allies.

In some narrow terrains, the Danish cavalry could even completely annihilate small groups of Allied units, causing trouble for the Allies.

The Allied commanders began to grit their teeth at the Danish cavalry, and with a command from the headquarters,

the long-prepared large unit of Allied cavalry finally entered the field.

The previous positional battles were not the cavalry’s forte, and cavalry officers could only watch as their infantry counterparts took military honors.

Now finally able to showcase their skills on the battlefield, the cavalry units quickly assembled and launched attacks.

Faced with a much larger Allied cavalry force, the Danish cavalry began to falter, and the Danish cavalry leader commanded a fighting retreat.

Due to their familiarity with the terrain, the Danes could always find breakout points, and despite their numerical advantage, the Allied cavalry found it difficult to completely annihilate the Danish cavalry.

The Allied cavalry commander grew relentless, starting to disperse the troops into several columns to pursue the Danes separately.

As long as they could hinder the retreat of the Danish cavalry, they could severely damage the Danish cavalry units.

Relying on their numerical advantage, the Allies quickly discovered the movements of the Danish cavalry, after communicating with relevant units.

The Allied cavalry quickly seized the opportunity, pinpointed the location of the Danish cavalry, and a brutal encounter ensued.

The Prussian and Austrian cavalry, who had been galloping across the European continent for years, were clearly formidable opponents.

In terms of equipment, horses, personnel quality, and experience, the Allies clearly held the advantage.

Under the leadership of battle-hardened Prussian cavalry commanders, the Allies easily neutralized the opponent’s tactics.

The Allied cavalry, particularly those from the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire, demonstrated superior command capabilities.

In the snowy plains, they launched an all-out charge against the Danish cavalry, causing the Danes to lose over half their forces in just half an hour.

The Danish cavalry leader had no choice but to order a retreat, but it was evident the Allies were not going to let them off.

The fleeing Danish cavalry was further crushed during their retreat by the Allied cavalry, with only a small portion escaping to Flensburg.

Shortly after the Allied cavalry achieved a great victory, the main infantry forces also arrived, and the Allies launched the Flensburg campaign.

On the 7th, feeling the resistance to be difficult, the Danish forces withdrew from Flensburg and returned to Danish territory, with the Allies advancing the front line to the Danish border, bringing the war to a close.

On February 18th, Prussian forces occupied Kölling. The Danes attempted to form a new defensive line using all available buildings and terrain, but time was short and they couldn’t manage it in time.

However, Austria provided assistance to the Danes. Schleswig was already completely under Allied control, and the Austrians did not want to continue advancing, leading to a brief truce between the two sides.

The Austrian Empire originally joined this war passively because the Austrian Empire understood that even if Austria did not join the war, Prussia united with the German Confederation could still achieve victory over Denmark.

However, if Austria did not join, it would inevitably lead to an expansion of Prussian influence in the German region.

Austria could possibly be abandoned by the nationalists, and at this point, Prussia voluntarily shared leadership of the war equally with Austria.

Bismarck even offered the Duchy of Holstein to lure Austria into the war, and after the war, Austria could gain control over the Duchy of Holstein.

Under this form of guidance and interests, the Austrian Empire deployed troops, and with the recovery of Schleswig now complete, the Austrian Empire did not want to continue expanding the scope of the war.

While Prussia and Austria were in negotiations, the Allied troops were resting on the Danish border.

Kane, an ordinary Austrian farmer, was conscripted into the army by the village lord when the war came.

Kane participated in the Kingdom Mountain campaign, later experienced the Flensburg campaign, and is now resting in a temporary position on the Danish border.

The soldiers around him are all familiar faces from Kane’s village or nearby villages, and the officer leading the group is the village chief.

”Kane, do you have any cigarettes left?” a fellow villager asked.

Kane lay on a mound of dirt, hands clasped behind his head, head resting on his arms, legs crossed, eyes looking at the sky, replied, ”No more, finished them yesterday.”

”Alas, I don’t know when this war will end, or how things are back home,” another colleague of Kane remarked wistfully.

”Young lads, don’t worry, this war is nothing in scale. Back when I joined the Imperial army to resist Napoleon, the scale of those wars was truly terrifying, masses of people, as far as the eye could see. We could only charge forward with our companions,” said the village chief.

The village chief was an elderly man who had participated in the anti-French wars in his youth.

”Uncle Mo Lei, how do Napoleon’s troops compare to the Danes?” Kane called out to the village chief by name and asked.

”Napoleon! He was really something, even before I entered the battlefield I knew of his great name,”

Mo Lei reminisced thoughtfully, then continued, ”At that time, I thought Austria was the most powerful country in the world, but His Majesty the Emperor’s army still lost to Napoleon. I learned upon joining that all of Europe’s countries united to topple Napoleon, the usurper.”

Mo Lei recounted everything he knew, though, as an old farmer, he had only heard a few words from his superiors in his youth.

”Back then, the war was much more brutal than now. France was at its zenith, and rumors said that Napoleon’s officers mastered Demon Technique. Under the influence of these techniques, French soldiers would fearlessly charge ahead!” Mo Lei, taking advantage of a break in his speech, pulled out a cigarette from somewhere, lit it, and took a drag.

”My unit clashed with the French at a place called Garrison (a fictional place), where under Napoleon’s leadership (although it was actually other French officers), the French charged at us,” Mo Lei drew deeply on his cigarette, exhaling a puff of smoke.

”The French on the opposite side seemed like they had no regard for life, as my comrades around me fell one by one, some losing arms, others legs, the most tragic losing half their face!” Mo Lei vividly recalled that distant war.

”Fortunately, reinforcements arrived just in time, and seeing the strength in numbers, we pushed the French back. Back then, every day was a battle, and in a few days, familiar faces were replaced by new ones. Luckily, I had good fortune and survived...”

Mo Lei recounted his youthful experiences, and the young lads around him listened intently to the ”story”.

Preparing for the arrival of new battles.