African Entrepreneurship Record

The French civilians Ernst mentioned are currently lowering the drawbridge of Wissembourg, welcoming the Prussian Third Corps ”Royal Army.”

Although they mentally support France, the Prussian artillery is destroying the homes of the residents of Wissembourg, and even French soldiers often break the roof tiles while defending, causing the citizens heartache, hence saying, ”Stop fighting!”

Of course, the French troops would not listen to the citizens. When the French were squeezed into the narrow city area of Wissembourg by the Prussians, the residents personally raised the white flag and welcomed the Prussian army into the city.

This scene almost drove Leo, the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the French 74th Regiment, mad with anger, but he was helpless.

Of course, this can only represent the personal actions of the residents of Wissembourg, not France, especially since this is the Alsace and Lorraine region.

The French side made a spectacle of themselves in the Wissembourg battle, but the French soldiers fought with their own prestige. After the German Allies entered the city, fierce street battles ensued with the French troops.

Ultimately, the French troops were defeated because their enemies were endless, repelling Bavaria, Prussia, and other states that took the stage, including a Seventh Brigade composed of Polish people.

At the same time, facing Prussia’s advanced Krupp artillery, France had no effective countermeasure, with artillery suppression and manpower disadvantage leaving the battle without suspense.

French troops faced an attack from 29 German battalions with only 8 battalions of their own, leading to a predictable result of German victory, though their casualties exceeded those of the French, especially Bavaria, whose performance was dismal.

Before the battle, Bavaria deployed its two elite units, which ended up being severely beaten by the French.

Despite Bavaria’s poor performance in the initial battle, Prussia’s ”National Newspaper” praised the Bavarian troops: ”Bavarians defeated Germany’s enemy..., the fire witnessed their unwavering loyalty.”

The victorious German troops entered Vervisang, with Crown Prince William leading the German generals in silent tribute before General Dui’s remains. The former principal of the French Saint-Cyr Military Academy would forever rest there.

The Prussians were astonished by the maps seized from General Dui, with poor quality and scales too small for commanding operations. At least General Dui had a map; lower-ranked officers had no maps, only some hand-drawn sketches. Prussian officers down to the lieutenant level had excellent maps, though Bavarian troops did not meet this standard yet, as they lacked the same unity with Prussia.

The German country folks saw African soldiers here for the first time, observing captured Algerian soldiers like animals in a zoo. In fact, this wasn’t the first time, if Black Hohentengen Brigade soldiers from East Africa are considered Africans as well, though it was the first time seeing Black soldiers (I didn’t say Algerians are Black).

...

David Wright’s western outskirts. Here, extraordinarily rare, is a forest amidst surrounding farmland.

France’s 54th Brigade is currently resting and defending against the Black Hohentengen Brigade and the further eastward advance of the Third Prussian Brigade led by Robert, supporting Kilchbach’s forces.

”Report to the brigadier. We have gathered information from a local villager. The Black Hohentengen Brigade is stationed at David Wright, reportedly speaking with Southern German accents, and many Orientals are mixed in.”

”Orientals?”

”With faces similar to those from our Far East colonies (Cambodia and Vietnam), Yellow people.”

French gathered intelligence thanks to David Wright town residents hiding in the countryside avoiding warfare. Due to historical reasons, locals were fluent in both German and French, thus obtaining some information about the Black Hohentengen Brigade.

”Like the Algerian troops, they are likely colonial soldier units, but do the Prussians have colonies in the Far East?”

”They could also be mercenaries. Though Prussia operates mainly in Europe, they have their diplomatic relations in the Far East.”

”How are they deployed at David Wright?”

”Residents fleeing from David Wright said that the Black Hohentengen Brigade began constructing fortifications the day they arrived, surrounding the entire David Wright.”

”Interesting!” said the 54th Brigade commander. ”This is rarely seen in the Prussian army we engaged with, especially now when Prussia is on the offensive and we are on the defensive. In general, we should be actively constructing fortifications to hinder Prussian advancement.”

”Our intelligence personnel also obtained information that this troop is under the flag of a German state, from the Black Hohentengen Principality, hence their designation is somewhat different from Prussian troops.”

”That makes sense! This unit is likely a patchwork force from various Southern German states, assembled due to wartime needs. This might be an opportunity,” analyzed the 54th Brigade commander.

The 54th Brigade commander disdains the combat strength of Southern German states, which is normal; except for Austria and Prussia, no German state in this region could force France to exert its full strength.

”What if we defeat this force and capture David Wright?”

”That might be difficult, according to our intelligence, Prussia has another brigade deployed east of Vervisang, only two kilometers from David Wright, quickly able to support this area.”

”Two kilometers means it can arrive within half an hour, and with Prussians carrying baggage, it will take longer. If we can settle the battle within half an hour, it won’t be a problem. This so-called Black Hohentengen Principality might imply a small territory size and wouldn’t easily muster a force, otherwise, they wouldn’t use many Orientals and construct unusual fortifications, indicating their commander knows of this force’s weakness. This is our opportunity; order the troops to hasten their rest. At dawn, we will actively strike and quickly capture David Wright, then be ready for the remaining Prussian brigade to arrive.”

...

”Around ten o’clock (PM), a French troop quietly sneaked into our western forest; size is currently hard to determine, but it’s likely no smaller than ours,” Heinrich reported, waking Leopold from sleep in the temporary command post.

”This forest is situated between David Wright and Saverna, indicating they bypassed Stanley and headed directly south, undoubtedly planning an assault on Saverna. This unit is part of a coordinated action, either directly intervening in Saverna or aiming at us. But based on the distance calculation, the likelihood of coming for us is greater,” analyzed the sleepy-eyed Leopold.

”This is a good opportunity, Black Hohentengen Brigade should immediately strike!” suggested Heinrich.

”Oh!” Leopold was surprised.

”The French troops arriving suddenly and bypassing Stanley before penetrating the forest indicate a high likelihood of cooperating with the French main force’s operation; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so reckless. Bypassing Stanley on a fast march to arrive here shows urgency, suggesting their men are fatigued and need to rest here. This is a French vulnerability; a rapid attack can catch them off guard!”

”Hmm, and then?” asked Leopold. ”We aren’t clear about the size of the French troops; that is a significant risk.”

”Prince, precisely because we aren’t clear about the size of the French troops, we should be proactive. The French can easily ascertain our forces; if they outnumber us, they will initiate probing attacks at dawn, losing us the initiative. If they have fewer, attacking at night won’t cost us much. We know the forest from previous daylight traversal, making us more familiar than the French entering in darkness. Plus, the overall size of French troops is less compared to the German Allies.”

”Sounds logical. Shall we act now?”

Heinrich shook his head, ”No rush. Warn the troops to prepare, have a late-night meal to replenish stamina, and launch an attack at midnight when spirits are high. The French marched all day, undoubtedly exhausting themselves; post-eleven they will be drowsy, making it the optimal time for our assault.”

”Fighting a night battle...” Leopold was somewhat worried.

”Night battles aren’t to be feared; if we can’t see, neither can the French. The Dreiser Rifle’s range and accuracy are inferior to the French Chassepot Rifle, suffering in open fields, while the French just happen to be camping at the forest edge. The forest environment greatly limits the Chassepot Rifle’s effectiveness; under night conditions, both sides can only aim by feeling; let our men prepare close-combat weapons extensively, turning the situation to our advantage.”