(There will be another chapter later, please support me!)
In the next two days, Xiao Jie and a group of French generals began to actively prepare for the battle, and various ammunition and supplies were also transported to Zaragoza from the rear, making it the first place outside Barcelona. Two supply centers.
In these two days, in order to better control the cavalry corps, Xiao Jie replaced those officers who were loyal to Murat. Despite the pros and cons, Xiao Jie still issued an order to transfer all those loyal to Murat to unimportant positions. But then, in order to stabilize the morale of the army, Xiao Jie announced to increase the treatment of the cavalry corps, raising their salary and supplies and equipment to the same level as the 88th corps. This really stabilized the morale of the cavalry corps a lot. , Xiao Jie also transferred many officers from the 88th Legion to the Cavalry Legion to take up important positions, and the head of the Cavalry Legion, Petrescu, did not object. In this way, the Cavalry Legion was also firmly controlled in Xiao Jie's hands. The power in his hands has greatly increased.
On December 12, the war against the British army led by Arthur Wellesley began. Since the enemy only had more than 10,000 people, Xiao Jie did not plan to dispatch many troops. That morning, the Cavalry Corps was ordered to set off and march northwest along the Ebro River, preparing to capture Tudela and cut off the way for the British army to flee to the northwest. And Xiao Jie led the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Infantry Regiments and Artillery Regiments of the 1st Division of the 88th Army, together with the remaining troops of Bessières Imperial Guard, and began to attack Tarazona. Some of the remaining troops stayed in Zaragoza, and some went to Calatayu to defend against the upcoming offensive of Castagnos.
It’s not that Xiao Jie underestimated Arthur Wellesley’s British army. After all, they defeated the remnants of Marmont’s 2nd Legion and the Imperial Guard. But at that time, the Imperial Guard had already experienced a series of vicious battles, and their personnel and equipment were poor. The losses were serious, and the numbers were also at a disadvantage. Of course, they were no longer the opponents of the British army. Not to mention Marmont, his deputy, General Dupont, was defeated and surrendered, causing him to lose more than 20,000 people, reducing the strength of the 2nd Army by half, and the morale was extremely low, so failure was inevitable. . But now it is different, the three infantry regiments that Xiao Jie concentrated are all the old base of the 88th Legion, plus the artillery regiment and the still powerful Imperial Guard, there are more than 12,000 people, and the number is basically the same as that of Arthur. ? Wellesley's British army was flat, not to mention that there were cavalry corps on the side. It can be said that after such an arrangement, Xiao Jie is certain of winning this battle.
And when Xiao Jie and the others were preparing to attack Tarazona, on December 11th, Arthur Wellesley was also staring at the information in a daze. He got two pieces of news, one good news and one bad news. The good news is that the reinforcements sent by the country have already landed in Santade on the Green Coast, but it will take about 10 days to reach his position. The bad news was that the 88th Army, which had defeated Smith's fleet, had arrived in Zaragoza. Although nearly half of the opponent's people went to another battlefield, he still believed that it was basically impossible to block the opponent's attack with this few people in his hands.
Now he was faced with two choices. First, he had a head-on confrontation with the French army, but he knew that he had no chance of winning without guessing. The second was to evacuate here immediately, withdraw his troops to the north, and after joining the reinforcements, he went south to fight the 88th Army. He personally intended the second option, but he knew he could not choose the second option. Because if he chooses to retreat, many people will not agree. After winning so many battles, they have become proud, and even once proposed to attack Zaragoza. Could it be that their brains were really kicked by donkeys? Using 10,000 people to attack a heavily defended fortified city is no different from sending them to death. Fortunately, he stopped those idiots with his prestige, but it also made many people dissatisfied with him, so he couldn't propose to retreat now, otherwise those dissatisfied people would definitely take the opportunity to make trouble.
After thinking about it for a long time, he still couldn't think of a solution. So he shouted at the door: "Go and invite General Frank, I have something to discuss with him." The guard took the order and went.
After a while, Frank arrived, but complained: "My old friend, what can I do for you? Don't you know I'm busy now?" Frank is Arthur Wellesley's new partner , a young major general who is said to have something to do with the royal family, otherwise he would not have become a major general at the age of 30. You must know that Arthur Wellesley was already 35 years old when he became a major general. Quick promotion in the army.
"Okay, I'm looking for you because I have something serious to discuss." Arthur Wellesley said seriously.
"That's my business too? You don't know how hungry those beautiful Spanish girls are, their husbands died fighting the French, so I, the great Frank, have to take care of them Isn't it a serious task for a lonely heart?" Frank looked at Arthur Wellesley aggrievedly and said. He was chatting speculatively with a young woman just now, and was about to find a place to have a good "in-depth" communication, when Arthur Wellesley sent someone to look for him, which made him very depressed. I have to say that Frank's appearance is not bad, with golden hair, handsome face and tall figure, it is indeed enough to fascinate thousands of girls.
"Okay, Frank, I won't waste much of your time." Arthur Wellesley said.
"Okay, let's talk about anything." Frank finally calmed down, and sat in a chair listening to Arthur Wellesley. Although he is a bit cynical, he is still very talented in military affairs.
"Presumably you have also heard the news that the French reinforcements have entered Zaragoza. It is the 88th Army, which has the highest combat effectiveness in France. I don't think they will guard the city gates like Marmont. They will probably Do something to us, what do you think we should do now." Arthur Wellesley asked.
"No, no, no, my friend. We have reinforcements, but they are not here at present, they are still on the Green Coast, and it will take at least ten days to reach us, including the loading and unloading of various supplies. Likewise, Castagnos' army can indeed threaten Zaragoza, but they still need time. What I worry about is that the French army will use this time to attack us." Arthur Wellesley frowned Said.
"Maybe you are overthinking? They won't attack us at all." Frank said with a smile.
"No, their commander-in-chief this time is the famous Andresi in Europe. Others might not dare to attack us, but he is different. I'm sure he will definitely attack us, but he won't attack us. Know when he will attack us." Arthur Wellesley said worriedly.
"I said Wellesley, are you overestimating that child? Although he may be really powerful, he is just a child. He is only 18 years old now. When we are our age, he should be still alive." It's in the **** military academy. So I think he might not be very good, and all those are just rumors." Frank laughed.
"But I have a bad feeling." Arthur Wellesley said, looking at Frank.
"Well, that's fine. Since you think so, what are you going to do?" In the end, Frank still "compromised".
"I want to retreat temporarily and come back after we gather our reinforcements." Arthur Wellesley expressed his thoughts.
"This is not acceptable. Those idiots whose minds are full of victory and glory will not agree." Frank immediately refused, expressing his concerns.
"Yeah? That's exactly what I'm worried about." Arthur Wellesley sighed.
"My friend, is it too early for us to talk about this now? Let's make a decision after we are sure that the French army is really attacking us. At that time, if I want to retreat, I will definitely support you. I don't want to have an advantage with you." It won't do us any good if we meet head-on with the French army." Frank patted Arthur Wellesley on the shoulder and said.
"That's all." Arthur Wellesley said helplessly. However, he still took a lot of remedial measures and asked the soldiers to pack up their things and be ready to move at any time. At the same time ~www.mtlnovel.com~ also sent a large number of scouts to pay close attention to the actions of the French army. Once they found that they were marching towards Tarazona on a large scale, they would report back immediately.
After sending out scouts, there was no response all day on the 11th. Arthur Wellesley felt relieved a lot, and some thought he was thinking too much. How did he know that Xiao Jie was cleaning up those stubborn officers in the cavalry corps and actively preparing for battle at this time?
It was not until the evening of the 12th that Arthur Wellesley received the news of the French attack, but it was obviously late at this time. Arthur Wellesley was furious: "Why did the French army start operations in the morning, and you only came to inform me now?"
The officer who reported the letter was a little aggrieved, and said: "Since yesterday, the cavalry of the French army has searched outside the city of Zaragoza. Many of our scouts were either captured by the opponent or killed, or retreated. It is impossible to operate in that area. Even the current information comes from Tudela. At noon today, the French cavalry corps suddenly appeared there. We didn't get any news at all in advance, so we didn't make any preparations. , so it was quickly conquered by them, and most of the thousands of soldiers defending there were captured, only a very small number of them escaped, and this information was also learned from them.”
(To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to .FU., more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)