On France’s wide and smooth Royal Road, nearly 20,000 French soldiers marched in an endless column, their voices rising in a rousing song as they quickened their pace.

Toward the rear of the column, a young Napoleon clung closely to a large cannon carriage pulled by four horses, as if he were snuggling up to a lover. While others sat on the carriage, Napoleon chose to walk beside it, taking in every angle, touching it with admiration.

This was one of the latest models of horse-drawn artillery carriages produced by Joseph’s Gemstone Carriage Company. Joseph had ordered the craftsmen to begin development over six months ago, and the first batch of over 20 carriages had just been completed a few months earlier, all equipped for the Imperial Guard.

This massive, long, wagon-like artillery carriage was inspired by the horse-drawn artillery used by Napoleon later in his career, but with several important improvements. The concept of horse-drawn artillery had been introduced during the Seven Years’ War by Frederick the Great.

In simple terms, horse-drawn artillery involved attaching enough horses to cannons and their crews so that they could be rapidly transported, greatly increasing the mobility and tactical flexibility of artillery. However, early horse-drawn artillery had many drawbacks. For instance, the cannons constantly needed to be hitched and unhitched from the horses, which caused delays in preparation time.

At this time, the general belief was that horse-drawn artillery took at least a third longer to prepare for firing than regular artillery. Furthermore, horse-drawn artillery wasn’t suitable for heavy cannons—typically, anything over a 6-pound cannon was difficult to move quickly, as a 12-pounder required eight horses to pull. Simply keeping the horses in line was a challenge; trying to make them move quickly was nearly impossible.

As a result, in the late 18th century, most countries still relied on regular artillery and only used horse-drawn artillery in limited numbers.

However, Napoleon, a genius in artillery warfare, would later harness the full potential of horse-drawn artillery, even converting entire divisions to this form. Napoleon’s innovations included tactics like rapidly advancing horse-drawn artillery to fire at close range and then quickly retreating, or deploying artillery alongside cavalry for swift, mobile assaults. His innovations would later lead to a dramatic increase in the importance of horse-drawn artillery across various nations.

But for now, Napoleon was just a young officer, mesmerized by this new artillery carriage.

In history, Napoleon’s horse-drawn artillery had two key components—the horse-drawn cannons and the ammunition wagons. The long, wagon-like vehicle Napoleon was so fondly admiring was the ammunition wagon, commonly referred to later as the “barn wagon.”

This vehicle integrated all the logistical support for the artillery into one unit. During battle, it could quickly supply the cannons with ammunition and gunpowder, and when it was time to move, everything could be packed away in short order and transported by horse.

This was far more convenient and time-saving than Frederick’s setup, which used separate wagons for gunpowder, ammunition, and tools, each needing to be hitched to horses for movement.

Speed was the greatest advantage of horse-drawn artillery.

Joseph also integrated features from modern-day cargo trucks, adding a braking system to the wagon, and designed the ammunition and gunpowder compartments with slide-out trays. The compartment covers used an automatic locking mechanism, a design personally created by King Louis XVI, which was sturdy and reliable.

These modifications allowed the artillery to be ready to fire 7 to 8 seconds faster than the original versions used by Napoleon.

Joseph also added six seats on the ammunition wagons for the artillerymen to sit on. Historically, soldiers were not allowed to ride on these wagons and had to run alongside them. However, given the choice, no one would willingly run alongside when they could sit. As a result, artillerymen often perched on top of the wagons, sitting on the sloped roof. Though uncomfortable, it was better than running.

Knowing it was unrealistic to prevent soldiers from sitting on the wagons, Joseph decided to provide them with proper seating, which only required adding an extra horse to pull the load. This simple addition significantly increased the speed of the horse-drawn artillery.

Joseph also made improvements to the cannons themselves, most notably by adding couplers similar to those found between train cars in modern times. This small adjustment greatly reduced the time needed to hitch the cannons to horses and made the process easier.

Additionally, Joseph equipped the gun carriages with winches. During firing, the horses had to be kept far away to prevent them from being startled by the noise. Traditionally, after each shot, a lot of time was spent re-hitching the horses to the cannons for movement. Napoleon’s artillerymen devised a unique tactic where they left the horses hitched with long ropes during firing so that after a shot, they could simply pull the ropes to get moving again.

Joseph took this a step further by eliminating the need to pull the ropes manually. The horses could move with the ropes trailing behind, and the artillerymen could use the winch on the gun carriage to reel them in gradually.

This was true mobility—ready to shoot and run at a moment’s notice!

As Napoleon stroked the new artillery carriage, his mind raced with the tactics he had studied, and his heart surged with excitement. If these ingenious tactics and well-crafted weapons could be used to equip the Corsican National Guard, their combat effectiveness would be dramatically enhanced.

He took a deep breath, feeling confident that coming to Verdun had been the right decision.

Soon, the troops would arrive in Luxembourg, where they would engage the Prussians. It would be Napoleon’s chance to gain practical experience and grow into a true general!

…

In the central-western part of Luxembourg, at Winseler.

Blücher peered through his telescope, watching the hundred or so Austrian defenders in the town flee in panic. Without emotion, he ordered his messenger, “Leave one battalion to hold the town. The rest will rest for an hour, then continue south. By tomorrow afternoon, I want to capture Diekirch.”

After defeating Réal’s main force, the fighting had become so easy it was almost boring for him. Just as with Winseler, he had only ordered a dozen or so rounds of artillery fire before the Austrian defenders had fled.

It was clear that tomorrow’s attack on Diekirch would be the same. Once Diekirch was taken, there would be no more obstacles on the road to Luxembourg City.

Réal’s forces should have about 1,600 men left, while Blücher had brought ten times that number. The fall of Luxembourg City seemed inevitable.

At that moment, his aide rushed over, handing him a sealed scroll. “General, this just arrived from Potsdam four days ago.”

Blücher quickly read the dispatch, his brow furrowing. He looked up at his aide. “The French have entered the war. While General Dreizen managed to defeat them at Liegnitz, this is a very troubling development.”

He spurred his horse into action. “Give the order to pick up the pace. We need to resolve matters here quickly and then return to reinforce the Duke in Silesia.”

Just then, two hussars rode in, shouting urgently, “General, a large enemy force has been spotted two miles south! There could be thousands of them!”

Blücher was momentarily stunned—could it be Austrian reinforcements? How could they have arrived so quickly?!

(End of Chapter)

Friends, if you want to read chapters in advance, subscribe to my patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen10

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep