Chapter 102: Early Struggles For Fontaine

As night came after the skirmish, Grand Duke Fontaine was restraining his anger. His face was as red as a tomato and his brow furrowed. "We lost 40,000 infantrymen and 100 guns while only killing 8,000 enemy infantrymen. I am aware that our men are not as experienced as the Luxenberg soldiers but their performance was an absolute disgrace," Simeon scoffed, agitated with his army.

"My lord, while I do not doubt your orders, maybe it would have been wise to send in further soldiers and even the cavalry to support the vanguard. If we persisted through the gruelling melee, I believe we could have overrun their positions," Duke Verdant stated in a respectful tone.

"Wilheim, did you not see the same battle as us? Our men were getting slaughtered, those soldiers from Luxenberg not only are well disciplined but have more experience than us. It showed as our infantrymen floundered in front of the enemy bayonets. Their cannons not only tore through our men, they destroyed 100 cannons. Why would I want to waste the lives of my soldiers?" Simeon passionately replied.

Duke Verdant complicity lowered his head, acknowledging his short sightedness. Although he could be considered the second most powerful person in the room, he knew that his wealth alone would not make him a reputable figure amongst the faction's top brass.

With a long sigh, Simeon looked to his advisors for counsel. "What is our next course of action gentlemen? I think we would have to sacrifice half our army, if not the majority of it to beat these entrenched bastards. At the same time, half of their army is probably beginning to invade our lands. How do we proceed?"

The men in the tent spent many moments quietly contemplating their next action. During their silence, a lower-ranked officer entered the tent, with his heart racing and his eye dashing to all corners of the tent. "My lord! Our scouts have detected a small Luxenberg force approaching from the west, they should be here tomorrow, possibly in a few hours if they are motivated to march through the darkness," the officer worriedly reported.

A cold sweat began to break out on the nobles' faces, they were already struggling to deal with the current number of Luxenberg soldiers and now they were receiving reinforcements. Grand Duke Luxenberg maintained his composure and began to question the officer. "How many men were seen in this detachment? Why is it that we are only learning this now?

"My lord, the scouts were maintaining their positions, they dared not push father away from the army. In regards to the number of soldiers in the detachment, the scouts estimated at least 35,000 soldiers and guns," the officer stated.

The detachment the scouts were referring to was General Vandamme's 4th Corps. They had received orders 2 weeks prior to reinforce the current troops at Kreighelm after being made aware of the amassing army in Joltz and Auderbrast. Victor had planned for them to flank the enemy camp from the west while the brunt of the army was engaged with Victor's army.

Simeon was aware of the crisis that they were now facing, he knew that his army could not match the Luxenberg army in strength and skill. So he decided it would be better to abandon all hope of trying to conquer lands and successfully defend his own.

"We must begin to depart immediately. If the Luxenberg reinforcement arrives around midday tomorrow it will be too late to try and escape. We have fallen right into King Victor's trap. Today's defeat only worsens our current situation. Have the men prepared to march before dawn. If we are lucky the Luxenberg soldiers before us might not make a move so early in the morning," Simeon said assertively.

Following the command of Simeon, the Fontaine army tirelessly worked to be ready for an early departure. Supplies and cannons were loaded onto carts while the soldiers began to form up. Victor and his officers watched amusedly, it was like watching rats scurry around after being spotted.

"My liege, should we send our troops to attack them while they are distracted?" Marshal Lannes asked in a serious tone. Victor nonchalantly shook his head. "No, let them flee. Those men will join the Luxenberg army one day, massacring them during the night is not an honourable tactic. Our men fought well today, they should rest and prepare for a long campaign."

The officers nodded, most of the men were resting while the remainder stood guard, overseeing their enemy preparing to leave. With only an hour until dawn, Simeon Fontaine departed with his army north-east, going towards The Fifth Hessen Bridge.

Victor and his army stayed in their position until General Vandamme and his corps arrived at midday. They were in no hurry to pursue the fleeing enemy. There was no point in chasing a wounded boar, soon they would get and deal with them. 

In the main officer's tent, Victor addressed his advisors, "Gentlemen we effortlessly defeated an inexperienced army, we have sent them away with their tails tucked between their legs. Now we take the fight to them. Generals Gimborn, Kamensky, Hill and Rapp will be assaulting the cities of Inglefeller and Konitz within the next 2 weeks. In regards to us, I am not sure how we should act. Does anyone have an idea?"

"My liege, our biggest obstacle will be the city of Joltz, if we can take that city before the Fontaine army can support the garrison, it would make our campaign go quicker. If we unite our current forces with General Bertrand's corps we could batter the walls of Joltz and storm the city," Marshal Lannes said confidently.

Many of Victor's advisors shared the same opinion, their first move had to be besieging Joltz. They could not have the Fontaine army holed up in the city for a gruelling siege that could last up to a year.

Victor was happy with the course of action suggested, so he remarked, "Very well then let us journey to Joltz."