Chapter 110: Reinforcing Joltz

To say that Victor and the senior officers of the army were pissed was an egregious understatement. 

Generals Bülow and Bertrand were seething with malice. Both deceased Vandamme and wounded Tauentzien were not only their peers but also good friends. The four generals had managed to develop a small friendship with one another during their time preparing for the war.

The two French generals were particularly close, while the two Prussian generals were the same. Victor had chalked this up to the fact that in the original world they were from, these men were comrades who fought alongside each other for their countries.

For Bertrand and Bülow to hear what happened to their friends, they were ready to seek blood as retribution for this treachery. While those two were vehemently enraged at this news, Victor wore the foulest expression. To hear of his general's death was one thing, but to hear how his body was paraded like a trophy, sickened him to his corps.

Victor also felt he was to blame for what had happened. It was he that split his force into two and left the corps of Bertrand and Bülow to defend the ticking time bomb of a city. Maybe if he had decided to stay in the city of Joltz the situation would have never happened.

Needless to say, these thoughts were moot. There was no point in thinking of what he should have done differently, now was the time to think of how he would get revenge for his fallen general.

In his tent alongside his officers, he turned to General Bertrand and gave him a mission. "General Bertrand, I task you and your corps to help our men in Joltz. Avenge General Vandamme, see that the rebels and their families are publicly exterminated and have their corpses impaled and displayed in front of the city."

"Let it be known, that to commit such treacherous act upon the men of my army, that the consequences for such a folly will result in the most brutal means as retribution. If you can, try and recover General Vandamme's body, he should be buried in our war museum back at Hanover next to General Kienmayer."

No words were said in response from General Bertrand, he nodded firmly, suppressing his murderous feelings. Swiftly he rallied his men and departed for a two week march back to Joltz. The men of Bertrand's 2nd Corps shared their commander's rage and as a result of their murderous determination, they rapidly travelled back to the former Duke of Hirschmann city.

By the time they had arrived at the city, much had changed. There were constant trails of smoke rising into the air. Many buildings had either been boarded up or heavily damaged. Blood stains remained etched onto the grey cobblestone streets. The city had turned into a warzone.

During the 2 weeks that they took to arrive, many Luxenberg soldiers had died in firefights throughout the city. In total, they had lost 6,000 infantrymen and 1,000 cavalrymen throughout multiple skirmishes, including the one that saw the death of General Vandamme. 

The arrival of 2nd Corps was a welcome sight for their brethren in 3rd and 4th Corps. With constant skirmishes taking place, the Luxenberg men were fatigued, and with no active general at the helm, it was difficult for them to act efficiently. General Tauentzien was still recovering from the eye injury that he had received from the first skirmish.

The majority of the Luxenberg forces were separated into 5 key locations. The first location was located near the heart of the city and that was the Hirschmann palace, Half of 3rd Corps infantrymen and all their cavalrymen were stationed there.

The second and third locations were the eastern and northern walls along with their gatehouses. The remaining infantrymen of 3rd Corps were scattered between these 2 locations with all the cannons of both corps.

The fourth and fifth locations were the military compounds that acted as barracks for the soldiers. One was located in the southern part of the city while the other was located in the west. All of 4th Corps infantrymen and cavalrymen were split between the 2 compounds.

For Bertrand this made it hard, the forces were all split apart and they could not sweep through the city as a giant entity. Given that the daylight had almost faded, Bertrand ordered his men to assemble a camp outside of the walls. They would enter the city in the morning with one singular purpose.

One of his lieutenants was able to procure a map of the city and spread it out on the table in Bertrand's tent. Thanks to the reports from the officers inside the city, Bertrand began assessing the situation and then used that knowledge to draft a plan for the morning.

In the reports, the information that was given played a crucial role in Bertrand's strategy. Not only did the information highlight the current situation of the Luxenberg forces inside, but it also provided intel on potential rebel safehouses and where the heaviest amount of rebel activity was happening.

The city square which was near the Hirschmann Palace, was a hotbed for rebel activity, it was also the place where they paraded the dead general's corpse. This was an immediate target for Bertrand as he wanted to recover his dead friend's body so that he could be honoured in the military museum and buried alongside another general of the kingdom, General Kienmayer.

Bertrand began to circle specific places on the map such as a tavern near the northern gate, a merchant's warehouse located in the south of the city and a bank situated in the west. These places were confirmed to be rebel bases. The factory, in particular, was important to Bertrand as it was rumoured to be the supply depot for the rebels, it contained many military supplies that were arming the rebels.

The plan was quite simple for Bertrand, he would have his men enter from both the northern and eastern gates. Bertrand would hold command of the eastern force and push into the heart of the city, securing the city square and General Vandamme's body. 

For the northern force's task, they were to deal with the tavern near the northern gate and then regroup and the Hirschmann palace. When both forces were united they would jointly sweep the entire southern and western parts of the city, dealing with every rebel they came across.

General Bertrand was intent on following his king's orders and would make sure that the rebels were impaled and presented as trophies outside the city walls. This statement would serve as a cruel reminder to all of the Kingdom of Luxenberg's enemies, treachery and defiance would be met with brutality.

And so the time had nearly come for Bertrand to avenge Vandamme.