Chapter 121: The Looming Showdown

In the span of a month and a week, the city of Amsardam was conquered. The siege itself lasted no more than a week, but Victor chose to wait for the arrival of the other half of his army before commencing the siege. The other half of the army was led by his trusted subordinate, the Duke of Archershien, more commonly known as Marshal Soult.

Marshal Soult brought with him all 4 corps that were stationed in the west. General Kamensky had managed to quell the murmurings of rebellion in Konitz, while the other generals had an easy time dealing with docile citizens of Inglefeller.

In addition to Marshal Soult and the 4 corps under him, there was the Army of Godert which could be considered its own corps. It was led by Duke Godert himself, he was hoping to distinguish himself and try to get further rewards from King Victor. There was also 3rd, 6th and 9th Corps, along with the Royal Guard.

In total, they amassed, 230,000 infantrymen, 30,000 cavalrymen and 750 guns. Missing from the army were Bertrand and the combined corps of the 2nd and the 4th. They were still required to garrison Joltz as it was still a potential brewing place for rebellion.

The siege of Amsardam was a relatively dull affair. All that happened was multiple exchanges of cannon fire that lasted a few days. The defenders ultimately surrendered as soon as the northern and eastern walls crumbled. They did not stand a chance against the Luxenberg's powerful battery.

Just like the city of Doulon, the garrison in Amsardam were quick to show obedience to their new ruler. To make sure their allegiance was sincere, Victor kept his army in the city for a following week. They needed to make sure that there was no hint of revolt, they did not want another Joltz situation.

Once the week was over, the Luxenberg army was on the move again, this time their sights were set on the city of Osterbon, the capital of the Fontaine Faction. If Osterbon fell, the war would practically be over. Victor did not consider Bismarck and Duke Verdant a threat. He was more like a bug that could be crushed without much effort.

Victor watched as his army marched in almost full force. It almost brought a tear to his eye, seeing the might of his army. He remembered the days when this army was only a tenth of its size, with only General Rapp leading it. Now it was a force to be reckoned with, led by seasoned commanders, who had proven themselves in Conrad's original world.

As the army reached the halfway point of the journey, scouts who were surveying the road ahead alerted the King and his commanders of what he had seen. "Your Majesty, I have urgent news! The Fontaine has been sighted, they have set up along the road. They are about a 4 day's march away from here."

"I do not know of their exact numbers, but it is fair to assume that the majority if not the entire army is stationed there. Their position is heavily fortified with trenches, and artillery positions and geographically we are outmatched."

This news was not a total surprise for Victor. Tactically, he figured that his army would have to face the Fontaine Army on the field of battle. They could make use of their similar numbers and use their position to force Victor into an offensive.

From a tactical and commanding standpoint, Victor had always been more of a defensive-minded commander. He preferred pitched battles that used the landscape to his advantage, compared to assaulting, enemy positions.

In all 4 of his major battles, Victor had opted for defending, rather than attacking. From his first battle against Duke Cruyff to the Battle of The Farmstead against the Maximillian Army, Victor's defensive approach proved to be very successful. Even in his battles against the Maldenberg Army and the Fontaine Army, his defensive approach secured victory while maintaining low casualties.

A battle like this would have been perfect for General Vandamme, his fiery nature and aggressive tactics were effective for offensive battles. His loss was still affecting everyone, many generals in the Luxenberg Army were saddened to hear of his loss and learn of how his body was defiled by the rebels.

Nevertheless, this battle was unavoidable. If Victor wanted to reign supreme over the Bulgar Continent, a crushing victory here was needed. Almost all of the opposing noblemen would be present in the rear of the enemy army, if they were to die or be captured, it would be beneficial to Victor's cause.

When Victor's army came into view of Grand Duke Fontaine, his spine tingled with nervousness. He was still haunted by his defeat in Kreighelm, his overwhelming numbers proved worthless, in the face of well-disciplined and entrenched soldiers. 

If he wanted to have a chance to change the tide of this war, he needed to defeat King Victor here. The best outcome would be to kill him and half his army, although, Grand Duke Fontaine knew that would require a lot of sacrifices from his side.

Victor and his army set up on the eastern side of the road, out of the Fontaine's artillery range. The Luxenberg Army sprung up their camp on a flat plain, that was near a village. The village would escape the oncoming battle, but for good measure, the peasants living there were evacuated under Grand Duke Fontaine's orders.

Through multiple spyglasses, Victor and his commanders studied their enemy's fortified position. Their army was spread evenly between three positions along the ridge. Each section boasted similar numbers that were well-positioned. All 3 sections were separated by 2 wide makeshift paths. This was so the Fontaine cavalry could seamlessly descend the slope without running into their own infantrymen.

At the base of the ridge, Fontaine infantrymen were assuming multiple ranks of line formation. They were not clumped together, which on their part was sensible, the Luxenberg cannons couldn't eviscerate scores of them if they were not tightly packed together.

The cannons were all lined up along the ridge, protected by dug positions, and fortified by sandbags. In reserve were the cavalry, they would be able to lead a devastating charge down the slope if their comrades in the infantry were beginning to be overrun.

In Victor's mind, he was impressed with how thoroughly Grand Duke Fontaine had prepared. If Victor did not carefully devise a strategy, he could see a catastrophic amount of losses on his side and maybe even a defeat if he was not careful.

While his army was finishing setting up the camp, Victor held a meeting of his commanders to plan for tomorrow's assault.