Chapter 122: The Eve Of The Final Showdown

"Gentlemen, as you can see, we are faced with an imposing fortified position. Our army has 207,000 infantrymen, 30,000 cavalrymen and 750 guns compared to their 200,000 infantrymen, 28,000 cavalrymen and 500 guns. We may have the numerical advantage but that means nothing when facing a heavily fortified position."

"We have 220 rockets left, preferably, I would like to leave 20 in reserve, so once we use 200, we will need to revert to something else. If any of you have any suggestions as to how we approach this offensive, now is the time to speak," Victor said in a neutral tone.

Many of the generals pondered and muttered amongst themselves. This battle would be the fiercest battle the Luxenberg Army had participated in. All of them knew that failure here was not an option, not when they were so close to achieving a feat that had not been accomplished in over two centuries. 

The first commander to pitch an idea was Marshal Soult, "My liege, the most practical approach is to use the rockets to suppress the enemy cannons, with them under duress, we can push forward our cannons into an optimal range that targets not only the infantry but the enemy cannons."

The idea in theory was good, but with a limited amount of rockets available, it would be a close call. Rapp, Lannes and Hill nodded at the Marshal's plan. It was simple and achievable, while not having to risk too many men.

Quickly to counter that plan with his own, General Tauentzien proposed a daring tactic. "My liege, I would recommend we copy what the Fontaine Army did against us back in Kreighelm. Let us use the cover of darkness to set up our cannons so that by dawn we are ready to rain hell upon them."

Victor was intrigued by this idea, the only worry he had was whether the crews could do so without any light. The plan itself had a huge upside, if successful, Victor could focus his rockets on the enemy infantrymen, obliterating their ranks with the explosive rockets,

"Is it feasible? A 9-man crew would have to push the 600kg cannon more than 200 meters to get them in range of the infantry and cannons. They would be doing this with zero help from torches. Even with our cannons' slight edge in range, it would be a difficult task to get them in range. Are we confident in our crews' ability?" Victor questioned.

A silent pause filled the tent, all the commanders questioned whether they believed in the artillery crews or not. It was a difficult task, no question about it, but all of them knew how advantageous it would be if they could pull it off.

"Fortune favours the bold, my liege. Let the crews prove themselves." General Gimborn declared. Many commanders spoke up in support of this plan. They all had faith in the artillery crew's ability to perform this task. With a majority of the commanders supporting this plan, Victor had no choice but to order it, even if he was not fully confident in the plan.

When darkness loomed over the battlefield, the artillery crews went to work. They gritted their teeth as they pushed their cannons forward. With each step, they inched one step closer to their designated location. 

Their silence was impeccable, and they managed to carry out the task without creating any noise. They hurriedly began to set up their cannons, knowing that the sun was sure to rise within a few hours. If they did not set up their cannons in time, they would have to do so under enemy fire.

Victor and his commanders spectated cautiously, they did not want to draw unnecessary attention to themselves. For if they did, the enemy could soon figure out that something was happening. So far there had been no enemy movement from the enemy's position, this slightly boosted the confidence of the Luxenberg commanders.

"I believe we can actually pull this off," General Kamensky muttered. The group of generals were quick to agree. "The sun should not rise for another hour or two, they have ample time to pull this off," General Hill said, showing his faith in the artillerymen.

Victor, however, said nothing. He was too focused on the battle that would shortly begin. If his artillerymen succeeded, then he would be able to save more lives of his soldiers. With cannons bombarding the enemy guns, the Luxenberg infantry could cross the field without being under duress from the Fontaine cannons.

30 minutes before first light, the artillerymen had successfully set up their cannons. With some time to spare they began trying to place sandbags around the cannons to offer some form of protection. It may not do a lot, but it was better than being completely exposed. 

The artillerymen were granted a quick rest before the sun shed its first light. They earned this. Their work during the night was invaluable to the upcoming battle. Without them, the Luxenberg Army would find themselves in a rather difficult position.

As a strand of golden light began to show beyond the horizon, the Fontaine Army's guards were shocked to discover the fully deployed Luxenberg cannons. Not only was their infantry in range but so were their cannons. Alarmed, the guards quickly notified Grand Duke Fontaine, who was also shocked at this development.

The Luxenberg Army had achieved a feat similar to their own, the only difference was that the Luxenberg Army had done this on a larger scale. Simeon looked through his spyglass to assess the deployed Luxenberg Army who had been fully assembled just before the crack of dawn. It was a menacing sight, one of which struck unease in Simeon's heart.

Victor's army was split into 3 sections to match the Fontaine Army. Commanding the left flank was Marshal Soult. Under his command were General Tauentzien, Duke Godert and General Gimborn along with their men. They would be engaging the Fontaine right flank that was commanded by Duke Verdant.

For the Luxenberg right flank, the command was given to Marshal Lannes. Beneath him were General Rapp, his own 9th Corps and General Bülow. They had the tough task of going against the Fontaine left flank, commanded by the defensive-minded Duke Hirschmann and his son Gerhard.

Down the centre, the Luxenberg army had Field Marshal Schwarzenberg in command. At his disposal, he had the Royal Guard, General Hill and General Kamensky. The commander of the enemy was none other than the Grand Duke himself. 

The battlefield was set and they were only moments away from their final showdown.