French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 67 River Crossing Operation: The Battle for the Meuse River Begins

Military balloons have become quite sophisticated in modern technology. In the original Siege of Paris, Gambetta escaped Paris by balloon and formed a new army there.

During the entire siege, Paris launched 66 hydrogen balloons, sending out 102 people, 250 million letters, and military orders, making the Prussian siege less complete.

Of course, given the current shift in history, it's unlikely that such a scene of manned balloons displaying their power will ever reappear.

Seeing that the three manned balloons were constantly leaking information about their position, the enraged French soldiers drew their guns and fired at the balloons. However, the distance was too great, and the bullets gradually lost power after flying seven or eight hundred meters, posing no threat to the balloons at all.

To counter the French army, the Prussian army developed a 37mm balloon gun, specifically designed to shoot down floating balloons; it was the prototype of modern anti-aircraft guns.

France, perhaps due to its long period of complacency and excessive arrogance, failed to implement any countermeasures against the Prussian army's equipment.

The only area where they held an advantage was in the field of rifles, which was intimidated by the Austro-Prussian War.

Having built the Meuse River defense line for so long, the French army was not going to let themselves be slaughtered, and their artillery quickly began to counterattack.

However, the range difference was a major weakness. The Meuse River defense line did not have naval guns on land, and the French army, which could not form an absolute advantage in caliber, could not reach the rampant Prussian artillery in terms of range.

Under almost one-sided, precise artillery fire from the Prussian army, the French launched a counterattack, and their artillery pieces, which had exposed their positions, were destroyed one after another.

The French army's bronze muzzle-loading rifled cannons, even the 12-pound Napoleon cannon, had a rate of fire of only two rounds per minute and a maximum range of only 3,500 meters, while the Prussian army's Krupp breech-loading steel cannons had a rate of fire of four rounds per minute and a range of over 5,000 meters.

The generational gap between the two generations of artillery allowed the Prussian army to easily destroy French artillery positions from outside the range of French artillery. The cost of not keeping up with the times was enormous.

In just half an hour, the French army lost more than sixty artillery pieces. After the front line was gradually replenished, the number of artillery pieces reached only 547. In half an hour, the French army on the front line had already lost one-ninth of its artillery.

On the several open artillery positions that launched the counterattack, the surviving French artillerymen had to abandon their positions and drag their remaining cannons to the rear.

"What are our artillerymen doing? Why aren't they shooting down those balloons?"

From the rear positions, looking out through the observation slits, McMahon saw Prussian balloons flying recklessly overhead, and an angry McMahon couldn't help but question them.

Due to excessive excitement, he aggravated his wound on his left arm by shaking it, causing him to grimace in pain. The First Army Chief of Staff explained this to McMahon.

"Marshal, we don't have specialized anti-aircraft weapons. The elevation angle of ordinary field guns is insufficient; they simply can't hit balloons that high. We've already tried, but to no avail."

McMahon, as the de facto commander of this campaign, was here, and so was the nominal supreme commander. Napoleon III sat to the side, coughing incessantly as he was clearly unwell.

Nathan's mental fortitude had never been quite up to par; if it were, he wouldn't have been so easily pressured by Eugénie. The French Emperor, watching the exploding flames outside the hole, was overwhelmed by the combined effects of his emotions and illness, making his face as pale as paper.

Each explosion made the French emperor tremble involuntarily, but Nathan's only insistence was not to leave this position.

"Order the exposed artillery to move to the pre-designated reserve positions," Nasan ordered in a hoarse voice. "Do not engage the Prussians in firefights. Conserve your strength and wait until they cross the river before firing. Tell the artillerymen to only fire at close range and not to expose their positions."

This action effectively protected the artillery, but it also meant directly exposing the French infantry to Prussian artillery fire.

Essentially, it was a way to evade confrontation, but that was all France could do at the moment. The Prussian artillery preparation lasted for three hours.

The Prussian army unleashed more than 3 artillery shells on the French positions, severely damaging the French fortifications at the three key attack crossings. The French positions were littered with corpses, the trenches were filled with blood, and some low-lying areas had pools of blood.

Many soldiers were buried alive in the collapsed trenches, and their bodies could not be dug out.

At 6:00 a.m., Prussian artillery fire began to extend into the French lines, signaling an attack.

"Crossing the river."

At the command of the Prussian Crown Prince, the Prussian soldiers, who were already prepared, launched a full-scale attack on the French army on the other side of the river.

Crossing the river was a very difficult and arduous battle. William, who was not an incompetent fool, adopted a multi-pronged tactic. He launched river crossing operations simultaneously along a front of more than 40 kilometers, trying to distract the French army and break through the Meuse River defense line in one fell swoop.

Therefore, in addition to the three main crossings, the Prussian army also launched feint attacks at seven secondary crossings simultaneously in order to tie down French forces.

At the Verdun crossing in the north, Prussian 5th Corps Commander Kirchbach personally directed the attack. More than 3,000 Prussian soldiers, aboard more than 500 small wooden boats, rushed toward the west bank of the river under the cover of artillery fire.

Each ship carried eight to ten soldiers. The Prussian soldiers kept their heads down, dodging the bullets fired by the French, and held Dreyse rifles in their hands. Until they reached the shore, they could only take the hits from one side.

The French troops stationed here were the 2nd Division of the 1st Army, which had lost a brigade commander and was extremely unlucky.

Although the fortifications were severely damaged by artillery fire, the French soldiers, whose morale had been boosted, continued to put up a fierce resistance. When the Prussian ships came within 800 meters of firing range, the French Chassepot rifles and Mitrajoz machine guns opened fire simultaneously.

"Open fire! Give them a good beating!"

Dupont's company happened to be responsible for defending a section of the riverbank at the Verdun crossing. He held a brand-new Chassepot rifle, aimed at a Prussian soldier rowing a boat, and pulled the trigger with his index finger.

In DuPont's view, the soldier shuddered and then plunged headfirst into the river.

Without marveling at his improved accuracy, DuPont immediately pulled the bolt and aimed again to fire.

The Chassepot rifle's rate of fire advantage was fully demonstrated at this moment; it could fire up to fifteen rounds per minute, while the Prussian Dreyse rifle could only fire seven.

During the crossing, a French soldier could fire at least 30 and up to 60 bullets at a Prussian soldier, who would be almost unable to mount an effective counterattack.

Under intense French fire, Prussian wooden boats were capsized one after another. Prussian soldiers who did not die from gunfire were swept away by the swift current after falling into the river.

The Meuse River was icy cold and had a strong current, making it difficult even for soldiers who could swim to reach the other side while wearing heavy military uniforms.