Carl Ludwig Johann Joseph Lorenz rode a white horse and watched his soldiers collecting a large number of weapons and ammunition from French prisoners.
After a day of fierce fighting, the wilderness was filled with burning flames and rising smoke.
Austrian soldiers were patrolling among the corpses of French soldiers on the ground, looking for French battle flags that might have been left behind.
Collecting military flags is an important method in this era to count how many enemy troops have been defeated. Generally, capturing a military flag means that one of the opponent's troops has been disorganized.
This is mainly because the organization and morale of the troops in this era are low. Losing the military flag generally means that the officer structure has been broken up, and it is generally difficult for the troops to be organized again.
Due to the awakening of nationalism in the French revolutionary troops, the French army's losses cannot be estimated in this way. Even if the French revolutionary soldiers are disbanded, they will still return to their own country under the influence of patriotism and nationalism.
However, the military strategists of various European dynasties in this era did not discover this, so they wondered for a long time why the army of reformers continued to flow and could not be defeated at all.
From the perspective of these people, the French army had been annihilated long ago, and the French revolution had failed.
Yes, this is the thinking of Archduke Karl's staff now.
The chief of staff came to the Grand Duke and said in a congratulatory tone: "Your Excellency, you have achieved a great military victory..."
The Archduke raised his hand to stop the Chief of Staff from continuing: "It's not me. The commander-in-chief of this battle is Marshal Alvinzi."
The chief of staff was slightly embarrassed, but still persisted in the flattery business: "But we all know that it was your excellent command..."
"I say again, the glory of victory belongs to Marshal Alvinzi."
The chief of staff curled his lips and finally accepted this statement: "You are right, the victory belongs to Marshal Alvinzi."
Archduke Karl nodded: "Brother Emperor should be satisfied now. No matter how brilliant the victory Frost achieved in Northern Italy, it is nothing compared to our victory on the Rhine."
The chief of staff smiled and said: "That cobbler was just lucky! But it turns out that God is still on the side of our Holy Roman Empire! The glory of Habsburg is still there!"
Archduke Karl is also of Habsburg blood. At this time, it is definitely right to say that the glory of Habsburg is still there.
Although this Grand Duke has always been regarded as a representative of the weak and incompetent, he became a general only because of his family's position.
But he is of Habsburg blood after all.
Archduke Karl was noncommittal. He looked into the distance and in the direction of Paris: "Now, this war can be over. There is absolutely no way for the French to organize so many troops again this winter. We can directly take the French capital.
,Paris, the Pearl of Europe!”
The chief of staff nodded: "Yes, this glorious victory will determine the outcome of the war in one fell swoop. Enlightenment thought will fail on the European continent!"
**
While Archduke Karl was inspecting the battlefield, Alvinzi, the commander of the Austrian Army of the Rhine, was also looking into the distance from his headquarters.
"The emperor's third brother is an amazing guy." The marshal murmured, "I'm afraid most of our previous views on him were wrong."
"What did you say?" his chief of staff asked doubtfully.
"I said the emperor's third brother is an amazing guy. Don't you feel that?" Alvinqi turned to look at the chief of staff.
The chief of staff looked confused.
The old marshal shook his head: "It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Anyone who can serve as chief of staff must have a noble family, and his title may be higher than that of Alvinzi, so the old marshal must maintain a good relationship with his chief of staff.
In France, titles may be a thing of the past, but in the Holy Roman Empire, titles still represent many things.
The chief of staff didn't seem to think too much. He said happily: "Now there are only a few fortresses in France between us and Paris. If we are optimistic, we can arrive at the city of Paris in February next year!"
"
The army of this era cannot perform operations such as bypassing fortresses, because the army's supplies need to rely on the storage facilities of existing cities. If you do not attack the fortress, but choose to bypass it, even if the enemy does not divide the troops to attack, the troops will soon be destroyed.
There will be problems with supply.
After all, logistics in this era basically relied on mule-drawn vehicles, and transportation efficiency was very low.
From the Rhine battlefield to Paris, there are mainly two strong fortifications at Pétain and Verdun. In these two places, the French army built extremely powerful fortifications in accordance with the most advanced modern military engineering theory.
But the good news is that these places are basically plains. Although there is a river network as a barrier, the flow speed of the river is very low. It is relatively simple to cross the river whether it is a pontoon bridge or a ferry.
It can be said that Paris is only one step away from opening its doors.
Alvinzi was confident that he could reach Paris within a few months.
At least at this point in time, it seems certain that the coalition of the Holy Roman Empire and Prussia will win the war against France.
**
UK, London.
Arthur Wellesley was sitting nervously on a chair in the Warriors' House Club at 15 Fleet Street. He was going to be here today to dedicate a sonnet he had composed to his beloved Catherine.
For this reason, he has recited this poem in his heart many times, carefully considering every syllable.
He also brought his violin, which he stored with Mr. Willie, the club's butler. If Catherine liked the poem, he could further propose that the previous piece be played on the violin.
Arthur Wellesley's eyes fell on his Catherine from time to time, oh my God, she was so beautiful, so touching!
Because of this, Arthur barely listened to what the gentlemen present were discussing, such as the great victory of the Austrians on the Rhine, the possibility of Austria becoming the dominant power in Europe, and the need for Britain to revise its position, pinching its nose.
Stand with France... Arthur Wellesley isn't listening at all.
This is normal. His evaluation at the cavalry school in Angers was not high, and no one would think that he would make great achievements in the military in the future.
The instructor at Angers commented on Wellesley: "Physically weak, he does not focus on his studies, and he spends more time on his beagle than on military courses."
This is basically true.
For more than five years after graduating from the military academy, Wellesley has been focusing on serving as an assistant to the British Governor in Ireland, and has basically not worried about his military affairs in the 18th Hussars.
The military service brought Wellesley only a meager income, which was not enough to support Wellesley's social expenses, so much so that he had to borrow money from his landlord.
But what does it matter?
Now Wellesley only thinks about his own Catherine, beautiful Catherine...
"Hey, Arthur!" At this time, the young ensign at the same table poked Wellesley on the shoulder, "I'm asking you, what do you think of the Austrian victory?"
Wellesley asked doubtfully: "What do you think? The victory of the Austrians? Aren't the French always winning? That guy named Frost, didn't he beat the Austrians to pieces?"
"Oh my god, Arthur, you are already old. Frost has achieved many victories in Italy, but the Austrians have achieved a resounding victory on the key Rhine front! It was the marshal named Alvinzi who fought!
"
Wellesley stammered in response: "Yes...that's it. When did you get the news?"
"We were discussing this this morning! What do you think?"
"What do I think?" Wellesley was stunned for a few seconds, "I...France has always been our opponent, hasn't it? It should be a good thing for the Austrians to win, right?"
"How can this be a good thing!"
"Arthur! France, like us, is a constitutional monarchy. This is a failure of constitutional monarchy! I think we will have to stand with our fellow constitutional monarchies next!"
"Yes, and if the Austrians win too much, they might restore the former glory of the HRE. Prime Minister Peter will not allow a de facto power to appear on the European continent."
"That's not true. Even if the Austrians win a lot, won't there still be Prussia and Russia to balance it?"
The young officers at the table were discussing again, but Arthur Wellesley was the only one who looked at her Catherine intently.
——Ah, I wonder if I can have a chance today to give her my sonnet...
The future British star only has a love that he has not yet started in his mind.
He still doesn't know what kind of interaction he will have with the cobbler named Frost.