After repelling the enemy's attack, Kleber's troops were celebrating.
Kleber, like the soldiers, was busy celebrating victory, because the only war he had participated in before was the blocking operation on the Marne River, and the battle cases he heard about were basically those fought by Frost.
One characteristic of those battles is that they are basically the final word. Most battles are over quickly, and the rest are just some interludes and sporadic pursuit battles.
So at this time, even though Kleber had heard from others that most of the time the battlefield would be a back-and-forth, he didn't take it seriously.
He thought he had won if he defeated the enemy.
While he was celebrating his victory, a horse came running up, and the people on the horse shouted: "Hurry up and form your team, keep your position, the second wave of enemies is coming!"
Kleber didn't react for a moment: "What's the second wave? We repelled three waves of enemy attacks."
The messenger shook his head: "No, no, Your Excellency Dumas asked me to tell you that the attack just now was a wave. The second wave of enemies is gathering and will come up soon. If you don't believe me, just look!"
Kleber turned his head to look at the coalition forces, and sure enough he saw that the coalition forces were lining up, not looking like they were retreating.
Kleber was stunned: "Why didn't they retreat? No, we just defeated the enemy!"
The messenger just shrugged his shoulders and didn't bother to explain to a layman.
Kleber could only order the celebrating people to return to their posts while wondering why.
Finally, he realized it when he saw the corpses thrown by the enemy in front of the battle.
Kleber clapped his hands vigorously: "Damn it, because the enemy collapsed as soon as we made contact and we didn't even engage in hand-to-hand combat, so in fact not many of the enemy died at all. Even the few people we knocked down with our previous volley of guns were only a few hundred people.
Compared to the enemy's entire army, it's nothing. So the enemy can quickly gather the defeated troops!"
The staff officer of the brigade next to me asked: "How can we prevent the enemy from gathering quickly?"
Kleber rolled his eyes: "How the hell do I know? Frost should know, because his battles rarely have this kind of repetition, at least they didn't mention it when the veterans were bragging to us."
Kleber shook his head: "Okay, quickly restore the position and adjust the formation that was just broken up due to the counterattack!"
"It's being done!" A noncommissioned officer responded with a depressed look on his face, "Damn it, I was just a chalk maker, but I was bewitched by my passion. I'm not good at doing this at all."
Kleber: "Work harder, it's the first time for everyone."
Kleber spent all his efforts to organize his troops, and the enemy's attack was also organized.
Watching the enemy charging forward while playing the exact same music as before, Kleber felt like he was traveling back in time.
If the corpses left by the enemy in front of the battle had not reminded him that the enemy had indeed attacked once before, he might have thought that he was drunk and dreaming.
Kleber’s words of encouragement were much more discouraging than the first time: “In short, the enemy is coming up again, just like we defeated them just now, let’s defeat them again!
"Well, I...I'm done, in short, defeat them, defeat them!"
**
The battle continued until four o'clock in the afternoon, and Kleber finally realized that defending Babi Village was not as simple as he had imagined this morning.
Although the French army repelled the attacking enemies time and time again with high morale, the enemies were soon able to gather their troops again to launch the next wave of attacks.
Because of the low morale of the coalition forces, they retreated quickly every time. As a result, the French army suffered insufficient casualties in hand-to-hand combat and failed to break their muscles. As a result, low morale became the advantage of the coalition forces.
Kleber couldn't understand why they could attack so carelessly after being defeated again and again.
In contrast, the French army, which was driven entirely by patriotic enthusiasm, had lost its energy and morale in this kind of wheel-and-wheel battle, and was already a little tired.
After a whole day of fierce fighting, Kleber realized a key principle: the French army is suitable for offensive warfare, and high morale can allow the French army to quickly defeat the enemy.
In an offensive battle, after defeating the enemy, you can sweep through the enemy's camps and supply lines, preventing the enemy from organizing the next wave of attacks.
Thinking about it carefully, Kleber thought, apart from the initial defensive battle, the battles Frost won were all offensive battles.
It turns out that the National Guard after the revolution was the most suitable army for attacking—the name was clearly the “Self-Defense Army.”
Kleber did not realize that he would come to this conclusion because he was limited to his own perspective and only saw the morale and vigor of the French army being consumed by the enemy's wheel battles.
He did not realize that it was already a very terrifying thing for a ragtag army to resist so many waves of attacks by a regular army that was twice his own size in a skirmish formation.
Even those regular armies that are well-trained and led by a large number of professional officers will find it difficult to do this.
The fact is that the French army after the Great Revolution was indeed the strongest army in Europe, but it is still in its cub form. Its soldiers lack training, there are not enough experienced officers, and there are not many qualified generals.
In a few years, as the Revolutionary War continues, this army will grow into the first in Europe capable of tearing apart siege nets by hand.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, Kleber finally heard the sound of trumpets coming from the Austrian side.
He vaguely realized that this was probably a sign that the Austrian army was withdrawing its troops.
Kleber let out a long sigh of relief: "It's finally over."
He found a beech tree, sat down, leaned against the trunk and looked up at the sky.
Seeing him like this, all the French soldiers who had been tense all day relaxed.
Many people lie directly on the ground and stretch their hands.
"it's over."
"Who has water? I've run out of water!"
"Has any of you seen my friend? He is a painter, his name is Bouvet, Auguste Bouvet, who has seen him?"
Amidst the noise, the messenger rushed over and loudly ordered: "Each brigade, let the troops left behind replace the frontline troops to guard the frontline. They will be stationed on the position tonight! The brigade commander has arranged the sentry for tonight!"
Kleber: "This black devil really considers himself the commander of this small army. Soon we will call him General Dumas!"
Despite such complaints, Kleber actually had no objections to Black Devil being the commander. After all, he only knew how to build artillery forts and was not good at marching and fighting.
He arranged the defense change and night sentry according to the order. At this time, Moreau came over on horseback: "Hey, you also survived today's wheel battle!"
Kleber: "Forget it, in the morning I thought the Austrian army was weak and could be bullied, and we would win decisively today, but they turned out to be like candy!"
Morrow: "That's why General Frost pursues the annihilation of the enemy, otherwise the enemy will be like this endlessly. Every time we defeat them and kill hundreds of them, it won't be long before they come back again."
Kleber: "If you ask me, the captured soldiers should be sent to serve as corvees and let them work to build fortresses, bridges and dams for us!"
Moreau: "Let them dig canals!"
"Good idea." Kleber gave a thumbs up, and his mood became happy as he and Moreau joked.
Moro: "Looking at the best, we defended today. These farmers, fruit sellers, and bread bakers blocked the well-trained Holy Roman Empire army! The Holy Roman Empire is also Rome. Rounding off, we blocked a Roman legion!"
Kleber: "Your rounding error is a bit big. Do all of you lawyers do calculations like this?"
Moreau shrugged.
It can be seen that Moreau is in a very good mood.
Probably because of today's battle, he saw the superiority of the Republic.
At this time, Lao Dumas caught up with the two of them on horseback: "How do you feel, you two?"
"It feels okay, but to be honest, we should change our thinking. The enemy's attack on our defense will not bring enough damage to the enemy. Even if we use courage to repel the enemy, it will be useless. I suggest that we take the initiative to attack tomorrow." Kleber
So said.
Dumas: "Are you crazy? No, no, we can't attack, at least not until these people can move in line."
Kleber: "Why not? We will use skirmish formation, charge forward loosely, get close to the enemy and order them to shoot, then charge with bayonets, and the battle will be over."
Morrow: "The skirmish formation can still avoid artillery. I think it will work. The enemy's artillery fire today has not brought me much damage. Even if the artillery shells roll through the formation, they will only take away one or two unlucky people. Sometimes they will roll away."
It didn't even hurt when I passed.
"In contrast, the attacking Austrian army was severely beaten by artillery."
In this era, there were no trigger fuzes and explosive shells, and the killing efficiency of solid artillery shells dropped sharply when faced with skirmishing formations.
The Black Devil sighed and gave the last reason not to attack: "How to defend the cavalry in a skirmish formation? When the cavalry rushes over, this formation is the glory of movement. Can you transform the troops into a square formation in time?"
"
The lawyer and the architect looked at each other.
Kleber: "You are right, Lord Black Devil."
Dumas Lao: "I am not your Excellency."
He sighed and changed his tone: "Forget it, let's enjoy dinner. We have fought hard all day, and it's time to reward the soldiers - and ourselves."
Kleber: "There happens to be a military depot here. Sir Berthier will definitely not mind us sharing some of the military depot's supplies."