The sporadic but short gunshots, like an electric shock, made the Marquis immediately tense up. He didn't care to talk to the people around him anymore, but immediately picked up the telescope and looked in the direction where the gunshots came from.
The view on the high ground was very wide, so although the light was not good at dusk, he still saw the scene in the distance - it turned out that a small-scale battle was breaking out not far from the village, and some infantrymen used the roots of the wall to defend themselves.
They opened fire on the opposite side, while further away several hussars were fighting with several tribal knights wearing white turbans.
Although these hussars endured the pain of marching for several days, they were still as brave as ever. The short coats that covered half of their bodies, the linear sashes on their chests, and the shiny buttons all showed off their strength.
The pride of being the “elite in the military”.
At this time, they were using their skilled skills to wield the standard sabers, and constantly adjusted the posture of their mounts and the angle of their own force to slash at the enemy.
However, their enemies were not inferior in the slightest. These nomadic knights who grew up on horses were equally skilled, and they did not fall behind in the fight of the small team.
Of course, they had no interest in fighting to the death here. After a short but fierce confrontation, before the reinforcements rushed over, they turned around and left the battlefield.
This brief firefight ended abruptly, as if nothing had happened - of course, several fallen corpses and seriously injured people on both sides, as well as some horses that stayed helplessly because they had lost their owners, can still prove that what just happened
The intensity of the fighting.
Another deliberate harassment.
Marching to this point, the Marquis of Treville and the troops under his command have experienced many similar experiences. Their purpose is not to confront the French soldiers head-on, but to continue to fight through this continuous harassment.
Detecting the strength and weakness of the French army, on the one hand, consumes the energy of the French army and makes its morale decline, just like slowly bleeding a ferocious beast.
Others may not be familiar with this situation, but General Treville remembers it vividly - because he was the one who retreated all the way back from Moscow.
During this nightmare-like retreat, the Marquis of Treville and his men had to face the cold and hunger along the way, and on the other hand, they had to allocate more energy to deal with the continuous influx of Cossack cavalry.
pursuit and harassment.
These Cossacks were like flies following behind, rushing over to attack the hungry army from time to time. Once they discovered the opportunity, they would try their best to bite off a few pieces of meat from the disjointed troops.
The continuous hunger, endless march, and this seemingly endless battle really made them exhausted and difficult to cope with. Many people even gave up the idea of fighting in despair and simply lay on the ground and resigned themselves to their fate. Marquis Treville himself
, it was also because of his tenacious desire to survive and his attachment to his family that he squeezed his energy to the limit and was finally able to return to Europe. When he returned to Poland, there were already very few subordinates around him.
Today, nearly twenty years have passed since the original nightmare, but the Marquis of Treville still remembers it, and those miserable and tragic scenes often linger in his mind.
Now, he was in North Africa again, facing a group of "Desert Cossacks". Although it was an icy snowfield at that time and this time it was a cool wilderness, their methods were exactly the same.
However, the painful experience also gave Marquis Treville the composure and courage to remain calm in all situations; it also gave him the experience to deal with similar situations.
Compared with the miserable retreat on the Russian snowfields, the troops, equipment and supplies under his command are now in much better condition, and it is not a desperate scene at all; and his opponent, even though he has the same brave spirit as the Russian army, is not in a desperate situation.
Materially, they were extremely short of sophisticated weapons and firepower. Facing the French army that had stabilized its position, it was difficult for them to attack the enemy.
Treville did not have the ability to see future history. He did not know that on the original historical line, in the face of French aggression, the tribal armed forces that gradually united gradually learned how to organize large-scale operations, and also had more and more capabilities.
With a large number of weapons and personnel, and under the leadership of excellent military leaders, they repeatedly inflicted heavy defeats on the French army. They even defeated the French army several times in regular battles, causing thousands of casualties, and even defeated the French army at one point.
The French colonial army had to sign a peace treaty.
He can only estimate and judge based on his current intelligence. He believes that the current tribal armed forces can only use their familiarity with the terrain and the mobility brought by their superb riding skills to harass and ambush their own troops, or attack supplies.
line, but as long as he maintains the discipline of his troops and protects his flanks and rear, then he will at least be in an invincible position.
The brief battle was over and everything returned to calm. At this time, the sky was slowly getting dark and night was about to fall.
At this time, General Treville ordered the adjutant to camp on the spot and rest, while urging him to collect the news brought by several reconnaissance cavalry teams.
At the same time, the French soldiers were also clearing the battlefield where they had just fought on a small scale, and their seriously wounded soldiers were brought back to the camp for treatment and rest. The enemy's seriously wounded soldiers were directly treated, leaving only two who looked like
The wounded who are not too seriously injured are taken back for interrogation - they are destined not to be treated humanely.
Taking the army deep into an unfamiliar place, and having the painful experience of Russia, the Marquis of Treville naturally attached great importance to reconnaissance work, fearing that the enemy would take advantage of the opportunity to attack, so he asked his dragoons to separate into several squads.
Scattered on the flanks and in the front for constant reconnaissance, these light cavalry are naturally suitable for such work.
Before setting up camp every time, Treville had to collect intelligence from these scattered reconnaissance teams to understand the enemy's general movements and locations in order to be prepared.
News about the cavalry squad was quickly gathered in front of the general. As usual, before going to bed, he called several of his main officers to his tent and held a small meeting.
Soon, several officers were summoned one by one to the general. Due to the continuous march, their faces had sunburn marks and unconcealable fatigue on their faces, but most of them still maintained the same look as they had just set out on the expedition.
That "hungry" feeling.
Obviously, like the Marquis, they were eager to do something in this "new world" while maintaining peace on the European continent.
After briefly observing several of his subordinates, Marquis Treville looked calm and then spoke unhurriedly.
"Everyone, based on the intelligence we have received over the past few days and the information obtained from interrogating prisoners, I guess that because of our attack, some nearby tribes have united. Their people have now gathered together and are following us.
Action, he is probably waiting in the dark right now, looking for an opportunity to severely repair us."
His words did not arouse fear among the officers present, but instead made many people excited - after all, they had only burned many villages along the way and killed very few enemies. They could not afford to mobilize such a large number of troops.
The battles could not replace the "merits" they wanted. Now that they heard that there was finally a battle to be fought,
"My thoughts are the same as yours. I also hope that our enemies can jump out of the darkness and officially fight with us, because with the current situation, I hope to give them a hard blow as soon as possible.
It will be difficult for them to recover in a short period of time, let alone launch an attack on us." Marquis Treville continued unhurriedly, "But..."
As soon as they heard the twist in the general's words, everyone pricked up their ears to listen to the general's instructions. The general did not show off, but passed on his own experience to the juniors here, "Based on my experience in Spain and Russia.
, even a poorly equipped guerrilla force, as long as it is in familiar terrain and commanded properly, can be at ease and cause serious damage to us regular troops; therefore, although we are eager to fight, we cannot do so without reason.
We must look down upon our enemies. After all, anyone who dares to risk his life to defend his homeland is worthy of respect. They are capable of killing us, just like those who have done so in the past."
No one dared to refute the words of the Marquis de Treville. After all, he was both a chief officer and a veteran with outstanding military exploits. His words were so weighty that no one dared to object.
At this moment, bursts of gunshots and shouts rang out outside the camp.
The hooves of the cavalry's horses struck the soft ground intensively, causing slight tremors that could be felt even in the camp.
Under the moonlight, the flash of gunpowder and the reflection of metal complement each other, creating a dull and fierce fight.
The Marquis of Treville stopped talking, and like everyone else, quietly listened to the movement not far away.
Just like at dusk, this attack did not last long and ended. The French cavalry once again drove away the tribal cavalry that came to harass.
However, every officer present could feel that in the past two days, tribal cavalry attacks had become more and more frequent, and this frequent attack also meant that their commander hoped to make it difficult for the French army to rest, and combined with the Marquis
The judgment just now that "I'm afraid they want to fight with us" really gave the officers a sense of tension that "a storm is about to come".
After the short attack was repelled again, the temporary camp returned to calm. Seeing that no one questioned his "politically incorrect" words just now, Marquis Treville continued, "As you can see, during this period, these
Annoying flies are always following us. Our enemy knows our movements. He knows where we are and where we are going; but we don’t know much about their situation and can only get general intelligence.
And because of their rapid flow, this information often becomes outdated very quickly...So, now they have the initiative, and they can choose a battlefield for us - this is by no means a good sign for us."
The original intention of the Marquis of Treville at the beginning of his action was to seize the main force of the nearby tribe's army as soon as possible and crush it in one fell swoop; however, he did not expect that although he caused panic to his opponents, they would soon stabilize themselves.
position, and then resolutely executed the retreat. Instead of confronting the enemy head-on at the beginning, we exhausted and weakened our own military strength by lengthening our marching distance and continuously harassing us along the way.
War is like this. No military operation can be carried out strictly in accordance with the optimal conditions of the plan. Because our side is human and often fails due to various reasons; the opponent is also human, and they will also have their own plans and calculations, so the plan
The initial stage of the war often goes smoothly, but in the middle, surprises always occur. At this time, the commander needs to use his calm mind and firm will to make decisions one by one, and ultimately determine the direction of the war.
Seeing that the situation was different from what he had expected, the Marquis of Treville also changed his strategy - he continued to march while constantly reconnoitring the enemy situation around him, never giving the opponent an opportunity to take advantage of it; at the same time, he wreaked havoc along the way,
Bringing increasing losses to the opponent.
He led his men to destroy villages everywhere. On the one hand, it was indeed to "open up living space for future French farmers" as the adjutant said, but on the other hand, he also used this to force the enemy to fight with him as soon as possible.
Algeria is not a country now, but a region nominally ruled by the Ottoman Sultan, but actually divided into tribes. Therefore, the interests of the tribes are everyone's priority.
Although some tribes have chosen to unite under the current situation of the enemy due to the invasion of the French army, their "country" or a political entity similar to a country is far from being formed. Therefore, when the Marquis of Treville wreaked havoc along the way,
When destruction occurs, the severely damaged tribe will inevitably demand fiercely for war, and the commander of the other side will find it difficult to suppress the voices within his own side, otherwise there is a risk of the alliance breaking up.
At that time, the Russians could retreat thousands of kilometers when facing Emperor Napoleon, but in the end the fierce voices within the Russian army still prompted the Russian and French armies to fight the battles of Smolensk and Borodino. Seeing that their land was being ravaged, the army
The interior cannot tolerate retreating without fighting (even if such retreat is actually beneficial to one's own side).
This was true when Russia had a national grammar and the Tsar was on the throne, and it is even more true here now.
But now, it seems that all the conditions are ripe. Maybe it feels that the strength of the French army has weakened, maybe it can't suppress the fierce internal calls for a battle, in short, the other side is really ready to fight with them.
This is of course a situation that the Marquis of Treville wants to see, but at the same time, he is unwilling to fight in accordance with the opponent's wishes.
The Marquis of Treville has always been bold in doing things, but he is also a careful general. He is considerate of his subordinates, and also strictly requires himself and his subordinates to execute every detail. He believes in a principle that has been tried and tested: victory in battle often comes from preparation and more preparation.
A full party.
He hates losing the "initiative", and even more hates fighting the enemy at the enemy's preset time and place, because it means huge risks, and even if he doesn't lose, it will bring staggering losses.
"Everyone, I'm afraid our opponents are already waiting for us somewhere along the way, and we can't fulfill their wishes." After pondering for a moment, the Marquis made a decision, "We camp on the spot, if
If they make no further moves the day after tomorrow, we will retreat."
"Retreat?" His words aroused a burst of surprise. No one expected that as the planner of the operation, the Marquis would actually say such words.
"Yes, it will surprise them. If they want to catch us, they will have to change their deployment, then run further than us, and then try to intercept us on our way back, which will tire them out.
, which is good for us." The Marquis replied.
"Then... what if they think it's disadvantageous and let us go back like this?" an officer asked boldly.
"Then let's go home. Although this is a bit anticlimactic, it is at least better than rushing into an ambush and wasting your lives." The Marquis replied matter-of-factly. "However, I think they will definitely come. After all, blood debts require money."