French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 35 The Quarrel Among the Senior Generals

These complaining soldiers are all warriors who fought their way out of the Battle of Wolverhampton. They were once so full of vigor, shouting "For France!" as they rushed to the front lines.

But now, the shadow of defeat looms over every French soldier. Their equipment is damaged, their rations are insufficient, and their casualties are heavy. In today's army, even warhorses are struggling to survive.

The pride of "France's invincibility" was, if not completely worn down, by the two bloody battles, but it did make the proud French army realize reality and become more pragmatic.

Turning his gaze away, Napoleon III walked to the door of the conference room and gave a signal to the guards at the door. The guards understood and pushed open the door, and the French emperor appeared. The arguing among the French generals inside immediately stopped.

The group included Royal Guard Commander Bourbaki, 6th Corps Commander Joseph Vinoya, 5th Corps Commander de Fay, 7th Corps Commander Felix Douai, and Field Marshal McMahon, who was seriously injured at the Walter Convention, sitting in the main seat.

The five high-ranking French generals stood around the map, their faces flushed, clearly having been arguing for quite some time.

De Fai placed his hands on the map, his expression quite agitated, while Bourbaki crossed his arms, looking dismissive of De Fai's suggestion. Due, meanwhile, frowned, caught in a dilemma.

McMahon leaned back in his chair, coughing incessantly; the old marshal didn't even have the energy to participate in the argument.

Only Vinoya, the French army commander who harbored some ulterior motives and leaned towards the republic, did not participate in the argument; he sat on the sidelines watching the two tigers fight.

When these generals saw Napoleon III enter, the still-powerful Napoleon III was enough to make them bow respectfully and shut their mouths.

"Your Majesty!" x5

Everyone present was aware of the emperor's condition, and seeing Nasan come in person, no matter who they were, they couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

The originally heated argument was suppressed by this inexplicable unease, and only Napoleon III's heavy breathing and occasional coughs could be heard in the conference room.

Without reacting to the commotion, Napoleon III walked to an empty seat and sat down. A guard handed him a glass of warm water, which he took a sip to catch his breath and make sure he wasn't coughing. Then, Napoleon addressed the crowd.

"I know what you're arguing about: whether to retreat and regroup, or to hold the line, right?"

Upon hearing this, the commander of the 5th Army, de Fay, nodded and spoke to Napoleon III with great emotion.

This person advocated for Bazin's army to retreat, as the two armies were now too divided. De Fay's argument was somewhat similar to Eugène's.

"Your Majesty, in the Battle of Wolter, the First Army almost exhausted half of its resources. When the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted, they couldn't even replenish their decent equipment. The Prussian army is pressing forward relentlessly. If we continue to hold our current positions, we will only be annihilated one by one."

I urge Your Majesty to order the Rhine Legion to retreat to Chârón, where they can regroup and prepare for battle using the advantageous terrain, and to request supplies from Paris.

"Commander De Fay, you're too naive. Retreat? Once the army retreats, the news will reach Paris, and the Republicans will surely seize the opportunity to incite a popular uprising. In my opinion, we must hold our ground to the death to stabilize the morale of the people in the rear. Only with stability in the rear will we have a chance to turn the tide."

Compared to De Fay, who considered things purely from a military perspective, Bourbaki, as the commander of the Royal Guard, had a much broader vision.

In Bourbaki's view, with logistics in such a mess, if things get chaotic in the rear, there's no point in fighting anymore.

De Fay is not so easily persuaded; otherwise, the argument wouldn't have lasted so long.

Neither side could convince the other, so the two started arguing again, while Due and Vinua remained silent.

Unwilling to embarrass himself in front of Nathan, McMahon shook his head and tried to dissuade him, or rather, he preferred de Fay, the marshal who had advocated retreating to Chalon to regroup and fight again.

"Gentlemen, stop arguing... I think you have all seen the terrible state of the First Army I commanded after the battle with Prussia. The soldiers couldn't even get enough to eat, and their wounds were left untreated."

If this continues, we'll collapse on our own even without the Prussian army attacking... However... if Paris finds out we're retreating, they probably won't let it go easily."

While saying this, McMahon glanced at Nathan at least three times, subtly hinting to the French emperor. McMahon hoped Nathan would pressure the rear to secure more supplies and hold them off in order to allow the Legion of the Rhine to retreat.

Nash remained silent, offering no comment. McMahon's words, however, revealed the helplessness of everyone present.

The sighs of the First Army soldiers outside the window seemed to drift into the conference room, making the atmosphere even more oppressive.

None of the generals present objected. McMahon's seemingly impartial remarks were actually a direct critique of Napoleon III's words, each one hitting the nail on the head.

However, faced with the choice between the morale of the troops at the front and the control of the rear, no one could make a decision easily, not even Napoleon.

Finally, under everyone's watchful eyes, French Emperor Napoleon III raised his hand, signaling for silence, and then took out the telegram from Paris from his pocket. Without saying a word, he simply gestured for everyone to pass it around and take a look.

Some of the people who were puzzled passed the book around and read it. They were shocked by what they found.

As expected, the meeting room erupted in chaos once again. Long-suppressed emotions burst forth, causing everyone's reactions to be even more intense than the previous arguments.

As the first person to eagerly read the telegram, de Fay slammed his fist on the table, his anger surging so fiercely it felt like it would burst from his chest.

"Your Majesty! Paris is treating human life like dirt. The most elite soldiers of the First Army are fighting until they are only half alive. They can barely stand."

The Rhine Legion is even less able to form a complete defensive line with us. How can we possibly hold our ground under such circumstances? If the war is merely for the sake of the government's face, then give Montauban a gun and let him fight it out himself.

De Fay's words were like a sharp knife, piercing the sore spot of all the French generals fighting on the front lines.

Everyone was aware of the First Army's dire situation. As the main force in the Battle of Wolter, the First Army fought bravely, but due to being outnumbered, it paid a heavy price, with more than 1.5 casualties.

An army of 4 men suffered 1.5 casualties, a devastating blow. Although Xia Long's camp currently had 5 armies plus 3 reserve divisions, totaling 19 men.

However, many of these were reserve or even supplementary troops that had not yet arrived, and were not as elite as the 17 French troops consisting of the three corps in Metz.

Having witnessed the Prussian army's strength and military discipline, which were not much inferior to their own, De Fay did not believe that they, in their current situation, could deal with a Prussian army that was twice their size.