Die Theresianische Militärakademie, Part III
”Philippe.” The old general said, he had grey hair mixed with stripes of white in between. His beard was no longer clean shaven but instead covered most of his chin. The parts of his face not covered with hair was covered with wrinkles instead. He was old, but at the same time he was well respected, he was never cruel, but he could be harsh. He never carried out undue punishment, but when it was due there were few other tutors whose hands one would hate more than him. In truth, a part of the general reminded him of Henri. Sure, the general was much older, but both used canes due to a leg wound and both had a certain defiant look in their eyes.
“Yes Sir.” Philippe said in return, himself having grown more accustomed to being here. He stood with more posture, a straighter back than usually, even if he was sitting down for the moment in class. He had gotten used to the uniform and even formed some more friendships. It was also nice to be away from his mother. Philippe loved his mother, but all the same, she could be a bit too protective and as he became more accustomed to living in the barracks it became more and more fun.
“You are commanding an army.” The old general said. “You are moving through allied land but approaching an enemy army. How would you have your army move?” He asked, looking over at Philippe.
Philippe looked up from his seat, looking at the map that had been prepared. It was a map of Hungary, the situation would be an Austrian army moving through the Balkans in another Turkish war. Philippe sighed for a moment. “I would begin with spreading my army across as wide front as possible. This would help reduce the risk of ambushes, and if we happen to encounter battle it would allow us to enter formation at a more rapid pace.”
“What of troop position, supplies, cavalry and scouts?” The old general asked, pacing back and forth in front of the class.
“I would sent the scouts out ahead of the army.” Philippe began, “They would clear the area of any hostile troops and ensure that there are no unwelcome surprises. This also included the demolition of a bridge the army needed to cross, or similar obstacles.” Philippe stopped, thinking for a moment before he continued, “I would place the supplies in the center of the formation…” Philippe managed to say before his instructor cut him off.
“Why?” The General asked.
“It’s the most secure position within the formation.” Philippe responded.
“Then why not place your veterans in the center. The veterans could turn the tide of a battle and be the last reserve of an army.” The general asked, walking slowly over to Philippe, looking down at him.
“No, I would place my veterans at the rear and the front of my army.” Philippe countered.
“Why?” The general asked. “Why would you not place them at the center, preserve their lives and use them for when the time to strike comes? Deliver a devastating blow to the enemy.”
“This is safer.” Philippe just said, before being asked by the general why that was, responding; “If I by accident get ambushed, regardless of my scouts, or attacked from the rear. My veterans, being veterans, skilled in combat and hardened by war can hold out and defend long enough for me to redirect the army, send reinforcements, reposition my troops or gain the oversight to order a retreat. If I have regulars or recruits at the front or the rear, I face the risk that my army is already collapsing before I have time to react, or before news of what is happening even reaches me. The entire army would then be overrun.”
The General nodded, “Attacks in the rear of the army are extremely unlikely when you are marching towards an enemy. Why not keep the supply train at the rear, ensuring that should you come under ambush or attack, you would have more men in the center to quickly reinforce in the battle.”
“The enemy may still have skirmishers, or raiding parties.” Philippe countered, looking at the general as he continued, “The supply wagons are too valuable to risk. Should they come under attack, regardless of how unlikely it may be, the army will be without supplies. The army will begin to starve, we shall have no gunpowder, no ammunition and the army will be unable to function at all.”
“Very good.” The General said, betraying a slight smile before keeping up his otherwise stoic appearance, going over the Jakob, a cadet one year younger than Philippe though from the same class as he began asking him about the importance of roads.
The rest of the class went fine, a bit slow but luckily it was almost over by the time that the General was done asking Philippe questions. Not that Philippe was complaining about that, he had become quite hungry the last hour and looked for to finally getting something to eat. They had spent the earlier hours of the day learning about Alexander the Great and his early campaigns together with his father. The strength and weaknesses of the phalanx and how it came to show in the heat of battle. What limitations it imposed upon its generals. The importance of equipment and military innovation to secure the edge over an enemy. It was quite exciting in all honesty and most of the day had seemed to fly past. The constant drilling though, that was still annoying.
Despite the annoyance of the drill then Philippe could not help but smile as they were given leave to go for dinner, going over and sitting with Reichstadt after Philippe had gotten his food.
“There are protests in Paris.” Napoleon said, handing Philippe the slip of paper as Napoleon began eating his chicken.
Philippe just shrugged, “Protests happen, at least my father told me so.” Philippe said before he put down the slip of paper, digging into his dinner.
“And sometimes they lead to revolutions.” Reichstadt said with a smile. Philippe could not help but wonder if it was due to reason or emotion that his friend said it. It certainly seemed more of a hope in the eyes of Napoleon. “And apparently King Charles overdid himself this time.” Reichstadt added.
“How so?” Philippe asked his friend, enjoying the taste of this surprisingly good chicken while waiting for Napoleon to respond, though Napoleon was only to shrug.
“No idea, but apparently he did.” Napoleon just responded to Philippe, waiting for them both to finish eating before getting the Prussian wargame that Friedrich, another young man at Napoleon’s age had given him during a visit. Friedrich himself was a Prussian cadet, one that Philippe had never met, but only heard some praises from Napoleon.
The game itself was simple enough, and yet it was complex at the same time. You had a game board, on it you had your own troops and the enemy had his, both in different colours. Both players would then roll dices to determine morale, supplies, readiness, fog of war, weather and starting position.
Napoleon was the one to roll first followed by Philippe, the latter smiling as he looked up at his friend. “It seems I have the hill.”
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To Henri Jules de Bourbon, (jure uxoris) marquis of Armentiéres (PRIVATE - @Etranger)
Henri,
Mother has enlisted me into the Theresianische Militärakademie a few months ago, saying that it would provide me with a worthy education for the army. I don’t like the idea of being trained in Austria but I make do, I would much rather be a French academy. Austria is alright, but it is no France and Vienna is certainly no Paris. But I grow more and more used to it daily.
I have also begun making a few friends here, some in the same year as me. There is one in particular who is some years older than me. He approached me not long before I was sent here and he showed me the academy, I have also begun playing war-games with him. He is friendly and also longs to return to France one day.
Anyways, I miss speaking with you and I hope that you can come visit soon, or that me, mother and Joseph can return to France. There are also rumours there are protests against the king, is that true?
Your brother,
Philippe
