At noon, the British and Prussian forces began a temporary rest. After all, no one is made of iron, and everyone needed a little break. It was also an opportunity to bring up the recently arrived conscripts and mercenaries.
Yes, it was all for the capture of this unexpectedly formidable fortress. The British had already spent a substantial sum hiring multiple batches of mercenaries. Although they couldn't find any more mercenaries in Italy, they could still recruit some from Germany.
Initially, the British hired around ten thousand German mercenaries. However, it didn't take long for these mercenaries to accuse the British of deception, claiming they hadn't adequately explained the difficulty and danger of the task. They strongly demanded contract termination or a fivefold increase in wages.
Naturally, the British didn't want to spend too much money, so they promised that the originally hired mercenaries would not have to carry out offensive tasks. Of course, this meant cutting their wages in half. The first batch of mercenaries readily agreed.
After pacifying the first batch of mercenaries, the British went on to hire a new batch of mercenaries. This time they learned from their previous mistake. Instead of letting the mercenaries gradually adapt to the battlefield, they stationed them in rear camps where they couldn't see the frontlines. They imposed strict management and prevented them from freely coming and going to avoid excessive contact with others. When they were needed, they would be brought forward from the rear, and this time, there would be no requests for pay increases or contract terminations.
The British generously shared their experience with the Prussians. The Prussians, who had been struggling with mutiny and rebellion in their ranks, were inspired and immediately set up isolated camps a bit further away to house new conscripts. This way, the fresh recruits were sealed off to prevent them from being exposed to unnecessary information that might corrupt their thoughts and reduce their combat effectiveness.
This method also raised two issues. The first issue was that conscripts lacked training. However, in this kind of offensive warfare, the difference in mortality rates between trained and untrained soldiers wasn't that significant. So, at this moment, it wasn't a major concern.
The second issue was that the time interval between each attack by the British and Prussian forces had to be extended because they had to wait until the previous batch of consumables was exhausted before bringing in the next batch. Otherwise, allowing these armed conscripts to witness how the previous batch of consumables was used on the battlefield would likely lead to problems.
Extending the attack intervals would give the French more time to prepare, which wasn't favorable for the attackers. However, they had already cut off the First Heights and other French forces' communication, so all the Allies needed to do was to deplete their ammunition. Slowing down the pace a bit wasn't unbearable.
Thus, the battlefield experienced a temporary calm. Everyone used this time to grab a quick meal because, for many, this might be their last.
Napoleon's Grand Army, however, had already eaten and moved to the northern side of the British and Prussian alliance. The soldiers were resting in place, preparing for the decisive attack.
At this moment, the cavalry sent to contact Joseph had returned. General Mura had returned with them.
"Joseph, welcome back. How was it? Did you enjoy your time with my brother?" Napoleon asked.
"Not at all. I was nearly suffocated there," Mura replied. "General Joseph Bonaparte is undoubtedly a great military strategist, but... especially during meetings, it's just... You look at him all despondent and sighing, and you'd think the British and Prussians have us on the hook! What really gets to me is that every time someone suggests something new, he always chimes in with, 'Of course, that sounds good, but for heaven's sake, don't cause any trouble!' It's just..."
"Alright, Mura, cheer up. You're back now!" Napoleon said, clearly pleased with Mura's return.
"Yeah, by the way, how's it going over there?" After patting Mura's shoulder comfortingly, Napoleon asked again.
"General, Joseph Bonaparte had me bring you a message. As long as he...," Mura began.
Following Joseph's plan, it was his forces that initiated a full-scale counterattack. Joseph believed that his counteroffensive would surely divert the enemy's attention, allowing Napoleon to launch an attack from the flank.
"I still need him to tell me when to attack? But... this time, let's do it as he says," Napoleon finally agreed.
So, just twenty minutes after the British and Prussian forces deployed the mercenaries and conscripts, who were oblivious to the brutality of war, into combat, the defensive French troops launched a full-scale counteroffensive. The French opened fire with all their firepower, using various weapons against the Allied forces. Simultaneously, they counterattacked from multiple directions, seemingly aiming to restore their connection with the First Heights.
Initially, the British and Prussians weren't panicked by the French action because they had some preparations for a large-scale French counterattack. The importance of the First Heights couldn't be lost on the French. If they wanted to maintain their front lines and secure the fortress, they would undoubtedly try to reestablish communication with the First Heights. Moreover, it had been several days, and the French probably had a new commander by now.
So, initially, they viewed it as something to be expected. Even when they noticed the fierce intensity of the French assault, they saw it as a sign that "our French friends are getting desperate."
However, they soon realized that the strength of the French attack surpassed their expectations, and they were struggling to hold their ground. Therefore, Duke of Brunswick made a decision he would later regret – he committed more forces to resist the French counterattack and, if possible, expand his control area when the French retreated.
Just as he gathered the fresh forces to launch the counterattack, a report arrived that cavalry in the north had spotted the main French army in great numbers.
This news was like a bolt of lightning to Duke of Brunswick and the other commanders. Their troops, especially the most combat-effective ones, were already engaged in defensive and counteroffensive operations. Although they had some reserve forces, they were intended for anticipated contingencies on the current battlefield. The reserve forces couldn't be too large, as that would be a waste of their combat power. So, they wouldn't be sufficient to confront the massive Italian army that was about to rush in from the north.
At this point, they had no other choice but to quickly extract their troops from the stalled battle. Of course, this carried significant risks. Poorly organized, it might even lead to the French from the north outflanking them, and the French forces in front chasing them down, possibly causing the Allied forces to collapse. But at this moment, Duke of Brunswick had hardly any other options.
"Send the cavalry to confirm the message. In addition, instruct all units to prepare for a withdrawal from the battle. Have General Bliicher lead his cavalry to slow down the advancing French troops from the north," Duke of Brunswick ordered.
Bliicher led his cavalry towards the north, but with only around a thousand horsemen at his disposal, Duke of Brunswick had little faith in their effectiveness.
However, when attempting to retract from the battle, it was far from easy. As soon as the Allied forces hinted at a retreat, the French troops came charging. Furthermore, the French counteroffensive was organized with great flexibility, indicating experienced officers were in command.
If they weren't under pressure from Napoleon's Italian army, Duke of Brunswick might have been able to reorganize his forces and withdraw from the battle. But at the moment when Napoleon's Italian army was about to arrive, he no longer had time for that. He had to concentrate as many troops as possible and exit the battle before the Italian army arrived.
Moreover, the cavalry returning from the north had repeatedly confirmed that Napoleon's Grand Army was rapidly approaching. Brunswick assessed the situation and finally made the ultimate decision: "Order all units, abandon everything, break contact with the enemy, and retreat to the camp."
This command resulted in enormous chaos within the troops – but it was unavoidable. The retreat quickly turned into a rout. Many units that had pushed too far ahead couldn't return in time and were cut off by the advancing French. Many more units were shattered in retreat, losing their cohesion and becoming disarrayed.
By the time they had followed Duke of Brunswick back to their camp, only half of their total forces remained. More troops had been killed by the French, taken as prisoners, or had vanished somewhere. Wisely, they hadn't returned to the camp, and for now, the French had other concerns to attend to.