Chapter 12 – The Interval Between Battles
While the Hexingen Development Company was undergoing a major reorganization, the fighting in Schleswig was locked in a stalemate. After the main Danish forces successfully withdrew to Flensburg, the new Danish commander sent Danish cavalry to delay the coalition's advance.
To chase the retreating Danes and defend against these cavalry raids, Prussian horsemen launched many counterattacks. Both sides fought back and forth on the wide, snowy plains. The Danes used villages, forests, farmland, and scattered buildings, appearing where the German coalition least expected them. In narrow areas, Danish cavalry sometimes managed to wipe out small coalition units, causing a lot of trouble.
Coalition commanders grew frustrated. At their order, a large allied cavalry force—prepared for action all along—finally went into battle. Previously, during trench fighting, cavalry had no clear role and had to watch as the infantry took the glory. Now they could finally show their worth. The cavalry gathered quickly and charged out.
Against superior enemy numbers, the Danish cavalry struggled. Their leaders ordered them to fight while retreating. Thanks to their knowledge of the terrain, the Danes usually found ways to escape. Even though the allies had more men, it was hard to trap the Danish cavalry completely. Feeling pressured, the coalition split their cavalry into columns and chased in different directions. Their goal was to slow the Danish withdrawal and inflict heavy losses on the Danish riders.
With greater numbers, the allies soon figured out where the Danish cavalry were. They coordinated with nearby units, tracked them down, and launched a brutal surprise attack. Prussian and Austrian cavalry were famous across Europe and were well-trained. In terms of weapons, horses, skills, and experience, the allies held the advantage. Led by veteran Prussian officers, they easily countered Danish tactics.
In the snowy fields, Prussian and Austrian commanders led a full-scale charge. Within half an hour, Denmark lost more than half its horsemen. The Danish cavalry leader had to call for a retreat, but the allies refused to let them escape easily. The Danes fled in panic and suffered more losses as the enemy kept attacking. Only a small group managed to reach Flensburg.
Shortly after the cavalry's victory, the coalition's main infantry arrived, and they started the Battle of Flensburg. On the seventh day, realizing they could not hold, the Danish army left Flensburg and withdrew to Denmark's core territory. The allies moved the front into Danish land, and the fighting paused.
On February 18, Prussian troops occupied Kolding. The Danes tried to use any available buildings and terrain to form a new defensive line, but they were out of time. However, Austria unexpectedly helped Denmark stop the war from spreading further. With Schleswig firmly taken, Austria did not want to move onward, leading to a temporary lull.
Austria had only joined the conflict to avoid letting Prussia increase its influence over the German states. If Austria had stayed out, Prussia and the other German states could still have beaten Denmark, but then Prussia's position in Germany would have grown stronger, and Austrian power might have been pushed aside. By offering Austria an equal part in the war and promising control of Holstein afterward, Bismarck persuaded Austria to join. Having helped recapture Schleswig, Austria saw no need to push further.
While Prussia and Austria negotiated, allied units rested at Denmark's border. Cain, an ordinary Austrian farmer, had been forced to join the army when war broke out. He fought in the Battle of King's Hill, then at Flensburg, and was now camped near the Danish frontier. Around him were people from his village or nearby places. Their officer was the local mayor.
"Cain, do you have any cigarettes left?" asked a fellow villager. Cain lay on a dirt mound, hands behind his head as a pillow, staring at the sky. "No, I finished them yesterday," he answered. Another soldier sighed, "Who knows when this war'll end. Who knows if my family is safe."
"Don't worry," the older voice of the mayor said. "This war is nothing compared to what I saw when I joined the imperial army against Napoleon. Those battles had huge numbers of troops, so many that you couldn't see the end. All we could do was charge forward with our comrades."
"Mayor Morey, was Napoleon's army much stronger than these Danes?" Cain asked.
"Napoleon… he was a remarkable figure," Morey replied, thinking back. "Before I ever saw battle, I already knew his name. I always thought Austria was the strongest power. Even so, the emperor's army lost to Napoleon first. Later, I learned that nearly all of Europe united to overthrow him, calling him a usurper. Those battles were much harsher than what we see now. At that time, France was at its height. People said Napoleon's officers used 'witchcraft' to make their soldiers charge forward without fear!"
Morey pulled a cigarette from somewhere, lit it, and took a deep puff. "My unit clashed with the French at a place called Garridun. Under Napoleon's direction—well, under one of his generals—they charged right at us, like they weren't afraid of dying. My fellow soldiers fell beside me, one missing an arm, another missing a leg, and some losing half their face!"
It was as if Morey could still picture that terrible day. "Thankfully, reinforcements arrived in time. We used our greater numbers to drive the French back. Every day was fighting. In a few days, you'd see a bunch of new faces. I was lucky to survive…"
He kept talking about his earlier days in the army. The younger soldiers around him listened intently, waiting for the next phase of the war to begin.
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