Soldier of Fortune (31 page)
Read Soldier of Fortune Online
Authors: Edward Marston
Daylight
exposed the ugly truth in Augsburg. The discovery of the dead trooper was
linked with the news of a courier who left the city at night by the main gate.
It fell to Charles Catto to pass on the tidings and they brought a fresh
explosion from General Salignac.
'He's
escaped?'
he bellowed.
'So
it would appear, General.'
'How
on earth could he escape from a whole army? Is every soldier in the city a
complete imbecile?'
'The
guards on duty at the main gate are being punished,' said Catto. 'It was they
who foolishly let him out.'
'Has
pursuit been organised?'
'There's
no point in it, General Salignac. He has been gone over eight hours. They could
never catch up with Captain Rawson.'
'Someone
must do so.'
'I
know,' agreed Catto, teeth clenched, 'and the task must be mine. He belongs to
me. I'll set off at once.'
'Make
no mistakes this time,' said Salignac, jabbing a finger at him. 'Captain Rawson
must be killed. Don't come back unless you bring unequivocal proof of his
death.'
Unable
to tempt the Elector out of the safety of Augsburg, the Duke of Marlborough
adopted a policy of wholesale destruction. Farms, hamlets and villagers were
razed to the ground in various parts of Bavaria and thousands of refugees fled
in terror to the cities. There was no respite. As one raiding party returned,
another took its place. Their orders were to leave a scene of devastation
behind them. It was over sixty years since Bavaria had last seen warfare within
its borders and it was appalled by the atrocities committed. The Margrave of
Baden had protested strongly against the policy and there were those in the
British army who objected to what was happening.
'It's
a disgrace,' said Daniel Rawson. 'I yield to none in my admiration of our
captain-general but I do believe he's conducting a mistaken campaign.'
'Have
you told him that, Dan?'
'He's
not interested in my opinions.'
'They're
shared by a lot of people,' said Henry Welbeck. 'None of my men would take any
pleasure in setting fire to thatched cottages and seeing whole families put to
flight with children in their arms. I'm grateful that we're not involved in
such work.'
'But
we can see the hideous results of it. When I escaped from Augsburg,' Daniel
recalled, 'I was given food and drink at a little farmhouse. I had to watch as
it went up in smoke. This is no way to fight a war, Henry. Our job is to kill
enemy soldiers, not to put the fear of death into innocent civilians.'
'Yet
the policy might work.'
'It's
not done so yet.'
'Give
it time, Dan.'
'We've
already had too much of it,' complained Daniel, 'without any real effect.
Because we lack a proper siege train, it took us the best part of a week to
bring Rain to its knees and, even then, the garrison did not capitulate. They
were accorded the friendliest of terms of surrender and marched off to join the
Elector. What kind of a war is this,' he wondered, 'when we harass ordinary
people and let the enemy soldiers go free?'
'Everyone
suffers in a war,' said Welbeck lugubriously. 'It's not like a game with set of
rules that we all obey.'
'It
should be, Henry.'
'Can
you imagine the French abiding by rules of warfare?'
'As
a matter of fact, I can,' said Daniel. 'There was a time when King Louis tried
to constrain his armies from pillage and the taking of hostages. He wanted a
levy exacted from a defeated town or province, and the amount was to be no
greater than the figure paid in tax by the inhabitants to their overlord. Do
you see what he was trying to do?' he said. 'He was trying to instil civilised
values into French soldiers.'
'Then
he failed.'
'Not
entirely.'
'You
should talk to some of the veterans from the Dutch army,' said Welbeck. 'They
remember the brutal way the French behaved during the Dutch Wars. And it's less
than twenty years since these Frenchies wiped cities like Mannheim, Worms and
Speyer off the map. There was no sign of any civilised values then.'
'I
still believe that we need rules of engagement.'
'What
we need is peace, Dan - years and years of it.'
'We'll
get none till we've defeated France for good,' said Daniel levelly, 'and
putting the torch to Bavaria is not the best way to do it.'
'It
might flush the Elector out of his hiding place.'
'He's
too secure in Augsburg. I've seen the fortifications there.'
'What
about his estates?'
'He'll
have sent men out to defend those against attack.'
'Then
he'll have weakened his army,' said Welbeck, 'so the Duke's plan will have
achieved something useful. We'll have fewer of those flat-faced Bavarians to
fight.'
They
were in Daniel's tent. Though they might disagree with some of the orders they
were given, they obeyed them to the letter. Unless invited to give his opinion,
Daniel would never openly criticise decisions taken by superior officers.
Welbeck never stopped criticising them but only when he was alone with his
friend. It was weeks since Daniel's escape from Augsburg and he was enjoying
the unalloyed pleasure of a blunt interchange of views with the sergeant.
Daniel had been hurt and saddened by the policy of ravaging Bavaria and it had
deepened Welbeck's melancholy.
'Is
it true that the Duke is ill?' asked Welbeck.
'He
suffers from severe headaches,' replied Daniel, 'and hasn't left his quarters
for three days.'
'I've
had a severe headache since the day I joined the army.'
'Nonsense
- you're one of the healthiest men I know.'
'My
brain feels like a red hot cannon ball.'
'That's
because you drink too much, Henry.'
'Nobody
would allow
me
to retire to my quarters.'
'We
need you ready for action,' said Daniel. 'Now that Marshal Tallard has reached
Augsburg with the reinforcements, there'll be another battle before long. '
'There
was a time when commanders had the sense to avoid battles,' said Welbeck,
striking a wistful note. 'Skirmishes and sieges were the order of the day then.
That kept the losses down. More of our troops stayed alive. It's not easy to
replace dead soldiers and damaged equipment, Dan. I vote for a siege every
time.'
'Then
you should have ridden off with the Margrave of Baden,' said Daniel. 'He's
going to invest Ingolstadt. We must have a second crossing over the Danube in
case the one at Donauworth comes under threat. Ingolstadt will be battered
until resistance crumbles.'
'If
there's going to be a battle, we need the Austrians with us.'
'We'll
have Prince Eugene of Savoy instead.'
'Baden's
men fought like tigers at the Schellenberg.'
'Yes,'
said Daniel, 'and he's been claiming credit for the victory ever since. That's
an insult to the British and Dutch soldiers who gave their lives that day.
Baden, alas, has not yet grasped the concept of a shared triumph. He wants all
the glory. No,' he concluded, 'I'll wager that Prince Eugene will prove a
better ally in combat.'
Prince
Eugene of Savoy was delighted to have been reunited with the main army. While
the majority of troops had now crossed the river with Marlborough, the Italians
remained on the north bank to observe enemy movements and to guard Donauworth
from possible attack. The pontoon bridges allowed easy access between the two
sections of the Confederate army. With some urgency, Prince Eugene used one of
them to join Marlborough for a council of war. Charles, Lord Churchill and Adam
Cardonnel were also present.
'The
French are on the move,' Eugene reported. 'They have crossed to the north bank
of the Danube at Lauingen and seem intent on bringing their whole army there.
The plain of Dillingen is crowded with troops.'
'I
did not expect so decisive a move,' admitted Marlborough.
'I
had a good position from which to observe them, Your Grace, but I dared not
stay the night there. With only eighteen battalions, I was hopelessly
outnumbered.'
'Where
are your troops now, Prince Eugene?'
'At
our camp near Donauworth,' said the other. 'We fell back there. May I please
impress upon you the importance of not being trapped between the mountains and
the Danube?'
'There's
no need to do that,' Marlborough told him. 'I appreciate it all too clearly.
Well,' he added, looking around his companions, 'this is troubling news.
Marshal Tallard clearly wishes to threaten our supply lines running back
through Nordlingen.'
'If
he cuts through those,' said Churchill, 'we'll be isolated.'
'He'll
not do so, John. We'll stop Tallard dead.'
'Where?'
'It
will have to be at Hochstadt,' said Eugene. 'That's the last open ground where
a battle could be fought before the mountains close in on the river.'
'Then
that's where it must be,' decreed Marlborough, looking at the map laid out on
the table before him. His index finger found the spot. 'We'll meet him here -
close to the village of Blenheim.'
'That
will surprise Tallard,' said Cardonnel. 'He won't expect us to resist. His army
contains some of the finest and most feared regiments in Europe. He'll think
he's outmanoeuvred us and that we'll be too weak to offer battle.'
'We'll
cross the river at once and unite with Prince Eugene's army at Munster,' said
Marlborough firmly. 'Tallard will soon learn that we are eager to take him on.
Is everyone agreed?'
The
others gave their consent with a nod. Prince Eugene left to return to his camp
and Churchill went off to issue marching orders. Marlborough was left alone
with Cardonnel. Both men were excited by the promise that the crucial battle
they had sought against the French would take place at last. Years of waiting,
training and planning would finally come to fruition.
'It's
a pity we cannot call upon Baden,' said Cardonnel. 'I know he would probably
want to steal all the glory but his forces would have been invaluable.'
'Securing
another crossing of the Danube was vital, Adam,' said Marlborough. 'That's why
I sent Baden to Ingolstadt. I also sent him a further ten squadrons and we'll
most certainly miss those when we take on the French. But I remain confident,'
he went on, rubbing his hands together. 'In taking the action he has done,
Tallard has revealed his complacency. He thinks his army invincible and that
we'll quail before it. We'll make him regret his mistake.' 'Yes, Your Grace.'
He
gathered up his map. 'We must be away.'
'Before
we go,' said Cardonnel, raising a hand, 'I need to remind you about the French
deserters who came in yesterday.'
'They
can tell us nothing that Prince Eugene has not already told us. Besides, so
many of these so-called deserters are no more than French spies, planted on us
to gather intelligence.'
'That
may be so in some cases, Your Grace. All the men are interrogated to make sure
that they are genuine deserters. One of them at least deserved to be heard.'
'Why
is that, Adam?'
'He
was a member of General Salignac's staff,' said Cardonnel. 'He's not some
frightened man from the ranks. He's a senior officer who might well have useful
information for us.'
'Then
let's hear the fellow. What's his name?'
'Frédéric
Seurel.'
'Bring
him in.'
Cardonnel
lifted the flap of the tent and beckoned a man outside. He stepped back so that
the deserter could enter. Wearing the uniform of a captain in the French army,
Charles Catto came boldly into the tent.
On
August 13, 1704, the Confederate army began its march at three o'clock in the
morning. Preceded by an advance guard of Horse, eight columns marched through
the darkness along routes that had been chosen so that there was no danger of
one body of men impeding another. The infantry tramped ruinously over standing
crops in the fields, leaving the road free for the teams of horses pulling the
cannon, ammunition wagons and the pontoon train. In total, over 50,000 men were
on the move. Not all of them were happy about the situation.
'I
hate night marches,' grumbled Henry Welbeck as he trod on a stone that made him
stumble. 'I like to see where I'm going.'
'Console
yourself with the thought that we'll catch them off guard,' said Daniel, riding
beside him. 'The French and the Bavarians will still be fast asleep.'
'Lucky
buggers!'
'We're
the lucky ones, Henry. This is a day of destiny.'
Welbeck
was sceptical. 'It doesn't feel like it to me, Dan.'
'I
don't believe that. You have the same tingle that I always have before a
battle. You have the same fluttering in your stomach and the same buzzing
inside your head. You know that today is special.'
'What's
special about losing more of my men?' retorted the other. 'What's special about
being deafened by the sound of enemy cannon, charged at by their cavalry and
shot at by their infantry?'
'You
could end the battle as a hero.'
'I'm
more likely to end it in an unmarked grave.'
'We've
never lost an important battle under the Duke,' Daniel reminded him. 'I'd
always back him to outwit Marshal Tallard.'
'Which
is the bigger army?'
'Theirs.'
'Then
stop telling me it's a day of destiny for us.'
'Superior
numbers don't always win.'
'But
it's always encouraging to have them on your side,' said Welbeck, looking up at
him. 'I've never shirked a fight but I do prefer it when it's a fair one.'
They
had been marching for a couple of hours and tiny specks of light were starting
to appear in the black canvas of night, only to be lost from time to time in a
swirling mist. Daniel was optimistic. It had been six weeks since the
hostilities at the Schellenberg. All that the Confederate army had done since
then was to raid a series of Bavarian settlements and leave them in flames.
Much to his relief, Daniel had not been directly involved in the wanton
destruction. What he wanted was a full-scale confrontation with the enemy and
it was now about to take place. Nothing else mattered. He had forgotten about
Abigail Piper, about his escape from Augsburg and about all the other events in
the past few months. The future of the war could be determined on a plain near
the village of Blenheim.
Pulsing
with energy, Daniel was ready to do everything in his power to achieve the
victory he felt was within their grasp, and he knew that Henry Welbeck would
fight with the same resolve. Hidden behind the sergeant's characteristic moans
lay the wholehearted commitment of a professional soldier. When battle was
joined, Henry Welbeck would not hold back. Like his friend, he would wish to be
involved in the fiercest action.
Daniel
emitted a sudden laugh. 'I was just thinking,' he said. 'How nice it would be
to see the look on Marshal Tallard's face when he realises we are coming!'