Chapter 752: Fully Prepared for Diplomacy
"Foolish! You sent the soldiers charging in without any battle preparation?" Count Radetzky glared fiercely at Lieutenant Colonel Busek. "And then you were defeated by a bunch of policemen?"
Busek lowered his head and muttered in defense, "General, those policemen were highly trained, especially their shooting speed..."
"Silence!" Count Radetzky roared. "You have brought shame upon the imperial army!"
It was no wonder he was furious—Busek had been far too reckless.
If Busek had arranged most of his soldiers in line formation, leaving only two or three hundred skirmishers at the front to harass the enemy, the Walloon police, lacking the confidence to engage a regular army, might have been forced into a stalemate.
Instead, he ordered all his troops to advance in a scattered formation. Under the concentrated fire of the opposing infantry line, they were inevitably crushed.
Radetzky glanced at his pocket watch. The hour hand pointed to 4 p.m.—there was no way they could reach Wavre today.
On top of that, time would have to be spent regrouping the routed soldiers from Busek's force.
He took a deep breath to calm himself, then turned to the messenger. "Regroup the troops. At dawn, the Croat Corps will take care of those policemen.
"Also, report the situation here to His Highness, Prince of Coburg."
"Yes, General!"
The Next Day
Encouraged by their victory the day before, the Walloon police fiercely repelled the first attack from the Croat Corps.
This time, however, the Austrians did not underestimate them. They deployed three regiments in a line formation to engage the police head-on, while three cavalry squadrons harassed the flanks.
Fortunately, the Walloon police had received two six-pound cannons the night before, which once again caught the Austrians off guard.
Yes, the Walloon police had an artillery unit!
However, in the previous battle, they had already suffered nearly 300 casualties.
As the Austrian forces prepared for a second attack, the Chief Superintendent of Wallonia, following the tactics he had learned from the Art of Command, ordered all police forces to retreat to Wavre.
No matter how well-trained they were, they were still police officers responsible for maintaining public order—not soldiers. They also lacked qualified military commanders.
On the other hand, they were facing over ten thousand Austrian regular troops, supported by cavalry and artillery.
Still, their earlier performance—and especially their unexpected use of artillery—made Count Radetzky cautious.
He spent the entire day carefully gathering intelligence, sending hussars to scout Wavre repeatedly. Once he confirmed that there were only about 3,000 policemen in the town, he finally decided to launch an attack.
Southwestern Wallonia – The City of Mons
At a meeting of the Walloon Chamber of Commerce, President Chevenement scanned the room full of council members, raising a newspaper in his hand.
**"I'm sure you've all seen this! The Flemings, in collusion with the Austrian government, are using military force to take control of Wallonia!
"Our police fought bravely north of Wavre and repelled them twice, but there are too many Austrian troops. The police cannot hold Wavre on their own."**
The chamber members all looked at him with grim expressions.
Chevenement slammed the newspaper onto the table.
"These recent riots in Wallonia were also orchestrated by them! Fortunately, I was warned by the French government and sent the police to Wavre—otherwise, even Mons might have fallen into Austrian hands by now!"
Indeed, the French intelligence service had noticed about a month and a half earlier that Dutch-speaking individuals in Wallonia were secretly plotting "something big."
Joseph immediately realized that Austria was likely preparing to take action in Wallonia.
However, instead of interfering directly, he proposed during a General Staff meeting that the Walloon Chamber of Commerce should ignore the rioters and instead concentrate all police forces on preparing for an Austrian invasion.
After careful consideration, Chevenement accepted the suggestion from French intelligence—leading to the Walloon police's ambush of the Austrians.
Seeing the anger growing on the faces of the chamber members, Chevenement raised his voice.
"We have only one choice left: request French assistance and have them drive out the Austrians!"
The council members exchanged glances, whispering among themselves.
An elderly member stood up. "Mr. Chevenement, doing so would jeopardize Wallonia's status as a 'demilitarized zone.'"
Another chimed in. "Yes, it could easily lead to the establishment of a French military administration over Wallonia."
"And the chamber's independence might be lost."
The Walloon Chamber of Commerce had significant authority, operating almost like an independent government. Naturally, they did not want anyone interfering in their affairs.
Chevenement's expression hardened.
"The moment Austrian troops entered Wallonia, the so-called 'demilitarized zone' ceased to exist!"
He then cast a meaningful glance at the council members who had opposed him.
**"Those Dutch- and German-speaking men—their real objective is Wallonia's coal mines and factories.
"Do not forget—we are all French speakers."**
The previously noisy hall fell into complete silence.
Most of these council members were major shareholders in Wallonia's coal mines and ironworks.
The French government, as Wallonia's biggest financial backer, would certainly protect their interests.
The Austrians, however, were interlopers—and there was a high chance they would seize their assets instead.
Compared to Wallonia's supposed "independent administrative rights," their financial holdings were far more important.
Or rather, without their wealth, their authority would soon vanish as well.
After several seconds of silence, a council member raised his hand. "I support requesting French military intervention in Wallonia."
Others immediately followed.
"I agree."
"Let the French come. Austria's rule over Wallonia in the past was far worse than it is now."
"Exactly. The Flemings certainly won't make things any better for us. Only the French can change this situation."
A quarter of the chamber members were already French citizens, and they voiced their agreement without hesitation. The opposition was completely drowned out.
Chevenement motioned for silence and waved his hand.
"Then we shall vote. Those in favor of requesting French military assistance, raise your hands."
Among the 78 council members present, 75 raised their hands.
That Same Afternoon
At noon, Joseph received the Walloon Chamber of Commerce's request for French military intervention via the Chappe telegraph system.
The formal documents were still en route, but that didn't matter—he could mobilize the troops immediately.
Within just 40 minutes, the French Army of Southern Netherlands, stationed in Lille, had already begun its march toward Wavre.
At the same time, the 4th Royal Infantry Division in Artois launched a rapid advance northward along the wooden rail lines.
A total of 23,000 soldiers were now mobilized.
Upper Hesse – Marburg
Before a gathering of hundreds of noblemen, Count Ségur, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, fiercely condemned Austria for violating its agreements, invading the Walloon demilitarized zone, and causing severe destruction there.
Suddenly, his aide quietly approached and whispered a few words in his ear.
Count Ségur nodded, then turned back to the Hessian nobility, raising his arm dramatically.
"Three days ago, the Walloon Chamber of Commerce formally requested the French army to enter Wallonia and protect its demilitarized status!"
(End of chapter.)