November 25th, 1799

Marshal Lugo had received a letter from the two other legions in charge of conquering Harmania, the country they were currently stuck in.

The sappers weren't able to cross the Yves river on time. The Cruentus legion was, therefore, still close to the border. And although the Infensus legion had occupied Hepzburg, the town of Latavia was still under control of the Ruhmnians.

This meant one thing: The legion he was in charge of, Castigatio, was the one who had advanced the most through the foreign territory. In other words, they were the main hope of the republican army to conquer the country.

And they couldn't leave the capital until winter was over.

—We are fucked —Charlie commented, once Francis told him about these facts, which he had learned about in a private meeting with Lugo—. Our men barely have enough food to eat. Winter is basically upon us. Their boots are ruined. Their coats are torn, and their fabrics are nearly translucent, after being washed and sewed so many times. Let's not even talk about our weapons!...

—Our situation is... complicated. I know —Francis massaged his face, then exhaled—. But we still can win the war and conquer Harmania to ourselves. We just have to push through...

—Push through? We have been pushing through! For months! Years! And our troops are exhausted! Why can't we just return to Patolovsk or Islovak and spend the winter there, instead of trying to face it here, alone, away from our allies?!

—Orders from Lugo, I'm afraid. He wants us to stay in the capital until the other legions arrive...

—He wants us to freeze to death! That's what he wants!... If Laupin was here...

—Laupin was just a general. He wouldn't be able to do anything about this situation —Francis pointed out—. Besides, walking back to the border now isn't a good idea at all. Because by the time we reach it, the snow will have melted and the soil, become mud. Do you know how hard it will be to cross the terrain by then?...

—So what? You rather freeze your balls off?

—We can't leave —Francis insisted—. Not now. You know we can't... Also, we've advanced the front line by kilometers and if we return now, all of this progress will be lost.

—I'd rather lose progress than lose men.

—You and me both.

—You don't sound like you care.

—I do, but again... —the general sighed—. We have no choice on the matter, so let's leave it at that.

—MONSIEUR! —a young men ran inside Francis's room in the city hall, without even asking permission to enter—. WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!

In a heartbeat the general grabbed his belt, his guns and ran outside, to the hallway, along with Charlie. On their way out of the building, they accidentally crashed with Luckner and Munsch.

—What on God's good earth is happening now? —he asked.

—General Ivánovich and his corps were spotted to the west —Munsch replied—. I saw them through my window, and warned everybody about his approach.

—How many men are with him? —Charlie asked next.

—About 70.000?

—Lord...

—Yes... It's bad —Munsch's worried face became even more distraught as he remembered the sight he was met with earlier, as he stared into the open fields around the city—. This will either be a day of glory or of devastating pain. There is no in-between.

—Let's do what we can to avoid that second option —Luckner added, and increased the velocity of his steps.

The group finally made their way out of the city hall and reached the city's central square. There, Obermann was already putting order into chaos, while Lugo, frozen in place, looked at Arquette with visible fear in his eyes.

—FINALLY! You've arrived! —Obermann exclaimed, then began handling his orders—. Munsch, take over the cannons in the Kallegan castle! Squash those roaches in the field like the filthy bastards they are! Luckner, meet up with general Santerre on the frontline! He'll give you more instructions there! Forestier!

—Yes?

—Find your commanders, your men, and do the same as Luckner!

Francis nodded and took off right as his superior officer finished talking. He was in charge of the 4th brigade of the 2nd corps, and he knew his men were resting at the city's mills. Finding them wasn't hard at all.

Convincing them to join the fight however, was the real problem.

—Monsieur, our mates are dropping like flies ever since we left home!

—We haven't had a proper full meal in weeks!

—And we haven't gotten paid yet!

—Yeah!

—I know. And I understand that —the general tried to calm them down.

—I don't think you do, monsieur.

—We're tired!...

—I will write to Laupin, after the battle is over —he said—. I will ask him, and the National Convention, for provisions and I will demand a better treatment for all of you, because I know you need it with upmost urgency.

—And you really believe that will work?

—The Convention doesn't care about us, monsieur!

—But I do —Francis replied, calmly—. And if I don't get a good enough response from them, I will order our retreat back to the border once the winter is done, even if that costs me my career.

Charles and Jacques —who had returned from his trip to Patolovsk safe and sound— stared at him in disbelief. The general couldn't be serious. If he decided to leave Harmania at the high of the conflict between the Ruhm empire and their homeland, he'd be stripped down of all of his medals and honors, and he'd be forever known as a traitor and a coward.

—I will not let you die here —was his only reasoning.

Most of his soldiers understood the true value of his promise, and the weight of its consequences. And because of that, they agreed to step forward and fight for him. They believed in Francis' words and in his honesty, more than they believed in Lugo's. Which was unfortunate for the marshal, but great for the general.

—Alright, monsieur... —one of his captains sighed—. What do you need us to do?

Francis took a deep breath in, and out.

—Get in formation —he said to the man, before grabbing his sword and pointing it up, towards the sky—. MEN OF THE 4TH BRIGADE!... ATTENTION! —his soldiers quickly assembled into lines, getting ready to move. He waited until everyone was well situated before continuing:— ON THE COUNT OF THREE WE BEGIN TO MARCH! I WILL LEAD YOU TO WHERE WE MUST GO! ONE!... TWO!... THREE!

The sound of nearly then thousand boots hitting the ground marked the start of Francis' involvement in the battle. He deployed his brigade to the west, where general Santerre and major general Munsch were already fighting against their foes, aided by Luckner's cavalry.

The chaos of the battle was such, that Francis had no time to ask for orders -as Obermann had instructed him to do-, and had to act on his own accord. Noticing that the left wing of the Ruhmnians was poorly protected, since they had concentrated most of their army to the right, the general thought it was wiser to strike it first.

He told Jacques to pin their rivals with suppressive fire, while himself and Charlie attacked the soldiers at close range. This strategy worked, and about half an hour later, the left wing was gone. The survivors of the attack either fled, or dropped their weapons in defeat, too injured and tired to move.

Francis then used a trumpeter to inform Jacques it was time to regroup:

—Play "Gloire à la République".

—Yes, monsieur.

The young man put his instrument to his mouth and started his performance.

Hearing the faint notes of the song amidst the loud and explosive sounds of the firing cannons, Jacques understood the message, and began moving forward with his regiment. He saw Francis lead his own forces towards the packed right wing, and visually understood what the general wanted to do: concentrate their forces there, and fight until the Ruhmnians retreated.

But a surprise strike of an enemy calvary squadron delayed Francis from fulfilling his plan. Luckner quickly noticed the problem, and sent one of his squadrons of cuirassiers to deal with the rival riders.

Francis and his forces retreated a few meters, to give Luckner space to fight, and finally were reunited with Jacques. Then, his full brigade tried to outflank the Ruhmnians again. This time, they were successful.

Arquette arrived next, and offered him support on the assault. They ended up breaking the enemy formation, and forcing a small number of infantry soldiers to retreat.

The remaining Ruhmnians, knowing they were losing the battle despite their impressive numbers, thanks to the flexibility of the republican army and their determination to always win, no matter the cost, were forced to flee.

But Obermann didn't want to let them go. And Kottac convinced him to follow his guts. So, the chase began again.

This was their biggest mistake of the day, because they were led straight into a trap. Running after the enemy took them to a small hill, on which the Ruhmnian's 8th corps were waiting for them, ready for a counterattack.

The republican army was destroyed by their heavy artillery and their nearly continuous musket fire.

Their hussars were killed. Luckner managed to pull his cuirassiers back, but couldn't avoid the fate of the first group. Half of Munsch's division was lost after his charge. Members of Santerre's brigade were also blow to pieces.

And after watching this brutal assault, Obermann realized finally realized just how high the stakes were, and how useless was the slaughter. And so, he decided to give his men a new, more urgent order: Retreat. Immediately.

Kottac, however, was blinded by his anger. He wanted to keep moving forward. And although his thirst for blood was justified, after witnessing the destruction of his homeland by the soldiers of the Ruhmnian emperor, this was ultimately what also got him killed.

Francis saw the Divisionäri's head bloom like a red flower in the middle of the white, frozen field, and knew right then and there that they had lost this battle. It was time to regroup and go back to their base.

As the man's blood pooled over the snow, the general screamed at his men to move back, and honored his promise to save their lives, even if at the cost of his own.

According to the future recollections of Francis' own soldier, that sorrowful day he'd been the first member of his brigade to reach the base of the hill, and the last one to escape the enemy fire. He made sure everyone made it out of there safely, before securing his own life.

And that fact was the only thing that stopped their morale from dropping even lower than it already had.

--------------------

AN: Another little drawing of Francis...