At Luxor, the Eighth Division of the rebel army had already set up makeshift fortifications on the spot, quietly awaiting the arrival of the French forces. Inside the command post, Lieutenant Colonel Houtier held a command baton and pointed at the sand table as he said, “According to the scouts’ intelligence reports, the enemy halted their advance about fifteen kilometers away. Clearly, they have already discovered our position. The enemy is highly alert. Cancel the ambush plan immediately.” The French had been entrenched in Egypt for a long time and naturally had cultivated many loyal informants. The appearance of the Eighth Division at Luxor was no secret at all. After suffering a major defeat, the French army had become extremely jittery. Any unusual movement would trigger their alarm, so attempting to ambush them was out of the question. Falkenhayn complained, “Who knows what those fools in the rear were doing. They let a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away for nothing.” The ambush plan was originally based on the assumption that there would be French pursuers coming from behind. Only when the French were being chased would they panic and blindly rush into an ambush. Unfortunately, the rebel forces were slow to act. By the time they realized what was happening, the French had already fled dozens of kilometers away. One slow step led to many more. The rebel army was already terrible at marching efficiently. Once the French pulled away, there was no way the rebels could catch up with them, especially since the French were desperate to escape. The fact that the French were still able to stop and set up camp after noticing something was wrong made it clear that the pressure from the pursuing rebels was minimal at best. Potiorek offered a fair comment: “This is normal. Blowing up the Aswan Dam didn’t just heavily damage the French army, the rebel forces also suffered serious losses. After something like that, panic is inevitable among the rebels, and tensions among their leadership are bound to intensify. The fact that they were able to regroup and catch up so quickly means Lieutenant General Jarrett must have put in a great deal of effort.” Houtier nodded and shifted the topic directly to military operations. “Given the current situation, the overall balance still favors us. No matter how slowly they’re moving, as long as there’s a pursuing force behind them, the French will continue to feel some pressure. In a sense, it’s actually a good thing that we haven’t engaged them directly yet. If we really went into battle and revealed how weak the rebel forces actually are, the French might even make a comeback. If the enemy doesn’t advance, we’ll just wait for them here. Time is on our side. If Adolphe doesn’t want to be caught in a pincer attack between our forces and the rear pursuit, he’ll have to break through this area within five days. We’ve already secured all major routes and set up basic line defenses, but that still isn’t enough. In terms of combat strength, the Eighth Division is at best equivalent to a second-line French infantry regiment. Even with all the advantages we currently have, defeating the enemy head-on is still no easy task. What happens next will test everything you’ve learned. You must adapt flexibly to the battlefield situation if we’re going to have any chance of trapping the enemy here.” Clearly, facing the French head-on for the first time, Lieutenant Colonel Hutier was not feeling at ease. The ever-optimistic Major Potiorek chuckled and said, “Relax, Lieutenant Colonel. We can’t take on the main French force, sure, but a bunch of stragglers and defeated troops? Surely we can handle them. If the scouts weren’t mistaken, more than half of this group doesn’t even have weapons. They’re not going to fight us with firewood, are they? And if things really get out of hand, we can destroy the roads and bridges to slow them down and buy more time for the main rebel forces.” Lieutenant Colonel Hutier rolled his eyes. “Major Potiorek, I hope your performance on the battlefield is as optimistic as your attitude. As for destroying roads and bridges, forget about it. If we do that, the French will just take a detour. From Esna across the Sahara Desert into the Nile River Valley, the narrowest point is just over a hundred kilometers. As long as they’re willing to pay the price, it’s not impossible to cross.” At that point, Hutier suddenly realized what he had overlooked. Then it hit him, splitting their forces to intercept was out of the question. Given the Eighth Division’s pitiful combat strength, dividing troops would be the same as sending them to their deaths. Straussenburg added, “That would be their last resort. The French aren’t prepared for a march in the desert. Charging blindly through the Sahara will definitely come at a heavy cost. Only after confirming that they can’t break through our lines here would they risk crossing the desert.” After hesitating for a moment, Hutier made his decision: “We’ll intercept them first. If we discover that the French have entered the desert, we’ll immediately activate the Bandit Plan. I don’t care about the cities, but all the able-bodied men and women from surrounding towns, villages, and tribes must be conscripted. Then we move quickly along the Nile. We must try to reach the Delta before the French return so that we leave them with nothing but ruins behind…” … The crackle of gunfire rang out, marking the beginning of the battle. With no artillery present, it sounded more like firecrackers going off. Compared to the confident and high-spirited demeanor he had when he arrived, Governor Adolphe now appeared particularly worn out, as if he had aged twenty years. “Governor, it’s too dangerous here, you should—” Before the guard could finish, Adolphe cut him off: “It’s fine. If God wishes to take me early, that would be a blessing.” Even though he wasn’t in France, Adolphe knew full well that many people back home were dying to see him torn to pieces. He could already imagine the grim fate awaiting him once he returned. As a soldier, facing judgment before a military tribunal was far worse than dying honorably on the battlefield. After a moment of silence, Adolphe asked, “Where is Colonel Marceau now?” “Based on the timing, he should be close to crossing the Sahara Desert,” the guard replied. Marching through the desert required an enormous amount of supplies. Without adequate preparation, it was basically a death sentence. Adolphe simply didn’t have the time or resources to get everything ready. There weren’t enough supplies to evacuate the whole army at once, but sending the French soldiers out first was still doable. As for the Egyptian soldiers, they weren’t considered valuable in the first place. It didn’t matter how many were lost. At its peak, the counterinsurgency army could have easily torn through the Eighth Division’s blockade, but not anymore. After surviving the devastation of the flood, the French troops who escaped had lost all of their heavy weaponry. More than two-thirds of the soldiers had even lost their rifles. You cannot blame them as once they fell into the water, saving themselves became the top priority. The weapons, now a burden, were naturally abandoned so that they could escape. The few soldiers who still had their weapons barely had any ammunition left. Although they had requisitioned some arms and bullets from towns along the way, it was nothing more than a drop in the bucket. With fewer than ten rounds per person, every shot counted. Leading a group of battered and demoralized troops, short on both weapons and ammunition, Governor Adolphe was not insane enough to attempt a head-on breakthrough of the enemy’s defenses. War always demands sacrifice. At this critical moment, Adolphe showed his resolve by staying behind with the Egyptian soldiers to draw the enemy’s attention and cover the retreat of the French troops. Of course, they still had to fight. Without making an effort, how could they fool the enemy? If the rebel forces realized that the main French force had already slipped away, they might disregard everything else and march straight for Cairo. And in its current undermanned state, there was no guarantee that Cairo could be defended. If Cairo falls, France’s situation in Egypt will be completely ruined. As the Governor of Egypt, Adolphe still felt responsible. He stayed behind to hold up the rebel forces and buy precious time for the French troops returning to Cairo by an alternate route. Upon hearing this news, Adolphe exhaled in relief. Even a feigned attack consumes ammunition, and by this point in the battle many soldiers had rifles that were little more than a stick with a bayonet attached. Once their weapons and ammunition were depleted, the act would be exposed. Then, no matter how hard they tried, they would have no strength left for combat and their only options would be to flee or be captured. The essential tools for desert marching, camels and water jugs, had already been taken by the French troops who had left earlier. Those remaining would find it very difficult to escape. Just as Adolphe was about to put down his binoculars, his worst fear came true. The enemy launched a counterattack. “This is bad. The enemy has uncovered our ruse. Pass on the order immediately to have the troops shift eastward and rendezvous at Quseer!” someone shouted. This route is not easy. It involves not only crossing a desert but is still far better than having no preparation at all and running headlong into the desert to certain death. … Rabble will always be rabble. After the counterattack was launched, the Eighth Division quickly fell into chaos. Seeing the enemy flee, the rebel soldiers took off in pursuit. They completely ignored the orders from their commanding officers and acted entirely on their own. Hutier was so angry he stomped his feet. From beginning to end, he had never given the order to attack, yet his troops had charged out anyway. Major Straussenburg, who first initiated the counterattack, was just as baffled. He had only ordered a probing counterattack, but somehow it turned into a full-scale assault. Fortunately, the enemy was also in disarray. Otherwise, if they had taken the opportunity to push back, he would have become the laughingstock of the Austrian army. It wasn’t just them. All the Austrian officers in command of the battle were now falling into self-doubt. Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do next? … The almost comical victory had a huge impact on Hutier and the others. Many began to deeply doubt their own military leadership, and the arrogance they had when they first arrived was completely gone. By evening, the rebel soldiers who had gone off in pursuit gradually returned to camp one after another. Among them, the more outstanding ones had several severed heads hanging from their waists. They strutted proudly through the camp, as if showing off their bravery. Those who returned empty-handed lowered their heads and stepped aside, as if too ashamed to face others. Seeing these brutal scenes, the people in the command tent looked visibly unsettled. The older Hutier, after all, had seen a bit more of the world. He spoke calmly, “Don’t be angry. Those with heads hanging from their waists are likely from tribal backgrounds. It’s their tradition to carry the heads of their enemies as proof of their bravery. After spending some time in Africa, you’ll get used to all this. The most savage ones are the cannibal tribes. If you’re ever lucky enough to witness that, you’ll think today’s events are nothing. Still, that was all in earlier times. There are no more dangerous groups like that in Austrian Africa. Perhaps they still exist in the colonies of Britain, France, or Portugal.” Although Hutier appeared calm, he was actually just repeating things he had heard. Even if he had arrived a few years earlier than the others, he had not experienced the height of the colonial campaigns himself. The first to recover was Falkenhayn. He let out a sigh and slowly said, “What a savage world. Still, this might actually be a good thing for our upcoming mission. It’s just a pity that the main French force got away. If we had known earlier how badly they were lacking ammunition, we would have launched the attack ahead of time.”
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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