Beckforf - the aftermath

Once Colonel Jolais men arrived, it was only a matter of minutes before the road was cleared and they could check on the rearguard. Twyth had heard quite intense firing and then all had gone quite. He feared the worst, but hope that perhaps the Poles had driven off their assailants who could not have been that numerous.

Along with the French troops they rode into an area covered with dead bodies both Frundsberg Militia and Poles with the latter in the majority. Obviously there were not enough bodies to account for the complete battalion, but nothing could be heard or seen.

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Captain Fitou was in hot pursuit, the Freihussaren had picked up the riflemen but with the extra burden they were sure to catch them. Ahead the rough track dipped into another hollow.

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Lieutenant von Zendabrau felt all was going well as they picked up the Freishutze and rode away from the approaching voltigeurs, but then French Chasseurs appeared and they were gaining rapidly.

Then at the bottom of a dip the mortar wagon became stuck in the mire of a small stream. “Grab that man” Otto shouted at Seamus “and leave the wagon”. O’Mally who was one of the few without a Freishutze doubled up rode swiftly over to the wagon. The bombardier was scrabbling madly in the back of the wagon and Seamus thought he would have to rescue him by force, but he looked up winked and said “wait a moment”. Just as the Chasseurs descended into the dip he climbed onto Seamus’s horse and they rode off. Luckily a couple of shots from the Freishutze deterred the leading Chasseurs from following too closely.

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Captain Fitou waved his men onwards as he stopped to inspect their prize, that troublesome mortar. Moments later his men returned to find little left of their latest commander as the wagon had violently exploded.

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Updates will be rather intermitant over the next couple of weeks as I will be away from a computer most of the time.