Chapter 82: A Joke on the Battlefield
If you don’t court death, you won’t die. Macheld clearly ignored the fact that the Tuscan army was weak in combat, and they were immediately suppressed by the Austrian army from the start of the battle.
“Attack!”
“You bastards, quickly get up and attack!”
……
Macheld angrily cursed as the young officers showed great bravery, but the soldiers behaved in a very Italian manner.
They shouted slogans loudly, yet before even seeing a trace of the enemy, they were already lying on the ground pretending to be dead. This was undoubtedly infuriating.
There was no doubt that the lower-ranking soldiers did not want to fight against Austria. Before the outbreak of the War of the First Coalition, Tuscany was still a member of the Holy Roman Empire, and their ancestors were loyal to the Habsburg family.
Even now, Austria still wielded considerable influence in Tuscany. This influence couldn’t be eliminated in a short period of time. The soldiers’ feelings towards Austria were complex.
This is a tragic issue. The anti-Austrian movement in the Italian region was merely initiated by the bourgeoisie for their own interests. The common people, even if they were deceived, did not experience the real pain. They may chant slogans from time to time, but asking them to sacrifice their lives is another matter.
The ones who truly aspire to defeat Austria and unify the Italian region are the capitalists, intellectuals, and nationalists.
To put it bluntly, they had been divided for thousands of years, and everyone had grown accustomed to this way of life.
Otherwise, in history, Austria would not have been able to easily defeat the allied forces of the Italian states in 1848 and regain control over Venice and Lombardy.
“General, we are facing a major offensive from the Austrian main force. Shouldn’t we seek assistance from our allies?” suggested a young officer.
Not everyone has lost their clarity of mind. Even if there were some impulsive decisions made earlier, after the recent battle, everyone has come to their senses and regained their composure.
This expeditionary force from Tuscany, from top to bottom, is incompetent. The senior commanders only know how to strategize on paper, while the junior officers are like immature teenagers. They may be suitable as fearless frontline soldiers, but leading a whole army is a different matter altogether.
“Very well, immediately send someone to request assistance from Marshal Badoglio and order the troops to prepare for a strategic retreat!” Macheld quickly made the decision.
A true man knows when to yield and when to fight. If you can’t face them, you should avoid them. This has been a tradition in Italy - to retreat if overpowered, to surrender if unable to escape.
It’s unclear whether this decline in Italian combat effectiveness began several hundred years ago or more than a thousand years ago. In the era of mercenaries prevailing in continental Europe, Italian mercenaries were notoriously considered the weakest in battle, in stark contrast to their neighbor Switzerland.
……
While the Tuscan army suffered casualties, General Messer, who was responsible for attacking Trento, also encountered troubles.
Of course, since they were the ones initiating the attack and had a force several times larger than the defenders they were not at risk of annihilation. But it became impossible for them to capture Trento.
“General, the enemy’s firepower is too intense. The Second Division has suffered heavy casualties. Major Will requests reinforcements!” The aide-de-camp said solemnly.
With a bang, General Messer’s cup flew out of his hand.
“Idiots! The battle has only just begun, and they have already suffered such heavy losses. Have they encountered the Austrian main force?”
This question remained unanswered, but it was certain that the opposing force couldn't be the main Austrian army, otherwise the tide of battle would have turned.
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“General Messer, perhaps we should temporarily halt the attack and launch a full-scale offensive once the artillery units arrive,” proposed Major Manstu.
Reluctantly, as he was reluctant to deplete his valuable troops, Messer said, “Very well, let’s slow down the assault. We will launch a full-scale attack when the artillery arrives tomorrow.”
……
Unable to secure reinforcements, but receiving the order to temporarily halt the attack, Major Will let out a sigh of relief. The Second Division had suffered the loss of nearly a battalion’s worth of troops in just one morning, a casualty count that the division couldn’t withstand.
Watching the soldiers falling on the charging path, Major Will felt immense heartache and reluctantly gave the order, “Order the troops to retreat!”
The retreat horn sounded, and a bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield. The Sardinian soldiers who had fallen on the charging path suddenly stopped playing dead.
Major Will, who had been devastated by the losses, now became furious. If he couldn’t understand what was happening, he wouldn’t be worthy of being the commander of a division.
“Damn it, these damn bastards! I'll send them all to the military court!” Major Will roared.
Major Will couldn’t help but feel angry. Just moments ago, he had submitted a report to the command headquarters detailing the heavy losses. Now, seeing the soldiers stop playing dead one by one, it was a major blow to his pride.
After tallying the casualties, Major Will’s heart bled. It wasn’t because the losses were too great, but quite the opposite—they were too small. They had launched an attack for the entire morning, resulting in just over twenty deaths and over seventy injuries. And they called that heavy losses? This was a division, not a mere battalion!
The soldiers didn’t suffer many casualties, but the loss of weapons and equipment was far from insignificant.
When they ran back, the Austrian troops didn’t forget to shoot at them from behind, and as a precaution, many soldiers returned empty-handed.
Preliminary estimates showed that in just one morning, the Second Division had lost over 1,300 rifles. If it weren’t for the principle of collective responsibility, Major Will would have wanted to give those damn bastards a good scolding.
Victory? Well, they had probably just depleted some of the enemy’s ammunition and weapons. But they hadn’t even come within a hundred meters of the enemy’s positions. What kind of victory was that?
“General, most of these soldiers were recruited from the Lombardy region, and they are a bunch of cowards. It would not be like this if we replace them with our experienced veterans in the afternoon battle!” reminded a military officer.
Major Will nodded helplessly, hoping that the other soldiers could be braver. If everyone followed the example of those cowards from the morning battle, there would be no point in fighting this battle.
……
Not only were they the ones frustrated, but the Austrian defenders on the other side were even more frustrated.
Colonel Gregory, responsible for defending the first line of defense, was extremely delighted as he watched the enemy fall one after another, thinking that his soldiers had turned into sharpshooters.
However, to his surprise, the situation changed by midday, and the enemy soldiers who were killed suddenly stood up, leaving him infuriated and his face turning pale with anger.
It was so close, with commendations and victory reports ready to be submitted. Fortunately, they were not sent, or else he would have faced the grave accusation of falsely claiming achievements.
The enemy’s actions left Colonel Gregory puzzled. He could only speculate, “Could they be aiming to exhaust our ammunition? But their commander’s tactics are rather amusing. Trento is not lacking in weapons and ammunition, after all.”
“Sir, is it possible that the enemy has some hidden agenda? Perhaps they are trying to lure us out, only to launch a surprise attack and seize our position?” a young officer proposed, displaying a vivid imagination.
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