On July 3, 1866, in the suburbs of Sadowa, there was a drizzle in the early morning, but this would not affect the upcoming war at all. Brothers who belong to the Greater German Cultural Circle will start a battle today. Brothers fight each other.
When the dawn gradually shredded the mist, the Prussian Elbe Army, under the order of General Field, took the lead in attacking from the right wing. The Austrian side never expected that the Prussian army would be weak in numbers. Will take the initiative to launch an attack, and for a while the formation was severely dented.
Not to be outdone, the Austrian General Benedek immediately ordered the Austrian artillery group to start a counterattack. In an instant, hundreds of artillery began to pour tons of steel on the Elbe Army. The sky was filled with the sound of screaming shells and white Smoke traces, and for a moment, the leading troops of the Elbei Army were blown up and turned upside down.
"The Second Artillery Battalion...shoot intensively! Kill these Yankees. Artillery will always be the king of the battlefield and the god of war! Fight and open the gate to hell..."
The mid-19th century was a period of great development in artillery technology. It was during this period that explosive bullets became popular. Black powder was also slowly abandoned at this stage. Austrian military strategists have always attached great importance to artillery. In addition, With the strong support of France, the number of artillery pieces under the Austrian army has now reached a terrifying 800 pieces.
Eight hundred artillery pieces were already quite a terrifying presence in the mid-19th century. This was not the time of World War II. The industrial level of the Western powers is now just that. There are still many deficiencies in steelmaking technology, even in There are also a large number of bronze cannons in the army.
In this era, setting up artillery clusters has always been a waste of money. Later military experts have analyzed why Austria did not popularize breech-loading needle rifles during the Austro-Prussian War. Why still use old muzzle-loading rifled guns?
The answer is really a bit speechless. The reason is very simple. The imperial finances do not allow it. Austria spends a large amount of military funds on artillery, which will naturally slow down the upgrade of individual equipment. Replace all six to seven hundred thousand infantrymen with the latest muskets? Just thinking about it is an astronomical number.
If you invest again, you will naturally reap rewards. It was the emphasis on the artillery unit that made Prussia suffer. The Elbe Army, which was the first to launch the attack, was blown up before it could warm the ground under its buttocks.
There were explosions everywhere, flickering firelights everywhere, solid artillery shells mixed with a large number of explosive shells, huge shock waves swept across the battlefield, the Prussian soldiers were thrown into the air like rag dolls, their limbs were broken and it rained. Falling down the same way.
The soil after the drizzle was soft and moist. It turned into showers of mud rain due to the explosion of the artillery, and fell cracklingly. All the soldiers for several kilometers saw this strange scene.
At this time, General Benedek, the commander-in-chief of the Austrian army, was riding a tall horse and patrolling the entire battlefield under the protection of his personal guards. His telescope was always focused on the place where the sound of artillery was the loudest.
"Very good, very good. The artillery's firing rhythm is controlled very well... Now, immediately order the Saxon regiment to retreat back, and immediately enter the high ground to attack using the terrain. It's time to make these arrogant Prussians suffer... …”
Under the general's order, the Saxon Army, which was confronting the Elbe Army, began to retreat backwards, and soon entered the high ground and began to shoot at the Prussian army from a high position.
The dual attack of artillery and rifle bullets put the seven battalions of Prussian troops who were the first to enter the battle into a bitter battle, and the number of casualties soared rapidly.
"Stand back, order the soldiers to abandon their positions and stop attacking..." At the critical moment, General Field finally issued the order to withdraw. This exploratory attack finally ended in the failure of the Prussian army.
The strength of seven battalions is simply a drop in the ocean in such a large battle. Regardless of victory or defeat, it will not have a great impact on the overall battle situation. Just when the Elbe Army turned to defense, Old Prince Karl's First Army also began to take action. , and this time, a large army of 100,000 people launched a collective attack, and the entire military formation moved forward steadily like a mountain bearing down on top.
At about 9 o'clock in the morning, the Prussian 7th Division took the lead in breaking away from the main column and launching a charge towards the Austrian side. His target was a dense forest directly ahead. If the Prussian army occupied this forest, they would naturally get a naturally formed defensive position.
However, he did not expect that the cunning General Benedek would actually deploy two armies in the woods instead of two divisions as previously indicated by intelligence.
Although the overall quality of the Prussian soldiers was slightly higher, and although the Prussian army's breech-loaded foreign guns were more advanced, the huge gap in strength could not be ignored, and the 7th Division suddenly fell into a brutal jungle battle.
With one division against two armies, I am afraid that all military experts in the world will believe that the Seventh Division will definitely lose. Even the Austrian commander, General Benedek, shook his head with regret.
"Stupid, really stupid. If Old Moltke's command level is only this little, I'm afraid the battle plan I made before is a bit unnecessary... Order them to speed up the attack and destroy the 7th Division. What I want is total annihilation rather than total annihilation. Defeat, remember that the enemy's 7th Division is still responsible for protecting the left wing..."
"As long as the 7th Division is eliminated, our two armies can easily bypass the enemy's left flank and form a semi-encirclement situation. At that time, the balance of victory will definitely belong to us..."
At this time, the adjutant beside him asked uneasily, "Your Excellency General, we have an absolute advantage in terms of strength and artillery on the main battlefield now, but what I'm worried about is..."
"You mean the Second Army? Are you worried about William Karl?" General Benedek asked.
"Yes, that is a legion of 120,000 people. Almost all the elites of Prussia are concentrated in his hands. If he suddenly appears on the flank of the battlefield..."
"Impossible!" the general shouted sternly. "Now the Second Army is forty kilometers away from the battlefield. Do you think they can grow wings and fly over? What's more, all the telegraph lines have been destroyed. I'm afraid little Karl He didn’t even know that the war had started, do you think he has the eyes of God?”
"Austria will not fail. As long as we fight quickly and defeat Old Moltke before the Second Army arrives, we will be invincible! Of course I don't have the luxury of annihilating the Prussian Army. I just want The victory in the Battle of Sadowa, as long as we win here, there will be a stage for diplomats behind..."
"With a victory, coupled with the adjustment of Britain and France, we in Austria can become the masters of the Greater German Circle! This is what I want, and this is what we must get!"
"Yes! Your Excellency, General, Austria will win! The Emperor will win!" There was a chorus of voices all around.
However, General Benedek was hard-spoken. He was still very worried about the Prussian Second Army. He knew very well how effective the Prussian army was. Look at the Prussian Seventh Division. Facing two armies in the jungle, During the pincer attack, it actually lasted for an hour without collapse.
What's more, the second legion is led by the crown prince himself, and the elites of the entire country are concentrated there. Once this iron army appears on the battlefield, the consequences will be disastrous.
Benedek shook his head and called the herald beside him to whisper a few words. Soon the cavalryman ran to the rear with the latest order. In less than fifteen minutes, a detachment of the reserve force nicknamed the Thorn Flower was The armored division began to move to the west and soon broke away from the main battlefield.
Just as Sadowa was engaged in a bitter battle, the two mixed battalions led by Xiao Letian were beginning a forced march to the west along the pre-laid telegraph line.
"Reporting to the commander, the telegraph line ahead was artificially cut off. A gap of one hundred meters long appeared in total, and the body of our army's messenger was found..."
"Where are they? Hurry up and lead the way..." When Xiao Letian arrived on horseback, he found that the bushes on the side of the path had been cleared to create an open space, and the bodies of two Prussian soldiers fell to the ground.
Mr. Long was a master at examining injuries. He easily dismounted from his horse and turned over the body to take a closer look. "It was a penetrating wound from a bayonet. One blow was fatal. This shows that the enemy was hiding in the bushes and launched a surprise attack. There was no trace of a struggle at the scene." , indicating that the deceased’s attention was entirely on the telegraph line at that time..."
Long Ye's analysis was recognized by everyone. All the Prussian soldiers present were excited, especially Leo, the army reporter, who took out his camera and started taking pictures.
"This is the evidence. I want people all over Europe to know how despicable the Austrian army is..."
Xiao Letian frowned and thought for a while and suddenly said, "Jonas! Give me the map, and then find a few intelligence officers who are familiar with the terrain..."
After a while, a huge map was spread out in the open space, which detailed the topography of the Sadowa area.
"Who can tell me the general direction of the telegraph line? Who knows telegraph technology? Oh, do you understand? Okay, you can use a pencil to roughly mark the direction of the telegraph line... OK, OK, very good!"
Xiao Letian used his fingers to advance on the map little by little along the lines drawn by himself. From time to time, he would ask various questions about the terrain. After a full fifteen minutes, Xiao Letian put away his fingers and clenched his fist and punched it hard. earth.
"The Austrian army's intention is very obvious. They just want to defeat us one by one. They want to defeat us before the second army arrives. Now the Prince's side is more than 40 kilometers away from the main battlefield. I'm afraid they don't know about us at all. There's already a fight here..."
"If it goes as expected, the telegraph line ahead may be in pieces. It's impossible to hope for repair. Damn it, Benedek is really an old ginger, and his methods are really vicious!" Xiao Letian's mind He didn't have many memories of the Austro-Prussian War. He only knew that the melee with nearly a million people on the battlefield lasted only seven weeks and ended with Prussia's victory.
But how did the battle proceed during these seven weeks? And how can the meager strength of these two battalions make a difference in such a large-scale battle?
No one gave Xiao Letian the answers to these questions. The only one he could rely on was himself.
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