The Battle of Sadowa was the decisive battle in the entire Austro-Prussian War. Although the two countries did not concentrate all their armies here, none of the elite troops of the two countries' armies escaped. They had already been assembled.
The war became a tug-of-war from the beginning, and Prussia in this era did not have the majesty and domineering power of later Germany, and they were still cautious in the use of troops.
The 7th Division of the Prussian Army is now locked in a life-and-death struggle. In the dense woods, two Austrian armies are attacking them. If it weren't for the complex terrain and the elite performance of the Mauser rifles, the Prussian left wing would have been unprotected. .
The tenacious 7th Division used their lives to delay the pace of the Austrian army. The silent soldiers brought the Prussians' tenacious character to the extreme. No matter how great the casualties were, their shooting rhythm was still fast, accurate and ruthless.
Thanks to the large number of breech-loading rifles equipped by the Prussian army, when the Austrian army slowly fired one shot, the Prussians could already fire three or four shots, and the breech-loaded Mauser could also allow the Prussians to lie down and kneel. Reload ammunition, even hide behind a tree to load bullets.
With the support of this revolutionary weapon, the 7th Prussian Division tenaciously withstood the attacks of the two armies, held on to the jungle, and also covered the left flank of the entire Prussian Army's battlefield.
The plight of the 7th General Division is just a microcosm of the entire battlefield. General Benedek is indeed a hero, and he can command the 200,000 Austrian troops like an arm and a finger.
The Prussian Army fought too hard. The Elbe Army and the First Army swept forward from village to village, and they had to pay huge sacrifices for every meter they advanced. In the end, King William I of Prussia, who was watching the battle further behind the headquarters, couldn't stand it anymore. He issued a strict order to General Moltke and ordered the First Army to speed up immediately. The helpless Chief of Staff then ordered the First Army to speed up to the battlefield. Rush.
However, he never expected that General Benedek would insidiously use a large number of smoke bombs. The First Army Corps was quickly covered in smoke. Before they could rush out, the Austrian artillery group began intensive shooting.
This was a dense fire without aiming at all. The Austrian artillery only had to fire wildly at the smoke belt. The number of casualties of the bombed First Army began to rise crazily.
Old Moltke was almost going crazy, but after all, he was just a chief of staff. He could order everyone on the battlefield, but he could not be cold-hearted to the king. He could only accept the chaos of His Majesty the king.
"Charge, the First Army accelerates its charge. It must rush through this smoke belt..." Under the strict order of Old Moltke, the two divisions in the smoke belt began to charge with their eyes closed, and soon rushed out of the death line. Smoke strips.
However, he did not expect General Benedek to actually arrange an elite regiment outside the smoke belt early. When the Prussian army just showed up, guns and cannons were fired from the position, and scores of Prussian soldiers were mopped down.
The inertia of history is sometimes so stubborn. Even if Xiao Letian, the time-traveling butterfly, flaps his wings desperately, events that should have happened in history still stubbornly want to get on stage. The Prussians encountered in the Battle of Sadowa in the Austro-Prussian War I actually went through a lot of difficulties one after another.
"Oh, Old Moltke, my friend, not only have you prepared for this war for many years, but I have also been preparing for this war for a long time. It seems that you are not as prepared as I am for this fateful confrontation... Hahaha , before the Second Legion arrives, I will definitely defeat you..."
In the general headquarters behind Austria, General Benedek was drawing the situation on the map in his own handwriting. When he saw that his troops successfully completed the mission, he was in a good mood and even whistled leisurely.
Just when he was excited about the imaginary Prussian army's defeat, suddenly the guard company commander's report came from outside the headquarters: "Report to your Excellency, the general, the messenger sent by the Thorn Flower Division has arrived, requesting the general's summons!" "
"Huh? Thorn Flower Division? Why did they send messengers? Didn't they establish a defensive position for such a long time? Otherwise, why would they not use telegraph lines and let the cavalry report military information?"
General Benedek, who whispered in surprise, shouted "Let him in..."
The curtain of the military tent was opened, and a sweaty cavalryman walked into the headquarters and gave a military salute: "General, the Thorn Flower Division was blocked by the enemy on Shiqiao Highlands. We fought bloody battles for an hour and failed to capture the high ground. Please, please The general sent reinforcements... Count Tablis said that they don't need you to rescue them, but I hope you can prepare for a rainy day and set up another line of defense behind them..."
"We...we, the Thorn Flower Masters, will probably not be able to complete our mission!"
With a snap, General Benedek crushed the red and blue pencil in his hand. The sharp graphite tip pierced his palm, and drops of bright red blood fell on the map.
"What did you say? Tell me again? It's almost twelve o'clock at noon, and you haven't even occupied a small high ground? Are you pigs and dogs? Or is it that Prussia has arranged an army of troops? To stop you?"
The general's scolding was so unpleasant that the soldier's face turned as red as pig's liver, but he had no way to refute and could only whisper, "I'm sorry, General, we have failed to live up to your expectations...Shiqiao Highlands! There are only two people on Shiqiao Highlands." There are two battalions of troops, and the leader is a Chinese, the Prime Minister of Ryukyu, Xiao Letian, who went to war with the French!"
"Xiao Letian?" Benedek was stunned. It took him three seconds to find the Ryukyu Prime Minister who had humiliated the French from his memory bank.
"How could it be him? He actually joined in? Didn't the intelligence analysis say that he was just here to watch the battle?"
It's not that Xiao Letian is not famous enough, but that General Benedek never imagined that a group of Chinese would actually get involved in the battle for hegemony in the heart of Europe, and that they would be so involved.
"Damn it, how much benefit did Prussia give to these Chinese people? To make them work so hard, otherwise who wins or loses between Prussia and Austria is none of your business!"
Benedek had been listening to the good news all morning, but now he was stung deeply by Xiao Letian's thorn. He didn't know how to get an unknown feeling suddenly welling up in his heart.
The staff officer next to them looked at the perverted commander-in-chief, looked at each other, and then tried to persuade them, "Your Excellency General, we only have two battalions of troops. Even if the Thorn Flower Division has a slight setback, the final victory will definitely be ours. The old earl is not an easy person to deal with..."
"No, no, no, this battle is really important. What Austria's future national destiny will be depends on today. If we lose this war, I'm sure we won't be included in the list of world powers in the future. name!"
Benedek's heavy tone infected everyone present. Austria is originally a mountainous country, and the speed of development without maritime interests is very slow. If it were not for the lingering power of the Millennium Holy Roman Empire, it is estimated that Britain and France would not use it now. Look them in the eye.
The only thing Austria can rely on now is the army. The Army of Glory, which was inherited from the Holy Roman Empire, is Austria's last force to shock Europe. If the army loses, Austria's national destiny will surely fall to the bottom.
General Benedek's worries are reality in real history. After Austria's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, its national fortunes collapsed and never recovered. It was not until after World War I that the national parliament even abolished the Habsburg family's right to inherit the throne and established a republic.
Later in World War II, Hitler even annexed the entire Austria. It was not liberated by the Allies until the end of World War II. By that time, the entire Austrian people gave up the idea of fighting for hegemony and quietly Live your own little life in the heart of Europe.
But Austria was once powerful, and the Holy Roman Empire once ruled all of Europe. They also had dreams of competing for hegemony, and they also risked their lives to fight for their national dreams.
In this battle for national destiny, General Benedek will not allow defeat, and he will never allow the dream of the entire nation to be shattered in his own hands.
He stared at the map with sharp eyes and said hoarsely, "The assault plan has been launched ahead of schedule. We can't wait any longer!"
Just when the Austrian army was about to launch operations, coincidentally, in the Prussian headquarters on the opposite side of the battlefield, information about the bloody battle at Stone Bridge was also transmitted.
"What did you say? Please speak louder..." Old Moltke, Chief of Staff, rushed to the door of the headquarters, grabbed the ranger by the collar, and sprayed his face with angry saliva.
"The Eastern Task Force Battalion dared to go into battle without my order? They actually deployed defenses on Shiqiao Heights? Their two battalions wanted to withstand the attack of the Thorn Flower Division? And you just said that they... they actually withstood the attack. Live? There are still sounds of gunfire and gunfire?"
The ranger who was hit by a series of questions was speechless and just nodded frequently, "Yes, yes... yes, I followed the routine plan to scout the edge of the battlefield, and found the Thorn Flower Division's guard post one kilometer away from the Stone Bridge Highlands. I will not admit it wrong, I have seen the emblem of the Thorn Flower Master..."
"There are too many enemies. The entire battlefield is controlled by countless guard posts. I can only observe from a distance. What appears in the telescope is the military flag of the special mixed battalion, and there is also a weird military flag with Chinese characters. , I think that must be the Chinese people’s own flag..."
"The sound of artillery on the battlefield was like thunder, and the sound of gunfire was like rain. From a distance of one kilometer, I could even hear people's shouts of killing when they charged. The battlefield was murderous... I am also a veteran, and I can feel the fighting inside. How intense! Sir... those Chinese people are really working hard, they are really fighting!"
When Old Moltke heard this, his vision suddenly darkened, and he almost fell down. The cavalryman in front of him quickly helped him sit down. At this time, Bismarck could not sit still anymore, and quickly took out the silver flagon and asked the chief of staff to drink. Take a bite.
Old Maoqi sighed, "Xiao Letian is serious. No matter whether we win or lose, we have already owed a debt that we cannot repay! Benedek is really powerful. He has seized the opportunity very well..."
Bismarck said anxiously, "Do we still have reserve cavalry? Send them out. We can't let Xiao Letian die here. It will cause diplomatic disputes... Even if there are no disputes, if the world sees our Kingdom of Prussia coming over, Even the foreign diplomats who helped us can’t protect us, which will make all the elites lose confidence!”
"Reserves? You want cavalry?" Old Moltke rubbed his temples in pain. "In Sadowa, our two corps only have a total of 120,000 people, while the Austrian army opposite has as many as 220,000. What do you want?" Where can I find the reserves... Moreover, His Majesty just ordered me to speed up the assault. Now the front is already in a bitter battle. Even if I want to draw out the troops, I can't get them out of the battle!"
"What can we do? Damn it..." Bismarck was as anxious as a trapped animal, wandering back and forth in the headquarters. At this moment, another ranger rushed in with sweat on his back.
"Report...Sir, the Austrian army suddenly launched a local counterattack. The 7th Division was attacked by a battalion of the enemy. The 7th Division was caught off guard and was driven out of the jungle. Our left wing was shaken...Now the Austrian army is taking advantage of the victory. Come on, our left wing will collapse!"
Note: The details of the Battle of Sadova that took place in this chapter are all real. In fact, in the process of great powers competing for hegemony, countries like Austria once had their own dreams of becoming a powerful country. But it is a pity that their dreams were shattered. The harsh jungle laws only allow a few strong people to exist.
All powerful countries come to power by stepping on the corpses of countless countries. This cruel reality will probably not change for tens of millions of years. Although it is sad, there is nothing we can do about it.
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