, his assault battalion has been performing well throughout the morning battle. He can complete all tasks but is definitely not outstanding. He exists silently like a screw in the 200,000 legion. You may You won't notice him, but this huge military machine is indispensable for such a screw.
A screw is a screw. Even if he is important, he will not attract people's attention. The Prussian intelligence agency will not notice him. His existence is just a paragraph in a thick intelligence file.
His colleagues in Austria will not pay too much attention to him. After all, the strength of a battalion is simply insignificant on such a grand battlefield.
It's a pity that everyone underestimated Battalion Commander Bok and also underestimated General Benedek. Just today, when the general received information about the unfavorable battle of the Thorn Flower Division, he ordered the mobilization of these killers without the slightest hesitation.
Under Benedek's secret arrangement, he deployed more than ten sharp knife battalions in advance among the 200,000-strong army. God knows how he selected and inspired morale. When his order was issued, these screws suddenly transformed. It actually turned into a bone-penetrating awl.
"Warriors of the Empire, the time has come for us to sacrifice our lives. Follow me and charge forward... pierce the enemy's formation and charge!" Battalion Commander Bok didn't need to motivate his brothers at all. A whole battalion of soldiers was actually there. The reorganization had been completed before the war, and all of the more than 300 people were dead soldiers.
These are the most loyal group of elders to the Kingdom of Austria and His Majesty the King, and the Kingdom has also given them the greatest rewards and honors after victory. Soldiers who have been brainwashed by money and belief have no fear in their hearts. In their fanatical eyes, they only have the desire for victory.
More than a dozen sharp knife battalions launched a desperate charge towards the Prussian position at almost the same moment. If you look down from the sky, you will see that on the long Austrian position that stretches for more than ten kilometers, ten charging angles composed of crowds are forming, shouting to kill. The sound doubled at that moment.
The Prussian army was caught off guard and was beaten with only the ability to parry and not fight back. Looking at the Austrian soldiers who rushed forward with bayonets in their hands to fight hand-to-hand with fanaticism, countless Prussian army positions even retreated on a small scale, and the battle situation suddenly became It became extremely critical.
Sharp Knife Battalion, this is the most top-secret trump card in Benedek's plan. Even if more than ten battalions are wiped out in his plan, the most brutal hand-to-hand combat can also greatly deter the morale of the Prussian army. .
By that time, if our numbers are superior to Prussia's, our morale is superior, and we have the upper hand in the number of artillery, then even if the Prussians have sophisticated rifles, the victory will eventually go to Austria.
Benedek's plan was very successful, especially that of Battalion Commander Bock, who was the sharpest of all sharp knives. Opposite him was the Prussian 7th Division, which was guarding the forest, and was the protector of the entire Prussian army's left flank.
"Charge and defeat the 7th Division...let our vanguard outflank it, crush the Prussian left wing and make them collapse...Long live Austria! Long live the King!"
"Long live!" the soldiers shouted wildly and leapt through the jungle. No matter how hard and dense the Mauser rifles from the opposite side were, none of these fanatical soldiers retreated.
At this time, the 7th Division of the Prussian Army had been holding on in the woods for two hours. The morale of the army was very delicate. One step forward might mean that the momentum was like a rainbow and the momentum was overwhelming, while a step back might mean that it collapsed completely.
The soldiers were very tired. The enemy's shouts of killing and the wails of the wounded were constantly tormenting their nerves. How could they withstand such a group of murderers at this time?
With just one charge, the command structure of the 7th Division was disrupted. The enemy and we were immediately engaged in a melee. The exhausted Prussian soldiers did not last for even a quarter of an hour before they were forced out by the crazy melee fighting of the Poker Battalion. jungle.
Taking advantage of your illness to kill you, the rest of the Austrian army, encouraged by Poker's battalion, launched a frantic attack on the 7th Division. The entire left wing of the Prussian army was in danger.
"God! Benedek is a lunatic. He actually arranged a group of dead soldiers? He actually wants to use the most primitive hand-to-hand assault to destroy our morale?" Old Moltke in the Prussian Army Command Headquarters was going crazy. His It felt like someone had stuffed a handful of burning thatch into his chest, and the spicy smell sprayed straight out from his nostrils.
But at the most critical moment, the old general's aristocratic bearing, which he had cultivated through a lifetime of studying and cultivating his character, once again gained the upper hand, and he gradually calmed down from his rage.
"Send the order and tell the Seventh Division that I believe they can hold our army's left flank. The brave soldiers of Prussia will not give up under this setback..."
"Also, you tell them... Just tell them that on the Western Stone Bridge Highlands, the two Chinese battalions are also locked in a bitter battle with the enemy being outnumbered. They have not taken a step back until now, and they are also In hand-to-hand combat, they withstood the siege of a division with their bayonets alive..."
Lao Maoqi slapped his palm on the table and shouted, "Those are friendly troops! Those are guest troops! Those are the Chinese who have just been defeated by the British and French. Their domestic civil war has not subsided until now... Even they Even if they risk their lives to fight, should our glorious Prussian regiment become deserters?"
"Go! Convey my original words to all the officers and soldiers of the 7th Division! Immediately..."
Amid Old Moltke's roar, the telegraph room began to send telegrams, and the cavalry delivering the order began to gallop towards the left wing of the position, with duplicate military orders flying straight towards the 7th Division.
When the military order was conveyed to the 7th Division, after a brief silence, the entire division roared like wild beasts. The retreat finally stopped, and everyone from the division commander, brigade commander, regiment commander, battalion commander... all pressed forward. , the entire 7th Division shared the same hatred of the enemy, and at that moment they made up their minds.
"Either the whole army is annihilated and the enemy rushes over on our corpses, or we are nailed here firmly. No matter whether there are ten thousand or one hundred thousand people on the opposite side, we cannot take a step back..."
"Soldiers! Do you still remember the Chinese soldiers who rescued orphans on the Hamburg fire? Do you still remember the Chinese regiment who fought bloody battles on the French-Swiss border? They led a group of rookies from the Hamburg recruit camp and blocked the stone bridge heights with only 700 people. was attacked by an Austrian heavy armored division..."
"Even the Prussian guests are risking their lives to fight. Are we Prussian men all eunuchs? Warriors, there is nothing important except death for a hundred years! Fight with them..."
At that moment, no one paid attention to the command system anymore. Now even the division commander rushed to the front line with his guard company. Every minute and every second, officers died on the front line. It was because of this crazy energy. , they successfully withstood the hand-to-hand assault of the Bok Battalion, and also withstood the pincer attack of the two armies.
"Sniper...at eleven o'clock on the battlefield...that's the commander of Battalion Bok...shoot him to death..." In the chaotic battlefield, Commander Bok finally revealed his whereabouts. Three Prussian snipers had already Locked him.
Bang bang bang, after three gunshots, the brave Colonel Poker fell in a pool of blood, and the Prussian left wing was finally stabilized.
Inside the headquarters, General Moltke's face remained cold. Even the military news that the front line had stabilized did not make him relax at all. His eyes were wandering around the map like a hawk.
Beside him, the iron-blooded Prime Minister Bismarck still had a little bit of his former unruliness at this time. All his attention was now focused on General Moltke's face. If the general's expression is more relaxed, his mood will be better. If the general's expression is more cold, the string in his heart will become more tense.
Bismarck is well aware that laymen cannot lead experts. Although he has experience in the army, his ability is as high as that of a division commander. In a big battle like this where hundreds of thousands of people are strangled together, his ability is simply not the best. not enough.
The iron-blooded Prime Minister, his stage is still in domestic affairs. In diplomacy, he knows very well where his strengths and weaknesses are, so at this moment his respect for Chief of General Staff Moltke is definitely from the heart.
"General! Hasn't the front been stabilized? Why are you still frowning? Don't worry, we Prussia will not fail. Even if Sadowa suffers a small defeat, I can still mobilize 600,000 reserve soldiers for you... "
Old Maoqi sighed and waved his hand to stop his old friend's encouragement. "I know, I know what you are going to say...I am very ashamed and regretful now..."
"I...I'm sorry for Xiao Letian, and I'm sorry for the Chinese! The key to reversing the entire battle now lies in the Prince's Second Corps, and if the Second Corps wants to reach Sadua smoothly, it must leave Stone Bridge Heights…”
"The place where Xiao Letian fought so hard now has become a key node in the victory of the battle... As long as he can hold on until he joins the Second Army, as long as he can buy time for Prince Carl to win, as long as he can do it, victory will be ours of!"
General Mao Qi rubbed his temples painfully and said in a low tone, "I really didn't expect that. I really didn't expect that Xiao Letian would actually devote himself to this battle and be so desperate... Why didn't I allocate the Imperial Guards to Is he commanding? How could I be so stupid..."
"Bismarck! My old friend... I am too conflicted now. Personally speaking, I hope Xiao Letian will withdraw. They have sacrificed enough. It is not easy to achieve this step. …”
"However, from the perspective of the empire and the position of this commander, I hope that Xiao Letian and the others will fight to the death and not retreat!"
Old Mao Qi's eyes were a little wet, and he said in the weakest voice, "Your Highness, please hurry up, hurry up... Dear Prime Minister of the East, please hold on, hold on a little longer..."
Bismarck looked at his old friend's painful expression. He could understand his struggle. "Old friend, don't worry. I know Xiao Letian. I can understand what these Orientals are thinking. Hidden under their calm faces is a turbulent mountain." The volcano, he is willing to risk everything he has to win..."
"Don't worry, since he has chosen to stick to Shiqiao Highlands, he knows the importance of this highland... I firmly believe that he will not back down!"
...
