Prince Carl has never been as entangled as he is today in his life. After he had a violent quarrel with Luo Huo, he was sulking all the way. He didn't know how. These Chinese people made his patience and aristocratic manner disappear. Gone, they seemed to be enemies from the previous life.
Prince Karl was very conflicted. He rode forward in silence all the way. Except for a few words when the officer asked him for instructions and reports, he was silent the rest of the time.
The location of Shiqiao Highlands, as well as the topographic map of the surrounding mountains and rivers, including the speed and direction of the army's advance, etc., there was no need to open the map at all. These basic military data had already been printed in his mind.
How urgent is the current situation on the Sadowa battlefield, and how important is the geographical location of Shiqiao Highlands? There is no need to ask these questions. Needless to say, even an ordinary squad leader can understand the battle situation, how can he hide it from him? .
From the perspective of the entire battle, Prince Carl certainly knew the importance of Xiao Letian's decision. As long as he could firmly hold the Shiqiao Heights and withstand the front of the Thorn Flower Division, the Second Corps would only rely on the Pioneer Cavalry Regiment. With his own strength, he can quickly defeat this famous aristocratic division.
He was afraid that Xiao Letian would not be able to withstand the pressure and retreat early or, as he said, he would not deploy defenses on the high ground at all. If this situation really occurs, it will be a big trouble for the Second Corps.
A heavy armored division also has its own artillery regiment, relying on the high ground to occupy the geographical advantage to block the attack. Regardless of the number of people in the second corps, if you want to eat this iron knot, you also need a pair of good teeth.
Prince Karl and the staff had conducted three simulations, but the results were not optimistic. There was no guarantee that there would be more Thorn Flower Divisions, and there would be no problem at all in holding the Second Corps for an hour.
What is the concept of an hour? We must know that more than 200,000 people are strangled together in the Sadowa area. How many people will die in an hour? How much change will there be in the war situation? Perhaps this hour is the key to determining the outcome of the battle.
In Prince Carl's heart, in his subconscious, he was extremely eager for Xiao Letian to be like a nail nailed on the stone bridge highland as Luo Huo said. He did not expect them to have much victory, as long as they could nail it. There, as long as it can interfere with the formation of the Thorn Flower Division and prevent them from going all out to block the second corps, that would be enough.
But Prince Carl knew very well that with two battalions of more than 700 troops, facing the 12,000-strong Thorn Flower Division, even a fool could guess the outcome. Therefore, Prince Carl would not believe the nonsense spoken by Luo Huo. In addition, these Chinese people had humiliated him before, so in his consciousness, he had already classified them as villains. went.
But villains don’t understand what dedication is.
The army of the Second Corps marched silently on the field. From the vanguard cavalry that opened the way to the rear infantry, the entire march stretched for more than ten miles. No one could use such an endless array of troops. His eyes watched the progress of the entire army.
At this time, the command of the troops relied heavily on the speed of the cavalry. With Prince Karl at the center, the people running back and forth on both sides of the large army column were all messengers delivering messages. Horse hooves as big as bowls trampled and splashed large chunks of soil in the field. The tall Arabian horses spit out white foam, squeezing out the last of their power. A force is rushing forward.
"Reporting to the commander...the forward has marched 15 kilometers and is only five kilometers away from Shiqiao Highlands..."
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the rear troops have received supplies from the rear. Here is the supply list..."
"Reporting to the commander... there was an accident in the Sixth Artillery Regiment. The violent turbulence caused the leakage of 200 kilograms of gunpowder. Fortunately, there were no explosion casualties..."
Commanding a large army is never an easy task. Just look at the busy staff group around Karl. Even if 120,000 people sneeze at the same time, it is a big deal in the eyes of these officers. It is estimated that the entire army Military doctors have a busy day.
Just as the army was getting closer and closer to Shiqiao Highlands, in the middle of the cavalry of the messengers galloping back and forth, a pitch-black military horse ran wildly from the east against the flow of people.
The expression of the cavalryman on horseback was as weird as possible. Looking at him, it was as if God had just blessed him with an incredible expression on his face.
The Prussians, especially the Prussian soldiers, are rigorous in character. For them, the greatest test for a soldier is to remain calm before the collapse of the mountain.
Looking at the silent marching infantry, and then at the serious-looking wave of cavalry, it was really unusual to see such an alien pop up in the middle, and everyone couldn't help but look at him twice.
"Report...report to the commander...the vanguard...the vanguard cavalry division sent...sent urgent information..."
"What are you like? Why are you stumbling! Pay attention to your military appearance..." Before the prince could speak, the staff officer beside him scolded him angrily.
"Yes...yes, sir...the forward cavalry division has arrived at Shiqiao Highlands and is currently engaged in a firefight with the Thorn Flower Division..." The sweaty messenger said while taking out the military information watch from his arms.
When the chief of staff heard that the information came back from Shiqiao Highlands, he did not dare to neglect it and snatched the military information from him. This is an urgent military situation sketched by the forward division commander on horseback. The handwriting is as sloppy as it is possible to make. The chief of staff looked up and couldn't look away anymore. He even started to recite it softly.
"At 11:55, the leading cavalry rushed to the west side of Shiqiao Heights. The battle situation in front of them was shocking... Smoke and dust rose from Shiqiao Heights, and the sound of killings roared. On the high ground, the special mixed battalion military flag and an Eastern military flag that had never been seen before were seen. Standing still...the Wan'ao soldiers on the outside of the high ground were in chaos..."
"Some soldiers were charging towards the high ground, some soldiers were quietly fleeing to the south, and some soldiers were setting up positions on the stone bridge in an attempt to blow up the bridge... Our unit urgently launched a charge and entered the battle as soon as possible. After the stone bridge was saved, The tragedy of the battlefield is unimaginable..."
The chief of staff was shaking his hands while he was chanting. Just now he was scolding the orderly soldier for stuttering, but in the end he himself started stuttering.
"The special forces...the special forces battalion...under...under the command of Xiao Letian...actually...actually held the high ground!"
As soon as the words came out, there was a huge uproar around him. "What?" Everyone shouted, staring at the cavalryman with disbelieving eyes.
The messenger finally calmed down a bit. He took a few deep breaths and said, "Reporting to all officers! The Stone Bridge Heights are not lost. The flag of our Prussian army is still flying. The Chinese and Hamburg recruits used weird trenches to withstand it." The enemy's attack, when our troops started to attack, the special mixed battalion also defeated a group of charging enemy troops... They were chasing the defeated Austrian troops all over the mountains and plains!"
Hearing this, Prince Carl yelled, "Where's the lieutenant? Where's Luo Huo? Bring him up immediately... We, we must apologize to him in person!"
Prince Carl's face turned red. He couldn't explain what he felt in his heart. He felt ashamed after being slapped in the face, but also felt happy after not losing the high ground. He felt as if he had knocked over a five-flavor bottle, with mixed emotions.
After a while, the two guard cavalry companies guarding Luo Huo at the back of the team rushed over while "protecting" several lieutenants. Luo Huo looked up and saw Prince Carl's wonderful expression. He guessed it at that time. "Is there any news about my family? You guys are talking, is there any news... Is Shiqiao Highland still there? Is my family safe?" Luo Huo rushed over on his horse, and the two burly Nordic cavalry blocked him. Can't stop him.
"Calm down! Mr. Luo, please calm down..." Prince Carl rarely used honorifics. "First of all, please accept my apology. This time my judgment was wrong... Stone Bridge Heights is still there, and so is your Prime Minister. exist!"
"Ah! Hahaha... I told you that my family is invincible. We came here on the strength of a miracle! You still don't believe it, you still don't believe it..." The ecstatic Luo Huo almost fell off his horse. Come down.
But Prince Carl's next words made him turn pale, "Mr. Luo, the two guard cavalry companies around you will be temporarily commanded by you from now on... You should go to Shiqiao Heights and take a look... Casualties! The casualties are too great... Go and see your comrades for the last time..."
Luo Huo felt as if he had received an electric shock. The ominous premonition in his heart began to stir again. How could it be possible that there were no casualties between 700 and 10,000?
"Sir, I am Luo Huo... Wuwuwu, you bastards insist on imprisoning me, why don't you let me go back to the battlefield first... Wuwuwu, if I die, I will die with my brothers. …”
The tearful Luo Huo clapped his horse and rushed forward. The Prussian guard cavalry who had imprisoned them just now became his men. Two hundred light cavalry chased Luo Huo's figure and ran wildly. Amidst the sound of wind in the wilderness, there were bursts of cries from Luo Huo that were similar to the howling of wolves.
Prince Karl's eye sockets suddenly felt hot, and a surge of sadness surged up in his heart: "Why are you still standing there! The whole army hastened up... The Chinese are already risking their lives. Aren't we Prussians still willing to sacrifice our lives in our own war?" "
"Pass my order. All troops will fight independently. There is no need to consider formation issues. I just need to get to Sadova as quickly as possible and arrive on the battlefield before the Austrians launch a general attack. The entire Second Army will march quickly..."
The prince gave an order, and the entire army began to disintegrate in the wilderness. In the past, when the army moved forward, they had to consider the coordination of infantry and artillery, and also considered using cavalry to cover the two wings of the battlefield. But now everyone has given up the original formation. They are now The only purpose was to advance lightly towards Sadowa.
The cavalry regiment took the lead in breaking away from the main force and galloped towards the east like a horse. The infantry regiment abandoned the heavy supplies and started to accelerate with only the most basic ammunition base. Even the faltering artillery regiment gave up part of its ammunition base. Thomas They were concentrated and used, pulling field artillery to follow the footsteps of the large troops.
A distance of five kilometers is nothing to the cavalry. Prince Carl and his staff officers, under the protection of the Guards, soon saw the flowing river and the ancient stone that were still intact. bridge.
When their eyes turned to the other side of the river, everyone took a breath of cold air. Although they had imagined the cruelty of the battlefield countless times in their hearts, when they saw it with their own eyes, everyone was still shocked and dumbfounded.
At this time, there was no trace of the Thorn Flower Master on the outskirts of the highlands. Looking around, only a thin black line could be seen on the southern horizon, which was the back of the fleeing Austrian regiment.
To the north of the back, countless Prussian cavalry were chasing. From time to time, groups of exhausted Austrian troops squatted on the ground with their heads in hands, giving up resistance and becoming prisoners.
Looking back at the high ground, people can no longer see the original appearance of the high ground. All the woods, shrubs, and grass have been destroyed by artillery fire. The entire high ground is full of overturned scorched earth, and bomb craters cover the field of vision.
Dead bodies, everywhere you look, there are corpses, and the closer you get to the trench area, the more corpses there are. When he reached the edge of the third trench, Prince Karl discovered that corpses had piled up like a mountain, and the two-meter-deep trench was almost filled.
"Hiss! What a cruel war is this? Is this the God of Death starting his meat grinder?"
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