The Battle of Sadowa was a key battle that determined the Austro-Prussian War. It was the first large-scale battle in continental Europe after Napoleon I. Although the fierce battle between the two sides only lasted for more than 7 hours, the intensity of this war was unimaginable. .
Due to the high quality of Prussia's soldiers, and the new rifles allowing soldiers to reload in concealed positions such as lying down and kneeling, the casualty rate of soldiers was greatly reduced. At the end of the entire battle, only more than 10,000 people died.
On the Austrian side, due to the backwardness of individual weapons and the brief disorder during the retreat, the casualty rate was much higher than that of Prussia. The death toll was estimated at 50,000 after the war.
Sixty thousand people were killed in seven hours of direct fighting, and countless others were injured. Such a battle could be described as unprecedentedly tragic in Europe at that time.
First of all, this is not the total casualties of the entire Austro-Prussian War, it is just the number of deaths in just seven hours. Before World War I, battles of such intensity were very rare.
Secondly, this is not a civil war like the Qing Dynasty's suppression of the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom. During the years of King Yi's campaign, both the enemy and us did a lot of expelling people to death.
This is how wars in the Middle Ages were. The commander always led a group of loyal elites, and then these elites were protected and used as the final offensive force.
On the one hand, these elites have to fight the most brutal battles, and on the other hand, they are also the main source of grassroots officers. It was only by gathering such a group of elites that ancient generals could easily gather more armies.
The 100,000 troops recorded in history books will probably end with 10,000 elites. If you have an army of one million, the number of such elites will not exceed 100,000.
If you really have 100,000 loyal veterans of many battles, then your strength is enough to change dynasties. A very realistic example is the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. How many people were admitted to the Eight Banners? This was actually a top secret within the Manchu people. Later historians studied it for a long time and finally came to the conclusion that 200,000 Manchus entered Guan Dingding Central Plains.
But we must not forget that the Manchu army was not only composed of Eight Banners soldiers. Some of them were Mongolians who wanted to fight, some Koreans who gathered, some Han bannermen, and some soldiers who surrendered from the Ming Dynasty. , which also accounts for a large part.
Based on this calculation, the actual strength of the Eight Banners was less than 100,000.
Let’s look back at the just-concluded Battle of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The strategies and tactics implemented by Hong Xiuquan and others were typical of fortifying the wall and clearing the country. Often after the army passes, the entire city is emptied of the people, and then they are given a wooden stick to let these "dead soldiers" attack the city.
The only purpose of these 'dead soldiers' is to consume the enemy's vitality before the commander invests his elites. It doesn't matter whether they win or not, but his core elites cannot make mistakes.
Xiao Letian used to watch movies and TV shows, and he could often see a group of generals begging the commander-in-chief to withdraw their troops in the most brutal wars. What was the one sentence that the subordinates often said at this time?
"Please master, please leave some seeds for us!"
Look, this sentence reveals the secret. What is the seed of an army? Of course they can't be those 'dead soldiers' holding wooden sticks. Only veterans of hundreds of battles and the most loyal elites can be considered seeds.
To put it simply, as long as the tens of thousands of elites in hand are not lost, an army of 100,000 can be easily gathered in less than half a year. Three-legged toads are hard to find, and there are simply too many two-legged toads.
From Xiao Letian to Shi Dakai to Xiao Hexin and others, their intuitive impression of the Battle of Sadova was that it was tragic, so tragic that they couldn't bear to look directly at it.
In just seven hours, 50,000 elite soldiers died in battle. These were not ordinary people who were coerced. These were veterans who had served in the military for at least ten years. This was the vitality of an imperial army!
Even if the 50,000 veterans could only get promoted to squad leader in the future, they would still be an army of more than 500,000 people, but they were all wiped out today.
But now, instead of taking a rest and licking their wounds, William I and Prince Carl want to continue to expand their victory. They want to become a fat man in one bite and even want to win Austria. Isn't this dizziness or something?
Not to mention Bismarck and Lao Maoqi didn't agree, even Xiao Letian, a foreign guest, didn't agree! It's so easy for me to get tied up with your German tank. If you don't drive it for a few years, you want to overturn it now? Isn't this a scam?
Xiao Letian turned his head and looked at the battle statistics report spread out on the military map. The ink on it had not yet dried completely. It seemed that the statistics had just been compiled by the staff group.
Since Xiao Letian could participate in this high-level meeting, he had the right to see these top-secret data. He took the report and glanced at it and knew that there was no big difference between this battle and the casualty rate in his memory.
"Your Majesty! Your Highness the Prince! I think you have read this battle damage report. After many years of military service, you should be able to understand the meaning behind these numbers... Yes, I admit that Prussia has gone through hundreds of years of military training, and the national military The quality is already among the top in Europe..."
"I also know that behind Sadova's more than 200,000 troops, the kingdom can also gather 600,000 or even one million or two million reserve soldiers. In fact, Prussia's military strength has not been fully exploited. It is bound to win. It must be Prussia!”
Xiao Letian first praises the king and the prince. The higher the praise, the worse the fall will be! Sure enough, when William I and Prince Carl heard Xiao Letian's praise, their expressions softened significantly.
But Xiao Letian then changed the subject, "However, I would like to remind you that the reservists will always be the reservists. The active-duty soldiers who can participate in this national war are all the elite of the elite. Every soldier here is It is a priceless treasure. Maybe a soldier buried here may be the battalion commander or regimental commander of the imperial army in the future. This is not impossible!"
"Ten thousand people died in battle and countless were wounded. Isn't this casualty rate worthy of Your Majesty's vigilance? Prussia has carefully saved this essence. Isn't it worth cherishing? Please don't forget that Prussia's real enemy is not in the southeast, but in the southeast. It’s in the southwest!”
"Don't you think about it and leave some energy for a larger-scale national war in the future?"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone present changed. The people who could stand in this room were all human beings. They never expected that Xiao Letian could actually say such words. How could he know the most secret secret of Prussia? What about the war plan? How did he know that Prussia already had a very detailed war plan against France?
William I and Karl straightened their backs subconsciously, their eyes full of disbelief. Seeing the surprised looks in the king's and prince's eyes, Xiao Letian knew that he had to strike while the iron was hot, and now he could only win them down in one go.
"Want to defeat Benedek? Want to make Vienna the territory of the king? Want to hand the baton of the Habsburg dynasty into the hands of His Majesty? Hahaha... I believe in the power of Prussia, and I also know that you must It can succeed, but have you ever thought about what you will lose?"
"Benedek still has 150,000 troops in his hands, and there are also 100,000 troops facing Italy on the southern front. If these people are forced into mourning soldiers, how much will it cost us to win?"
"I am the legitimate heir to the Habsburg family, and my right to inherit the throne is unquestionable. No one in Austria, from the nobles to the common people, has any doubts..."
"It is conceivable that when our troops are closer to Vienna, the pressure we will face will be greater. There will always be a critical point that will make the entire Austrian people angry. If we personally ignite Austria's I’m afraid we will be the first to be burned by the flames of nationalism!”
Xiao Letian frowned, his voice became deeper and deeper, and his heartbroken expression made everyone in the room extremely depressed.
"You think this is over? Impossible,? It's Princess Sissi! This woman who is known as the most beautiful woman in Europe has the title of Queen of Hungary on her head! Hungarians love her as much as they love their own eyes. !”
"If our troops are directed towards Vienna, will Princess Sissi sit idly by? Will she watch her husband become a prisoner of war? Hungary will definitely mobilize an overwhelming number of troops to support Austria. Don't forget that Princess Sissi has always advocated Austria. Merge with Hungary to form an empire!"
Having said this, Xiao Letian took a few deep breaths and reorganized his words.
"The difficulties that Prussia faces don't stop there! Prussia is located in the heart of Europe and has always been surrounded by Denmark, Finland, and Norway to the north, France to the south, Austria to the east, and Poland to the northeast. , Russia, and looking to the west, the only ports to the sea are still under threat from the British!"
"This kind of unreliable geographical environment is very unfavorable for Prussia. When we concentrate our troops in one direction, we always have to worry about enemies from behind attacking us. Two-line or even three-line operations are not a nightmare. It’s a cruel reality!”
"Gentlemen, there are no outsiders here. We can open the skylight and make a clear statement. When we fight the French in the future, who will we rely on to cover our rear and flanks? We rely on allies, not solid defense lines! We want to cleanse Jena If you want to teach Napoleon III a lesson, you must make allies from now on, and you must not be greedy for small temporary gains!"
"Okay, that's what I want to say. The truth has been put on the table. Let's ask His Majesty the King to make the decision!"
Xiao Letian's words made William I sweat. He couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up from the chair and wandered around the room like a trapped animal.
At this time, Bismarck finally escaped from his own killer weapon and dealt the final blow.
"Your Majesty, if you insist on having your own way, please accept my resignation!"
Note: A little digression, during the Austro-Prussian War, his daughter-in-law was the famous Princess Sissi. Everyone born in the 70s should know this name, and many people born in the 80s should also know this name.
It was precisely because Princess Sissi was deeply loved by the Hungarian people that in 1867 Hungary and Austria announced their merger. This is the Austro-Hungarian Empire that is often mentioned in history books.
That is to say, with the help of his wife, this is the origin of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In addition, the beauty of Princess Sissi is unquestionable. She is known as the most beautiful woman in the European royal family. This is undisputed. However, the fate of this woman was very miserable, and she finally died of assassination.
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