215.Encounter

Style: Romance Author: West windWords: 3776Update Time: 24/01/12 01:27:24
Brecht's intention was obvious, which was to gather early and attack early, placing the battlefield outside the country's borders. He would not sit back and defend passively around the fortress like the ultra-conservative Ludwig, so after receiving news of the war on September 25, he made the decision to actively attack northward.

In the early morning of the 26th, the Third Army rushed towards the valley ahead. It was expected to enter Silesia two days later and launch an attack on Breslau.

Only in this way can the Western Front Allied Forces composed of the South German Confederacy stabilize the situation and prevent them from being encircled and defeated by the Prussian Second Army moving south from the Northern Front.

In fact, these were all his unilateral extravagant hopes. The four-month extension of the preparation time did not change the military strength of those Confederate countries. On the contrary, they were defeated even more completely. The Confederate army on the Western Front was no match for Prussia and collapsed at the first touch, forcing Austria to separate its Western Front Army to block it within a week or so.

Of course, these are all things for later.

Rumors that the troops were about to move forward spread within the troops as early as the evening of the 25th, and the recruits in the barracks immediately became nervous and commotion. Everyone was busy preparing clothes and dry food for the front line, and some people began to worry about the number of guns and ammunition in their hands.

Many people were destined to have trouble sleeping that night, and Litokwa, the newly promoted second lieutenant and military doctor, was one of them.

The work at the Fortress Army General Hospital is heavy and unfamiliar, and many of the requirements have never been seen at the Graz Hospital. But Litokwa, like other military doctors who came here, could only obey the orders of the director of the General Hospital.

While working during the day, he happened to find ink and a quill in the supply box, and he wanted to take advantage of his night's rest to complete the diary he had left behind [1]. After finishing writing the diary, I will have a good sleep. I heard that the dean will be in Olmitz tomorrow, and there may be a chance to show his face.

But sudden rumors disrupted his plan.

Litokwa, like everyone else, spent the first half of the night surrounded by noise, and then the surroundings became quiet in the second half of the night. He reluctantly fell asleep, but he was still in a state of falling asleep and waking up, and he was in a daze.

When Litokwa woke up, the order had been sent to the barracks.

The Third Army, as the vanguard, would march north following the cavalry regiment that left first.

The weather in September was fresh and cool. Although the soldiers who left the barracks were a little worried, their mood improved a lot as they breathed the fresh air and bathed in the early morning sunshine.

In the distance are the rolling green ridges of the Sudeten Mountains, with the blue sky above their heads, and surrounded by tall trees. The entire team is zigzagging in a row, like a long snake crawling slowly on the ground.

The Klavov Infantry Battalion is in the center of the army. In front is the reconnaissance detachment after the cavalry regiment dispersed, and in the rear is the artillery regiment and a group of baggage transport carriages.

There were too many new recruits in the army, and they were not prepared for the sudden march order. Many people did not let go all morning, and you could see guys leaving the army at any time to relieve themselves in the grass. Some veterans would be unable to restrain their mischievous temper and quietly follow them to throw some sand and make mischief.

The weather was sunny and pleasant, and the tense march gave off a playful feeling like a student's spring and autumn outing.

But all this seemed too short-lived. At 10 o'clock in the morning, the rumble of cannons in the distance broke the joy and laughter in the marching troops.

The troops once again fell into a tense atmosphere. The veterans tightened their guns and were full of murderous intent. The recruits were also extremely excited. Even the military horses were attracted by the sound of the cannons, raising their front legs high, their manes standing upside down, and neighing incessantly.

Major Klavow quickly judged the distance of the battle from the troops based on the sound of the gunfire: "The battle is in the valley ahead!"

The major's judgment was correct. The sound of artillery came from the contact zone between the reconnaissance team and the Prussian Second Army moving south into the front of the northern Bohemia thrust. The headquarters meeting did not realize that contact with Prussia would come so early. Fortunately, the reconnaissance team detected the location of the Prussian army.

There was no chance for hesitation on the front line.

Even if the infantry battalion was unable to respond immediately, the commander of the entire Third Army quickly issued military orders. Within ten minutes after the sound of artillery appeared, the messenger came on horseback and brought the order: "Everyone in the Third Army seize the opportunity and charge forward!"

The military order was like a mountain. Klavov reflexively drew out the saber from his waist, pointed the blade directly at the place where the gunfire came from, and roared: "Everyone in the Ke camp, follow me and charge forward! Charge!"

Seeing the major rushing up behind the front troops, everyone shouted: "Charge!!!"

The shouts were not uniform, but because they were loud and long enough, they gave people a very uplifting feeling. And these soldiers didn't just shout slogans, everyone was marching forward like crazy. No one knows where the battlefield will be or what enemies are ahead. They just know to follow the team and charge.

As for whether to load the rifle and shoot directly when encountering an enemy, or to mount a bayonet and fight tooth and nail, we can wait until we actually encounter the enemy.

Litokwa is a doctor accompanying the army, so he must charge together. His horses were fine and not frightened by the shouts, but the same could not be said for the mules. The transport vehicle that was shorter than him was far less powerful than he imagined, and he had to drag it hard before he could move forward.

He could only leave the mule to a soldier and follow the team with the simplest bandaging tools.

The so-called charge is running at extremely high speeds without oxygen. After all, humans are still carbon-based creatures, and the limit is right there.

Most of the soldiers lacked exercise, and carrying dry food, firearms and ammunition further weakened their endurance. The entire charge lasted less than five minutes. At first, only a small number of people stopped, and then slowly began to spread backwards, infecting the entire marching team like dominoes.

However, just when everyone felt that there was nothing wrong with doing so, the second and third gunshots that had been silent for a long time were heard, and the black smoke caused by the explosion gradually rose from the valley in front.

Gradually, dense gunshots began to appear in everyone's ears.

They are like stimulants injected into their bodies, and the second round of charge begins

Artillery has developed from solid bullets in the 18th century to today's blooming bullets. A simple shot can cause massive damage and is the most feared weapon for infantry. Those artillerymen will also be equipped with close-range shotguns to defend themselves. The only problem they need to solve is accuracy.

The Prussian artillery was not as well trained as their infantry, and much of this was due to the artillery commanders' fascination with smoothbore cannons.

This caused the update of artillery weapons to come very late and not as thoroughly as that of the infantry. It seriously delayed the training speed of soldiers and also delayed Prussia's research on artillery warfare theory.

However, these factors will not bring much disadvantage. As long as the artillery positions can be selected well and a large-scale artillery attack launched, these mixed smoothbore and rifled artillery groups can still bring effective damage.

The Austrian cavalry first discovered the opponent's artillery unit. At the same time as the order was sent back, the captain of the cavalry "decisively" issued the charge order.

There is nothing wrong with the order itself. The fast-moving cavalry can break up the artillery team as long as the distance allows. However, he seriously underestimated the number of the opponent's artillery and the firepower of the infantry regiment participating in the defense.

This was an artillery force coming to find a position, protected by a Prussian infantry regiment.

They did not want to contact the Austrian army, and even the entire Second Army did not want to meet the Austrian army. Their orders were to build fortifications, do reconnaissance work, and wait for the order to attack.

Prussia did not expect that the Austrian army would come so quickly, nor did it expect that the other party's cavalry would dare to attack half of its artillery positions head-on.

From the moment they saw the cavalry charge, an artillery piece in the distance first launched a counterattack, followed closely by the intensive firepower of the infantry regiment's breech-loaded striker guns.

The cavalry reconnaissance team was the first to bear the baptism of artillery.

They rushed into the black smoke and flying sand thrown up by shrapnel after the shell exploded, seeing nothing and hearing nothing. The bullets and explosions flying past them didn't seem to affect them. The only thing the cavalry had to do was charge.

This charge represented the courage of the Imperial soldiers, but it brought irreparable losses.

The initial attack did cause the artillery to lose several carriages transporting gun barrels and escorting soldiers, but the intensive firepower soon shot the reckless cavalry into a sieve. The second and third shelling that Litokwa heard were attacks on the marching team on the valley road after repelling the cavalry.

This was just a tentative attack, and the first round of formal artillery fire soon hit the front marching team with artillery shells weighing several kilograms.

Suddenly, various voices began to appear alternately in the sky above the team:

"Spread out and find cover!"

"Don't retreat, keep attacking!"

"Stretcher bearer, there are wounded here!"

"Instruct the rear artillery to fire into the valley ahead!"

When Litokwa went to the battlefield for the first time, he was not even a qualified soldier. He didn't know how to deal with the sudden shelling. It wasn't until a shell flew directly over his head and knocked away several soldiers behind him that he reacted under the instinct of a doctor.

"Stretcher Bearer!"

He was the only one who dared to dismount and rush to the crater after seeing the shells falling, because everyone else knew that the fragments brought out by the explosion of the shells could easily cut their bodies open.

Maybe it was because there was something wrong with the cannonball itself, or maybe it was because it came into contact with the soft sand. In short, the round cannonball was lying there without exploding. The absence of explosions does not mean the absence of injuries. Soldiers who suffered direct physical impact were like bottles at the end of a bowling alley, lying on the road.

They were severely injured, but did not show any mental or physical reaction. The real shouts were often those who witnessed the process.

For the first time, Litokwa demonstrated his medical skills on the battlefield. He bandaged the stumps of two soldiers with broken legs, restored the exposed intestines of a soldier whose abdomen was torn open, and also repaired the exposed intestines of a soldier whose abdomen was torn open. A headless soldier prayed briefly.

Only then did the soldiers realize that they had been fatally wounded and that their short lives were about to come to an end.

"Am I going to die?"

This was the question they were most willing to ask after they regained their rational thinking, but coupled with the deathly pale face and trembling body, it would only make Litokwa heartbroken.

Because just a few hours ago, they were admiring the scenery along the way, joking with others on the roadside, and even "looking forward" to their future as generals. Just yesterday, one of them slept next to him, discussing together the texture of military uniforms, the use of firearms, and the poor food treatment in the barracks.

In just a moment, these people became victims of war.

Looking at the soldiers who were about to lose their lives, Litokwa kept turning over the limited medical knowledge in his head: What should I do?

Should we take people to move them back to the fortress, or should we continue to stay here regardless of them and save people?

But the shells were so powerful that they even lost their limbs. Can I really heal the damage caused by the shelling?

Suddenly, the scene of his training as a military doctor flashed before his eyes. In a critical moment, a certain medicine in the medicine box can effectively prevent wounded soldiers from dying on the battlefield.

"Give me the medical kit!" Litokwa looked at the rear troops and found the mules carrying medical supplies for him: "Give me the medical kit quickly, someone is injured here!!!"

The soldier who had been helping to hold the mule seemed to have heard his shout and ran towards him with two large boxes on his shoulders.

Proper bandaging, a combination of adrenal gland extract and ya tablets and tincture can stop bleeding immediately and relieve the pain of wounded soldiers. But this was not enough, far from it. The Prussian bombardment continued.