The cavalry company pursuing Kavi was part of the 3rd Cavalry Division of the Prussian First Army.
Since the capture of a major at the battle of Gabrunz, the division had supplied all their men with rifle ammunition, and a three-pounder cavalry gun was also transferred. The original company of more than 60 people has grown to about 80 people due to the addition of cavalry artillery and attached gunners.
Of course, the company's firepower has been greatly improved, but their main function has not changed, and they are still conducting frontline reconnaissance across the main battlefield.
The order the company received this time was to cross the barracks of the Austrian Sixth Army and conduct a reconnaissance to see if there were any senior officers who had fled, and then to investigate the movement of other reinforcements in the rear of the Sixth Army along the way.
Many deserters were indeed discovered along the way, and the carriage of the Kawei Guards also successfully attracted their attention.
Generally, those who can get on a four-seater carriage are big shots. Two horses can't pull it very fast. The key is three carriages. There are also a lot of cavalry escorting them around. If you see the enemy escorting a convoy like this, you would be a fool not to catch them when you have an absolute numerical advantage.
The fighter plane disappeared in an instant, and Captain Mendelstein immediately issued an order to pursue. The cavalry and artillery are slow and can walk slowly behind the team, but they, the cavalry who only hold rifles, cannot wait.
If we can really catch a few big fish, then promotion will become a certainty.
However, what he regarded as a simple pursuit operation actually did not go smoothly. Shortly after issuing the order, the other party asked him several difficult questions.
The first thing he didn't expect was that the commander of the opposing escort made a very calm judgment on the spot, and decisively abandoned the carriage and main road route when he knew that escape was impossible.
Although the vast majority of officers can make this judgment after rational analysis, it requires considerable courage and extremely high requirements on the execution ability of the entire team.
Mendelstein did not realize this at the time, and continued to issue orders after briefly analyzing the terrain.
The gravel road runs east-west. To the north is a dense forest with no roads that can block the view. On the south side, the trees are much sparser, but they are all slopes made of large and small rocks. There are countless bunkers, but the movement will be difficult. Very inconvenient.
Regardless of the speed of the evacuation or the physical fitness of the escorts, the possibility of this team escaping north was higher, but Mendelstein would rather split up his forces to find them rather than block them.
As a result, among the 20 brothers who split up and entered the woods, 3 were slightly injured, and the other 8 fell directly to the first round of enemy fire.
The opponent's shooting accuracy is very high, and he is good at using the terrain. The targets of the attack will not overlap. If the rifle in his hand does not fire too slowly, others may also be there.
Mendelstein was also considered a qualified commander and quickly recovered from the bad mood of losing his team members. The opponent's position was revealed in advance, which saved him some worries. After gathering others, he formulated a siege plan in three directions.
There was nothing wrong with the order itself, but the problem was that he didn't realize that the convoy had been divided into two groups.
Knowing the opponent's location + formulating a plan itself slows down the attack speed and gives the blocking team a long period of breathing space. The second wave of offensive still caused Mendelstein's cavalry company to lose 7 brothers. The opponent's firepower was not strong, but it was accurate enough and the target was clear.
If it were in the past, Mendelstein, who had an absolute numerical advantage, would not hesitate and would definitely let everyone press on and end the battle quickly.
But this time he hesitated.
Attacking a high ground is not the advantage of cavalry, so there are cavalry artillery. After seeing the cavalry and artillery carriage slowly approaching from behind, he chose to be steady and pull the cavalry artillery into the battlefield for the first time.
"Tell them to withdraw!"
The adjutant standing beside him was a little confused: "Withdraw now?"
"The opponent has received strict training and a strong attack is not advisable. Too many brothers have been lost."
The adjutant nodded and asked the musician to blow the retreat whistle: "What should we do next? Are we going to let the cavalry artillery enter?"
"Yes, let's blast it with cannonballs for a few rounds, and then attack."
"Actually, there is no need to do this." The adjutant was very confident about the charge. "I will lead the team up and I will definitely be able to take down these people!"
"Don't worry, Opal, the weapons have changed, and the tactics must also change." Mendelstein looked at the lightly wounded soldiers who returned to the team, his eyes full of heartache, "Since you gave me so many shells, just leave them Wouldn’t it be a pity not to use it?”
"Yes!" the adjutant gave the order to the gunner who had just arrived, "shoot 5 rounds at a height of 200 meters in front of the target."
In fact, the 3-pound shell is not very powerful in this kind of forest terrain. The angle is not good to begin with, and the blocking team is completely dispersed, so the effect is very limited.
From Mendelstein's perspective, every command chosen was excusable. But from a God's perspective, he was completely at a disadvantage in these rounds of command games, wasting offensive opportunities.
But fortunately, many years of actual combat experience suddenly turned into some kind of self-doubt in his mind. It appeared suddenly and inexplicably, but it made him instantly alert and realized that he had made a major mistake.
"Stop shooting!"
Shortly after the third shell flew out of the barrel, Mendelstein asked the mounted artillery gunner to give up shooting and said to the adjutant beside him: "Except the gunner, everyone put bayonets on their rifles and charge directly to the high ground!"
"Yes!" the adjutant quickly raised his voice and gave the order, "Everyone, mount your bayonets and charge with me!"
The two waves of attacks were repelled, and the cavalry company suffered considerable losses. However, in the face of the absolute superiority in numbers and firepower, the blocking team of only twelve people was no match at all. The third round of attack went very smoothly, and the high ground was captured with only 11 losses.
but.
“That’s just a few people???” Mendelstein couldn’t believe his eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, there are at least 20 people in the entire team!”
"We found these people."
"Did they just stay to block the pursuit, while the others had already escaped?"
Mendelstein stood on the slope of the highland and looked at the layers of woods in front of him. He had lost most of his previous interest in this escort: "Is there anyone alive?"
"There are two of them, but they don't have military rank badges. They look like just ordinary soldiers."
"Ordinary soldiers?" Mendelstein didn't believe it. "You clean the battlefield quickly, and then ask Opal to ask if they are soldiers of the Sixth Army, right? Where is Opal?"
Only then did he realize that the adjutant who had been following him was missing. Soon a soldier brought bad news: "Lieutenant him"
"What's up with him?"
"The damn Austrians smashed his face with rocks."
"What!?"
Opper held the rifle with the bayonet in his hand and led the soldiers to rush to the high ground first. Seeing that there were only a few soldiers blocking the hillside, I thought the battle could be ended as easily as before. Unfortunately, this kind of luck and underestimation caused him to suffer a big loss.
The other party did not consider his own life or death at all. After being penetrated by the bayonet, he pressed Opal under the body with the blade and slammed his face with the sharp stone in his hand.
The lieutenant had never seen such a fierce soldier, and he was stunned by the first blow. If not for the help of others around him, his head would have been smashed into pieces like a pumpkin.
"Opper, Opal!!!"
Opal was still conscious. The skin around his left eye socket was swollen and torn, but he could still see with his right eye that the person coming was Mendelstein. However, his mouth was severely injured, with several cuts on his upper and lower lips. White bones could still be seen in some places. He could only barely hear part of it if he opened his mouth to speak.
".Highland. I'm fine."
In the eyes of soldiers who were accustomed to seeing all kinds of bloody scenes, the lieutenant's injuries did not seem serious, but Mendelstein still felt uncomfortable looking at his broken face. Soon, this emotion turned into unquenchable anger. .
He quickly brought the two surviving Austrian soldiers, and knowing that there was no way to pry their mouths open, he imitated the other party's method and beat them to death with stones.
It's nice to vent your anger, but it doesn't solve the problem.
What faced Mendelstein was a multiple-choice question: what to do if there were a dozen more wounded soldiers in the team.
According to the general treatment plan, the direction should be changed now and the wounded soldiers should be sent back to the military headquarters for treatment by military surgeons. However, there is still the Austrian Sixth Army between them and the military headquarters. Different from going around in advance, it will take at least half a day to go back and bypass the front line now.
He could abandon the cavalry artillery shells and free up carriage space for the wounded, but he did not dare to risk turning back.
What if the Sixth Army retreats towards him and encounters him on the way?
What if the front line breaks into chaos and the battle lines are completely spread out?
What if they can't survive the bumps on the road and die on the way?
"map!"
As the commander of the reconnaissance cavalry, it is a basic skill to clearly identify the map marks around the next course of action before combat: "This is not far from Gablenz. There are many small towns and villages around, and there may be doctors there."
"They should all have run away."
"There are private houses even if there are no doctors. We can give them a good place to rest and wait for our army to attack." Mendelstein looked at the map and thought this was the safest way. "We are now in Gabu About 30 kilometers east of Lenz, the nearest town should be in this direction."
This decision seemed strange to other soldiers.
Because even if you really arrive in town safely, you can't get proper treatment without a professional surgeon. Although those doctors didn't look professional and the mortality rate from treatment was high, it was at least better than nothing.
If the residents of the town did not leave, they would still have to be wary of the xenophobic sentiments of these Austrians, and even consider whether the other party had weapons and whether they would resist.
Overall, it is wiser to retreat to your own military headquarters. Going to the so-called towns to do repairs and waiting for the army to come forward to find them is actually more like a gamble.
Mendelstein admitted that he was betting, but he was betting on the escape direction of the person protected by the escort.
After capturing the hillside of the highland and seeing his previous error in judgment, he actually gave up the idea of continuing the pursuit. The block blocked him for a long time, and no one could make a conclusion as to where the other party had escaped. I still have many horses and mounted artillery on the roadside, so it would be unwise to leave them alone and pursue them on foot.
But Opal's unrecognizable injuries made him really angry. Having his face beaten like this was tantamount to disfigurement, and his jaw bones were broken. He might have trouble even eating and talking in the future.
Mendelstein was unwilling to give in. He wanted to catch this big fish to claim credit for his comrades. The higher the military rank, the more military merits, and the more rewards he will receive after the war. At least Oppo must have enough food and clothing for the rest of his life.
In his eyes, there is a certain risk in continuing towards the town, but it is not absolutely safe to go back to the military headquarters.
After weighing the pros and cons and considering his goal, he decided to continue pursuing.
Every order given by the opposing commander was decisive and experienced in combat, and he must know the surrounding terrain and important landmarks as well as himself. Supplies and transportation were left on the road. Hiding in the wilderness would definitely not work. The only way to survive was to go to the town.
This place has entered the Austrian territory, and supplies can be obtained regardless of whether one encounters local residents or not. If you're lucky, you can even get a carriage.
You must catch up with them before they finish supplying.
"We divided into three groups."
Mendelstein made a decision: "One group will stay on the roadside to guard the horses and mounted artillery, and then find two more people to go back and report the situation here to the regimental commander. One group, mainly composed of stretcher teams and lightly wounded soldiers, will slowly move northeast direction to move. I personally led the last group and quickly moved forward to conduct reconnaissance work in the town."
The map is very accurately marked and the town is exactly where it should be. However, the residents in the city seemed to have fled. The streets were empty and there was no sign of anyone.
Mendelstein was most concerned about whether there was a doctor: "Is there anyone in the hospital?"
"No, everyone is gone."
"Did you see any horses or carriages?"
"There were only dilapidated wagons and no horses in sight."
"Opper and the others are not much slower than us. They should arrive in half an hour. Find some spacious and clean houses to settle them in." Mendelstein sighed, looked at the scattered black soil on the ground, and suddenly asked The soldier behind him said, "By the way, do you remember the wheat field when we came?"
"Remember."
"The sun is very good today, but the black soil is still very new." Mendelstein rubbed the soil with his fingers, feeling the small amount of moisture remaining in it, and looked at the church not far ahead, "Accept the protection of the escort just now. The people should be hiding in the church!"
(End of chapter)
