Chapter 95: Crushing defeat one after another.

Vicenza

Marshal Radetzky has already arrived at the front line. When the Battle of Trento was launched, 50,000 Austrian reinforcements had secretly arrived here.

"Marshal, the troops are prepared and ready to attack the enemy at any time!" General Edmund said confidently

"Is there any movement on the enemy's side?" Marshal Radetzky asked with concern

War is never unilateral, and the outcome of a battle is often the result of the joint efforts of both sides.

A smart commander must always pay attention to the opponent's movements and take timely countermeasures.

"Yesterday afternoon, the enemy stopped attacking and built fortifications on the spot. Preliminary judgment shows that the enemy should have changed the offensive strategy and turned to defense!" General Edmund replied.

"Go ahead as planned!" said Marshal Radetzky with a smile.

This is the main attack direction of the Austrian army. The launch of the Battle of Trento is only a part of the chess game, the purpose is just to divert the enemy's line of sight.

Marshal Radetzky also did not expect that the Battle of Trento was won so simply. But this was for the better, the Sardinian army's high-level commanders have been misled.

General Messi had unknowingly assist the Austrian army. His battle report perfectly concealed the secret arrival of Austrian reinforcements in Vicenza. The strength of the two sides here has been reversed.

Radetzky still didn't know that Bardorio put his mobile forces into Ara to guard against the main Austrian army from Trento.

Otherwise, at this time he would have opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

The Sardinian Kingdom's total force into the Venice battlefield was no more than 170,000. Three divisions were directly destroyed in Trento, and now three divisions have been placed there. This time the Vicenza battle is no longer in suspense.

...

The Sardinian army, which was in a state of attack, was suddenly attacked by the Austrian army, and was quickly beaten.

With a "BOOM", a shell fell thirty meters away from Major General Ortius' headquarters, directly taking the lives of three Sardinian soldiers and causing two more wounded.

"What is going on? Is the enemy attacking us?" Major General Ortius asked suspiciously

No one could answer this question, the sudden attack of the Austrian army had no warning at all.

As the absolute main force of the Sardinian army, the first division are the best soldiers. Even if the combat effectiveness has declined after the expansion of the army, it is much stronger than other division soldiers.

After being attacked by the enemy, after hesitating for a few minutes, Ortius took action.

"Order the artillery to counterattack, and at the same time report the situation we encountered here to the general headquarters, send sentries to investigate, and figure out the enemy's purpose as soon as possible!"

There is nothing wrong with Ortius's response, but unfortunately the gap in strength is not so easy to make up for. The weak victory is based on the opponent's mistakes.

Now the Austrian army is completely a frontal attack, both sides are fighting for strength, and any conspiracy and tricks will not come in handy here.

...

"General, the enemy's firepower is too fierce, and the artillery has suffered heavy losses!" a young officer said in a panic

Ortius' expression darkened, artillery was the god of war, and its importance was self-evident. Fighting here is also the home ground of Austria. With Austria's national strength, it is not surprising that more artillery can be mobilized to appear on the battlefield.

But this was tragic for the Sardinian First Division, which meant that they have been beaten passively without direct confrontation.

"Order all units to reinforce the fortifications immediately. After the artillery battle is over, the enemy will launch an attack!"

Ortius made the most correct judgment, they have been on the offensive since the outbreak of the war, all the way to Vicenza.

It was not until yesterday afternoon that he received an order from the headquarters to stop the attack and build defensive fortifications. There was no time at all for the soldiers to take a break.

At this time, Ortius had no time to think so much, and no matter how simple the fortifications were, it was better than none.

Even if it is piled up in a row with sacks of dirt, it can also block bullets. Although it is the era of platooning guns, Ortius is very clear that since the enemy launched a counterattack, he must have a certain degree of certainty.

At this time, it would be unwise to rashly fight with the enemy. It would be the most correct choice to use the fortifications to delay the enemy's attack and wait for reinforcements from the rear.

Ortius was a smart man, and the first division of the Sardinian kingdom even though they were barely considered an elite division of soldiers, but were still able to take the most correct response measures, but the thirteenth division of Sardinia next door didn't think so.

Major General Cobot seems to have a strong spirit of fighting. After the Austrian army launched an attack, they decisively resorted to the platoon tactics and played a friendly match with the Austrian army outside the city of Vicenza.

"Prepare, to fight!"

"Prepare, to fight!"

...

When they meet on a narrow road, the brave wins. Major General Cobot overestimated the courage of his subordinates and their ability to shoot from a distance of 100 meters. This kind of pressure is not something this group of recruits can withstand.

Watching their comrades fall down beside them, the nerves of many Sardinian soldiers have collapsed.

Suddenly a soldier couldn't stand the pressure, he dropped his gun and turned around and ran away. In an instant, fear spread to the entire army, and the 13th Division was defeated.

A signal soldier shouted: "The division commander is not good, our 13th division on the right flank has been defeated, and the enemy is taking their positions!"

Ortius only felt his heart[1] sink, the water glass in his hand had fallen to the ground, and the worst thing had happened. The thirteenth division was defeated, and the flank of the first division was exposed to the enemy, and their simple line of defense would definitely not be able to hold.

"After ordering the third regiment to break, the entire army retreats!" Otus ordered tremblingly.

This is against the military order, but everyone present has no objection, and if they don't leave, they will not be able to leave.

Will be subject to foreign military orders, this sentence is common in many places. The Thirteenth Division foolishly ran to fight the enemy, they would not make the same mistake again.

As soon as the first division ran, the Sardinian army's defense line in Vicenza was completely opened, and the Austrian army, who saw the opportunity, naturally rushed to beat the skinny dog.

After chasing and fleeing, the situation on the battlefield has undergone earth-shaking changes.

On May 22, the Austrian army recaptured Padua, and the three Sardinian infantry divisions that were stationed in the Alla region fell into the Austrian encirclement.

On May 24, the Austrian army launched an attack on Bergamo, and Lieutenant General Messi, stationed there, fled without a fight with the retreating troops from Trento.

On May 25th, the Austrian army launched the Battle of Brescia. Marshal Bardorio concentrated the remaining main force of the Sardinian army and tried to stop the Austrian offensive here, but was forced to withdraw to Milan.

On May 27, Alla's Sardinian army launched a failed breakout operation and surrendered to the Austrian army the next day.

So far, the Battle of Venice initiated by the Kingdom of Sardinia, which lasted less than a month before and after, ended in complete failure.

[1]the translation and the word was 'head' but I felt it didn't make a lot of sense so I changed it to heart.