Hundreds of heavy cannons had been assembled outside Turin City. Even the smallest cannon had a diameter of more than 150mm. Coupled with barrels that ranged from a few meters to more than ten to twenty meters long, one could imagine how powerful they were.
Two of the cannons were the most special. Whether it was the 24.7-meter long barrel, the 380mm caliber, or the 600kg shell, they were the most eye-catching on the battlefield.
There was no doubt that these powerful cannons had one thing in common — they were inconvenient. Not only were they troublesome to transport, but they were also troublesome to operate.
However, compared to the power of the cannons, these small flaws were not worth mentioning. After all, these cannons were not prepared for the army. Their real purpose was to serve as shore defense cannons.
In order to conquer Turin as soon as possible, Morkes brought these cannons over to deal with the French fortress.
"Fire!"
Following the commander's order, the roar of the cannons was heard again. However, it was different this time. Accompanied by the sound of the cannons, there was also the sound of buildings collapsing.
There was too little time. It was too difficult to build a fortress city in just a few months.
Perhaps it was to meet the deadline, or perhaps the Italian workers did not cooperate and added materials during the construction, or maybe it was a combination of both.
After all, at the beginning of the war, the Government of France was quite optimistic and did not think that Turin would be threatened by the war. Strengthening the city defense and building a fortress were in itself a way for the bureaucrats to make money.
Under such circumstances, the capitalists naturally could not be counted on to have integrity. After all, if the French army won, Turin would not need to suffer from the war. If the French army lost, the government could not even protect themselves, and no one would blame them.
It was fine to cut corners, but the people in charge of the construction were Italians. If they did not destroy the city, it would be a waste of the independent organization's reputation.
When the front line was defeated and the military began to focus on the city defense, it was already too late. The people below could only bite the bullet and cover the city.
Even the perfect city defense could not withstand the attack of the cannons, let alone the shoddy construction that was in a hurry. Especially those hit by the 600kg shell, they were basically in ruins.
In the command center of the French army, hearing the loud sound of buildings collapsing, Marshal Aradeline, who was personally in command, hurriedly asked, "Send someone to see what happened outside."
After a while, the attendant replied, "Marshal, the enemy used heavy cannons. The buildings in the city couldn't withstand the attacks and collapsed, including some of the fortresses. "
It was obvious that the young officer had tried his best to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial, but the final result was still unacceptable to Marshal Aradeline.
If the building collapsed, then so be it. After all, ordinary buildings did not have bulletproof functions. It was expected that they would not be able to withstand the enemy's artillery attacks.
"Fortress Fortifications" were different. This was a weapon that Marshal Aradeline had prepared to make the Austrians bleed dry. In the end, the plan ended before it could even begin.
After all, sieging a city was different from other battles. The Austrians didn't need to take care of all the defenses. They only needed to tear open a hole and charge in.
According to the original plan, the French army had intended to use these fortresses to delay the enemy for at least a month, and to deplete a large number of enemy troops.
Judging from the current situation, let alone a month, it was a question if they could even last until tomorrow.
Looking at the map, Marshal Aradeline sighed helplessly. "Pass down the order, order all troops to enter urban warfare mode in advance. At the same time, send someone to investigate the cause of the collapse of the fortifications. "
The plan couldn't keep up with the changes. The fortifications didn't achieve the goal of delaying time as expected, so the urban warfare had to begin early.
In a war, a slight change in one part would affect the entire situation. The early start of the urban warfare also meant that it would end early. Even a million French soldiers couldn't stop the enemy. Marshal Aradeline didn't think that Turin City could defy the natural order.
Anyone with a discerning eye knew that it was only a matter of time before France lost. Aradeline also didn't have the confidence to win the war.
Choosing to defend Turin, other than the strategic need, was more important to stall for time. Not only was he stalling for time for France, but he was also stalling for time for himself.
Someone had to be responsible for the failure of a war. Just the Emperor and the government were definitely not enough. The military also needed someone with authority to take the blame.
No one wanted to be called useless and useless, and Marshal Aradeline was no exception. The current situation was obvious. The battle line collapsed first, and the officer in charge was the first to be held responsible.
They didn't need to turn the tide, but they just needed to hold on longer than their allies. It would be perfect if they could hold on for a while longer.
As for investigating the cause of the collapse of the fortress, that was just a routine matter. The French army also had a perfect system. If there was a problem, the cause would definitely be found, and those who should be held responsible would also be held accountable.
…
The nature of war was that some people were happy, and some people were sad. The French army in the city was gloomy, and the allied army outside the city was naturally happy.
The French had more than one line of defense, but it didn't matter. If the outer fortifications couldn't withstand the artillery attack, the defensive line at the back wouldn't be able to withstand it either.
In modern warfare, the power of "urban warfare" had been greatly weakened. Unless it was a specialized fortress city, ordinary cities could be blasted down with artillery if they could let go of their hands and feet.
Buildings were the best cover in urban warfare, but unfortunately, they were not effective against artillery. In terms of effectiveness, they might not even be as effective as trenches.
The most suitable for urban warfare was either when the city itself was designed for war, and the buildings had the ability to withstand artillery, or because of political needs, the party attacking the city couldn't let go of their hands and feet.
Of course, there were exceptions. For example, the defense of Stalingrad in the original space-time broke this common sense. Facts proved that as long as they were willing to sacrifice human lives, even if the city turned into ruins, they could still continue to defend.
Without a doubt, Turin didn't have these qualities. Although Turin's politics, economy, history, and culture were important, these things had nothing to do with Austria.
They probably couldn't even restrict the Italians. After all, getting rid of the French was the top priority. As for the damaged buildings, at most, they could just repair them after the war.
The only uncertainty was that the Law Enforcers were reluctant to fill it with human lives. But this was no longer important to the Austrian army, which already had a large number of cannon fodder.
In order to observe the battlefield closely, General Morkes had already boarded the airship. At this moment, he was holding a telescope and admiring the masterpiece of the artillery.
Seeing the strongholds collapsing, Morkes smiled with satisfaction. "Send electricity to the Italian army. We'll attack in an hour."
Wireless telegraphy. This was another piece of black technology in the European war. Of course, wireless telegraphy in this day and age wasn't very practical. Not only was the signal unstable, but the transmission distance was also very limited.
If it wasn't for the sudden idea of watching the battle from the airship, wireless telegraphy wouldn't have appeared in the military so early.
The backward development of wireless telegraphy had something to do with Franz's bad grades. He only knew that wireless telegraphy used electromagnetic waves to transmit signals, but he didn't know what electromagnetic waves were.
Even he himself was confused, so he could only ask for it. As for how to use wireless telegraphy, it could only be slowly experimented with by scientists.
Progress proved that many methods didn't work. It wasn't until 1883, when a guy named Hertz from the Royal Academy of Sciences discovered electromagnetic waves that the situation changed.
After finding the transmission medium, wireless technology truly began to develop. From the initial communication distance of more than two hundred meters, it developed to the current communication distance of one hundred kilometers. It could be said that there was a qualitative change.
Unfortunately, this 100-kilometer communication distance was only a theoretical communication distance. Obstacles, bad weather, electromagnetic interference, and a series of other factors could affect the transmission of information.
With so many problems, the value of wireless communication technology was naturally greatly reduced, and it was even more difficult to popularize.
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