They wouldn't die if they didn't ask for it. Machard had neglected the fact that the Tuscan army was weak. They were suppressed by the Austrian army right from the start.
"Attack!"
"Bastards, get up and attack!"
…
Machard scolded angrily. The young officers were very brave, but the soldiers were very Italian.
They were shouting their slogans loudly, but they didn't even see the enemy's shadow. They were all lying on the ground and pretending to be dead. This was infuriating.
Without a doubt, the soldiers didn't want to fight with Austria. Before the war against France, Tuscany was still a member of the Holy Roman Empire. Their ancestors had even pledged loyalty to the House of Habsburg.
Even now, Austria still had a strong influence in Tuscany. This influence couldn't be erased in a short period of time. The soldiers had complicated feelings toward Austria.
This was a tragic problem. The anti-Olympic riots in the Regions of Italy were only started by the bourgeoisie for their own interests.
Even if the people were fooled, they wouldn't feel any pain. It was fine to shout slogans, but it was fine to ask them to fight for their lives.
The only people who wanted to defeat Austria and unify the Regions of Italy were the capitalists, intellectuals, and nationalists.
To put it bluntly, they had been divided for thousands of years. Everyone was used to this kind of life.
Otherwise, Austria wouldn't have been able to defeat the Italian coalition so easily in 1848 and rule over Venice and Lombardy.
"General, we're being attacked by the Austrian army. Let's ask for reinforcements from our allies!" a young officer suggested.
Not everyone was stupid. Even if they had lost their minds for a while, they knew how to calm down after the battle.
The Tuscan expeditionary army wasn't qualified from top to bottom. The high-ranking officers only knew how to talk on paper, and the low-ranking officers were all youths. They could be suicide squad members, but not commanding troops!
"Alright, immediately send someone to ask for reinforcements from Marshal Bartolio. Order the troops to prepare for a strategic shift!" Machard quickly made a decision.
A man knew when to yield and when to stand tall. If they couldn't afford to offend them, they could hide. This was also an Italian tradition. If they couldn't win, they would run. If they couldn't run, they would surrender.
It was unknown whether it started a few hundred years ago or a few thousand years ago, but the Italians' fighting strength had become unreliable.
In the European continent where mercenaries were prevalent, Italian mercenaries were publicly acknowledged to be the weakest in terms of combat power, which was inversely proportional to their neighbor, Switzerland.
…
While the Tuscan army was suffering losses, General Messi, who was in charge of attacking Trento, was also in trouble.
Of course, they were the ones who took the initiative to attack. Their military strength was several times that of the defending army, so there was no danger of them being annihilated. However, it was impossible for them to attack Trento.
"General, the enemy's firepower is too strong. The 2nd Division has suffered too many casualties. Major General Will is requesting reinforcements!"
"Bang!" The glass of water in Lieutenant General Messi's hand flew out.
"Rice Bucket, the battle has just begun and they've already suffered heavy losses. Could it be that they've encountered the main force of the Austrians?"
No one answered his question, but it was certain that the enemy was not the main force of the Austrian army. Otherwise, the offensive and defensive situation would be reversed.
"General Messi, why don't we postpone the attack for now and wait for the heavy artillery to arrive before we attack!" Major General Manstall suggested.
In the end, Messi didn't want to waste the precious troops in his hands, so he said helplessly, "Alright, slow down the attack. When the heavy artillery arrives tomorrow, we will launch an all-out attack!"
't't.
Major General Will heaved a sigh of relief when he received the order to postpone the attack. They had lost nearly a regiment in one morning, and the 2nd Division would not be able to withstand such casualties.
Major General Will's heart ached when he saw the soldiers falling one after another on the path of the charge. He helplessly ordered, "Order the troops to retreat!"
The horn of retreat was blown, and a strange scene occurred on the battlefield. One by one, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Sardinia who had fallen on the charging path actually came back to life.
Major General Will, who was originally heartbroken, flew into a rage. If he still didn't know what had happened, he wouldn't be fit to be the leader of a division.
"Bastards, these damned bastards, I'm going to send them to military court!" Major General Will roared.
He couldn't help but be angry. He thought about the heavy loss report he just submitted to the command center. Looking at the soldiers who came back to life, the slap in the face came too fast.
Will's heart was bleeding when he counted the casualties. It wasn't because the loss was too big. On the contrary, the loss was too small.
They attacked for the whole morning. More than 20 soldiers died and more than 70 were injured. How could this be called heavy loss? This was a division of troops, not a battalion!
There weren't many casualties, but the loss of weapons and equipment wasn't small.
When they ran back, the Austrian army didn't forget to shoot at their backs. For safety's sake, many soldiers returned empty-handed.
Preliminary statistics showed that the 2nd Division had lost more than 1,300 rifles in the morning. If it wasn't for the fact that the law didn't punish the masses, Major General Will would have killed those bastards.
Results? Well, they probably used up the enemy's ammunition. They didn't even get within 100 meters of the enemy. What kind of results were there?
"General, most of these soldiers were recruited from the Lombardy area. They are a bunch of cowards. Our veterans wouldn't be like this!" an officer reminded.
Major General Will nodded helplessly. He could only hope that the other soldiers would be braver. If everyone learned from the cowards in the morning, there was no need to fight this battle.
…
They weren't the only ones who were depressed. The Austrian soldiers were even more depressed.
Lieutenant Colonel Griggi, who was in charge of defending the first line of defense, was very happy to see the enemy fall one after another. He thought that his soldiers had all become sharpshooters.
He didn't expect that the situation would change at noon. The dead soldiers would come back to life again. He was so angry that his face turned green.
He was so close. The documents to claim credit and report the victory were all prepared. Luckily, he hadn't submitted it. Otherwise, he would be charged with lying about his achievements.
Lieutenant Colonel Griggi couldn't understand the enemy's actions. He could only guess. Are they trying to waste our ammunition? But this commander is too funny. Trento doesn't lack weapons and ammunition!
"Leader, do you think the enemy is plotting something? Could it be that they want to lure us out, and then they will take the opportunity to attack and seize our position? "A young officer's imagination went wild.
