Chapter 81: The Battle of Venice
Chapter 81 – The Battle of Venice
War fight is money and food, with the Sardinian Kingdom’s national strength is impossible to fight for a long time, John Bull’s loan can not be taken well, with the current situation of the Sardinian Kingdom want to borrow again, almost impossible.
Now the Republic of Hungary is at stake, if wait for the Austrian civil war to end, the Venice war is not yet over, this consequence think about it.
……
Venice front, Sardinian Kingdom army general headquarters, Badorio is in the mood to point out the mountains, not right is to command the army.
Both sides of the combat power how, let’s put aside, at least in the number of troops, the Sardinian Kingdom occupies an absolute advantage.
Austria can be put into the Venice battlefield as long as the total strength of less than 100,000, Badorio hands can have 200,000 troops, even because of the Lombardy rebellion held back some of the troops, there are still 160,000.
“Marshal, news has come from within the country that the Vienna government has sent 50,000 reinforcements to the Venice region, ordering us to capture Venice before the enemy reinforcements arrive!”
The words of the intelligence staff scared Badorio half to death, and he hurriedly asked, “When will the enemy reinforcements arrive in Venice?”
“The government of Vienna has drawn 50,000 troops from the Austrian legions and is on its way from Kauppenberg, not more than half a month at the latest, ten days at the earliest.”
Hearing this, Badorio threw his eyes on the map and looked at it carefully.
Launching the Venice Offensive had originally had the intention of forcing the Austrian army to return and relieve the pressure on the Republic of Hungary.
But this is built on the premise of the Sardinian Kingdom’s capture of Venice, now both sides are still in a fierce battle, if Austria has 50,000 more troops at this time, he still fights a fart?
If the Republic of Hungary is saved, then doing nothing on the Venice battlefield is strategically feasible.
Badolio is not optimistic about the Republic of Hungary, even if Austria has 50,000 fewer troops, it still won’t change the end of the war.
Without hesitation, Badorio decisively ordered: “We don’t have much time, order the troops, get ready, tomorrow morning at 9:30 to start launching into!
General Messer, you lead the 2nd and 8th divisions, make sure to capture Trento within 3 days, then penetrate to the enemy’s rear and cut off the enemy’s back road.
General Falk Squid ……”
Commanding the Austrian army, Field Marshal Radkis also received word of the reinforcements, earlier than the Italians did.
The advance on the Hungarian battlefield had been too smooth, the Bohemian Legion had already crossed the Danube to surround Budapest, and the Croatian Legion was less than a hundred kilometers away.
By this time, the importance of the Austrian legions had declined, and not needing so many troops, Franz naturally chose to reinforce the Venice battlefield.
Marshal Radkis hanging heart has fallen, if there is no reinforcement, just rely on his hand strength and the enemy combat, even if he can win the battle will not be able to expand the results of the war.
“Marshal, should we change our military deployment and wait for the reinforcements to arrive before we fight the enemy?” General Victor suggested
Marshal Radkis shook his head and said, “No need, the troops on the frontline are probably already engaged in a firefight now, it’s too late to change the military deployment.
I have already ordered the reinforcements to abandon their supply wagons and speed up their march to arrive, under normal circumstances, they are still in time to give this battle.”
There is no doubt that the Kingdom of Sardinia made an error in judgment; they did not expect the Austrian reinforcements to come lightly armed.
This was the advantage of fighting on home soil; one could march with only light weapons at the moment of necessity, food could be made available by local governments along the way, and ammunition could be replenished in Venice.
The turning point in the Austro-Saxon war had occurred, and was now concentrated in time.
If Badolio was able to defeat the Austrian army before Austrian reinforcements arrived, the Kingdom of Sardinia would temporarily gain military superiority, and then there was still a chance that the war could end decently.
On the contrary, if the Austrian army, Marshal Radkis, achieved victory, then the Kingdom of Sardinia would have to prepare for the defense of the homeland.
On May 9, 1848, the Battle of Venice broke out, and the first to fall was the fastest Tuscan army.
Well, Leopoldo II, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who was also raised by Austria, did not want to fight with Austria at all, and he was forced by public opinion to send troops.
Leopoldo II ability to power or qualified, at least to kill things he did very well, for example, this time the nationalists into the expeditionary force.
Not everyone was self-aware, for example, Mr. Maheld, the Tuscan nationalist leader, thought he had used the army like a god and took over the position of commander-in-chief, ready to rely on this war to gain political capital.
“Divisional Commander, the fish is in the net so soon, will there be any problems?” Chief of Staff Fislav asked uncertainly
“Problems? According to the intelligence, this enemy army is acting alone, and the closest other enemy troops are thirty kilometers away from them.
By the time their reinforcements arrive, the battle will be long over. Could it be that with these five thousand enemy troops, they can’t hold back our Sixth Division for a day?” Sixth Division Commander Molex analyzed
“But the enemy’s behavior is too stupid, don’t you think they’re Napoleon when they dare to go in alone with such a small number of people?” Chief of Staff Fislav frowned and said
“What do you care, anyway, our mission is to defeat this enemy army that has ventured out, no matter what plot the enemy has, let’s eat the bait first.
The enemies this time, each from four states, they have a lot of internal conflicts, maybe this Tuscan army has been sold out!” Moorcakes guessed
After thinking about it, Fislav didn’t find any problems, so he said, “Well then, let’s fight first, but send more scouts, be careful that the enemy has reinforcements!”
Time passed by, as Moorcakes gave the order, the sound of guns crackling, the Battle of Venice was exactly what was fought.
The sudden enemy attack dumbfounded the Tuscan army that was in a state of marching.
Maherd was a good orator and possibly a good writer, but he was definitely not a military man.
Maherd despised the corrupt Tuscan aristocratic officers, and the officers in this expeditionary force, all of whom he personally appointed, were overwhelmingly patriotic young men.
Everyone was very bloody-minded, dissatisfied with the dragging marching speed of his teammates, all just ran a little faster, and accidentally ran to the front.
Thanks to the usual propaganda, in their minds the Austrian Empire is rotten, the army is unbearable, the Sardinian Kingdom bloodless nine occupation of Lombardy, but also let them firmly believe this point.
Therefore, after encountering the enemy, their first reaction was not panic, but surprise, and then did not hesitate to order a counter-attack, the young officers even set an example and rushed to the front.
(End of chapter)