As for the positioning of the Austro-Prussian War, later military experts have different opinions, some say that it is a civil war of the same nation, some say that it is a foreign war of different countries, and some say that it is a farce of brotherly blood war but let the Italians pick up the cheap, after all, this battle Italians call the Third War of Independence.

However, no matter what later generations say, there is one thing that everyone admits: the war between Prussia and Austria was short in time and intense, and it was rare in hundreds of years. Moreover, the two sides have completely gotten rid of the shadow of cold weapon warfare, and a large number of brand-new war equipment has been widely used, and both sides have used the power of the whole country.

This battle, which lasted only seven weeks, made people know what an epoch-making individual weapon revolution was, what a strategic detour was, what a large corps of troops was advancing, and what made the whole of Europe even more dumbfounded was the Prussian war mobilization ability.

Yes, Prussia only put 300,000 troops on the battlefield, but the intelligence agencies of the European powers knew very well that while the front line was in full swing, Bismarck mobilized another 600,000 reservists in the rear of the front, and according to some senior spies, if all these 600,000 people were destroyed, Bismarck could even mobilize more than 1 million reservists and militia.

Not only that, Prussia's railway network and telegraph system were also very advanced, and the movement of hundreds of thousands of large corps was not chaotic at all, and along the long national border, any place where there was a war, the reserve corps could rise to the top within a few hours, and this kind of efficient troop mobilization capability was not possessed by any European country at that time.

To put it mildly, the Austro-Prussian War became a classic example of the study of military experts and rulers in Europe at that time, and it was after this war that the whole world began to go crazy and eliminate front-loading guns, and the entire European army threw away this old burning stick.

European arms dealers tried their best to dump in colonies and backward countries, and even the Qing Dynasty at that time was the culprit of wrongdoing, buying a lot of burning sticks at prices that they thought were very favorable.

Not only the reform of the musket, but also the reform of artillery, all solid shells were eliminated, and the flowering shells finally dominated the rivers and lakes.

The contribution of the Austro-Prussian War to the evolution of military concepts is self-evident, but people must not forget that this so-called successful experience was built with bloody corpses and countless souls, and those who experienced this battle will never forget the hellish picture.

Many years later, the memoirs of those veterans and the interview records of those media reporters faithfully restored the war.

"I was an ordinary platoon commander of the 4th Prussian Artillery Regiment, and the battle of Sadova was more like hand-to-hand combat with cannons loaded with bayonets to me...... Our artillery was much lower than the Austrians, and we were no match for them, so we had no choice but to move forward in order to pursue greater lethality with precision......"

"I'm an ordinary loader, I can't remember how many shells I loaded, maybe fifty, maybe eighty...... God testify, I really don't remember, I didn't feel anything during the whole battle, only the roar of artillery fire, and there was no rest for the whole morning......"

"The sky was full of whizzing shells, and no one could think of dodging them when they hit it fiercely, and they couldn't dodge because there were too many...... Just ten meters away from me, I even witnessed a field cannon explode, a chain explosion in the ammunition box, and more than twenty soldiers around me were torn to pieces in an instant..."

"The artillery fought very badly, but it was much worse than our infantry...... I was a squad leader of the 7th Division, and throughout the Battle of Sadowa, the left flank of the Prussian corps was guarded by us...... You can't imagine the concept of two armies besieging a division, even if they use backward front-loading rifles, but the number of people makes up for the technical gap......"

"The bullets came like a torrential rain, there was no smokeless gunpowder at that time, and after each fire, it was as if a heavy fog rose out of thin air, and the choking smell of gunpowder smoke permeated the battlefield, and everyone was excited to rush their blood......

"And the enemy's charge, do you know that two regular armies, fifty or sixty thousand bayonets at the same time, the screams of the earth like an avalanche of the rush in, what a magnificent scene of the earth trembling?"

"We withstood it, our 7th Division withstood it...... This is war, do you want to live? Do you want to overcome fear? Then don't care about anything, forget about yourself and think of yourself as a machine on the battlefield...... Pull the bolt, load the bullet, and then shoot without aiming and raise your hand, then pull the bolt again and reload the bullet again......"

"Oh God, you just have to remember to repeat an action... As long as you have no selfish thoughts in your heart, as long as you forget the horror of the enemy on the other side, and let you repeat the movement like a machine, you can still survive on the battlefield..."

"No, no, no, you're all wrong... The most tragic battles on the battlefield are not concentrated on artillery and infantry, only we cavalry can truly appreciate what it means to be miserable..."

"Our Praetorian Cavalry Division was originally used to defend the General Headquarters and defend Moltke's Commander-in-Chief. But when, after twelve o'clock, the Chief of the General Staff gave the order for a surprise attack of the whole army, we were transferred to the front......"

"Artillery bombardment, rifle fire...... It's all drizzle, and only a cavalry assault can make you feel the cruelty of war...... We made a detour from the right flank of the battlefield into the main battlefield and were met head-on by an adversary charge of a cavalry brigade of the Austrians......"

"I thought the Praetorian Cavalry Division would be able to easily wipe out the cavalry of this brigade, but you can't imagine how tenacious this group of Austrians were... Rows of people shot at us in the distance, and when they got closer, they drew their sabers and crashed into us...... All the enemies were undaunted, and in the face of the rain of bullets, they did not pay any attention to death, and the galloping horses finally collided with each other alive, as if they had come to die with us......"

"The screaming of the horses, the slashing of sabers everywhere, and the wails of the dead and wounded, this group of Austrians is really ruthless, the vanguard has been completely annihilated, and the cavalry behind them are also fearless and rushed forward, they really take their own lives for nothing..."

"It wasn't until after the battle that we learned that the commander of this cavalry brigade was actually ...... It's actually a brigadier general... His name was Ferdinand Rossenzwig von Der Rouwer...... Everyone knows that Ferdinand is the exclusive name of the Austrian royal family, and Feng is also the surname of the high nobles, and what we encounter is the hardest bone in the Austrian army..."

Veterans of war are proud to have participated in the most tragic battles, and in their eyes, the stronger the enemy, the stronger the pleasure after victory.

It is precisely because no one is convinced of the other that a good memoir quickly turns into a fierce quarrel, and everyone emphasizes that they have experienced the most tragic war, and that no one is subordinate to each other.

"Oh, for God's sake, wake up, you still want to carry out a surprise attack without the artillery sacrificing your life and death to cover your fire? Don't forget how the Austrians bombed you, please always remember that artillery is the god of war..."

"Oh, I've had enough... How much fire cover did your artillery provide in the battle of Sadowa? Where was your fire support when our 7th Division was fighting alone? Without the infantry stubbornly guarding the line, would you still want to fire safely? Dream......

"Flanks, gentlemen, don't forget about the flanking battles ... The cover battle on the edge of the battlefield was completed by our cavalry, and after the general attack was launched, it was also completed by our cavalry to disrupt the enemy's formation, and when the enemy retreated, it was also up to our cavalry to expand the results of the battle... Your disregard is an insult to us..."

The veterans were arguing, and the reporters and writers who were interviewing each other looked at each other.

"Hmm...... Gentlemen, please calm down, we will not erase the merits and achievements of any of our troops, and now we have new problems...... Excuse me, when did the Second Army enter the battlefield? and ...... Those Chinese, did they appear on the battlefield in Sadova......"

The atmosphere was suddenly as silent as death, and all the veterans stopped talking, and their faces suddenly had strange expressions, some excitement, some shame, and even more awe.

After being silent for a long time, the cavalry of that year was the first to speak, "July 3, 14:30 in the afternoon, this time I will never forget...... That was the moment when the vanguard cavalry of the 2nd Corps appeared on the right flank......"

As for the Chinese......, the room fell silent again, the floodgates of memories were completely opened, and all the legends of the miracle of the stone bridge came to mind once again.

On July 3, 1866, the fighting in the Sadowa area had been going on for seven hours, and the soldiers on both sides had almost exhausted their bodies, while the Austrians had taken the initiative by virtue of their numerical superiority, and the Prussian front had begun to loosen and dent in some places.

The artillery of the two armies is now unable to make detailed statistics on how many shells they fired, and now there are accidents of bombing on the artillery positions of the two armies, and artillery has even become the branch of the unit with the heaviest casualties for a time.

Old Moltke and Bismarck were now moving back and forth in the headquarters like ants on a hot pan, and they wanted to give the order to withdraw their troops more than once, but the strong conviction in their hearts continued to inspire them.

"Wait a little longer, what if the Second Corps will arrive in a second, what if the Stone Bridge Heights can be defended? Maybe Prince Karl's war horse has approached Sadova......"

"Yes... I firmly believe that the national fortunes of Prussia are still thriving, and I believe even more in the tenacity of the Prussian Iron Army..."

The two old men were cheering each other on for a word, and in front of that huge military map, more than a dozen senior imperial staff officers were conducting war games over and over again, and every change on the battlefield was added to the parameters of the deduction.

"No...... The situation is extremely unfavorable for us... Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, Prime Minister... Give the order to retreat, now our soldiers still have a quarter of the ammunition base, and if it is slowly withdrawn, it will ensure that the army does not collapse...... Please, don't wait for the Second Corps, how can those Chinese hold the Stone Bridge Heights?"

The staff officers have gone crazy, and if the campaign continues like this, the final result is doomed to run out of ammunition and food, and the whole army will collapse.

But just as the two old men were making a painful choice, a tsunami suddenly sounded from the west side of the battlefield, which was also the right flank of the Prussian military formation.

"What is this, what's going on?" the tsunami grew louder and closer, until finally everyone could hear it.

"Reinforcements... Everyone is shouting one word, reinforcements...... Could it be Karl? Could it be the Second Corps—" Old Moltke and Bismarck rushed out of the headquarters like crazy, and you rushed up to the wooden lookout tower.

When a scene in the telescope appeared in front of their eyes, the two of them suddenly collapsed, tears gushed like springs, and their bodies trembled like chaff.

This book was first published from 17K Novel Network, the first time to see the genuine content!R405