On March 24, the Austro-Hungarian 16th Mountain Infantry Regiment led by Vasalai ascended to the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The terrain here is very rugged, and every step you take is expensive.

He was asked by his superiors to make a gap in preparation for the attack of the mobile troops.

It is very difficult to fight on complex terrain. But fortunately, he has a father with a lot of power.

Kuster gave him the support of an entire artillery battalion, as well as enough shells to fight for several days. If the war is unfavorable, Vasalai can call for reinforcement by radio.

In the evening of the same day, the infantry regiment waited under the hill.

Previously, they had made sufficient preparations, whether it was infiltration or reconnaissance, and they successfully saw all the details of the Russian army.

The complex terrain leaves them with only two options to attack:

One of them is more spacious, but steep; The other is narrow, extremely high, and so cold that it is difficult to pass.

Even though the snow and ice on the surface are beginning to melt in the middle of summer, nothing has changed in the frozen underground. As a result, the roads became extremely muddy and difficult for the troops to pass.

The high-altitude mountain roads were also covered with snow, making it impossible to support a large-scale march.

Fortunately, most of the Austrians in the infantry regiment were born and raised in the Alps and were perfectly adapted to the harsh environment.

Vasalai quickly made a decision. He split the original infantry regiment of more than 1,800 men in half, and led 1,600 men himself to take the wide road, while the remaining 200 people tried to take the small road.

The march lasted until the early hours of the next morning, about six hours later.

In such a long time, the infantry regiment marched only 1.7 kilometers.

Finally, before the Russians on the high ground got up, while it was still dark, Vasalai fired the first shot.

The Russians, caught off guard, didn't even have time to light a bonfire, grabbed a gun and shelled out of the house.

The Austrian skirmishers outside the house had long been ready and hit a Russian who came out of the crack in the door.

As a result, their marksmanship was so precise that they came out one by one and died one by one, so that the Russians did not dare to leave the house.

The rest of the infantry also seized the opportunity to climb the heights and throw grenades at the houses.

"Bang bang bang" A series of explosions resounded in the sky. The roof collapsed, smashing the desperate people inside.

The Austrians stormed the house, captured the Russians alive and escorted them away, and then began to clean up the battlefield.

Only a dozen minutes later, 140 Russians were captured alive, 80 bodies were relatively intact, and there were no scum left of the dead.

On the Austrian side, due to the preemptive strike, there was basically no loss, only those who were injured in the fight during the capture process.

The captured Russians say that the Russian army in the entire Greater Caucasus Mountains has a total of eight divisions, a considerable part of which are deployed in the west; There are only two divisions in this area.

Vasa came to his father over the radio. Establish contact with the Austrians on the other road, and then continue the march without stopping.

At noon, the infantry regiment encountered another stream of Russian troops.

The Russians came prepared this time. After losing contact with the outpost, they hurried here.

And now when he encounters the Austrian army, he is an enemy who is very angry when he sees each other, and he directly the guy.

The snow-capped mountains are full of dense figures. Judging by the naked eye alone, there should be no less than 1,000 Russians on the opposite side.

The Austrians were at a disadvantage at this time, they were in the lowlands, and the soldiers were exhausted from the long march.

But these battle-hardened men soon dug out one foxhole after another. After ensuring their own safety, they pulled the trigger of a new semi-automatic rifle or submachine gun in their hands.

The Russians, who were on high ground, thought they had the upper hand and fired indiscriminately with great directness.

They have a common problem of the Russian army: guns like to shoot high. This made it possible to have far more Austrian troops in the rear who died from bullets falling from the sky than in the front.

Even with the unified command of the officers and the concentrated firepower to pour ammunition on the Austrian army, there was no great damage, not to mention that this was still the elite of the Austrian army.

Vasa used fire cover to have the sappers on the side place sandbags around him. During this period, none of the Russian bullets hit this, because all the Austrian sappers on the battlefield were doing this.

After the sandbags were laid out, Vasalai began to take command.

He established radio contact with the various battalion-sized units and was informed of their current situation.

After a brief exchange of fire, the losses of the three infantry battalions were not significant, with only 11 casualties estimated at the dead.

Vasa relented and ordered the machine gun company to deploy quickly to suppress the enemy.

The sandbags built by the sappers were prepared for this purpose. I saw that after the fortifications were prepared, the machine gunners who were originally in the back quickly ran up.

Once the machine guns were set, their unique roar began.

The Austrian-style MG34, known as the "Death of the Infantry", was included in the official equipment of the Empire since its release, and was given the designation M1914.

In areas where only infantry engagement, its strength manifests itself:

The terrifying rate of fire suppressed the enemy, and they did not dare to raise their heads, and then they were knocked out one by one by the delicate rifles.

Soon, there were basically no Russians standing on the battlefield, except for those who were crucified on the hillside.

After making sure that the Russians would not move, the Austrians showed another weapon of mass destruction.

The mortar designed by Kuster was well received by the Austrians at the front line after it was produced, and was subsequently included in the Imperial War Department, and was named the 0.6CM Kruster M.14.

The Vasalai infantry regiment was armed with 12 mortars. At the moment, it was constantly firing shells at the Russians in the pile, killing batch after batch of people.

It stands to reason that Kuster had already developed these two weapons the previous year, and the Russians should have some way to counter them.

But in reality, these weapons, because of the insufficient production, can only be dispersed into the troops, so that the enemy on the battlefield does not pay attention at all.

Even if Austria-Hungary later concentrated all its equipment on elite troops, the Russians laughed and thought that with their industry, they could not produce much of such equipment.

Such mistakes must be paid for. But it was not the Russian top in the rear who took the responsibility, but these ordinary peasants who were drafted.

After continuous artillery fire, the Russian formation was full of wailing, and the ground was full of severed arms and stumps.

"There was a sudden bang, and an arm flew up to me, still bloodshot on it. I knew it was Russian, and it was trying to intimidate me, but I was not afraid at all, but was in high spirits. This is what one of the Austrian soldiers who participated in this battle said in his memoirs.

The scene was terrifying, but only the Russians seemed to be afraid. The Austrians at the bottom of the mountain were all full of excitement, using their rifles as sleds, inserting the barrels into the ground, and the butts of their rifles resting on their shoulders, climbing up the snowy mountains step by step. Wanting to capture the remnants of the Russians, ask for credit.

Vasalai ignored them, and after carefully inquiring about the casualties, he set up camp and prepared to rest.

At the same time, he also made sure that the Austrian troops on the trail were unhindered all the way. Their commander also said:

"Here, our enemies have only harsh terrain."

Looking into the distance, he looked back at the Austrians who were ready to rest. He expects the next move to be as smooth as that sentence after the loss of 124 men.