The sound of artillery rumbled, and the sound of a volley of guns rang out one after another. The cool summer breeze blowing from the direction of the battlefield carried a thick smell of blood and gunsmoke, which was the smell of war.

The attacking Prussian army was like two iron pincers, squeezing the defense of the Austrian Left Wing Army through a frontal wave attack, and the bloody battle had been going on for more than an hour.

View from above

The original semi-circular formation of the Austrian corps was obviously pressed out of two huge depressions, and more than ten hollow phalanxes in the first line had been broken down by the Prussian army, and the officers and men were throwing away their armor and fleeing backwards.

The soldiers of the Prussian army pressed up in a neat horizontal column to the sound of high-pitched military music, and on the fields behind them, a large number of casualties lay down, and the blood stained the golden rice that was about to ripen red, which was particularly dazzling.

Fierce battles on the battlefield

Dozens of puffs of smoke came out of the wheat fields that had been ignited by the scorching shells, and the wheat stalks were still green and yellow, and the wheat grains were not yet hard when they were rubbed in their hands.

Such farmland is difficult to ignite on a large scale, and with the fact that the army trampled on and lying in the dirt, the lit wheat fields will only burn in a small area, but a large amount of smoke will be concentrated in the sky.

This blocked out the bright sunlight at noon, and the view of the battlefield became much darker.

The drums of war

The Prussian army marched with a determined pace, and every time the front platoon of soldiers was shot down, there were always soldiers silently coming forward to make up for it.

After walking forward for 50 meters, he stopped neatly under the order of the officer, raised the rifle in his hand with a brush, and then opened fire fiercely......

The large hollow array of the Austrian army did not show the desired effect, and the Austrian officers and soldiers were even more panicked in the face of the fear of death as the enemy approached. The guns were out of shape, the infantry and artillery fire were chaotic, and all kinds of problems broke out.

After more than a dozen hollow phalanxes of the Austrian legion in the first row were successively routed, the deserters scattered.

The routs who hurriedly retreated back blocked their own shooting range, and were knocked to the ground by large swaths of the Prussian troops that were closely following behind.

This further intensified the panic among the Austrian soldiers, and many of them threw away their weapons and ran away.

Many people rushed headlong into the hollow formation of the second platoon in a panic, disrupting the Austrian formation, so angry that the Austrian officer waved the shining saber in his hand and shouted loudly.

However, there were too many Austrian legionnaires who fled, more than 34,000 people in more than 10 hollow formations in the first row, even if nearly half of them were killed and wounded, and there were 10,000 or thousands of soldiers, the officers could not stop the chaos at all.

In the face of the Austrian legionnaires who fled from the mountains and fields, the Austrian generals who commanded the 2nd platoon of hollow formations were also dumbfounded;

He could not order his soldiers to cover the routs with artillery and platoon guns, but could only watch the murderous approach of the Prussian army, and there was nothing he could do.

Only from this point

You can see the gap between the Austrian Corps and the French Professional Corps, the French Professional Corps, which has been fighting overseas all the year round, has superb combat skills, and will not collapse after facing heavy losses, but will shrink the formation in an orderly manner and retreat step by step.

The focus is to get out of the way, which can ensure that the hollow large array in the rear row can give some artillery support and delay the enemy's pursuit.

Finally, the orderly withdrawal from the gap of 800~1000 yards between the two hollow formations must not hinder the friendly army's transmission of artillery fire and platoon fire, which is the most important point.

The mistake of the Austrian Left Wing Corps was that it could not reach such a high tactical level, but it had to play difficult moves, and as a result, it was a failure.

It's a cool summer breeze

There was a strong smell of blood mixed with choking smoke in the air, and Richard sat cross-legged on a tall branch, chewing corned beef jerky unhurriedly in his mouth, but his face was very disdainful.

Originally, it was expected that the left wing corps of the Austrian army would be able to resist for a day or two, but now it seems that it is very hanging, and whether it can hold out until the evening is two words?

Compared with

The Prussian army adopted the old-fashioned horizontal columns, but the officers and men executed very well, with a high degree of discipline and sacrifice, and under the command of the officers, they were like rabbits, allowing the rout to attack their own columns.

All the routs who fled in the middle of the two hollow formations were hit hard by the Prussian army's platoon guns, and they fell into the field like leeks.

And those who fled to their own army had a much better chance of surviving.

It's not hard to choose between life and death.

On the face of it

The Prussian army's platoon gun attack seemed to have weakened by half, but it invisibly drove the Austrian routs to attack the second row of hollow formations, blocking the field of view, which made the second row of Austrian hollow formations unable to exert firepower.

When the pursuing Prussian soldiers approached within 800 yards, the Austrian regimental artillery in the second row of hollow formations was basically useless.

The breech firing artillery equipped by the Austrian army requires the gunner to load the propellant at the front end of the gun, load the shell, clean the residual gunpowder in the breech after firing, and so on, basically 1~2 minutes to fire a cannon.

For such a long time, the Austrian gunners had to withstand at least more than 10 rounds of platoon gun fire.

In the war

Artillery has always been a key target, and going within the range of a rifle is tantamount to death.

Trained in the war, Richard was an excellent military commander, and when he saw the panic in the rear positions of the Austrian Left Wing Corps, he knew that the tide was turning.

The Austrian commander could not come up with an effective response plan, could not change the formation in time, shrink the troops, and what suspense was there about defeat?

Originally, I thought that I could see a wonderful offensive and defensive battle, and the Austrian Corps was able to show a fairly high level of combat quality and command.

Who knows, that's it...... Yarn?

At this time, the situation on the field has undergone new changes.

The desolate trumpet sounded, and Richard could feel the ground tremble, and the cavalry on both sides of the Austrian left flank swept over the field like dark clouds, plunging into the flanks of the attacking Prussian army......

It's over, you idiots!

Richard couldn't help but be speechless, losing the last bit of confidence in the Austrian legion.

Everybody knows

Since the Battle of Waterloo in the early 19th century, any European nation has tried to avoid cavalry charging the infantry head-on, even on the flanks, which is no different from seeking death.

The hussars of the French army across Europe are world-renowned and are recognized as the best cavalry units.

Even so elite, so what?

At the Battle of Waterloo, the famous French hussars and cuirassiers were crushed by the line infantry commanded by the Duke of Wellington.

It is expressly stipulated in the cavalry regulations of the Tang Empire;

It is strictly forbidden for any cavalry unit to charge the line infantry head-on, it is strictly forbidden for any cavalry unit to attack the enemy's fortified area from the front and flank, and it is strictly forbidden for any cavalry unit to ...... Regardless of the fact that the cavalry units of the Austrian Corps attacked the weak points of the enemy's flanks, in fact it was only an illusion.

Is it difficult for the line infantry to turn in one direction?

The Prussian army gave the correct answer, and under the order of the officer, the Prussian army's original "long snake formation" line was quickly transformed into an "L" shaped array in a very short period of time, forming dozens of "L" shaped military formations

The Prussian soldiers in the front row squatted down on their knees, the second and third rows stood, and as the officers' command knives were raised high, the soldiers raised their Mauser 1865 rifles in their hands, and the muzzles of the black holes were facing the Austrian cavalry rushing wildly.

Ay...... O iniquity!

Even though Richard's heart is like a stone, he doesn't want to continue watching it at the moment.

This assault of more than 100 cavalry in several batches may give the Austrian legion some time to survive, but it will inevitably pay a heavy price.

"Bang bang bang...... Bang Bang Bang ...... Bang bang bang ......"

The heroic shouts of the Austrian cavalry were drowned out in the dense volley of gunfire, and they sounded intermittently one after another, like the sound of death's "giggles" and laughs.

The Austrian cavalry, who had charged to a distance of 300 yards, fell off their horses as if they had hit an invisible wall, and the huge smoke and dust kicked by the rolling of men and horses accompanied by desperate screams resounded one after another on the battlefield.

"Bang bang bang...... Bang Bang Bang ...... Bang bang bang ......"

The Prussian army was like a ruthless war machine, wielding its well-crafted rifles to fire deadly volleys of bullets, flying locusts over the valiant cavalrymen who came forward one after another, round after round.

Maybe more than 10 minutes, maybe more than 20 minutes, maybe longer

When the billowing smoke and dust are gradually blown away by the warm summer breeze, it presents a tragic scene of slaughter in front of everyone.

Most of the cavalry that went out were now corpses, and men and horses were layered all over the fields. There were also horses that had lost their owners galloping in panic, and less than 5,000 were able to withdraw.

Only this round of charge

The Austrian Left Wing Corps lost more than 7,000 cavalry, and even lost a powerful bargaining chip to harass the enemy, and the situation became even more embarrassing.

The smell of blood in the air was so strong that the only good news was that most of the fleeing Austrian soldiers had survived, and the hollow formation of the second platoon, which had been crumbling by the rout, was re-stabilized under the punches and kicks of the officers.

This Austrian left-wing corps won a little respite, but what was the use?

After the complete defeat of the Austrian cavalry, the Prussian regiment spent some time changing formations, and the infantry on the front line was the new force, and continued to launch wave after wave of attacks on the Austrian army.

Now that the Austrian corps has regained its footing, it is necessary to crush it again, smash it, and completely destroy the will of the Austrian army to resist.

With the belief of victory in their hearts, the morale of the Prussian army at this time was high, and they were pressed against the sound of military music......

The familiar scene is repeated, the sound of killing on the battlefield where blood and fire are intertwined, and the gunshots are continuous, devouring countless lives at all times, and everyone is fighting to the death on the battlefield.

More than three hours later

The afterglow of dusk seemed to be heavily bloody, and the situation on the battlefield was already divided.

The hollow formation of the Austrian Left Wing Corps was almost completely destroyed, and the entire corps of hedgehogs gathered together to fight and retreat, and the various units were filled with confusion and panic, and it seemed that they would collapse at any moment.

The Austrian corps withdrew seven or eight kilometers under heavy pressure, discarding a large amount of artillery baggage along the way, all of which became captured trophies of the Prussian army.

Fortunately, the sunset arrived in time, and the red sky meant that today's bloody battle was coming to an end.

In the 60s of the 19th century

Fighting during the day and a truce at night is almost a rule, especially in a large number of battles, and it is taboo to fight at night if you can't tell you and me.

If you don't make a good deal of your own people and fight your own people, you will let the enemy take advantage of the chaos to escape.

Therefore, before the sunset, the Prussian army had stopped the fierce attacks of wave after wave, gathered the troops to distance the two sides, counted the trophies and the wounded, licked the wounds of the war and prepared for the next battle.

The Austrian Left Wing Corps, which had been defeated by the fierce attacks of the Prussian army, had been compressed into a narrow strip of less than 16 square kilometers, and was firmly surrounded by the Prussian Elbe Corps and the First Army Corps, cutting off the nearby road traffic.

After a day of bloody fighting, the Austrian Left Wing Corps suffered heavy losses, with a total of 35,000 casualties, and almost 1/3 of its troops were wiped out.

The reason why it has not collapsed yet is because the timely arrival of dusk has allowed the Austrian Left Wing Corps, which has suffered and been whipped in pain, to retain the last glimmer of hope.

You can't beat it, can't you escape?

On a hill on high ground

When the Austrian army was retreating, Richard had already taken the lead in leaving his original location and came to this hill to hide temporarily.

He originally wanted to enjoy a wonderful offensive and defensive battle, but now he was completely overwhelmed by complaints.

The overall combat effectiveness of the Austrian Legion, Richard could be considered clear;

Following an ancient tradition

The Austrian Legion still retained considerable combat effectiveness, at least until dusk without collapsing, which suddenly made people look high.

Richard had expected to hold out for another two hours at most, but this time he miscalculated.

The organization, command, training level and morale of officers and soldiers of the Austrian army are not high, and there are many disadvantages of **** beings, and you can smell a smell of decay from afar.

Fortunately, the Austrian Corps is still bloody, has a sense of honor that is more important than life, and can give it a go when cornered. ъ

Perhaps, most of the empires with a long heritage are like that, right?

Richard gave the Austrian Corps a score of 6 in his heart, and an 8.2 points to the Prussian Soldier Regiment that performed well in the bloody battle today, the main flaw is that it is more than brave, and there are still many places that need to be tempered and made up.

Comparatively

The field corps of the Tang Empire was able to score 8.8 points, and its performance in the operations of the large corps was quite good, but the flaw was due to the fact that most of the army was illiterate, and the ability of middle and grassroots officers to command flexibly was limited, and urban warfare, jungle warfare, or complex terrain operations were undeniable shortcomings.

When Chicago and Detroit were defeated, they all paid a huge price in casualties.

Although the white cannon fodder who were temporarily forcibly drafted was not included in the casualties statistics of the Imperial army, there must be no self-deception, and there was indeed much to be improved.

The highest score is probably the French army, an army of professional soldiers, who have been fighting in overseas colonies and European hotspots all year round, and have extremely rich experience, with an overall rating of 9.2.

The term of service of French professional sergeants is often more than ten years, more than twenty years or even longer, and needless to say, the military quality is certainly second to none in the world today.

On the battlefield today, it will perform better than the Prussian army.

Fortunately, the Prussian army has a lot of room for growth, has excellent commanders and generals, and can even play at a super level.