If you don’t court death, you won’t die. Macheld clearly overlooked the fact that the Tuscan army’s combat effectiveness was poor. As soon as the battle started, they were suppressed by the Austrian army. “Attack!” “Bastards, get up and attack!” …… Macheld furiously cursed. The young officers performed very valiantly, but the soldiers behaved very...Italian. They shouted slogans loudly, but before even seeing the enemy’s shadow, they were all lying on the ground playing dead, which was infuriating. Undoubtedly, the rank-and-file soldiers did not want to fight Austria. Before the Napoleonic Wars broke out, Tuscany was still part of the Holy Roman Empire, and their ancestors had served the Habsburg monarchy. Even now, Austria still holds a strong influence in Tuscany. Such influence could not be eliminated in a short time, and the soldiers had complex feelings towards Austria. This was a tragic problem. The anti-Austrian movement in the Italian region was only initiated by the bourgeoisie for their own interests. Even if the masses were deceived, they felt no personal grievances. They could shout slogans, but asking them to sacrifice their lives was another matter. Only the capitalists, intellectuals, and nationalists truly wanted to defeat Austria and unify the Italian region. To put it bluntly, after over a thousand years of division, everyone had gotten used to this way of life. Otherwise, in 1848 in history, Austria could not have so easily defeated the allied forces of the Italian states to re-establish rule over Venice and Lombardy. “General, we are under the main Austrian force’s attack. Let’s ask our allies for help!” a young officer suggested. Not everyone’s mind was muddled. Even if some had momentarily lost their minds earlier, after this battle, everyone sobered up. From top to bottom, this Tuscan expeditionary force was unqualified. The high command only knew armchair strategizing, while the junior officers were all delusional youths. They could be suicide troops at best, but commanding troops was another matter! “Very well, immediately send someone to request assistance from Marshal Badoglio and order the troops to prepare for a strategic retreat!” Macheld quickly made the decision. A real man can bend but not break. If you can’t win, why not flee? This was also an Italian tradition — if you can’t win, run away; if you can’t run, surrender. It’s unclear whether this decline in Italian combat effectiveness began several hundred years ago or more than a thousand years ago. In Europe where mercenaries were prevalent, Italian mercenaries were publicly acknowledged as the worst fighters, in stark contrast to their Swiss neighbors. …… At the same time the Tuscan troops were suffering losses, General Messer, responsible for attacking Trento, also encountered trouble. Of course, since they were the ones initiating the attack and had a force several times larger than the defenders, they were not at risk of annihilation. But it became impossible for them to capture Trento. General, the enemy’s firepower is too intense. The Second Division has suffered heavy casualties. Major General Will requests reinforcements!” the aide-de-camp said solemnly. With a “bang”, General Messer’s cup flew out of his hand. “Idiots! The battle has just begun and they’ve already suffered heavy losses. Did they encounter the Austrian main force?” No one answered this question, but it was certain the opposing force could not be the Austrian main force, otherwise the attack-defense dynamics would be reversed. “General Messer, why don’t we temporarily halt the offensive and wait for the heavy artillery to arrive before launching another attack?” Major General Manstein suggested. Still reluctant to consume his precious troops, Messer said helplessly, “Alright, slow down the offensive. Wait until the heavy artillery arrives tomorrow, then launch an all-out attack!” …… Having failed to obtain reinforcements but received orders to halt the offensive, Major General Will breathed a sigh of relief. In just one morning, he had lost nearly a battalion’s worth of troops — the Second Division could not sustain such casualties. Watching soldiers continuously fall on the assault route, Will felt heartbroken. He helplessly ordered, “Order the troops to retreat!” As the retreat bugles sounded, a bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield. The Sardinian soldiers who had fallen on the assault route suddenly stopped playing dead. The originally grief-stricken Major General Will was enraged. If he still did not understand what happened, he would not be qualified as a division commander. “Bastards, these damned scoundrels! I’ll have them all court-martialed!” Major General Will roared. No wonder Major General Will was furious. Just think about the heavy casualty report he had just submitted to headquarters, then look at these hale and hearty soldiers feigning death — this slap in the face came too quickly. After tallying the casualties, Major General Will’s heart was bleeding, not because the losses were too heavy, but the opposite — they were too light. After an entire morning’s attack, only over twenty were killed and over seventy wounded. Could this be called heavy casualties? He commanded an entire division, not just a battalion! While soldier casualties were light, the loss of weapons and equipment was not small at all. When they came running back, the Austrian troops did not forget to shoot from behind. For safety, many soldiers returned empty-handed. A preliminary count showed that in just one morning, the Second Division lost over 1,300 rifles. If it weren’t for the principle of collective responsibility, Major General Will would have wanted to execute these bastards. Battle achievements? Well, they probably consumed some enemy weapons and ammunition. Without even entering within 100 meters of the enemy positions, what achievements could there be? “General, these soldiers were mostly recruited from Lombardy. They’re all cowards. This afternoon, if we replace them with our veterans, it definitely won’t be like this!” an officer reminded him. Major General Will could only nod helplessly, hoping the other soldiers would be braver. If everyone learned from these cowards this morning, then there was no need to fight this war. …… Not only were they the ones frustrated, but the Austrian defenders on the other side were even more frustrated. Lieutenant Colonel Gregory, in charge of the first line of defense, watched the endless stream of enemy soldiers falling without getting up. He was delighted, thinking his troops had all become sharpshooters. However, to his surprise, the situation changed by midday, and the enemy soldiers who were “killed” suddenly stood up, leaving him infuriated and his face turning pale with anger. He was so close. The dispatches requesting commendation and reporting victory had already been prepared. Luckily they were not submitted, otherwise, the crime of false reporting would have been hard for him to bear. Lieutenant Colonel Gregory could not understand the enemy’s actions and could only guess in the dark: “Does the enemy want to exhaust our ammunition? But this commander is too ridiculous. Trento is not lacking in weapons and ammunition!” “Sir, is it possible that the enemy has some hidden agenda? Perhaps they are trying to lure us out, only to launch a surprise attack and seize our position?” a young officer speculated wildly.
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