Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 256 252. The Pursuit of the Prussians

The cavalry company that pursued Carvey belonged to the [-]rd Cavalry Division of the Prussian First Army.

Since the capture of a major at the Battle of Gablenz, the division has provided them with sufficient rifle ammunition and dispatched a three-pounder cavalry gun.The original company of more than 60 people increased to about 80 people because of the addition of mounted guns and incidental gunners.

Of course, the company's firepower has been greatly improved, but their main function has not changed, and they still cross the main battlefield to conduct frontline reconnaissance.

The order the company received this time was to cross the barracks of the Austrian Sixth Army to scout forward to see if there were any senior officers who had fled, and then to check on the way to see if there were any other reinforcements behind the Sixth Army.

Many deserters were indeed found along the way, and the carriage of the Kawei guards also successfully attracted their attention.

Generally, those who can get into a four-seat carriage are big men, and the speed of two horses is not fast. The key is three, and there are also many cavalry escorted by horses around.Seeing that the enemy has such an escort convoy, it would be a fool not to go up and catch it when you have an absolute superiority in numbers.

The fighter plane disappeared in an instant, and the captain and company commander Mendelstein immediately gave the order to pursue.The slow speed of cavalry can walk slowly behind the team, but cavalry like them who only hold rifles can't wait.

If he can really catch a few big fish, promotion will be a sure thing.

However, what he regarded as a simple pursuit operation did not go smoothly.Soon after the order was given, the other party asked him several difficult questions.

First of all, what he didn't expect was that the commander of the opposing guard's judgment was quite calm on the spot, and he decisively gave up the carriage and the route of the road when he knew that he could not escape.

Although the vast majority of military officers can make this judgment after rational analysis, it takes a lot of courage to really implement it, and it also has extremely high requirements for the execution ability of the entire team.

Mendelstein didn't realize this at the time, and continued to issue orders after a brief analysis of the terrain.

The gravel road runs from east to west. There are dense forests in the north. There is no road to block the line of sight. The trees in the south are much sparser, but they are all slopes made of large and small rocks. There are many bunkers. Very inconvenient.

Regardless of the speed of the simple evacuation or the physical fitness of the escorts, the possibility of this team fleeing northward is higher, but Mendelstein would rather divide his troops to find it than dare to block it.

As a result, among the 20 brothers who divided into the woods, 3 were slightly injured, and the other 8 fell directly under the first round of enemy fire.

The opponent's shooting accuracy is very high, and he is also good at using the terrain, and the targets of the attack will not overlap. If the rifle in his hand does not fire too slowly, other people may also explain it there.

Mendelstein is also considered a qualified commander, and he quickly recovered from the bad mood of losing his players.The opponent's revealing the position in advance also saved him from worrying. After gathering other people, he made a siege plan in three directions.

There was nothing wrong with the order itself, but the problem was that he didn't realize that the convoy had been divided into two batches.

Knowing the location of the opponent + formulating a plan itself slows down the attack speed, giving the blocking team a long time to breathe.The second wave of offensive still caused Mendelstein's cavalry company to lose 7 brothers. The opponent's firepower was not fierce, but it was accurate enough and the target was clear.

If it was before, Mendelstein, who had an absolute advantage in numbers, would not have hesitated, and would definitely let everyone push to end the battle quickly.

But this time he hesitated.

Storming a high ground is not the advantage of cavalry, so there are cavalry cannons.After seeing the cannon-mounted carriage slowly approaching behind him, he chose to hold his hand for the first time and pulled the cannon into the battlefield.

"Let them withdraw!"

The adjutant standing beside him was a little puzzled: "Retreat now?"

"The opponent has received strict training, and a strong attack is not advisable. Too many brothers have been lost."

The adjutant nodded, and asked the musicians to blow the whistle for retreat: "What should we do next? Do you want to let the cannons enter?"

"Yes, first blast a few rounds with shells, and then attack."

"Actually, there is no need to do this." The adjutant was very confident in the charge, "I will lead the team up, and I will definitely be able to take these people down!"

"Don't worry, Opper, the weapon has changed, and the tactics have to be changed." Mendelstein looked at the lightly wounded soldier who returned to the team, his eyes were full of distress, "Since I have been given so many shells, put them on Wouldn't it be a pity not to use it?"

"Yes!" The adjutant gave an order to the gunner who had just arrived, "200 meters in front of the target, 5 rounds of fire."

In fact, the power of the 3-pound shells in this kind of forest terrain is not very powerful, the angle is not good, and the blocking team is completely dispersed, so the effect is very limited.

From Mendelstein's point of view, every command chosen is extenuating.But from God's point of view, these few rounds of his command game have completely failed, wasting the opportunity to attack in vain.

But fortunately, years of actual combat experience suddenly turned into some kind of self-doubt in his mind. It appeared suddenly and inexplicably, but it made him instantly alert and realized that he had made a major mistake.

"Stop shooting!"

Shortly after the third shell flew out of the barrel, Mendelstein asked the mounted gunner to give up shooting, and said to the adjutant beside him: "Except for the gunner, everyone put bayonets on their rifles and charge directly to the high ground!"

"Yes!" The adjutant quickly raised his voice and gave an order, "Everyone put on bayonets and charge with me!"

The two waves of attacks were repulsed, and the loss of the cavalry company was not small, but in the face of the absolute superiority in numbers and firepower, the blocking team with only 12 people was no match at all.The third round of attack went very smoothly, and only 11 people were lost to take the high ground.

but.
"Just this few people???" Mendelstein couldn't believe his eyes, "If I'm not mistaken, there are at least 20 people in the whole team!"

"We found these people."

"Could it be that they just stayed behind to block the pursuit, and the others fled long ago?"

Mendelstein stood on the small slope of the highland and looked at the forests in front of him. His interest in this escort team had been reduced by more than half: "Is there any alive?"

"There are two, but they don't have military rank badges, and they look like ordinary soldiers."

"Ordinary soldiers?" Mendelstein didn't believe it. "You quickly clean up the battlefield, and then ask Opal to ask if they are soldiers from the Sixth Army? Where is Opal?"

Only then did he realize that the adjutant who had been by his side had disappeared, and soon a soldier brought bad news: "Lieutenant him"

"What's up with him?"

"The wretched Austrian smashed his face with a stone."

"what!?"

Opper held the bayonet rifle in his hand and led the soldiers to the high ground first.Seeing that there were very few soldiers blocking the attack on the hillside, I thought that the battle could be easily ended as before.It's a pity that this kind of luck and underestimation of the enemy caused him a big loss.

The opponent didn't think about his own life or death at all. After being pierced through the body by the bayonet, he pressed Opper under him against the blade and smashed his face with a sharp stone in his hand.

The lieutenant had never seen such a fierce soldier before, and he was immediately stunned by the first blow.If it weren't for the help of other people around him, his head would have been smashed into pieces like a pumpkin.

"Opper, Opper!!!"

Opper is still conscious, the skin around his left eye socket is swollen and torn, but the person who can still see it with his right eye is Mendelstein.However, his mouth was badly injured, his upper and lower lips were cracked several times, and white bones could still be seen in some places, and he could barely hear a part of it when he opened his mouth to speak forcibly.

".Highlander. I'm fine."

In the eyes of soldiers who are used to seeing all kinds of bloody scenes, the lieutenant's injury does not seem to be serious, but Mendelstein still felt uncomfortable looking at his broken face, and soon this emotion turned into unquenchable anger .

He quickly brought the two surviving Austrian soldiers, and knowing that there was no way to pry their mouths open, he imitated the opponent's method and stoned them to death.

It's cool to vent your anger, but it doesn't solve the problem.

In front of Mendelstein was a multiple-choice question, how to deal with more than a dozen wounded soldiers in the team.

According to the general treatment plan, the direction should be reversed now, and the wounded soldier should be sent back to the military headquarters for treatment by the military surgeons.It's just that there is still the Austrian Sixth Army between them and the military headquarters. Unlike going around the back in advance, it will take at least half a day to go back and go around the front line now.

He could discard the cavalry shells to make room for the wounded in the carriage, but he dared not risk looking back.

What if the Sixth Army retreats to him and encounters them on the road?
What if the front line becomes chaotic and the front line is completely spread out?
What if they couldn't survive the bumps on the road and died on the way?
"map!"

As the commander of the scouting cavalry, it is a basic skill to know the map marks around the next action path before the battle: "This is not far from Gablenz, there are many small towns and villages around, and there may be doctors there."

"They should all run away."

"There will be private houses without doctors, and we can find them a place to rest and wait for our army to attack." Mendelstein looked at the map and thought this was the safest way, "We are now in Gabe About 30 kilometers east of Lenz, the nearest town should be in this direction."

This decision seemed strange to other soldiers.

Because even if it does reach the town safely, there is no way to treat it properly without a professional surgeon.Although those doctors looked unprofessional and the mortality rate of the treatment was high, at least it was better than nothing.

If the residents of the town did not leave, they would have to beware of the xenophobia of these Austrians, and even consider whether the other party had weapons and whether they would resist.

Overall, it is wiser to retreat to your own military headquarters.And going to the so-called towns to do repairs and waiting for the army to find them is actually more like a gamble.

Mendelstein admitted that he was betting, but the bet was on the escape direction of the escort's protected object.

After capturing the highland hill and seeing his previous misjudgment, he actually gave up the idea of ​​continuing to pursue.The block blocked him for quite a long time, and no one could make a conclusion as to where the opponent fled.I still have a lot of horses and mounted cannons on the side of the road, so it is really not wise to leave these pursuits on foot without authorization.

But Opal's unrecognizable injuries made him really angry. Being beaten like this is equivalent to disfigurement, and the jaw bone is broken. I am afraid that he will have trouble eating and speaking in the future.

Mendelstein was not reconciled, he wanted to catch this big fish to claim credit for his comrades.The higher the military rank, the more military achievements, and the more rewards you will get after the war, at least to make Opper live comfortably for the rest of his life.

In his eyes, there is a certain risk in continuing to walk towards the town, but it is not absolutely safe to go back to the military headquarters.

After weighing the pros and cons, and considering his goal, he decided to continue chasing forward.

Every order of the opposing commander was decisive, and he was experienced in combat, so he must know the surrounding terrain and important landmarks as well as himself.Supplies and transportation were left on the road, and hiding in the wilderness was definitely not an option. The only way to survive was to go to the town.

This has entered the border of Austria, and no matter whether you meet local residents or not, you can get supplies.If you are lucky, you can even get a carriage.

You must catch up with them before the other party finishes resupplying.

"We divided into three groups."

Mendelstein made a decision: "One group stays on the side of the road, guarding the horses and cannons, and finds two more people to go back to report the situation here to the regiment leader. The group consists mainly of stretchers and lightly wounded soldiers, and slowly heads northeast Move in the direction. I will personally lead the last group and quickly move forward to do a good job in the investigation of the town."

The map is well marked and the town is exactly where it should be.It's just that the residents in the city seem to have fled. The streets are empty, and there is no sign of anyone.

What Mendelstein was most concerned about was whether there was a doctor: "Is there anyone in the hospital?"

"No, everyone is gone."

"Have you seen any horses or carriages?"

"Only old wagons, no horses."

"Opper and the others are not much slower than us, and they should arrive in half an hour. Find a few spacious and clean houses and settle them down." Mendelstein sighed, looking at the scattered black soil on the ground, he suddenly asked The soldier behind said, "By the way, do you remember the wheat field when we came?"

"remember."

"The sun is very good today, but the black soil is still very new." Mendelstein rubbed the soil with his fingers, feeling the small amount of moisture left in it, and looked at the church not far ahead, "Accept the protection of the guards just now." People should be hiding in the church!"

(End of this chapter)