Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 263 259. Italian Battlefield

Due to a series of previous factors, the direction of the entire Prussian-Austro-Prussian War has deviated greatly since the beginning of the war.

If calculated according to the historical timeline, the Prussian First Army has already broken through Kischin, and the Elbe Army behind it has successfully crossed the Elbe River.The Second Army on the Northern Front also crossed the two fortresses and is heading towards Vienna.

Just a few days later when Austria sued for peace and the two sides went on strike, this "seven-week war" would end within a month.As for the remaining three weeks, it was nothing more than pulling each other, plus the mediation of the French entering the game.

Old Moltke is very clear that continuing to attack will only attract other external factors, such as Russia in the east and France in the south. The most important thing is to get the established goal of the war quickly.

The direction of the war was the same as he thought, because Austria's summation came so quickly that the French did not have time to react before it was over.This greatly reduced the space for the French to do things in the war, and it was impossible to implement the plan to help the weak and eliminate the strong.

But things are very different now.

At the same time point, the attack speed of the First Army was greatly frustrated, and it stopped around Gablenz, and then it needed to go through the two major barriers of Kiscin and the crossing of the Elbe River.If the western front does not move, the northern front cannot move. Old Moltke has decided to send the third army that cleaned up the mess in South Prussia to support the first army.

However, what he didn't expect was that Italy, which had originally distributed the Austrian troops, had an accident at this juncture.

In fact, it is already very good that Italy can persist until October. Historically, the Italian army did not go to the next day in the hands of Brecht, which is equivalent to collapse at the touch of a finger.But at that time, Brecht knew very well that Ludwig's army in the north could not resist the Prussian attack, so he gave up pursuing the Italians and returned to the northern line.

Italy was poor in combat effectiveness, but did not surrender. Brecht's decision also gave the Italians a precious opportunity to cheer up and regroup, and took the opportunity to launch a new round of offensive against Austria.

In two weeks, Italy mobilized a full force of 14 divisions, which also included some troops that had been defeated and scattered.

There were not many troops left behind in Austria, but they were beaten and retreated steadily in the next month.On the other side, the Prussian-Austrian battlefield has been decided, and the two sides negotiated peace, and the war on the Italian peninsula was completely over.

Now on the Italian battlefield is Franz's younger brother, Maximilian.His combat style is different from Brecht's turmoil. Under the premise that the northern front is stable and the western front is defeated but not obvious, he can deal with the Italians slowly, gradually encroaching on the territory and consolidating his advantage.

This kind of low-fire and slow-simmering attack method kept the Italian war situation out of the sight of the Berlin headquarters. After all, in the old Moltke's plan, it was enough for the Italians to successfully divert the energy of the Austrian army.

In fact, when Maximilian set foot in Italy, this ally had already lost the initiative, and the entire north was beaten into an empty shell by the Austrian army

What makes the Italians even more uncomfortable is that the former naval governor of the Austrian Empire is more willing to use naval warfare to wear down the opponent's will than Grand Duke Brecht.

The Royal Italian Navy Fleet was the sharp sword in the hearts of the people before the war started.They are a huge fleet twice the number of Austrian warships, and the people and soldiers firmly believe that their country has a certain chance of victory on the surface battlefield.

Brecht didn't know enough about the Imperial Navy. Considering the huge difference in numbers, the Navy has been standing still.It was not until the end of the war that it counterattacked under the attack of the Italian Kingdom's fleet and successfully defeated the opponent.

At that time, the victory or defeat between Austria and Italy could no longer change the whole situation, and Austria still ended in defeat.

Maximilian, who now replaces Brecht in command of the Southern Army in Italy, is well aware of the strength of his own navy.The gap between the Austrian and Italian navies is not only the hard power of warships, but also Admiral Teghoff's rich naval combat experience and skills.

After gaining an advantage on the land battlefield at the beginning of the war, he asked Teghoff to gather a fleet and march towards the Italian port of Ancona.

这支由10艘装甲舰、11艘炮舰、2艘桅帆战列舰、7艘巡航舰、3艘轻巡航舰组成的奥地利舰队，在数量上仍然小劣于意大利。但他们在泰格霍夫的率领下，成功发动了奇袭。

The Italian navy had very poor reconnaissance, no plan for surprise attacks, and poor fleet communications.

Coupled with the indecision of the commander, the opportunity for a timely counterattack was delayed.

In this battle, the flagship "Italian King" was easily hit and sunk by the opponent's armored ship, and died on the seabed together with the 400 crew members on board.Other gunboats and battleships also lost their combat effectiveness one by one under the opponent's artillery attack, and also lost the Ancona naval port.

The naval battle took place on October 10, but the news of the defeat was so humiliating that the Italian military reluctantly released it until October 5.

It was already five days before it reached the ears of old Moqi.

The failure of the naval battle greatly stimulated the nerves of the people and completely frustrated the already weak morale of the Italian Army.Immediately afterwards, in the next few battles, the remaining tens of thousands of the main army of the Italian army were buried in the hands of King Alfonso.

In all of Italy, only the volunteer army organized by the national hero Garibaldi, who shined brilliantly in the Second War of Independence, could organize sporadic resistance against the Austrian offensive.

But this resistance is utterly futile.

They failed to set foot in the Venetian region in the northeast, which was actually controlled by Austria. Instead, they handed over large tracts of land in the north of the Kingdom of Sardinia, including the Lombardy region that was returned to Italy during the Second War of Independence.

On October 10, Maximilian stabilized the situation in northern Italy and basically wiped out the opponent's army.

He did not retreat for a full week like Brecht in history, but left half of his troops behind, and he himself sat in Lombardy to continue chasing the defeated enemy.The troops that were sent out chose to go north under the leadership of their deputy, preparing to rush to the Austrian mainland, where the situation was confusing.

The Austrian troops were basically sent to the front line, and the rear capital was only the majority of the 12th Army, so the primary goal of the retreating troops was Vienna.

But just like the naval battle, even if it captured this news that might affect the entire Prussian battlefield, Italy did not send it out in time.

Their headquarters did not undergo any changes like the battle between Prussia and Italy. In the eyes of others, they were still extremely poor.Delaying the news is not beneficial at all. In addition to allowing people to see the incompetence of the Italian army two days later, it will only leave the last trace of stubbornness of the Italian army command after its self-esteem has been haunted.

The message that was supposed to go out on 10 October was delayed for two days before appearing at the telegraph stations.At that time, Lamin suffered his first defeat, but Maximilian's southern defense force was already approaching the Austrian-Italian border.

It was already October 10 when the telegram came into the sight of old Moltke.

It was also at this point in time that the First Prussian Army officially launched a full-scale attack on Lamin.Looking at the overall situation, Lao Moqi found that this army retreating northward was likely to change course and march westward due to the defeat on the western front.

On a battlefield where the combat power is slightly inclined to the Prussian side, it is very terrifying to suddenly appear with an army of tens of thousands of people.

He quickly revised the original attack plan and wrote the personal letter to Prince Karl, the commander of the First Army.Either take the Sixth Army and Kischin quickly, or retreat to Gablenz to watch the movement of the Austrian army.

Prince Karl's command ability is not too strong, but his courage is extraordinary.

Seeing that he couldn't eat the Sixth Army, he directly gave up the fat that had been roasted for three days, and under the persuasion of the chief of staff, he gave the order to withdraw the army.

But no matter how quick the withdrawal was, it could not make up for the time the Italians lost in sending the message.Prussia, which was supposed to have the advantage of telegraph transmission speed, became very passive because of Italy's weird operations.

As early as three nights ago, Laming received news of reinforcements【1】.

This is just news, not an order. It is his own judgment of the situation that supports him in these three days of tough battles.

Unlike the high concentration of command in Prussia, the command in Austria was not entirely in the hands of Grand Duke Brecht.Franz has the power to change military orders, and Maximilian on the southern front also has certain autonomy.

And Maximilian also further delegated power.

His order to this retreating force was not to "return to Vienna and wait for the dispatch of the headquarters", but to respond to changes on the battlefield similar to checking for omissions and filling vacancies.

Therefore, after this force passed the Austrian-Italian border, it sent a large number of scouts.After learning that the battle on the western front was tight and the northern front was still safe, they left an incredible route on the land of southern Austria without stopping.

Lamin's actions responded to this army. Although the Sixth Army suffered heavy losses, and the 4 troops were defeated one after another, there were only less than 1 troops left, but they successfully blocked the Prussian offensive.

After such a toss, the First Army began to withdraw its troops one after another on the night of the 15th, giving the Sixth Army a chance to breathe.

After a night's rest, the Sixth Army also began to withdraw troops.

The so-called reinforcements did not enter the Sixth Army's temporary barracks until the next afternoon because of the rain on the road for two days.At this time, the Prussians completely retreated to Gablenz, and the Sixth Army only advanced about 5 kilometers to Kischin due to insufficient marching speed.

"Deputy Marshal Lamin, I'm late."

The commanders of the two armies met each other in the temporary tent set up by the Sixth Army, and the two quickly exchanged the information they had: "What are your losses now?"

"You also saw it when you came here. Now there is only one division that can fight with a gun, and the rest are wounded soldiers. This is the situation."

"It's too tragic, but it's all right now, the three divisions in my hands can safely send you back to Kischin."

La Ming sat on the chair in disgrace, the military coat he was wearing was either bloodstained or scorched with holes, and there was still a lot of dust on it, and the map on the table was also tattered.His left hand was wrapped in a bandage and hung on his chest. It must have been injured. With his right hand, he found half a cigar from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth.

Laming lit a fire for himself: "...I thought you wouldn't come."

"I learned about the situation on the Western Front the day after I crossed the Austrian-Italian border, and then I got news of the safety of the Northern Front and the capital, so I crossed Kiscin and came here without stopping."

The person who came took off his wet shawl, found a chair and sat down: "I planned to arrive yesterday afternoon, but suddenly there was heavy rain on the road, and the speed of the team was reduced. It would be great if there was a railway in the southern area, but unfortunately now There are only a few decent roads to go."

Laming lost the aura he had when he was fighting with Kawei before, and he looked weak: "It's good to be able to come, I am already very grateful. If there is no letter from you, I will definitely order the withdrawal of troops. If you really go back Withdraw our troops, and we may become a living target for the Prussians."

There were only the two of them in the tent, and the atmosphere was heavy and slightly awkward.

"Let's talk about some good news. Italy is completely finished, and the army and navy are almost wiped out by us."

"That's not necessarily true." Lamin sat up straight and exhaled two smoke rings. "I participated in the Franco-Austrian War and fought against the Italians. These Italians who like to eat tomato pizza are like flies. Combat power, but they just keep flying and flying around you, it's annoying."

"Marshal Maximilian is watching from Lombardy, no problem."

"Taking Lombardy?"

"Correct."

The good news only made Laming sigh twice. Successive failures and high-intensity confrontation seemed to have drained his little enthusiasm for fighting: "I didn't expect you to be half a deputy marshal now."

"I don't dare to be, I'm just an ordinary general." Although the visitor is as expensive as an earl like Lamin, he is still far behind in military status. to take this position.”

"Okay, okay." Lamin didn't want to chat any more. "I fought with the Prussians for three days, and I'm too tired. The Sixth Army is under your control. Please take these soldiers back."

Considering that the next move of the Prussians is unknown and the enemy is currently strong, the process of handing over command can only be simplified, even a bit simple.

Laming just gave each other the two chiefs of staff in his headquarters, and he became the hands-off shopkeeper.What he left behind was a mess full of wounded soldiers, and it was not easy to send them safely into Kischin.

"Where's the head of surgery?"

"The head of surgery in our military department has long been missing." Physician O'Rourke wiped the blood from his hands, and said, "Now the original chief surgeon, Donelson, will temporarily take over that position. It's just that he, a surgeon, can Very limited."

"There are so many wounded soldiers, but there are not many doctors who can perform surgery. We must send them away as soon as possible."

"Have you brought enough carriages? We don't have a single carriage here!"

O'Rourke looked back at the wounded lying on the ground around him. There was no bed, no stretcher, and no covering cloth shed or blanket.They helplessly drenched in the autumn drizzle and endured the pain from their wounds.

"If the medical team hadn't left, at least some more people could have been saved"

This remark was made without thinking, it was just O'Rourke's casual remark based on his previous memory.But the speaker was unintentional, but the listener was interested. The newly appointed commander in front of him seemed to be particularly sensitive to the word "medical": "Medical team? What medical team?"

"Oh, I heard that they received an order from Grand Duke Brecht to support our surgical team from the northern front." O'Rourke said, "I originally wanted to stay, but who knew that Deputy Marshal Lamin would not let them intervene. So just go after the battle."

The only ones who can go south to support from the northern line are those few people, could it be that...
Several familiar faces appeared in the mind of the new commander: "Where did they go? Back to the Northern Front?"

O'Rourke recalled the situation at the time, and said: "It should be to Kiscin, the evacuation route to the north has long been blocked by the Prussians, and it is impossible to go."

"Wait, I just came from Kischin, and I haven't met them along the way!"

(End of this chapter)