Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 944 - 207, The Battle of Turin

Chapter 944: Chapter 207, The Battle of Turin

“Charge…”

In a chorus of battle cries, the siege of Turin began. As the key node of the southern front, both France and Austria had invested their utmost efforts.

The allegiance of Turin not only decided the fate of the Kingdom of Sardinia but also affected the control over the Italian Area.

The leaders were ready, and all eyes were on the outcome of the Battle of Turin. If the Austrian army successfully captured Turin, everyone would act together to drive out the French. Otherwise, everyone would have to think thrice before proceeding.

To demonstrate their sincerity, those guys had already instigated multiple armed uprisings in the Italian Area, tying down at least two hundred thousand French Army troops.

For easier command and control, General Mörck, the southern front commander, had moved his headquarters to the frontline.

Urban warfare could not be taken lightly; perhaps it was the French forces’ best opportunity to turn the tide, and they certainly would not give up this chance.

In the field, armored troops could dominate the battlefield, but it was different in the city where a few obstructions could block the advance of troops.

An immobilized armored division was like meat on the chopping board. If the French were willing to sacrifice lives, then a single explosive package could finish the job.

As a product of a bygone era, Austria’s armored troops could be summed up in one word—expensive—hence, they were jokingly called the “land cruisers” by the Austrian military.

This was no boast; the production cost of the most advanced tank was almost comparable to the cheapest cruiser.

The cheapest armored vehicle cost tens of thousands of Divine Shields, and the most advanced tanks were priced at an eye-watering two hundred thousand plus Divine Shields.

Given Austria’s resources, having only four tank divisions and eight armored divisions was quite telling of the situation.

In fact, even these twelve divisions were under-strength. Since there was no immediate need for anti-aircraft batteries, they were omitted, and motorcycle mechanized infantry regiments were completely absent.

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The number of tanks was also severely insufficient. Each division had between 150 to 260 tanks; armored divisions fared slightly better, with each having about 220 to 300 armored vehicles.

And that was just on paper. In reality, the number of tanks and armored vehicles available to each division was even less, as casualties were inevitable on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, the tanks and armored vehicles of the time were prone to malfunction. Often after a battle, a third of armored tanks would be out of commission, and the rest would require maintenance.

This was why the French could regroup and establish new defensive lines. It was not that the Austrian army did not want to press their advantage, but rather that the crucial armored troops were not equipped for blitzkrieg tactics.

Now, the situation for Austrian armored troops was such that nominally a division’s worth of forces could barely muster a regiment’s worth of combat-ready troops, the rest being tied up in equipment maintenance.

The French, while stunned by the steel tide, were by no means stripped of their fighting capabilities. In fact, the battle prowess and combat will displayed by the French Army remained among the elite of the era.

Of course, the French’s ability to rally was also directly related to the orders from the Vienna Government. To weaken the French maximally on the battlefield, it was necessary to give them hope.

If the French main force was crushed outright, at most a few hundred thousand French soldiers would be killed with no further consequences.

Devoid of hope for victory, even if Napoleon IV did not wish to surrender, others would make the decision for him.

Proactively surrendering and being bombarded into submission were two different concepts. The former meant having nothing and resolving issues at the negotiation table, while the latter meant dealing with established facts, pending a contract to clarify the law.

There were plenty of countries that did not want to see France’s demise. If Austria wanted to realize its strategic goals, it had to invade French soil before France surrendered.

…

One must adopt the appropriate attitude for the kind of enemy they face, and Austria undoubtedly had the credentials to be taken seriously by the French. After the outbreak of war in Europe, the French commander Adrien had immediately ordered the fortification of defenses.

As a place of strategic, traffic, political, and economic importance, Turin naturally received special attention. Fortresses rose from the ground, and in coordination with the buildings in the city, it virtually turned into a war monster.

Under the roar of artillery fire, Captain Adler was leading his Third Platoon in a charge. Actually, it was more of a crawl forward.

Bullets whizzed over Adler’s head. One unfortunate got his head too high and was struck by a bullet in flight, managing only a single scream before meeting his Maker.

Death on the battlefield was nothing out of the ordinary. Up until now, three-quarters of the Third Platoon’s soldiers had been replaced, and Adler was already the fifth platoon leader.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that his four predecessors all ended up dead. Aside from one unlucky soul who met his Maker, three were alive and well—one had been promoted while the other two were recuperating in a hospital.

That’s how it is on the battlefield—life and death in dual extremes. Junior officers die quickly, but they also rise fast. Survive a few battles, and promotion is a natural course.

There’s no need to worry about superiors obstructing advancement, for they are either promoted, in a hospital, or meeting their Maker. In any case, a position is vacated.

Here, the story of a soldier turning into a general isn’t mythical. As long as the war drags on, anything could happen.

Captain Adler was not a military academy graduate, nor did he have any connections or background. In less than a year since the outbreak of war, he had become a platoon leader.

Apart from a keen mind and solid military capabilities, luck played a great part. If it weren’t for having both parents and a harmonious family, lacking a villainous foil, he might well be considered a favored child of fortune.

Although Austria had a surplus of reserve officers, they were mostly assigned to the company and platoon levels. In the background of large-scale military expansion, Adler, an experienced soldier, became a squad leader right away.

That wasn’t all. On his first battle, Adler’s unit suffered heavy losses. His direct superiors—squad leader and assistant squad leader—either met their Maker or ended up in the hospital.

Before the battle had even ended, Adler had already become the acting platoon leader. It had nothing to do with promotion, as all the higher-ranking officers in his platoon had left the battlefield, and according to the rules of the Austrian Army, it was his turn to take command.

Having successfully completed his mission and established his valor, it was only natural for his acting position to become official. After achieving several more combat successes, Adler somewhat dazedly found himself promoted to company commander.

There was no defiance or extraordinary combat achievements. Adler, an ordinary young officer, had nearly exhausted his luck at this point.

There was no helping it, the demand for higher-ranking officers had greatly diminished, and they were no longer needed to lead troops in charges. This significantly reduced the probability of them being killed or wounded.

With fewer positions available, the requirements became stricter. In peacetime, there were few who had made their mark in combat, so anyone with achievements could rise through the ranks, and their abilities could be developed gradually.

But now, that was no longer the case; those with combat achievements were everywhere. Unless one’s achievements were exceptional and merited a special promotion, professional knowledge assessments were indispensable.

After all, the more troops an officer commands, the higher the requirements for their abilities. Apart from a few geniuses, most people had to undergo postnatal training to be competent.

The full counterattack had already begun, and the war was on the verge of ending. Demobilization would follow, and naturally, there would be no more basic officer training classes.

They couldn’t possibly organize officer training, and then, before the coursework was completed, issue them demobilization notices!

After all, Adler was not really the main character; there were plenty of similar cases in the Austrian military.

No matter how low the probability of occurrence, once the quantity increased, it was no longer a minority. It could be said that every person who managed to survive unscathed in the hail of bullets was a legend.

Turning back to confirm the identity of the dead, Captain Adler cursed angrily, “Keep your heads down, everyone, and don’t be like that idiot Cole!”

Grief? Perhaps there was some, but after experiencing so much, one’s nerves become numb. Perhaps to avoid sadness in such moments, Captain Adler consciously kept his distance from everyone around him.

Before Adler could finish his words, the bullets of the French Army erupted once again. Although the Gatling was not as useful as the Maxim, it was still a formidable weapon when installed in the fortress.

With Cole’s fate serving as a warning, and the constant whistling of bullets near their ears, everyone instinctively kept their heads as low as possible.

Suddenly, a huge explosion boomed, and two soldiers to the right of Adler were blown apart into pieces. Half a head landed directly in front of Adler within reach.

Shaking his head to clear it from the blasts, Adler awoke to the sight of the bloody, mangled head of his comrade in front of him and almost vomited.

Suppressing his nausea, Adler immediately ordered, “The enemy has planted landmines ahead, and we’ve brought no mine-clearing equipment. Let’s retreat for now.”

Without a doubt, this probing offensive had failed. It wasn’t just about lacking mine-clearing tools; even with a full set of equipment, one couldn’t withstand the enemy’s intense firepower!

This was a tactic started by the Austrian army, which the French were simply copying. Although they couldn’t replicate the Maxim machine gun in time, the Gatling still served as an adequate substitute.

The enemy was so well-prepared that it would be very unwise to continue to sacrifice lives in this manner. The Austrian military did not advocate such reckless courage, blindly pursuing victory while disregarding the lives of soldiers would lead to military tribunal.

After the exploratory attack failed, Mörck didn’t feel dejected. The sacrifice had not been meaningless, as the day’s probing had allowed the Austrian Army to clarify the French’s outer firepower deployment, laying the groundwork for the next attack.

At the Allied Command, General Mörck asked, “How is the organization of the Italian Corps coming along?”

The war for the liberation of Italy, how could it proceed without the participation of Italians? This was when the value of the Italian Independent Organization became apparent. Every time the Austrian Army occupied a territory, they recruited soldiers under the banner of the Independence Organization.

To fully respect the feelings of the Italian public, these troops were divided by geographical regions. For example, there were the Sardinia National Independent Army, Lucca National Independent Army, Modena National Independent Army, Parma National Independent Army, Tuscan National Independent Army, Papal State National Independent Army, Two Sicilian Kingdom National Independent Army…

No matter the size, there was a national independent army for every Italian state, taking care of everyone’s face.

As for whether the Italian Independent Organization was willing to accept this, it no longer mattered. If they accepted, it would be good for everyone involved. If not, Mörck wouldn’t mind directly appointing the commanders.

After all, there was a large number of Italian nobles who had defected, and it was always possible to find someone willing to cooperate. The Italian Independent Organization was like scattered sand, influential among the public but lacking a significant rallying power among the nobility.

Even Victor Emmanuel III, the senior figure, chose to compromise for the sake of national resurgence. Not to mention the lower ranks.

A burly middle-aged officer replied, “As of now, the Sardinia National Independent Army already has two hundred thousand men, the Papal Country Independent Army has eighty thousand men. The other independent armies are still like empty shells, collectively numbering less than ten thousand men.

In order to form up, we’ll have to wait until we’ve taken those areas. From the current situation, it’s unlikely.”

As the war has progressed to this point, the Austrian army’s major achievements on the southern front are mostly within the territories of the Papal State and Sardinia; thus, the independent armies formed are predominantly made up of people from these two countries.

To reflect the equal status of each Italian state, the troops of various states naturally could not be intermingled. This led to a huge disparity in the number of troops.

Empty-frame armies were certainly unfit for battle, no matter how much cannon fodder was needed, Mörck would not exhaust the “allies’” seeds.

Moreover, these seeds were the core of the future establishment of the various state governments. Austria was too busy providing support to spare any of them, so how could they possibly give them up?

After pondering for a moment, Mörck shook his head, “Two hundred eighty thousand is still too few. Just taking Turin City might cost us tens of thousands. And there are a series of cities waiting for us to conquer afterwards.

Continue to ramp up recruitment locally. Besides promoting national independence, promises can also be made to soldiers, such as land, tax exemptions, and pensions. You all decide on the specific figures, as long as they are tempting enough.”

To recruit more Italian cannon fodder, Mörck had already abandoned his bottom line, making promises directly on behalf of these state governments.

As to whether these could be fulfilled would depend on the integrity and governance abilities of these state governments. After all, this was a fight for Italian national independence, and Austria certainly was not going to foot the bill.