194 – Linz Plain Grand Battle (6)
The front, left, and right are surrounded by the infantry of the Reich Imperial Army, and more than 10,000 knights are coming in droves from the rear. .
For the Reich Imperial Army, this was the best moment to annihilate the Knights, but for the Grand Duchy of Austria, this was the worst moment to determine their defeat.
The only thing allowed for the Austrian knights, who were in the shadow of defeat, was to either run away or die on the spot while resisting as much as possible.
“Honorable knights of the Grand Duchy of Austria, even if we all die here today, let us not surrender or run away to save our lives!”
“Our brave battle will be remembered forever by our descendants!”
“Death is a moment, but honor will last forever! Let’s take up the sword and fight against the enemy!”
The officers leading the knights were prepared to struggle and die, even if it was meaningless, just as they had been educated at the academy, at the staff college, and as nobles.
So, of course, he ordered the knights under his command to go with them to the underworld.
“f*ck, I want to live!”
“After we search, the bereaved family’s consolation money won’t even be enough to feed the family!”
“If you are going to die, die alone! “You incompetent bastard!”
The commoner knights, who were classified as ‘knights’ because they were not officers, but were merely professional soldiers wearing iron armor, naturally rebelled against the order to fight and die honorably.
Because, as they said, even if the nobles die, the rest of the family may not have any problems living.
The consolation money given to the families of soldiers and non-commissioned officers who died in a lost battle was little more than a small amount of money.
If you fight fiercely and die beautifully, you can clearly see what the future will be like for the rest of your family.
On the other hand, as the saying goes, ‘someone’s misfortune is someone else’s happiness’, the Austrian knights were put in a very unhappy situation.
The knights of the Reich Imperial Army were given a golden opportunity to choose their specialty as they wished.
Major Carlos, who led the knights who understood the situation, raised his lance and shouted in a loud voice.
“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has given us the opportunity to go on a rampage! But I’m sure there’s no fool among them here who would miss such an honorable and glorious opportunity, right?”
The knights responded to those words.
“I’m going to get ahead this time and get my wife some new clothes!”
“Go for a dollar!” “There is no chance other than now!”
“Ugh! Those bastards who stand in the way of His Majesty the Crown Prince! “Today, I will make a muksabal and kill you.”
The situation is such that all you have to do is put a spoon on the table already prepared by the infantrymen, but if even this fails, you can honestly say that the opportunity to succeed will never come.
However, fortunately for the Crown Prince and Lieutenant General Jaeger, there was not a single member of the Imperial Army, including Major General Carlos, who gave up on career advancement.
They charged properly at the knights of the Grand Duchy of Austria, just as they had learned from dozens or hundreds of assault trainings.
In addition, unlike the infantry of the Reich Empire, they were wearing full-body armor made of iron when they were dismounted from their horses.
They didn’t even have polearms that could block the charge of over 600kg of metal.
“Mom! I don’t want to die here!! “Ugh!”
“You crazy bastard, don’t jump forward! Just stand there and die! You say you are alone! ”
“aaah! “It’s flying!!”
So, knights died by being stepped on by huge horses’ hooves that weighed over hundreds of kilos, turning them into minced meat covered in iron armor, or being run over and flying by when they hit something and died from the impact.
In addition, the Austrian knights running back to survive in the vanguard and the knights running forward to avoid the Reich Empire knights approaching from behind clashed with each other.
They fell like dominoes, falling on each other’s bodies and either dying instantly from shock or slowly dying of suffocation.
Major Carlos thought.
‘I want to retreat and then charge again and kill all the knights. For the next operation, we must fall back.’
“Leave this front to the infantry and we retreat! “Go back to base, take a breather, and get your lance back!”
According to that order, the knights of the Reich Empire obediently returned to their base, although they felt somewhat regretful.
“Now that I’ve caught up with them, I should have charged three or four more times.”
“There is nothing we can do about it. Instead, cut the throats of enemy generals during the chase.”
“Let’s go back, have a glass of water and wait for the next operation.”
As soon as they returned, an infantry division in reserve replaced the knights and blocked the retreat of the Austrian knights.
Through this, the 20,000 knights of Austria were buried in a situation where they were surrounded on all sides and could no longer come out alive, with almost no fighting power.
“Your Highness, the 9th Division is unable to withstand the onslaught of the Reich infantry and is requesting a retreat! What would you like to do?”
“His Royal Highness, Baron Peter von Biene, commander of the 11th Division, has died.”
“Your Highness, the Reich infantry is surrounding our troops on both sides!”
The Archduke of Austria seemed like he was going crazy from the endless news of defeat.
‘We have more troops, where on earth are we being pushed back? Damn it, I wish I could look down on the battlefield from the sky.’
However, since there was no technology like drones in this era, all commanders had to imagine how the battlefield would unfold based on the information delivered by messengers.
According to this, it was necessary to decide where to send reinforcements and how many sub-units of which unit to recruit.
And now that the Archduke of Austria had gone beyond the limits of her own imagination, she could not decide what instructions to give.
“Chief staff, right now, draw a picture of our troops’ situation based on the reports the messengers have given so far! “It’s okay if it’s just a rough outline, so hurry up!”
According to that order, the staff around the Archduke of Austria reproduced the messengers’ reports one by one and drew pictures.
In the meantime, Max von Wehner had an intuition.
‘Ah, my brother-in-law told me to run away because if it looks like the Austrian army is going to be severely defeated, my mission is over. Now I have to prepare to run away.’
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Then he thought about how to escape as safely as possible while other staff members were diligently plotting alternatives around the Archduke.
At the same time, it would be enough just to get back from here alive, but if possible, gather as much information as possible, shake up the Austrian formation significantly, and then return…
‘It would be possible for me to establish a regiment-level major on my own. Damn it, I will do whatever it takes to restore my honor and return to being a proud father in front of his wife and children.’
As he gritted his teeth and looked around, Benner caught sight of his former friend, Mathius, a traitor who abandoned the empire.
I don’t know why, but today, in Benner’s eyes, the back of Martius’ head looked as attractive as a work of art.
And then Benner suddenly clutched his stomach and said:
“Martius, I’m so sorry. Can you please go to the bathroom with me? “My stomach hurts so much I feel like I’m going to die.”
“Ha, f*ck. Yesterday, I told you to drink a little less even if you want to impress His Highness the Grand Duke! I don’t know, but you can’t move alone in the military camp, right? Wait.”
“Thank you, friend.”
“If you are sorry, please think about how we can save His Highness from this crisis. If your majesty wins, you will be able to get a wife who is prettier and more seductive than the b*tches you lived with in the past. “I need a fresh start.”
Having said that, Mathias approached the colonel wearing the staff badge near the Archduke and asked for permission.
The two moved to a corner of the military camp where no one was watching, and Benner quietly pulled down his pants, squatted down, and began to relieve himself.
“I’m sorry, friend.”
“What is this between us? To put it bluntly, other than you, there are only four people I can trust here. If you really appreciate it, buy me a drink after we win the war and go back. “I’ll introduce you to a bar.”
“Thank you so much, bastard.”
Like that, Benner and Mathius had a friendly conversation in the corner of the camp, like friends who have known each other for decades.
“Hey, but there is actually a good strategy. “Do you have the military deployment map you were just drawing up?”
Although Mathius thought those words suspicious, he did not have much doubt.
“Why did you plan a good plan without my knowledge?”
“Since we have more troops, we can mobilize the rear troops and attack the left wing of the imperial army. If you do that, you will have a hole to breathe.”
“……But why are you telling me this?”
“Anyway, if I tell you, there is no guarantee that His Highness will believe it. So it’s better to tell you and let it pass. If we turn the tide of the war with that, you will succeed, and I will also get something to eat, right?”
Martius was greatly moved by those words, and at that moment, Benner also finished toileting and quietly stood up.
Then, Mathius patted Benner’s shoulder in gratitude and tried to continue saying something, but at that moment, he was unable to say anything.
There was a dagger stuck in my throat and in my airway, so no matter what I tried to say, all I could hear was the sound of air escaping and blood boiling.
Benner looked down at his old friend and said as if he felt sorry for him.
“마티어스 개새끼야, 매제가 살 기회를 줬으면 너는 그러면 안 되는 거야. Let me tell you one more thing. Judging by the way the Archduke spoke, he plans to kill all five people, including me, after this battle. “You really are a bastard who is worse than an asshole.”
Having said that, Benner showed his final mercy to Martyrs, who was dying in despair, embarrassment, and the shock of betrayal, cutting off his life.
After that, he carefully left the military camp, holding the military deployment map drawn up by Martius.
“f*ck, if you convey this information to your brother-in-law in a timely manner, not only will your honor be restored. Even after returning, you don’t have to listen to your brother-in-law’s halo or the sound of a fool who got ahead in life.”