Chapter 86: Chapter 84 – Allies

Late at night, Sardinian Barracks in Trento

Misreporting the losses and merits during a battle was a serious crime according to military law. Since Colonel Scilla had reported that his army had suffered heavy losses, there must be heavy losses. Being able to climb up to his position, Colonel Scilla was naturally not a soft-hearted man. In order to account for the report that he had sent in the morning, Colonel Scilla had strengthened the offensive in the afternoon.

Fortunately for him, the veterans of the Kingdom of Sardinia were much braver than the conscripts from the plains of Lombardy. In addition, their sense of belonging to their nation and its war was much higher than that of the Lombards, which naturally resulted in the fighting in the afternoon resulting in significantly more losses.

Checking the number of casualties, Colonel Scilla waved his hand and reported them as the casualties that took place in the morning battle. During the afternoon battle, more than 300 people were killed and more than 800 were injured. These casualties could be considered somewhat severe. However, even though the senior officers had managed to save themselves, the morale of the army had hit rock-bottom as a consequence.

It was said that without comparison, there is no harm. Inspired by the easy capture of Milan, the Sardinian soldiers had been excited to quickly defeat the Austrians and capture Trento. However, not only were they severely beaten such that close to 20% of their comrades died or received terrible injuries, the conscripts from Lombardy had suffered surprisingly little losses. Naturally, they weren't happy with this.

In this climate, a few Sardinian soldiers overheard a few Lombardian conscripts discussing a manual which had apparently saved their lives. Naturally, they forced them to reveal this manual. Soon, the Battlefield Survival Manual spread like wildfire amongst the Sardinian soldiers. Perhaps, due to the beating that they suffered, the Sardinian soldiers put aside their pride and accepted this manual.

In addition to the Battlefield Survival Manual, Austrian spies had also been secretly propagating the idea that this war was being fought for the sole benefit of the capitalists. Soon, this theory also spread amongst the Italians. After all, Italy has been divided for too long. Italians don't consider themselves Italians, but rather Sardinians, Genoese, Lombards, Venetians depending on their place of birth.

The soldiers began to question the purpose of this war and how it benefited them. After all, no matter how they thought about it, it seemed that the capitalists were the ones who would profit more from a unified Italy since it would allow them to have a larger market for exploitation. Meanwhile, these soldiers who shed their blood for unity would be left with nothing.

Since Roman times, Italians had been more educated and pragmatic than the rest of their European counterparts. Italy had also been embroiled in a commercial atmosphere for close to a millennia which has led to the common people to rationalize things and think for themselves. On the contrary, it was said that the best soldiers were those who followed orders without question.

Thanks to the work of the Austrian spies, the Sardinian army had undergone an imperceptible transformation as the morale had plummeted and they had become disillusioned with the war. They were no longer so keen on the war for which they had previously marched on the streets of Turin.

 

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Sardinian Command in Venice

Marshal Franzini was not yet aware that his army was undergoing a frightening transformation. Currently, he was worried about how to respond to the Tuscan messenger with a letter of help from Colonel Magherini. He was quite delighted that the Tuscans had participated in the war since the Sardinians definitely needed as much cannon fodder as possible for the war against Austria, but unsure how to proceed, so he asked his staff, "Men, as you're all aware, the Tuscan army was attacked by an Austrian division and asked for reinforcements. How should we respond?"

A middle-aged officer frowned and said, "Lord Marshal, the Tuscans are over 30 kilometers away from us. If we take into account the time taken for the letter to arrive here, the fighting should have taken place at least five hours ago.

Even if we send reinforcements, it will take them at least one day to reach the battlefield. It's hard to say whether there would even be anyone left to save."

Obviously, he doesn't want to waste his soldiers to rescue their Tuscan allies. Besides, when did Sardinia and Tuscany become true allies? As long as the Kingdom of Sardinia wants to unify Italy, it will have to fight against the Grand Duchy of Tuscany sooner or later. In that case, isn't it a good idea to weaken their army when they have the chance?

Another middle-aged officer named and retorted, "Jacopo, that's a terrible idea! If we don't send troops to rescue our Tuscan allies, it will lead to very serious diplomatic troubles. The Papal States and Naples will also become more cautious and might even recall their armies. In that case, we will be forced to fight this war alone!"

General Jacopo replied, "Carlo, we're already fighting this war alone! The Kingdom of Naples deployed 40,000 men, but where are these 40,000 men? Who knows whether they will even appear before the war is over!

The Tuscans did act very decisively, but according to the reports, this is because their commander is a conceited fool who is hungry for merit. Even if they reach us, they will only lower the level of our elite soldiers!

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The 7,000 men promised by the Papal States are the same. It's obvious that they're just wasting time and have no intention to fight?"

Marshal Franzini nodded, clearly in agreement with his outspoken subordinate. He had realized that they couldn't count on their allies. Austria's influence in Italy was simply too great. Even if they had used public opinion to force the other states to send troops, they clearly had no intention of participating in the war.

In addition, the fever of the revolution had begun to subside, which meant that the conservatives in Italy would soon regain power in Tuscany, Naples and the Papal States. Soon, they might completely withdraw their soldiers.

Marshal Franzini considered his words for a moment before he commanded, "You both have put forward good points. In that case, tell the messenger that we will send reinforcements soon so they should hold their ground."

This command signified that Marshal Franzini had decided to give up on the Tuscan allies. Even though they promised to send reinforcements soon, how "soon" was anyone's guess.

 

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On the front at the Po river, Colonel Magherini no longer had his previous spirit. There was no suspense during this battle. Not to mention the Tuscan army's negligible combat effectiveness, the Austrians had twice their number. After several hours of fighting, the Tuscans were unsurprisingly routed.

Colonel Magherini took his officers and a few soldiers and didn't waste time in making his escape. He had no intention of becoming a captive of the Austrians. Normally, prisoners of war were not harmed. However, as a revolutionary, he didn't believe that the Grand Duke of Tuscany would ask for his release. Thus, the only fate that awaited a worthless prisoner was death.

When they were making their final preparations to escape, the messenger that he had sent to the Sardinian HQ returned. He reported, "Colonel Magherini, Marshal Franzini has asked us to hold our ground. He has promised that they will send reinforcements soon!"

Colonel Magherini yelled, deeply concerned, "That's not enough! Did the Sardinians deploy reinforcements when you were there?"

The young messenger hesitantly replied, "No, they… held a meeting for an hour, and then said that they would deploy the reinforcements soon. They must have set off by now…"

Colonel Magherini's eyes sank deeply and his expression deteriorated as he thought to himself, 'Do those damn Sardinians think that they can fool me with such a perfunctory reply?! Damn it!'

Since no reinforcements would be coming, he had no other choice but to escape as quickly as possible. However, for him to safely escape, a safe rearguard was necessary. 

Colonel Magherini's eyes gleamed and he quickly ordered, "Tell the men to hold their ground. Our allies will be here soon, so we just need to wait for them!"

Inspiring the morale of the common soldiers was essential, so that they would act as scapegoats to slow down the Austrians and allow him to escape with his life.

 

-TO BE CONTINUED-

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