Chapter 92: Chapter 90 – Politcal Choice

The Papal Army Command

The power struggle that was taking place in Rome had now reached the front lines.

A middle-aged military officer anxiously reported, "General, His Holiness the Pope has ordered us to immediately return to Rome to suppress the rebellion!"

The Papal Army was currently experiencing what it felt like to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Pope had commanded them to leave everything and return back to Rome while the republican government that currently occupied Rome had ordered them to cooperate with the Sardinian army in order to capture Venice as soon as possible.

General Pietro Ricciardi held his head in annoyance. Whether to choose the Pope or the republic was daunting, especially since choosing the wrong side would result in the end of his political and military career. Even though the republicans currently had the upper hand, Pope Pius IX had yet to play his hand. As the religious leader of Europe, he could always call on believers to fight for him and help place him back in power.

"General, what should we do? Who should we listen to?"

His subordinates stood with bated breaths, waiting for his decision. General Ricciardi shook his head helplessly since he really did not know what to do. In fact, he was more inclined to the Pope, but there was no guarantee of the Pope's victory in this political struggle.

Fortunately, an opportunity presented itself when a young officer ran into the tent and broke the tense atmosphere as he reported, "General, the Austrians have ambushed our main force. They need reinforcements!"

General Ricciardi quickly ordered, "Order the second brigade to act as reinforcements, and pass the order to the third brigade at the rear to speed up its march."

The appearance of the enemy provided General Ricciardi with a reasonable excuse. Thus, he decided to no longer worry and just fight. He felt that he could also deal some damage to the Austrians and make a name for himself. Unfortunately, the training of the Papal Army had long since become lax while the only elite Swiss Guards had been disbanded by the republican government.

Aware of the civil war in Rome, the soldiers in the barracks were distracted and entirely uninterested in fighting for the Sardinians. As a result, morale was extremely low and the officers lacked the charisma to raise the army's morale.

In the era of volley fire, courage and discipline were paramount, but low morale usually stemmed from a lack of training and discipline. By the time the second brigade reached the battlefield, the first brigade was already on the cusp of collapsing. Once the soldiers saw reinforcements, they all began to run as if on cue. The second brigade, which had yet to take positions, was stunned as they faced an Austrian volley. A few soldiers escaped and soon the second brigade also collapsed like a house of cards.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

The sky had darkened.

After confirming that the Austrian army was no longer behind them, the Papal Army finally stabilized, but General Ricciardi was still in shock. He could not figure out when the battle began and when it ended, nor could he figure out how exactly he had lost the battle before it even began. Although General Ricciardi obtained his position thanks to his noble origin and his savvy political mind, he was not a complete novice in the art of war, either.

Watching the noisy soldiers, General Ricciardi frowned and asked, "Nelson, do you have your numbers, yet?"

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Colonel Nelson, the commander of the first brigade, replied, "General, around 2,700 soldiers have returned. The others should also be here soon."

In this battle, the losses of the Papal Army were not great. Except for the first brigade that had been ambushed by the Austrian army, the other two brigades did not engage in fire with the enemy at all. On the third day, all the officers and soldiers that had returned were added up, and the total number reached more than 6,500. For an army of 7,000, the losses were less than 10%.

After the failure, General Ricciardi became conservative. While waiting for logistics supplies, he decided to stay in his barracks and simply watched the situation develop on the battlefield.

Colonel Paolo, the staff officer, whispered, "General, Marshal Franzini has ordered us to immediately attack the Austrian army and in order for the Sardinians army to complete its flanking maneuver!"

General Ricciardi sneered and said, "He has ordered us? Who does this Franzini think he is? When has a Marshal of Sardinia been able to command the soldiers of Rome? Does he think that I'm the same as that idiot Magherini, stupidly running to be cannon fodder for the Sardinians?

Paolo, tell the Sardinians that our army is busy fighting hard against the Austrians and cannot support them. And don't forget to inform them that we all believe that the heroic Sardinian army can defeat the enemy and win the war!"

During the course of the war against Austria, the four Italian states had reached an oral agreement which put Marshal Franzini as the nominal commander of the coalition. However, the actual power vested in the hands of the coalition commander depended on the situation. Marshal Franzini could command the coalition, but it was up to the specific officers to accept or decline those commands.

After all, all the Italian states were competitors. This fact could not be erased with just a simple verbal agreement. Moreover, since the Sardinian army could stand by and watch the Tuscan army under Colonel Magherini being annihilated, General Ricciardi could also stand by and watch the Sardinians fighting hard against the Austrians.

"Yes, General!" Colonel Paolo replied.

"Also, order the soldiers to pack their luggage. We will retreat the day after tomorrow, leaving the battlefield to the Sardinians," added General Ricciardi.

He never considered the Kingdom of Sardinia to be an ally. It was no secret that the Kingdom of Sardinia was the strongest Italian state and was ambitious enough to unify all of Italy under its banner. In his opinion, the Kingdom of Sardinia posed a much greater threat to the Papal States than Austria.

On the surface, General Ricciardi had suffered a clear defeat. Militarily speaking, the stain of this defeat would remain with him forever unless he helped the Sardinians defeat Austria. However, politically speaking, this defeat was a blessing in disguise as it would allow him to weather the political crisis without having to choose either side.

He could be said to have followed the republican government's command to fight against Austria. Also, it was natural that he lost. Anyways, except for a few delusional people, no one had believed that the Papal Army could defeat Austria, so the expectations had never been great. In addition, General Ricciardi could exaggerate the strength and numerical advantage of the Austrians. This could allow him to avoid angering the Pope.

For example, he could say that due to the ambush by the Austrian army, a large number of his soldiers had been severely wounded, so he was forced to order a slow retreat in order to accommodate the wounded. By the time he would return to the Papal States, the domestic political struggle would be close to over and he could easily support the winning side.

 

-TO BE CONTINUED-

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