Chapter 299: 298: Operation Thunder

Gunshots echoed in the air as the small iron projectiles flew forth from the hand cannons and into the torso of the advancing knights who charged on foot at the defensive position. This attack resulted in several heavily armored knights losing their lives as the projectiles pierced through their armor at close range, turning them into bloody sieves.

Due to the introduction of barbed wire in the Bohemian conflict as means of Austrian aid, horses found it challenging to navigate the treacherous terrain. The Catholic Knights were forced to attack the Hussite positions on foot more often than not, leading them to walk into a wave of crossbow bolts and gunfire. 

Close to two years had passed since the Hussite Wars had begun. During this time the Hussites had found themselves on the defensive. Still, due to the Austrian forces' creative tactics and advanced technology, they could hold the line successfully and slowly deplete the alliance of Catholic parties who advanced upon them.

These Knights were from the Poland-Lithuanian commonwealth; after defeating the Teutonic State and seizing its territory, the Polish Knights answered the Pope's call to arms and marched on Bohemia.

After a swift victory over the Teutonic State, resulting in a small enclave of Teutonic Knights to exist in a fraction of its previous territory, the Polish Knights believed that sweeping up the Hussite heretics would be a simple matter.

They were mistaken, as they met the stiffest resistance they had ever come across; by now, they had poured thousands of knights and men at arms into the field and lost almost all of them. If things continued this way, defeat was inevitable. As such, the Catholic forces were scratching their heads, thinking of a way to penetrate the Hussite territory; thus far, no significant gains had been made. 

After gunning down the newest wave of crusaders, the Hussites began to reload their firearms, nearby was Eckhard, who stood at the frontlines of this war, overseeing the static defenses that had been made to counteract the Catholic invasion.

Eckhard estimated that it would not be long before Berengar entered a war with the Holy Roman Empire for his independence; as such, he needed to continue his efforts here in Bohemia to distract the Catholic forces for some time yet. 

With that in mind, the Crusaders began to charge at the static positions once more; as they did so, Eckhard instructed the men nearby to hold their fire.

"Hold! Hold your fire!"

Many of the men were aware of the current plan and began to have wicked grins as they imagined the result of the trap that had been lain for the catholic armies who rushed towards their position. 

Somewhere between the Crusader's encampment and the stone fortress established at the border of Hussite territory was a deep ditch that had been dug; to get to the defense, one would have to cross over this ditch. 

This ditch was not a moat as it was dug much further out than the fortress's walls; in fact, it had been used as a line of cover for the crusaders before they advanced on the Hussite's position. Until now, the catholic commanders considered the Hussite officers to be grossly incompetent for creating such a defensive position for their enemies. 

Because of this, the crusaders had begun to rely on this ditch to block the initial volley of the Hussite handgunners and then charge at their position while they were reloading. At this point, it was second nature for the Catholics to do so; once more, the crusaders jumped into the ditch.

This was their most considerable charge yet, with thousands of soldiers entering the trench line; they did not realize that several thousand pounds of TNT provided by the Austrian military were embedded within this trench system. The Hussites had been waiting for them to make such a massive mistake. 

After close to ten thousand soldiers entered the trench system, they waited for the Hussites to unload their initial volley before charging. However, the volley never came. Instead, they could hear the voice of the Hussite commander, who in this case was Eckhard scream his orders at the top of his lungs.

"Now!"

The moment Eckhard said this, the detonators to the TNT were initiated and, in doing so causing a massive explosion to erupt within the trench line, instantly engulfing thousands of crusaders in the resulting explosive blast. Fire and smoke filled the air surrounding the trench line as the flames spread to every soul unfortunate enough to survive the vicious attack.

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Blood-curdling screams echoed in the distance as blood, bone, and sinew were scattered about. It was a truly horrific sight to behold; however, before the Hussites could calm their stomachs, the whistle blew signaling their duty to charge, and as such, thousands of Hussites exited their fortifications and ran over the trench line filled with burnt corpses and the ash of those consumed in the explosion.

With bills, spears, swords, hand cannons, and crossbows in hand, the Hussites charged into the Crusader's encampment where few of their soldiers remained, terrified by the sight of the massive explosion as if the gates to hell themselves had opened on the battlefield. 

Before these crusaders could react, the Hussites were upon them, bringing with them the judgment of heaven as they descended upon the catholic forces who remained within the camp. Thunderous blasts of hand cannons echoed in the air as their projectiles pelted the surviving crusaders.

Bolts followed alongside the iron projectiles of the hand cannons creating a massive display of violence; after the initial volley had been fired, the melee combatants charged into the fray, skewering the disoriented crusaders with their weapons in a slaughter so brutal that only the devil could enjoy such a sight.

During the ensuing violence, Eckhard, alongside his attache of military advisors, stayed within the fortress, observing the sight with a bitter expression. The veteran field marshal could not help but sigh in defeat as he watched the bloody scene. 

"So much death, and for what? A difference of opinion over the word of God? Such a pointless waste of lives..."

The more Eckhard waged this religious war, the more exhausted he felt inside. If not for the orders he was given by Berengar, he would have left his role as the chief military advisor to the Hussites long ago.

In his eyes, Berengar's wars were somewhat justifiable; after all, the man had been suppressed by many forces and was fighting back against them. His goal of unifying the German people into a single coherent Empire was also noble and worth fighting for.

However, this war was fought simply over religious differences, and tens of thousands of men had already died in the conflict. Was the Pope so blinded by power that he would allow such a thing to happen? The more the Catholics resisted the Hussite Reformation, the more Eckhard was convinced that their creator did not design mankind with peace in mind. 

This war had been exhausting both mentally and spiritually for the Field Marshal of Austria, and he knew the moment it was over, he would likely be defending his homeland from the same degree of nonsensical bloodshed. 

Thus as Operation Thunder came to a close, Eckhard could not help but desire to have a drink as quickly as possible; in doing so he hoped to forget the discomforting thoughts that plagued his mind. Despite the state of despair he felt for the ongoing conflict in Bohemia, the war would continue to wage on.

However, with this victory, the Hussite forces had crushed the vanguard of the Catholic troops who attempted to invade their territory, and thus the roles were now reversed; the next stage of the Bohemian Conflict would soon begin as the Hussite armies started their advance into Catholic held territory.

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