Welcome to 19th-century Europe, where strength reigns supreme

Benedek had no more troops at hand, so he could only find messengers to communicate with the rear. Since there were no messengers in Austria, they were probably in Hungary. He summoned [-] messengers to go to Budapest and send Hungary's preparations The troops were mobilized to the front line to fight against the Prussian army.

Several waves of defeats on the front line caused the Austrian front line to retreat for more than ten kilometers. He personally went to the city of Tautnau, which was very close to the front line, to supervise the battle, and there was a defeated army scattered by the Prussian Third Army. Benedek reorganized They were defeated, and the battle report from the front line also came over. It was the Prussian First Army that had occupied the city of Nazid.

Benedek was a little confused. This was different from the information given by the staff. He only felt a numb scalp now. There were several staff officers around him. Some people said that the Prussian Third Army in the east had just withdrawn from Nahod. , General Gablenz can also form a favorable counterattack.

Other staff members said that they should abandon their positions in the east and defeat the Prussian First Army first. As long as Moltke withdraws here, the Third Army will most likely choose to retreat, but this is a gamble after all. If you are deploying troops, you must be prepared. If your remnants and Gablenz's main force can really defeat the Prussian First Army, then the plan will be possible.

There are all kinds of intelligence. At this time, it depends on which one you believe, whether you believe that you can defeat Moltke by taking the initiative, or whether you believe that Bittenfeldt's army is exhausted and Gablenz can regain the position.

Benedek looked at the wounded soldiers behind him. He didn't know whether to say it or not. He didn't think he could defeat Moltke. There were still some soldiers in the city, plus reinforcements transferred from South Germany. , defending the city shouldn't be a big problem, so it's better to let Gablenz stay where he is first and take a look at the situation himself.

Moltke was also confused at this time. He looked at the instruction map and knew that all armies had already crossed the mountains. But the problem was that the positions of each army were completely different from expected. According to his idea, the first The Army Group and the Third Army should be able to meet up near Hesting to capture the main force of the Austrian army and engage in a decisive battle.

This plan is good, but the risk is extremely high. If the two armies cannot successfully join forces and achieve an encirclement, once the main force of the Austrian army escapes, it is very likely to retreat deep into the homeland and even cause heavy damage to either part of the Prussian army's wings.

The Second Army, which was responsible for holding back the enemy frontally, could not find the enemy at all at this time. As it advanced, it collided with the Third Army and made a void dumpling. When it encircled the enemy, it did not see the main force of the Austrian army. Moreover, the east side failed to encircle them in time.

The three armies made two void dumplings. Although it was harmless, the continuous attacks made Moltke question where the main force of the Austrian army had gone. Is it still in Tottenau?

The Third Army led by Bittenfeldt clashed with Gablenz's troops. The enemy's firepower was extremely fierce. It was expected that there would be at least [-] artillery pieces. Bittenfeldt did not bring many cannons. The firepower was suppressed by the Austrian army, so Bittenfeldt sent a telegram to Moltke saying that the main force of Austria was actually on his side. After this good guy sent the telegram, Moltke was deceived again.

If the Third Army can be suppressed, the Austrian muzzle-loading guns will definitely not be able to do so. In other words, the enemy should have an advantage in terms of numbers. The case has been solved. The enemy's main force is on the east side.

The Austrian army should not have many troops in Tautnau. Moltke thought so. He judged that the main force of the Austrian army must have withdrawn from Tautnau. Obviously, his judgment was wrong again. Benedek came to the position in person and moved the Austrian army to Tautnau. All the troops that can be mobilized on the western front are concentrated in the city of Tautenau, with a total of about [-] troops.

The scouts in the second group army in the middle also discovered a sizable Austrian army on the way forward. The intelligence given by the scouts to the battalion commander was that the Austrian army had accumulated a large number of troops in the front, and they were moving forward level by level. On the ground, the main force of the Austrian army was actually in front of the Second Army. This put Manteuffel in trouble. He could only send another telegram to Moltke.

Moltke felt numb after receiving these messages. He even wondered if someone was playing him. Why were there so many main members of the Austrian army?

He ordered Manteuffel to attack directly. You will know whether it is the main force or not. Then he sent a message to the General Staff, asking Rudolf of the Fifth Army to immediately march to Bavaria and completely defeat the Austrian army in Bavaria. army.

"I don't want to hear any more news about the appearance of Austrian troops in South Germany!" Moltke sent this sentence along with the telegram to Rudolf, asking him to think of a way to ask the Fourth Army to support him if he encountered a difficult situation.

Then attack Tautnau? After repeated weighing, Moltke still chose to attack forward in an effort to capture the city. When the Prussian army rushed into the small town, they had a fierce conflict with the Austrian defenders. This was Benedek's plan. The Prussian army first introduced the city and then launched an attack. The Prussian army was a little relaxed for a while and was caught off guard by Austria. Under the opponent's superior terrain and superior firepower, the Prussian army withdrew from Tottenau after a short confrontation. However, relying on their excellent military qualities, they still caused a lot of casualties to the Austrian army.

........

The war has been going on for three weeks. Several regions except Austria have basically been conquered. Bavaria was also defeated by Rudolf's Fifth Army. Half of Bavaria was conquered and cut off without the Fourth Army even needing to take action. The relationship between Austria and the four southern German states.

Ron confidently told August, "Our troops have crossed the natural chasm of the Sudeten Mountains and have penetrated into the hinterland of Bohemia. Although the Austrian army can make some resistance, on the whole Their casualties are far greater than ours, and the Austrian soldiers have no fighting spirit. It is estimated that this war will be over soon."

"Really? We attacked Bavaria. What did Napoleon III say?"

"He didn't react at all. Napoleon III is a master of the game between great powers and will naturally not act rashly, so His Highness doesn't need to be nervous yet."

"Well, okay, but let's deploy more troops in the Rhineland. I'm afraid Napoleon III will lose his temper. By the way, find someone to help me pass a message to an editor of the Rheinische Zeitung... .”

......

On the other side of the battlefield, Bittenfeld learned that Moltke had launched an attack. He believed that Moltke's troops would definitely be able to capture the Austrian troops there, and he would take advantage of this opportunity to take the Austrian army's retreat.

This action frightened Gablenz. When he saw Bittenfeldt's menacing appearance, and because Benedek did not reply to his message, he felt that Benedek might have been defeated. Moltke I'm afraid the troops are preparing to take their own retreat.

He gave up, and then immediately led his troops to retreat and abandoned his position. Bittenfeldt didn't even know what happened. Anyway, he inexplicably repelled the enemy army, and his retreat could kill the Austrian Archduke Leopold in the middle. De was tortured.

The Second Army arrived at Hausting first. They encountered the troops of Archduke Leopold. Leopold was very confident in his flank and took the initiative to launch an attack. The Prussian army saw that the Austrian army actually took the initiative to attack. They had never seen it before. Are you so arrogant and don’t take yourself seriously?

Immediately two hundred cannons were pulled up and launched a bombardment. In just three hours, the invading Austrian army was subdued. Leopold was forced into a defensive posture. Originally, he could still hold on, but when When he saw that the Prussian Third Army had come over, he felt numb.

"Damn it, is there any mistake? What is Gablenz doing?"

He did not receive any information, and Gablenz did not tell him about his situation. This was mainly because Austria was not equipped with a telegraph machine, so their information exchange was slow. In this case, Leopold could only order a retreat. Withdraw from Hao Si Ding.

The eastern front of the Austrian army was completely empty. When Benedek on the front line had just repelled the Prussian attack, he suddenly turned his head and said, "What's going on? Why has the entire front been defeated? Huh?"