The Sun Never Sets In Spain

This time Italy was all infantry, except for the messenger and a small number of scouts, and the charge was not fast.

If it was an open field, they would have suffered heavy casualties if they charged like this. Fortunately, the city wall not only blocked the view, but also hindered the infantry's shooting.

During the entire charge, only a small number of unlucky people were hit by shells, with losses of up to three digits.

In a blink of an eye, Rome was already close at hand, and even the feared soldiers gradually became excited at this time.

The salaries of the Italian army are very low, and the Prudence system has not yet been implemented. Why do you come to serve? Isn't it just to make money from wars?

Cialdini's promise was still very generous. The first five soldiers who rushed into Rome could earn £2,000, and even if they died, they could pass it on to their family members.

Normally speaking, at the income level of Italy, an ordinary soldier will not make so much money in a lifetime working with a knife and blood, and this amount is far beyond the usual standard.

Motivated by money, the morale of the Italian army reached a peak when it approached the city wall, and soldiers rushed into the gap.

Then... they were greeted by machine gun fire.

Almost instantly, the first few warriors who rushed into the gap were beaten into sieves and piled on top of each other.

I'm afraid their only wish before they die is that the officers in the rear can see who they are.

The Italian soldiers were stunned. Under the coverage of the firepower net, they used their bodies to charge. You can imagine what the fate would be—the one who walked the farthest did not go 20 meters.

The slaughter lasted for half an hour, and the corpses in the gap were all over the floor.

In the distance, Cialdini's expression gradually changed from the ecstasy of seeing the soldiers successfully rushing in to an unstoppable astonishment.

In their observations and tests, the machine gun will be stuck and the supply of bullets will not be available for a few minutes at most, but after so long, the opponent's firepower has shown no signs of diminishing.

Cross-fire coverage is one of the basic tactics in later generations, and it can't even be counted as a tactic, but now that machine guns have only recently appeared, this is already a rare superb skill.

At this stage, machine guns are usually distributed to various companies as a means of expanding infantry firepower. This is the first time that such concentrated use has appeared.

If the two sides meet each other in a field battle, this kind of usage is definitely not good. After all, bullets have limited firepower and should be as wide as possible.

However, in this special environment, the efficiency of the slaughter has been maximized.

As time passed, Cialdini understood the working principle of this firepower net and noticed the heavy sandbag that protects the machine gunner.

... Infantry can't break through such a line of defense, so rushing, there will definitely be many deaths.

Cialdini knew this well.

A new question posed before him—Should the army retreat?

If the attack continues, the casualties will definitely increase further. But if he retreats, he will face a cruel fact: he has paid thousands of lives without achieving any results.

This is enough to get him to a military court.

Even if he didn't do anything about him, his military position would definitely be gone, and his life would definitely be ruined.

When people mentioned him, they would only say that he was a stupid commander.

On the contrary... if you can break through Rome in one go, the slight setbacks in the battle and the not-so-good-looking battle damage ratio are irrelevant.

Making up his mind, Cialdini rejected all retreat proposals, instead he sent more reserve troops.

However, he didn't want to continue to give away the heads. He ordered the artillery to venture to 500 meters outside the city wall.

The howitzer can fully exert its power at this distance, and the shells will not hit their own people even after they cross the city wall.

But relatively, this distance will also expose the fragile artillery to the opponent's fire.

Both sides are blind shot across the city wall, the only difference is that the Spanish infantry can stand on the city wall to assist in aiming, while Italy does not.

At this time, the morale of the soldiers on the front line had fallen to the extreme, and anyone could see that this was just sending them to death for nothing.

They had hoped that the order to retreat would come soon from the rear, but unexpectedly the order came, but instead of retreating, they would speed up the attack.

Even if the officers repeatedly promised that the firepower of the opponent would cease and promised that artillery support would arrive immediately, the soldiers did not dare to charge anymore.

It is very difficult for a person to have the courage to attack again when he sees his companions rushing in and then immediately dies in front of him tragically.

"They are sending us to death! We want to live!"

On the spot, the soldiers shouted so loudly and clashed with the officers, and the two sides launched fierce fire.

Chaos is contagious, and soon the entire front line of Italy will be in chaos.

This gave Spain a valuable respite, and even if it fired alternately, the machine gun had its limits.

Many barrels are overheated and can no longer be used. If the opponent continues to charge, there may be a chance to give them a hole. After all, the Italian army is also equipped with grenades, and there is still a chance to threaten the soldiers behind the sandbags.

That really complied with the sentence: "My soldiers are endless, and your bullets are consumed every second."

Fortunately, such a scene did not happen.

"Marshal, it's time to countercharge!" Seeing this, Hoffman took the initiative to ask, hoping to start a field battle with Italy on the periphery of the city wall.

Primm hesitated, and there was chaos outside the city wall. It seemed that he could send an army out to harvest. The army without organization and dispatch would be useless.

But the problem is that the enemy's follow-up troops are coming, and this chaos will not last long.

They killed thousands of people in less than half an hour, but Italy still maintains an absolute advantage in military strength. If the scale of the war expands, it will be contrary to the predetermined defensive strategy.

Primm paced on the spot, thinking carefully for a while, but refused Hoffman's request.

The victory of this war is entirely dependent on the navy. The army does not seek merits, but seeks nothing.

His choice is correct, because Garibaldi has led his army around the battlefield.

As long as Spain kills out, he will lead the Italian volunteers to hold them back, and then gradually use their numerical superiority to besiege, when the whole situation is at risk of collapse.

Without Spain intervening, thanks to the help of follow-up soldiers and volunteers, the officers quickly stabilized the situation. Most of the soldiers who had previously mutinous were under control, and at most less than a hundred people escaped.

However, the damage has already been done, and the chaos on the front line has caused at least nearly a thousand casualties.

Forcing the army to charge against the rain of bullets is the end. Obviously, the Italian army is not ready to face the slaughterhouse of the industrial age.