War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

"Marshal, what should we do? The Sardinians in Turin are rushing out!"

The adjutant asked anxiously.

"What are our cavalry doing? Why are they retreating? Tell the infantry not to retreat! Destroy the enemy reinforcements as soon as possible, and then kill all the traitors in Turin! Anyone who stands in my way will die!"

Cavaignac roared like a beast. He was extremely angry about the reversal of the situation. This anger did not come from betrayal, but from the fear of failure.

This military action was not personally approved by President Louis Napoleon. If the action was successful, he could even launch a military coup to emulate Napoleon I.

After experiencing the absurd failure of the general election, Cavaignac's thoughts had changed considerably, and his ability to lead this military action was the best proof.

【Remember the domain name of this site, Taiwan Novel Network → 𝓉𝓌𝓀𝒶𝓃.𝒸ℴ𝓂】

If the action fails, not only Cavaignac, but also the republicans of the entire Second French Republic will suffer, and the crime of provoking war is not as simple as forced retirement.

Even if Louis Napoleon is willing to let him go, will the Austrian Empire let him go? Will the Italians let him go?

However, it is not a wise move to let the cavalry and infantry face off head-on. According to Cavaignac's idea, letting the cavalry rush back and kill a surprise attack can definitely easily disrupt the opponent's position.

The morale of the Sardinian army is not high, and it is easy to collapse once chaos occurs. In this way, it can turn defeat into victory, at least relying on the high mobility of the cavalry to deal with the Sardinian army.

However, it is not so easy for the retreating cavalry to regroup, and the horses have already charged once, so the physical strength of the horses has been reduced and the impact has also decreased.

The most crucial thing is that there is an absolute gap in the strength of the two sides. There are more than 50,000 defenders in Turin. Although not all the troops were dispatched, only one-third of them could not be dealt with by Cavaignac's 3,000 cavalry.

The Sardinian army of nearly 20,000 people rushed Cavaignac's cavalry to pieces with just one encounter. The morale of the Sardinian army, which defeated the French cavalry, was even stronger and was rolling towards the hillside where Cavaignac was.

He did not want to lose the first battle, and he did not want to be captured in the first battle.

So Cavaignac ordered the reserve to be transferred back to block the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia and buy time for the main force to annihilate the Po River Guard.

However, as soon as this order was issued, all the French troops on the battlefield knew that something big had happened in their rear, and people were panicked for a while.

Garibaldi's troops were seriously short of ammunition. There were still some rifle bullets, but the rocket launcher had become a complete decoration. All the rockets were used up in the previous battle.

Now they can only rely on the firepower advantage of lever-action rifles to barely maintain, but the lever-action rifles also consume ammunition at an alarming rate.

What is more terrifying is its failure rate. Due to its very high failure rate and continuous high-intensity combat, one-third of the lever-action rifles of the Po River Guard have been unable to shoot and have become firewood sticks.

Although Garibaldi has been fighting on the front line and encouraging the soldiers, and the soldiers of the Po River Guard are also very brave, the front line is still retreating. Some people even pushed down the cannons on the inland patrol boats, but they still can't stop the French army's advance.

"Brothers, look! Brothers in Turin are here to support us! Let's hold on a little longer and we must drive the French out of the Po River Plain!"

The bullets in Garibaldi's revolver had long been used up, and the orderly responsible for pressing bullets for him didn't know how many had died.

The lever-action rifles and bullets in Garibaldi's hands were all picked up from corpses. He and Sylvia were hiding behind the corpses of two heavy draft horses.

"What a bad day!"

Sylvia complained while loading the gun.

"I told you not to come. But think about it, we are all going to be heroes."

Garibaldi tried to comfort his wife.

"I would rather fish with you on the beach than be a dead hero."

Garibaldi smiled awkwardly. He suddenly heard a sharp whistle. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw steamboats with the flag of the Po River Guard approaching.

"Look! Our people are coming!"

The members of the Po River Guard who were holding on also heard the familiar whistle, and the people on the boat also waved their flags in time.

"We are coming!"

It was the autumn harvest, so most of the members of the Po River Guard went home to help, but when they heard that the war had started, they chose to return to the team as soon as possible.

In addition, the cripple Joseph was still very appealing in Genoa. The police, militia, and even gang members in Genoa chose to follow his footsteps.

But this is a battlefield after all, and many passionate young people and "ruthless people" who are strong on the outside but weak on the inside were frightened to jump into the water to escape just by smelling the burnt smell coming from the battlefield.

Some people even tried to grab the rudder, causing the two boats to collide and flip over.

Even so, just hearing the word "reinforcement" was enough to rekindle Garibaldi and his troops' hope.

But it was a huge blow to the French army, because they didn't know how many enemies there were, let alone who was coming.

If the enemy's reinforcements were as capable as the army in front of them, it would be doomsday.

As one side gained, the other lost, and this blow became more obvious, the momentum of the impact was stopped, and the subsequent French army chose to shoot at the Po River Guard.

"Hurry up! Come on!"

Cavaignac roared wildly, and the messenger waved the flag vigorously. However, the soldiers on the front line were indifferent, and the soldiers had reached their limit.

The heavy casualties and long-term fighting made the initial enthusiasm of the French army disappear without a trace, and they began to think of the legends they had heard before.

Unlike the legends in the Napoleonic era, the legends in recent years are very cruel. The casualties of the war are huge. Those injured and disabled veterans did not even get a symbolic resettlement fee, let alone entering the Invalides.

Originally, Louis Napoleon had promised to give pensions to the veterans, but after taking office, he was unanimously opposed by the parliamentarians, and finally did not implement it due to insufficient finances.

There were fewer people who were promoted and changed their fate through war. Instead, people like Cavaignac who had never been on the battlefield became marshals.

They had not seen any spoils brought back from abroad, but they had seen many veterans begging on the streets being arrested and taken to shelters.

More and more people were wavering, and the enemy forces attacking from both sides became more and more brave.

"Damn cowards! You are the shame of France! Don't retreat! Guards!"

"Here!"

"Stop them!"

"Yes!"

The Guards set up artillery and rockets and shouted loudly.

"Those who retreat will die!"

Someone on the chaotic battlefield didn't hear clearly and was still retreating. The Guards immediately opened fire and killed that person and all the soldiers around him.

At this time, the soldiers remembered the horror of the Guards, and the officers on the front line could only bite the bullet and shout.

"Go back! Keep fighting!"