Holy Roman Empire
Chapter 94: Godly Assist

“The enemy has five divisions,” Marshal Badoglio’s initial thought was that the enemy’s reinforcements had arrived, but he quickly dismissed this assumption.

The main forces of the Austrian Army were in Hungary, and the transportation in that region was not good.

Sending five divisions from Hungary to Trento was not an easy task.

Using trains? The railways from Hungary were not yet fully established.

What about cavalry? Time-wise, cavalry could indeed arrive within a week.

However, from a military perspective, it was not logical.

It would be absurd for the Austrian Government to send five divisions of cavalry to Trento unless they had lost their minds!

Marshal Badoglio did have suspicions about the frontline officers fabricating the military situation report.

It was impossible for an enemy force that could defeat three Sardinian divisions in one night to have a small number of troops!

“Did the enemy have noticeable mobilization of troops?” Marshal Badoglio asked with doubt.

“No, except for when they sent two regiments to reinforce Trento on May 18th, there have been no major troop movements,” Chief of Staff Oteleis replied with certainty.

It was impossible to draw a significant amount of troops from the Venice Region.

Austria’s total troops in that area was less than one hundred thousand.

If they were to withdraw five infantry divisions from there, the defensive line would have been left vulnerable.

Such a move would not have escaped their notice.

After a moment of silence, Marshal Badoglio sighed and said, “I’m afraid the enemy’s reinforcements have arrived.

Perhaps the troops from Hungary were just a diversion, deliberately used to deceive us. The real reinforcements are from Austria.

The Hungarian Republic is just a disorganized group. The Austrian Government doesn’t need to mobilize a lot of troops to suppress the rebellion.

I suspect that from the beginning, the enemy has been bluffing.

Radetzky, that cunning old fox, intentionally made it appear as if they did not have sufficient troops, tricking us into falling for it.

The Austrian forces sent to suppress the revolution in Hungary are nowhere near four hundred thousand; a significant portion of those troops must be heading towards us.”

After hearing the Marshal’s analysis, everyone’s expression changed drastically. It was the most reasonable explanation.

They couldn’t believe that three Sardinian divisions couldn’t handle three Austrian regiments.

If there was such a huge disparity in strength between the two sides, this war would have ended long ago.

Everyone present had political acumen, and deceiving allies was a common diplomatic tactic.

It was understandable for the Hungarians to not inform them of this news to urge them to send troops to Venice as quickly as possible.

Oteleis expressed his concerns, “Marshal, Austria may be in decline, but it is still a major European power.

If the Austrian Government is willing, they could easily deploy two or three hundred thousand troops to the Venice Region.

If we can’t figure out the exact number of enemy reinforcements, we may suffer significant losses in the upcoming battles!”

This was a very realistic problem. How did Austria manage to deploy troops to Trento without being noticed? And what was the size of this reinforcement?

Weaponry, equipment, and firepower configuration were all crucial factors they needed to ascertain immediately.

Marshal Badoglio thought for a moment and said, “Immediately send someone to scout the enemy’s forces.

With so many troops, the enemy can’t possibly hide completely, there must be some traces left behind.”

Pausing for a moment, he pointed at the unlucky guard who reported the military situation and asked impatiently, “You, fool, what about our casualties?”

The unlucky guard hesitated but then replied, “Marshal, the three divisions that participated in the Battle of Trento have all suffered heavy losses.

The casualties are still being counted, but the initial estimate is that we’ve lost no less than ten thousand personnel…”

Upon hearing the specific number of casualties, the faces of the people present turned pale.

It meant that these three divisions would lose their combat effectiveness for a long time to come.

“Marshal, now that the enemy’s reinforcements have arrived, it is almost impossible for us to capture Venice.

It might be better to stop the offensive and secure the gains we have made so far!” Major General Mantuya bit the bullet and suggested.

They really didn’t want to continue the fight.

The Austrian Army was not as weak as some politicians had described; on the contrary, they were quite formidable.

Since the start of the Battle of Venice, the Italian forces had not gained much advantage.

Now, with the arrival of enemy reinforcements, their numerical superiority had disappeared.

The situation became even more unfavorable for them to continue the battle.

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Marshal Badoglio pondered for a moment and said, “Order all units to halt the offensive and switch to defense.

Major General Mantuya, lead the Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Divisions to fortify the area around Arco and keep an eye on the enemy in Trento.

Other units will maintain their current positions, and everyone should perform their duties.

As for the rest of the situation, I will report it to our superiors, and we shall wait for further orders from our homeland.”

The Italian forces had been misled, as the Austrian reinforcements did arrive in the Venice Region, but instead of heading to Trento, they were making their way to Vicenza.

Lieutenant General Messer, in order to evade responsibility, fabricated military intelligence, leading the Sardinian Command to make incorrect military deployments.

Allocating a significant portion of their mobile forces to defend against a non-existent Austrian main force in Trento.

At this point, Lieutenant General Messer had little time to worry about such matters as he was busy trying to recruit able-bodied men to fill the gaps in his depleted forces.

After the enemy’s sudden attack, many of his units had scattered.

Everyone was focused on escaping, leaving no room to regroup the routed soldiers.

Upon reaching Bergamo, the combined strength of his three divisions couldn’t even match that of a fully equipped division.

Lieutenant General Messer knew he could never report such dire circumstances.

In a desperate attempt to cover up the situation, Messer reluctantly resorted to conscripting more men.

Since it was a time of war, he believed he could offset the losses by engaging in more battles in the future.

The Kingdom of Sardinia wasn’t known for its impeccable governance, and Lieutenant General Messer’s position as a member of King Charles-Albert’s lineage allowed some leeway.

As long as appearances were maintained, people would turn a blind eye to certain issues.

Walking through the streets of Bergamo, César felt a chilling sense of unease from the suspicious gazes of the locals.

He mustered up the courage and suggested, “General, the situation here seems off. Perhaps it’s not a suitable place for a long stay!”

Lieutenant General Messer’s demeanor had improved considerably, and he sneered, “What are you worried about? They’re just a bunch of lowly commoners. Is there any need to worry about them?”

Public sentiment? That notion had long vanished. As the troops retreated to Bergamo, discipline had completely disappeared.

The frustrated soldiers of Sardinia were letting off steam here by indulging in activities like warmly greeting the young women in the city and, before leaving, charging some labor fees along the way.

This behavior has been a tradition in Europe for centuries, where various armies engaged in warfare would also engage in looting and pillaging.

Although the Sardinian Army has modernized, some of these practices have still persisted.

To young and conscientious nobles like César, this behavior was difficult to accept.

However, for someone like Lieutenant General Messer, who had experienced the anti-French Wars, it was of no concern.

César hesitated and said, “But, Lieutenant General, if we continue this way, will it cause trouble in the future when Italy is unified?

The members of parliament might use these issues against us which could be problematic…”

Messer patted César’s shoulder and sighed, “César, you are overthinking it. Even if we manage to unify Italy, no one will remember these things.

Don’t forget, the power of discourse always remains in the hands of a few.

We haven’t touched the nobility and the capitalists. As long as they don’t hold grudges against us, it will be fine!”

Undoubtedly, this battle has shattered Messer’s morale, and he has completely lost confidence in this war.

At this moment, Lieutenant General Messer’s thoughts were no longer about how to win the war, but rather about replaceing ways to escape punishment and avoid being held accountable after the war.

In this morally corrupt and money-driven society, there was nothing that money couldn’t solve.

Even if there were challenges, it would simply mean that the amount of money was not enough!

Lieutenant General Messer was not the supreme commander, and even if there was a need for a scapegoat in case of defeat, he was not qualified enough.

Now, he could focus on accumulating a substantial amount of money, return to his home country, and use his influence to shift the blame for his defeat onto others.

This would undoubtedly be the most beneficial choice for his own interests.

Unfortunately, the people of Bergamo became unfortunate sacrificial pawns, experiencing firsthand what it meant to be “blessed” by the Kingdom of Sardinia.