Chapter 507
On the plain with nowhere to hide, anti-infantry rockets exploded in the air. As a burst of white smoke rose, countless small steel balls shot towards the American soldiers who had nowhere to hide with the sound of breaking wind.
Then there were bursts of sounds of steel balls penetrating flesh, followed by miserable wails.
But this was just the beginning, and soon the cavalry cannon was also pushed up.
Before the Americans, who were stunned by the anti-infantry rockets, could organize a counterattack, the cavalry artillery opened fire.
The caliber of these cavalry guns was usually only three to four pounds, but it was sufficient for shooting infantry. However, due to the long distance, the bullets used were not shotguns, but solid bullets and blooming bullets.
Theoretically speaking, when shooting this kind of live target, the effect of using explosive ammunition will be better. But in fact, due to the limitations of the technical conditions at the time, the power of the explosive bombs was far less powerful than that of later generations.
Unless high-explosive bombs blasted from naval guns are used to cause large-scale damage, ordinary explosive bombs can only explode into a few petals, or even only two petals, and are not powerful enough to deter the enemy.
Solid bullets are completely different. These shells have strong penetrating power, good storage speed, long range, and high hit rate, which can give the opponent a great deterrent effect against dense formations.
In the Battle of Zorndorf in 1758, a Prussian artillery battalion killed 42 Russian soldiers with a single solid bullet.
Faced with the sudden artillery attack, the US military did not react like headless flies. On the contrary, these people showed amazing reaction speed. The officers immediately asked the soldiers to reorganize their formation and prepare to attack the Austrian side.
You must know that these American advance troops are strong men who can travel through mountains and rivers through countless death zones in the face of lack of supplies.
But the Austrian side has long been used to seeing this kind of people, they are very experienced. The artillery fire was accurately focused on the positions of American officers and soldiers trying to fight back.
No matter how brave a human being is, he is still made of flesh and blood. A solid bullet hit a U.S. military officer in the head. The big head immediately exploded like a watermelon, and his adjutant and an unlucky private were all sent away. Western sky.
For a time, red, yellow, white, and black juice and powder were scattered everywhere. When the soldiers saw the tragic death of the officer, their last courage dissipated and they immediately turned and ran away.
Among the four regiments of American troops, soldiers from one regiment began to flee, and soon it was like a flood bursting its banks. All the soldiers were fleeing, and the officers could not stop them.
The snipers and hunters on the Austrian side are not like they were on the European continent. They specialize in attacking the opponent's senior officers.
Those US military officers also discovered that they were the targets of the Austrians, and they couldn't help but secretly cursed "Europeans are not authentic."
Nothing could be more miserable than an army retreating on the plains, while the opponent still has a large number of cavalry.
The American soldiers ran around like frightened rabbits, while the Austrian soldiers continued to chase after them. At this time, the Indian cavalry who had been waiting for a long time rushed towards the defeated soldiers with joy.
"Ho ho ho!" The Indian on the horse screamed strangely and clapped his mouth with his hands, just like a group of Tarzans.
This is in line with people's stereotypes of this group of native Americans. In fact, these Indians also feel very happy. This undoubtedly stimulates the hunting genes in their bodies.
(In fact, this is what Franz requested, after all, this can create the greatest pressure on people.)
But it was not good news for the American soldiers who were escaping. For a while, zip lines with stones tied to both sides and nooses used to corral cattle were flying all over the sky.
The skills of these Indians are very good. If the flying stone rope hits the leg of the defeated soldier, he can immediately subdue the person. The person whose body is tied up with the noose is fine. If he is unfortunate enough to be tied around the neck, it depends on whether he can survive. God's will.
Of course, these Indians would not deliberately kill people. After all, they needed these white slaves, and then sent them to the mining areas to mine. They could not only get the expected rewards of cash and food, but also obtain the most important "certificate of good citizens."
The battle ended quickly. Of the 4,000 American troops, about 600 were killed directly in the battle, and there were 700 to 800 wounded soldiers. The remaining 2,000 people were strung together with neck nooses, like sixteen soldiers. Century black slaves were driven to mining areas by Indians.
The war dead will be buried on the spot, and the wounded will be handed over to the indigenous people for treatment. As for the weapons and trophies, the Austrian army will distribute them reasonably and the rest will be brought back to the city.
Some captured US military officers protested, but the Austrian officers did not respond.
"I speak German, damn you Austrian pig! I want to see your commander, and I demand fair and reasonable treatment!" Colonel Abbott roared.
This attitude of the American prisoners of war frightened the Indian chiefs on the side. Austria's high-pressure rule prevented them from showing any signs of neglect.
The chief immediately covered the prisoner's mouth, then pulled out his riding crop and greeted him, and finally said it twice in very stiff English and German.
"You are a slave of our tribe, and you are not qualified to negotiate treatment conditions. If you dare to talk to adults with this attitude again, I will cut off your tongue and let you eat it."
Colonel Abbott glared at the red-skinned Indian, but chose to keep his mouth shut when he saw the belt made of human skulls.
Soon the Austrians and the Indians parted ways. When Colonel Dardo saw the opportunity, he immediately said to the chief beside him.
"Let us go, and we will find a reservation for your tribe in the United States. Or return the guns to us, and we will sneak attack on the Austrian cities at night. Then you can have whatever you want! How about it?"
Facing the temptation of this white man, the Indian warriors on the side laughed disdainfully. The chief on the horse did not answer, but just took a sip from the hookah in his hand.
Seeing that the other party made no move, Colonel Dardo felt that the price he offered was not enough, so he gritted his teeth and continued.
"As long as you let us go, we can satisfy you with cigarettes, alcohol, weapons, bullets, whatever you want."
The chief glanced sideways at the talkative prisoner this time, and then turned back to smoke his hookah.
Colonel Dardo had a big smile on his face, but now it froze on his face. He changed his mind and said viciously again.
"We are Americans! Does America know this?! The largest country in the world! Austria is about the same size as our state, but now there are 27 states in the United States! If you don't let us go, you will all die!"
This time the chief finally stopped his horse, looked at the prisoners of war in front of him, and then took off his feather crown to reveal his severed scalp.
"I trusted you and wanted to be an American citizen, and then you scalped me.
But I'm not dead. Now you can choose to work for me. As long as you can dig out enough gold sand, I can satisfy you with whatever food, drink, or even women and opium you want.
You can choose to believe me, or be scalped and hang on that cliff. "