Chapter 526 Epilogue
Seeing that the attack from the front was going smoothly, Benedek immediately dispatched all his remaining troops.
Then the Austrian army directly chased the American army in a counterclockwise direction and beat the latter into disgrace. At the same time, Archduke Carl Ferdinand's main force finally arrived on the battlefield.
Robert Stockton immediately felt the pressure. Both the firepower and the quality of this unit were much higher than the Austrian army he had encountered in the village of Escondido.
Only then did Robert Stockton have to admit that he had been fooled, but now there was no regret.
He now only hopes that the attack on Escondido Village goes smoothly so that he can gain more bargaining chips in negotiations.
Archduke Carl Ferdinand and Robert Stockton were of similar tactical proficiency in what was a most ordinary post-Napoleonic encounter.
However, due to the huge gap in the quality of personnel and weapons and equipment between the two sides, the battle was completely one-sided.
It took only two hours for Robert Stockton to voluntarily announce his surrender, less than 48 hours after he declared that California would officially become a U.S. territory.
The equipment of the California Army is actually slightly inferior to that of the Austrian army, but Archduke Carl Ferdinand's personal guard and "direct lineage" are better equipped than the ordinary Austrian army.
After all, his father was the richest man among the Austrian nobles, and he was in power in a sacred place like California, so it made sense to get some good equipment.
Almost all the latest equipment used by the Austrian Empire, some of which have not even been installed on a large scale, such as sniper rifles, M1843 Combined Forces steel eight-pound field gun, GG1 (the latest rocket), and M1842 Lorenz rifles.
GG=das Gebrüll von dem Gott (German, translated means the wrath of God).
The only thing the US military can boast about is their bronze cannon. It is indeed a "gold coin cannon" and the money is indeed well spent.
(In fact, in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the Austrian side’s bronze cannons beat Prussian Krupp steel cannons to pieces.
However, this requires that there is not much difference in technology between the two. At this time, the Americans' cannon-making technology is still far inferior to the Austrian side. )
After Robert Stockton discovered that the frontal battlefield was losing ground, he chose to surrender without much hesitation.
Because he knew that the battle in Escondido Village would not end quickly, but his troops might not be able to withstand it for much longer. In the event of a complete rout, the Austrian cavalry would come over and it might not even be possible to surrender in time. .
Robert Stockton's choice proved wise, for before his troops had finished disarming, news of the rout at Escondido arrived.
“Your Excellency, your troops really amaze me. They are brave, tenacious, well-disciplined, and their proficiency in handling weapons and execution of tactics amazes me.
Forgive me for asking, is this the Austrian ace unit - the Royal Guards? "
Robert Stockton was very personable, but clearly not very well educated, and he clearly confused Austria with Russia.
However, Archduke Carl Ferdinand was not angry when he took over the command knife that symbolized surrender. He did not point out the opponent's mistakes in person. Perhaps it was because he had seen so many so-called "civilized" people during his years in North America.
"No, most of them are retired soldiers, as well as some new recruits from immigrants and laborers. Of course, please allow me to introduce you to my family's guard."
Archduke Carl Ferdinand deliberately found a group of honor guards for Robert Stockton to see. The latter was even more surprised and said that laymen only watch the fun, while experts watch the door.
But in fact, this naval general was really a layman of the army. He only saw that the opponent's army was well-organized, and each of them was tall and powerful, so he thought he was a man who was good at fighting.
So they praised him greatly, and this behavior greatly satisfied the vanity of the former. The two parties had a good conversation, but Archduke Carl Ferdinand was still a more responsible person.
"Mr. Robert Stockton, if we weren't at war, I would really like to sit down and have a drink with you. You can come to live in my manor first. If you have any needs, just tell my butler.
Vagla, help me take care of the general. "
"Yes, Your Excellency the Grand Duke." Vagla is a colonel, a nobleman, and one of the stewards of the Grand Duke Karl's family.
After Archduke Carl Ferdinand rode away, Colonel Wagra said respectfully.
"Mr. Stockton, please get in the carriage."
Although he didn't want to look down upon the defeated general in front of him, he still had to obey the Grand Duke's orders.
Mr. Robert Stockton looked at several senior officers under his command. Colonel Wagra naturally knew what he meant, so he said.
"Mr. Stockton, since the Grand Duke has accepted your surrender, he will no longer threaten the lives of you and your subordinates. However, they must cooperate with us in doing some necessary work to make up for our losses as much as possible. loss."
Robert Stockton nodded. The other party's words had been made very clear, and he had given him a lot of face. If he didn't cherish it, something bad might happen. After all, his freedom and safety were both important. It has been handed over to the other party.
The general-level officers of the US military were all placed under house arrest in Austrian hotels or manors. As for the soldiers who surrendered, they were not treated so well.
After losing their weapons, they became a group of laborers driven by others. Professional overseers broke up their organization and then worked together with the laborers.
The first step is to clean up the battlefield and bury the corpses. The corpses of the Austrian soldiers will be dragged to the river for simple cleaning, then put into coffins and transported to the designated area, and then held a funeral, or burned and then canned and shipped back to the country.
The bodies of the American soldiers were not so lucky. The captured American soldiers were required to dig a large pit to bury the bodies of the dead.
This aroused dissatisfaction among the American soldiers, who began to protest against the Austrians' actions, but the protest was ineffective.
However, John Sina, the chief executive of California, said that as long as Americans can pay enough, not to mention coffins, Protestant pastors and orchestras can be invited.
"As long as the money is in place, everything will be fine."
However, these US military prisoners of war have no money, so they can only choose to shut up.
This was another new plan proposed by John Cina. He looked heartbroken and delivered a touching speech, expressing his great sympathy for the tragic experience of these Americans.
"There will be a coffin! So will the priest! But you also have to pay, because I can't use Austrian money to organize a funeral for an American."
At this time, John Cina changed the subject.
"But you can consider taking out a loan and working to pay it back."
This proposal was outrageous, but some American soldiers agreed in order to bury their comrades, and they signed their names on the loan agreement.
These people will be taken to work in designated mining areas, and the remaining scum will see what real hell is.
Regarding the naming of rockets, some people say that German is too weird and is not as familiar as English.
In English, it’s TG1
TG=Wrath of God.
Or do you have any good names to collect?