Chapter 936 Battle of Pressburg
After receiving several batches of domestic reinforcements, Baojani's troops have reached 73,000.
However, the Austrian garrison of Pressburg was supported by the Heinau Division, and its total strength reached a terrifying 120,000 people.
Using 70,000 men to attack a fortified city garrisoned by 120,000 men is a fool's errand no matter how you look at it.
But if one of the parties does not know the actual strength of the other party, then this game that is destined to end can continue to be played.
Franz asked Heinau to lead his troops to support Pressburg. On the one hand, it was to provide double insurance. After all, Baojani had once been Pressburg's top commander.
What if there are still internal agents that Franz has not found, or perhaps during this period the Hungarians have corrupted the members of the five regiments temporarily assigned by Franz and the garrison troops that were later ordered to reinforce?
The troops led by Heinau came from Salzburg. They had almost no relationship with the Hungarians and there were no Hungarian officers in the army.
At the same time, Hainau's personal relationship with the Hungarian military was extremely poor, and both parties looked down upon each other.
Hainaut is a Jewish mixed-race, and this kind of officer who rose from the bottom naturally looks down on those guys who rest on the merits of their ancestors.
On the other hand, this is also Franz's protection for Hainau. After all, the latter has just wiped out a group of scourges that have been entrenched here for hundreds of years in Vienna.
There is no guarantee that there are no loyal ministers and righteous people among these evil people. There are many heroes who died at the hands of ordinary people in history.
From the death of Caesar in BC to the overlord Sun Ce during the Three Kingdoms period, modern history will not give examples.
Although killing the donkey could solve a lot of troubles for Franz, he didn't want to do something that had been repeated tens of millions of times.
Baujani outside the city of Pressburg was helpless. After many attacks to no avail, he knew that continuing to attack would not have any other results except increasing casualties.
At this time, a bold idea suddenly appeared in Baojani's mind. He wanted to bypass Pressburg and go straight to Vienna.
After all, it is only a few dozen kilometers away from Vienna. If everything goes well, he can take Vienna within three days.
But his reason told him not to do this, because no one had succeeded in hundreds of years.
Of course, if he succeeds, there is no doubt that he will become a figure like Hannibal.
However, Vienna is different from Rome, because after Pressburg there is still a garrison of 100,000 people waiting for him outside Vienna, and there is also an armed force of no less than 30,000 people in Vienna.
Therefore, if he wants to replicate Hannibal's success, Baojani feels that he has little chance.
Baujani and his men were well aware of how strong Pressburg's defenses were, but subsequent reinforcements did not.
"Mr. Baujani! I think we should take more decisive and courageous actions! The Hungarian people are still waiting for our good news!"
Baujani is not that kind of simple soldier or nationalist, and his enthusiasm has faded through the previous battles. Now here is a nobleman and politician who has been in the upper class for many years.
"Then I can give you this glorious opportunity."
"Really? Great! We will definitely break down the gate of Pressburg! Dedicate this great victory to Mr. Kossuth and to Hungary!"
Baojani patted the young officer on the shoulder, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes that was not easily noticeable.
Hainaut on the other side of the city was also helpless. He really didn't know the intentions of Franz and the General Staff.
Vienna now has nearly one-third of the entire Austrian Empire's troops. Facing an attack of tens of thousands of people, there is no need to take a defensive position. He even thought that he should take advantage of the Hungarians to complete their war preparations and attack Budapest just like in Italy. Like the battlefield in Italy.
As for the enemy in front of him, he couldn't be called a threat at all. If he hadn't been ordered to defend the city from above, he would have rushed out and killed all those guys who didn't know the heights of the sky.
But Hainau will not do this. He will only faithfully carry out the orders issued from above.
Although there are many bad rumors about Heinau, saying that he is a maverick, in fact he is purer than most Austrian officers.
Hainan is just a pure soldier, but he has taken on too many unnecessary obligations in this special era and special country.
Hainan looked at the group of enemies in front of the city who couldn't even move in formation and was really uninterested. However, he still followed the procedure and waited until the opponent was close before giving the order.
"Free fire."
One hundred artillery pieces opened fire at the same time, and overwhelming shotguns splashed on the bodies of the Hungarian soldiers. Immediately, some people fell down in pieces.
At the same time, the Austrian garrison soldiers continued to pour firepower on the Hungarian army from the shooting holes.
And those passionate Hungarian young people who set foot on the battlefield for the first time felt what despair was for the first time.
The garrison of Pressburg was the first military unit, other than the navy and the Vienna City Defense Force, to replace explosive shells.
There are shotgun shells at close range, and the new type of blooming bullets at medium and long distances are far more lethal than the solid bullets of the past.
This new type of artillery shell is not only astonishing in its own lethality, but the loud noise it makes when it explodes is also shocking.
Many Hungarian soldiers were shaken by the close explosion and lost their hearing. When they looked around blankly, except for the bloody corpses and the crowds fleeing in panic, only a few officers were still waving their command swords wildly.
Zoltan at this time was one of them. A shell had just hit their platoon, and the unlucky guy who was hit directly was blown to pieces.
With that unlucky guy as the center of the circle, all the people three meters around were lifted into the sky.
When he stood up again, he heard no other sound, just a constant buzzing.
Zoltan wiped his ears randomly, and his hands were covered with blood. There were corpses and deserters everywhere. Only his platoon leader was still yelling something as he tried to drive the deserters back.
However, this was in vain. Finally, when the platoon leader tried to grab a soldier by the collar and pull him back to the battlefield, the soldier stabbed him in the stomach with a bayonet.
The platoon leader fell slowly, but the soldier did not give him that chance. Instead, he kicked him away and continued running desperately.
Zoltan wanted to say something, but no sound came out. He stopped the soldier who stabbed the platoon leader to death and tried to escape. The latter looked as ferocious as an evil spirit.
But that look didn't last long, as a bullet hit the deserter from behind.
The ferocious look on the deserter's face instantly turned into despair, and then he slowly fell down with his eyes filled with tears and the memory of this world.
Zoltan looked at everything in front of him blankly, why is this happening? Shouldn’t the Hungarians be invincible? Isn’t the Austrian Empire decayed, decadent, weak, and ready to collapse at a single blow?
The rumble of artillery sounded, and another round of barrages came over, and he slowly closed his eyes.
In this battle, Hungary's newly formed Second Army lost 13,000 men and wiped out 80,000 enemies, but failed to break Pressburg.
——Baojani, latest battle report on May 23, 1848.