Chapter 303: Forward March! (1/2)
The light of dawn shone upon the southern border of Austria, within the alps of Tyrol, in the Viscounty of Trent, Berengar stood upon a hill observing his army that was gathered below. A total of 50,000 men, armed in the unique quenched and hardened high carbon blackened steel half-plate armor, stood in the valley overlooked by their King.
Under the King's orders, the army had been split into two components, the Italian Invasion Force, which consisted of 50,000 men, while the Swiss Invasion Force consisted of 25,000 men. Berengar intended to use this war as an excuse to annex the Swiss Confederation. As such, he left the invasion of the Swiss Confederation to a competent General among his ranks.
At the moment, Berengar wore his signature gilded three quarter's plate armor with a cavalier style cloak made from dalmatian fur draped across his left shoulder. The troops gathered below gazed upon his immaculate visage as he began to give his speech.
”Men of Austria! The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire has engaged in attempted sabotage of our factories; in doing so, he has violated the rights bestowed upon us as vassals. Thus I, King Berengar, first of my name, have formally declared our independence from the Holy Roman Empire.
Today you stand as the Royal Army of Austria as we march into the lands of the oppressor who has sought to hamper our progress towards the new dawn! I will not lie to you, the road will be bloody, but in the end, our people shall be free to pursue their destiny, as a great power in Europe!
God with us!”
The moment Berengar said his battle cry while saluting the 50,000 men standing below his plateau, all they began to chant the words in unison, echoing into the dawn while returning the salute to their King.
”God with us! God with us! God with us!”
Such was the sight on the Austro-Italian border as Berengar's men prepared for an invasion into their enemy's homeland. Afterward, Berengar gave the order to his troops.
”Forward March!”
It had been some time since Berengar's Declaration of Independence reached the Emperor, and even longer since his pre-emptive strike on Venice and Genoa, as such war was inevitable. Berengar had mustered his forces at his enemy's border far quicker than the Italians could rally their own troops.
Thus, the Austrians entered Italy without confrontation. As the soldiers began to march, Berengar mounted his trusty steed and soon found himself marching at the front of his army. The sight of 50,000 men entering northern Italy would be terrifying to anyone who witnessed such a thing.
Such a massive army was rare in Europe during this time frame, especially considering how well equipped and trained the Royal Austrian Army was. The Austrians marched for some time before they encountered any form of resistance.
The first target of Berengar's campaign against the Holy Roman Empire would be the city of Verona; after all, it was the nearest major city to the Trent border. It took a few days for Berengar to reach the ancient town; however, when they did, they noticed that the walls were well manned.
The local nobleman had been preparing for Berengar's arrival by fortifying the city and abandoning the towns and villages to Austrian cruelty, utterly unaware that Berengar did not need to ransack such locations.
After all, his logistical network spread to every corner of Austria. When considering the small distance between Trent and Verona, Berengar left the villagers in between the two cities untouched by the savagery of war.
When the Royal Austrian Army arrived at the gates of Verona, they instantly began constructing a proper siege camp. With the introduction of Schmidt guns, Berengar chose to mount them on the trench lines that he established outside his base with the intent to effectively use the rapid-firing firearms, capable of utilizing canister shots to repel anyone suicidal enough to charge at his defenses.
Aside from the Schmidt guns acting as defense of the encampment, 1417 12-pounder cannons were also placed under the protection of the trench line while raised in an elevation necessary to fire over it. With this elevation, the cannons would still be able to efficiently target the city's walls.
The beauty of the M1857 12-pounder Napoleon that Berengar had based his artillery off of was that it was versatile enough to act as both a field gun and a howitzer; it was more than capable enough to successfully fire arced shots at his enemy's defenses.
However, Berengar did not immediately begin his bombardment; in fact, he wanted to wait until the next day to start his assault; after all, he had all the time in the world and would prefer that his soldiers received some proper rest before engaging in a siege.
Instead, after the siege camp was effectively set up, Berengar began distributing rations, which as per usual, was a wheat porridge-based dish, it was filled with beef, onions, and mushrooms. It was not much, but it was enough to feed the soldiers and was relatively easy to prepare.
After eating alongside his soldiers, Berengar retired to his tent, where he began to strip his armor before climbing into bed; as he did so, a particular memory flashed in his head. It was the moment he said goodbye to his two lovers and his children, as well as his younger sister.
Berengar was clad in his armor as he hugged his young son Hans; though the boy was only three years old, he gazed at Berengar with an understanding expression. The only words the boy said to his father as he prepared to march to war were