Chapter 311: The Italians Strike Back (2/2)
The moment the Cavalry charged into the encampment, a large group of the Italian soldiers split off and began to swarm the Austrian soldiers before they could grab ahold of their weapons to retaliate. As the Italian men-at-arms charged towards the Austrian soldiers, arrows and bolts had begun to fly into the encampment.
The camp quickly found itself wholly overrun with the Italian soldiers who began to butcher the Austrian soldiers that struggled to equip themselves in an attempt to counter the well-planned ambush. While chaos erupted in the camp, a soldier rushed into the command tent, informing the Colonel and Captain Arnwald of the enemy ambush.
”Sir, we are under attack!”
Both the Colonel and Captain Arnwald gazed at each other with confusion; just where did the enemy soldiers come from? Despite their questions, both Officers knew now was not the time to ask, but instead, firm action was needed to be taken if they wished to survive the enemy ambush. With this in mind, the Colonel and Captain Arnwald burst from the command tent and began to rally their troops for battle.
”Form ranks! Grab your muskets and form ranks, dammit!”
Hearing the confident voice of their commanding officer pierce through the air was enough to snap the nearby soldiers into their senses, where their reflexes as battle-hardened veterans immediately took over. Now was the time for the extensive training they had been put through to truly reveal itself.
The soldiers rushed into their tents, where they retrieved their 1417/18 Rifled Muskets, along with their web gear that contained their munitions. Before long, the Austrians began to form ranks while firing upon the so-called refugees who had snuck into their encampment.
Thousands of Austrians had now armed themselves with their muskets and began to effectively counter the Italian assault. As they rapidly reloaded their weapons and fired a second volley, the Italian forces were quickly cut to ribbons.
As the battle continued to wage, Arnwald rallied his Grenadiers, who fulfilled their purpose as the shock troops of the Austrian Army. Without fear, they began to load their muskets and fire into the mob of Italian Soldiers; after doing so, they lit their grenades and lobbed them into the fray.
Once the grenades had exploded, killing hundreds of Italians in the process, they fixed their bayonets. Where the fearless Grenadiers charged at the concussed soldiers of the Italian Army, skewering them with the triangular steel blades, causing mortal wounds that were impossible to stitch up—leaving the Italians to bleed out in a pool of their bodily fluids.
While this was going on, a few dozen Italian Knights recovered muskets from the fallen Austrian soldiers. After doing so, they immediately mounted their horses and fled into the distance; the moment they did so, the remaining Italian soldiers took notice and began to retreat, providing cover to the Knights as they escaped from the chaotic battlefield.
The tides of war rapidly shifted in the Austrians favor; as the Austrians regained their footing, the Italian ambushers were quickly slaughtered like a bunch of stray dogs. The battle had ended as soon as it had begun with an overwhelming victory for the Austrian soldiers.
Unfortunately, the Knights had gotten away with a few dozen muskets, which they would undoubtedly bring back the Empire's engineers. One thing was sure; such a result would have far-reaching consequences about the leaking of technology and the advancements that Berengar's enemies would soon come to possess.
The days of overwhelming technological dominance would quickly come to an end. If Berengar did not innovate his armies further, he would soon be combating forces with a similar military capacity to his own.
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