Chapter 15: The Battle of Turin

"How about it? What's our mission?" Roland just returned to his camp, and Jobs immediately approached, asking.

"I can't believe you're still interested in missions. It's like seeing the sun rise in the west," Roland joked, looking at the anxious Jobs.

"How could you think that way about me? I'm also a soldier. Why wouldn't I care about the mission?" After Roland teased him, Jobs immediately put on a misunderstood look, saying with a hint of grievance.

"Alright, alright, stop pretending, or I'll assign you to guard duty at the village entrance," Roland said, unable to bear Jobs' expression of grievance.

"Hehe, that's not necessary. If I go on guard duty, won't it just block the entrance?" Jobs refused with a wave of his hand. He was lazy and would rather be killed than go on guard duty.

"That's more like the Jobs I know." Roland looked him up and down and said.

"So what's our mission exactly? It won't be dangerous, will it?" Jobs continued to ask.

"Don't worry, the higher-ups wouldn't send us students to die. See that?" Roland pointed to a warehouse not far away.

"Our task now is to protect that." Roland pointed to the warehouse and said.

"Alright!" Jobs shrugged. No matter how lazy he was, he was still a soldier. As a soldier, he had to prioritize orders. Although he wanted to go home for a while.

"Alright, I know you want to go home. Don't worry! Once we get updates from the front lines, things won't be so strict here. Then you can go home," Roland reassured when he saw Jobs feeling down.

...

After a brief rest, Roland's student army was immediately assigned to their posts. They had been stationed in Marken Village, following orders relayed from the front.

Roland and the others in the rear spent their days as usual, training and inspecting the situation around the village, living a mundane life. But at the same time, not far from the village, Turin was a scene of carnage. This relatively unknown city was forever recorded in history due to this fierce battle.

With hundreds of thousands engaged, the Battle of Turin pitted France against an anti-French coalition. The French fielded 130,000 troops, while the coalition amassed 210,000, hastily assembled. However, both sides faced language barriers and lacked tactical coordination, greatly affecting their combat effectiveness.

When the war began, under the command of Charles, the Grand Duke of Austria and the supreme commander of the Holy Roman Empire, the Allied forces advanced victoriously, swiftly overwhelming the French army, even reaching the gates of Turin. Despite suffering heavy losses, the French army, driven by an infinite love for their homeland, successfully halted the Anti-French coalition forces at the gates of Turin, preventing any further advance.

Thus, the battle entered a stalemate phase. It wasn't until later, with reinforcements and continuous supplies of soldiers and war materials dispatched to the battlefield in Turin by the French authorities, that the balance of victory gradually shifted towards the French. The emergence of military genius Napoleon further tipped the scales in their favor.

Upon Napoleon's arrival at the battlefield, he immediately overturned the previous commander's strategies, reorganizing all forces. He also noted the disunity within the Anti-French coalition; after the Imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire suffered heavy losses, they no longer launched fierce attacks as before, often disobeying Charles's orders. Meanwhile, due to the national mobilization decree, the French constantly received reinforcements, significantly boosting their combat power and morale.

Napoleon decided to lead a full-scale attack against the Anti-French coalition forces. Employing the strategy of "injure the ten fingers rather than sever one," he relentlessly struck at the Imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire. Hindered by the ferocious French onslaught, other countries dared not intervene to avoid risking their own losses. Consequently, the war progressed smoothly, with the French army decimating nearly thirty thousand soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire in just one day.

Faced with Napoleon's fierce offensive, Charles had no choice but to order a retreat, returning the conflict to the vicinity of the national borders. Yet, stubborn as he was, Charles still refused to withdraw, commanding the remaining troops to construct defensive fortifications near the northern borders of Italy, hoping for a resurgence.

Although the French army, led by Napoleon, achieved victory, they also suffered significant losses. Over ten thousand French soldiers perished on the battlefield, with more than six thousand wounded. In the short term, the French lacked the strength to launch further offensives against the Anti-French coalition forces. Thus, the Turin Campaign, which had lasted for nearly two months, once again entered a stalemate phase.