Chapter 124: The Meat Grinder of Tolentino

Two hours later, a brief battle damage report was delivered to Archduke Karl. In today's battle, they had lost over 15,000 men, yet this fierce fighting had only yielded an advance of less than 200 meters for the Austrian army. Archduke Karl's expression darkened considerably.

"Order the troops to prepare for a night raid tonight! No matter what, we must break through those damn French defenses," Archduke Karl said fiercely.

"Yes, Your Grace!" The Austrian army commanders understood the urgency of the situation and promptly obeyed.

That night, the Austrian army launched a night raid on Tolentino. In order to break through the French defenses, they committed a force of 10,000 men. To avoid alerting the French, they refrained from artillery preparation and instead sent tens of thousands of Austrian soldiers to launch the surprise attack.

Inside Tolentino, although the French had been on alert, the darkness severely limited their visibility. It wasn't until the Austrian troops were less than 300 meters away from the French positions that the French scouts finally noticed their presence.

"Enemy attack! The Austrians are launching a raid!" cried out a French sentinel in alarm, drawing his gun and preparing to open fire.

"Bang!" The gunshot rang out loudly in the quiet night.

"Sir, we've been exposed."

"Charge! Full assault!" ordered the Austrian officer.

With their presence exposed, the Austrians switched from a surprise attack to a full assault. However, they faced intense and disciplined French firepower, which exacted a heavy toll on the Austrian army.

Napoleon had anticipated the Austrian night raid and had ordered his soldiers to load ammunition and artillery to be prepared in the evening. Everything was ready and waiting for the Austrians to come.

"Fire!" On the battlefield, the French artillery, following the pre-measured trajectory, began to open fire.

The thunderous roar of cannons filled the air, their bright flames dispersing the darkness and illuminating the night like daylight. Following their pre-calculated trajectories, the artillery shells landed in front of the Austrian positions.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

As the shells struck, sparks erupted around the Austrian troops, accompanied by intense heat.

The Austrian soldiers, suffering heavily under the bombardment, were in agony. They were just ordinary men of flesh and blood—how could they withstand the French artillery?

"Soldiers, don't be afraid! Charge towards the French positions! We're less than three to four hundred meters away now. Once we charge, we can breach the French lines, and they won't dare to fire upon us then," shouted an Austrian officer amidst the chaos, rallying his men.

Upon receiving the command, the disoriented Austrian troops quickly regrouped and charged towards the French positions, shouting and screaming.

Three to four hundred meters might seem close or far depending on the context. Under the imminent threat of death, the Austrian army burst forth with a fierce will to survive. They ran as if reaching the French lines would ensure their survival.

"Stop them! Everyone, open fire!"

On the French side, the commanders were also shouting, watching the Austrian troops charging towards them like a tide. Even though their backs were soaked with cold sweat, they had to hold their ground; deserting in the face of the enemy was a grave offense.

"Bang! Bang!"

From behind their cover, the French soldiers kept firing. With each volley, swathes of Austrian soldiers fell like cut wheat.

However, the French firepower wasn't dense enough. Despite many Austrians falling to French gunfire, others managed to charge through while the French reloaded.

They leaped into the French trenches, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the defenders. Austrians, known for their hardiness among Eastern Europeans, were slightly physically superior to the French soldiers.

In the melee, the Austrian troops quickly gained the upper hand. Simultaneously, the French outer defenses were torn apart, one breach after another.

The battle raged throughout the night. As dawn broke on the horizon, the Austrian attack finally ceased.

Ten thousand Austrian soldiers fiercely attacked throughout the night.

Tonight, the Austrian attack remained relentless. The French, equally determined, engaged in fierce combat outside the city of Terni. The Austrian army enjoyed an overwhelming numerical advantage, allowing them to unleash heavy forces without hesitation. Meanwhile, the French benefited from sturdy defensive fortifications and formidable firepower.

Ultimately, under the relentless assault of the Austrian army, the first line of the French defenses was breached. Seeing this, Napoleon ordered the entire army to abandon the first line and retreat to the second line of defense.

On the battlefield, the Austrian troops were ecstatic. They had finally captured one of the French defensive lines. It was a costly victory, with over twenty thousand Austrian casualties incurred to take that first line. Similarly, the French suffered nearly eight thousand casualties, primarily during the Austrian night assault when the Austrians broke through and engaged them in close combat.

The Austrians, being physically larger and stronger, naturally had the upper hand in the brutal hand-to-hand combat, causing the French to gradually lose ground.

...

"Consul! Actually, we could still hold the first line for another day or two without any issues," General Rana said. "The first line wasn't lost under Moro, but it was lost under me. I feel terrible about it."

"There's no need. The first line has already been almost completely destroyed. If we continue to hold there, we'll only suffer greater casualties," Napoleon replied dismissively. In warfare, Napoleon never let sentimentality get in the way. He would rather give up a breached defensive line than risk more lives for the sake of a symbolic gesture.

Although he relinquished the first line to the Austrians, he wouldn't let them take it without consequences.

"Order the artillery to provide covering fire on the first defensive line! Let's give these Austrians a surprise," Napoleon immediately commanded.

"Yes, Consul!" The artillery commander nodded. A few minutes later, nearly a hundred French cannons opened fire on the first defensive line. The dense barrage of shells rained down, exploding on the first defensive line and wreaking havoc among the Austrian troops who had struggled to capture it, sending them flying and meeting their maker.

"You despicable cowards! Once we break through Terni, I will make those damn French pay with their lives!" Inside the command headquarters, Archduke Karl watched the situation on the first defensive line with fury etched on his face.

The Austrian army had suffered more than twenty thousand casualties to break through the first French defensive line, and yet there were still three more lines to go! If they continued at this rate, even if they managed to capture Terni, they would have no strength left to launch any further offensives.

Despite several days of relentless fighting leaving the Austrian army exhausted, Archduke Karl still demanded a fierce attack. He assured his generals that the French elite troops had been wiped out in the first defensive line and that the remaining two lines were manned by mere rabble. He believed that with one final effort, they could break through the French defenses and capture Terni.

However, Archduke Karl seemed to overlook the fact that the Austrian army's elite troops had suffered almost equally during the attack on the first defensive line. The remaining Austrian troops, although numbering over a hundred thousand, were already exhausted and their combat effectiveness greatly diminished. Sending them into battle now would be akin to sending them to their deaths.

Under the relentless and brutal fighting between the French and Austrian armies, Terni had become a massive meat grinder.