Chapter 311: The Italians Strike Back

While Berengar was marching onto his next target, which was the city of Milan, his supply routes were being maintained by the 5,000 soldiers who had transferred the treasure hoard gained from ransacking Verona.

These men were dedicated to ensuring that the main Army was well supplied and that any spoils were transported back to the Royal Treasury in Kufstein. However, due to the nature of their mission, they swiftly became targeted by the Italian forces.

Because the Italians could not contend with Austria in the field, they had begun to resort to skirmishing tactics against their enemy's scouting regiments. Since this was the way that they had chosen to engage in warfare, Berengar had devised a series of search and destroy tactics to hunt down the ambushers in advance of his march.

As for the logistical network, Berengar had increased the number of soldiers among their ranks from 5,000 to 5,500, adding a few scouts with them to ensure that the path ahead was secure. At the moment, this force of soldiers was led by the Colonel, who was Captain Arnwald's superior officer, with Arnwald's grenadier unit acting as the central offensive unit within their ranks.

Currently, this supply Caravan was in the middle of their encampment, within the fields between the Italian Alps and Milan. It was early morning, and the men had just woken up; they were in the process of tearing down the camp so that they could begin their long march to Milan, where Berengar's main Army was sure to be located.

Captain Arnwald was sharing a hemp cigarette between himself and the Colonel as they discussed their plans over a map within the command tent.

"Our supply route should lead us safely to the frontlines where we can resupply King Berengar and his forces. The scouts have spotted ahead, and they have assured us that there are no traps or ambushes laid out within our path. Give it another day or two, and we should have arrived at our destination without incident."

Arnwald, on the other hand, was not convinced; things had been quiet since they had begun their journey back to the frontlines. Over a week had passed since the Siege of Verona, and during this time, they had traveled to Kufstein and back.

Yet not once had they encountered an enemy ambush or any attempt at it. It was mind-boggling; after all, the best tactic the Italians could come up with to slow down the Austrian advance was ambushing smaller units detached from the main Austrian Army. 

Despite being separated from the main force and tasked with the essential job of maintaining the supply routes into Italy, the Italians had seemingly ignored their intrusion; it was almost as if they were watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike while the Austrians least expected it. 

This made Arnwald quite paranoid, as he was confident the Italians would have targeted the Austrian Logistical Network. Regardless, neither the Scouts nor the Intelligence Agency had informed them of any nearby hostiles.

As Arnwald and the Colonel discussed their plans for the remainder of their journey, an unarmored Italian Knight dressed in simple attire was located in the distance, overlooking the Austrian encampment from the hilltops above.

The Italian Crown had become aware of the infiltration into Northern Italy by Berengar's spy network. In response to this threat, the Italians had adopted a compelling tactic; they had begun to shed their arms and armor and travel under the guise of refugee and merchant caravans; after all, their armor was practically useless in the face of Austria's wonder weapons. 

The difference between these caravans and actual refugee groups was that they were comprised of the battled hardened soldiers of Italy and their hidden arms, which were needed to ambush the Austrian Armies. They had even brought women and children along with them to make things convincing, not fearing what would happen to the poor souls once the battle had erupted.

After carefully observing the Austrian encampment and the soldiers within it for some time, the Italian Knight rode his horse back to his unit, where he informed his commanding officers of what he had discovered. Since the Austrians were in the middle of tearing down their camp, it was the perfect time to ambush them.

Before long, this so-called Refugee convoy approached the Austrian forces, who were in the middle of preparing to move out; because of this, there were only a few men on guard, and as such, it took some time before the Italian caravan was spotted between the hillsides of the Milanese plains.

When the Austrians finally realized that an unknown caravan was approaching, the guards lowered their weapons towards the approaching strangers. However, before they could utter their commands, the men on horseback within the Italian forces unleashed their blades and charged towards the guards, piercing through their open-face helmets and reaping their lives.

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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