The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1338 The Darkness Before Dawn (Part )

The French infantry were driven back again, but their front was gradually shrinking.

"See? We are about to win! The French are retreating! Our brothers in Turin are about to join us!"

"Go back! Kill these bastards!"

Cavaignac was furious on the hillside, but the staff officers around him were so frightened that they turned pale.

"Your Excellency Marshal, the enemy has surrounded us. Let's retreat first."

"Impossible! No way! Hurry up and organize a counterattack! Do you hear me? Counterattack!"

Cavaignac's eyes were already bleeding as he watched the battle line move back. However, the staff wanted to take him away from the battlefield, after all, the French army was already at a disadvantage at this time, and if they continued to fight like this, they might all be defeated here.

On the other hand, Garibaldi wanted to seize the opportunity to defeat the French army in one fell swoop, because he knew very well what his mission was, and the real decisive battle would still have to be fought between the Austrian Empire and the French.

God was very kind to Garibaldi for being able to find this glimmer of hope and seize it in an almost certain defeat.

However, the absolute gap in strength is not so easy to make up. Suddenly, another army appeared not far away.

Garibaldi picked up the telescope, his eyes filled with despair.

The French reinforcements arrived. Sadly, Garibaldi and the Turin defenders had to use all their strength to barely force the French army into a desperate situation.

However, this was only the vanguard of the French army.
More French troops appeared on the distant horizon like locusts. Seeing this, Garibaldi and the commander of the Kingdom of Sardinia issued the same order at the same time.

"Get out!"

The army of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Po River Guard fled the battlefield in a panic, and they didn't even have time to take away their weapons and equipment and the bodies of their comrades.

The soldiers at the vanguard of the French army were enjoying the joy of surviving the disaster, but Cavaignac could not be happy when he saw the mess on the ground.

At this time, a staff officer ran over.

"Your Excellency Marshal, the Kingdom of Sardinia surrenders!"

"Let Vittorio Emanuele II come to see me! I want to ask him what happened just now!"

This victory was not a victory at all for Cavaignac. His vanguard was actually stopped by the Italians. This was a great humiliation and he had to get back at them.

After all, everything was caused by the surrender and rebellion of the Sardinian army, and he had to make the other side give him an explanation.

The staff officer and the diplomat beside him spoke somewhat awkwardly.

"Emanuele II has fled."

"Escaped? What did you do for a living?!"

They are both innocent.

"The battle just now was too intense."

"Nonsense!"

Cavaignac was furious, but it was of no use being angry.

Cavaignac changed his mind and asked again.

"Without Vittorio Emanuele II, who can represent the Kingdom of Sardinia?"

"A republican in the Kingdom of Sardinia"

The staff officer was interrupted by Cavaignac before he could finish his words.

"Still want to deceive me? They must pay the price!"

Several generals who had retired from the front lines echoed this.

"It's time to teach the Sardinians a lesson! Otherwise they will think that we French are easy to fool!"

The next day, a fire broke out in Turin. Cavaignac did not plan to stay here. He rested for a day because the vanguard suffered heavy losses. But speed was of the essence, and he had to launch the attack before the Austrians could gather their forces.
Garibaldi finally escaped from the French pursuit. Of the nearly 10,000 soldiers in the entire Po River Guard, less than 50 were still with him.

Most of the rest died in battle, a few surrendered, and some are missing.

Seeing the black smoke floating in the distance, Garibaldi sat dejectedly on the grass and said.

"Turin is finished."

The soldiers standing by didn't know what to say, and some of them couldn't help crying.

"Why is fate so unfair! Why is it always us!"

"Damn the French! Is there no limit to their ambition?"

The soldiers were all very frustrated, and even Garibaldi himself was about to give up. Over the years, he felt more and more powerless, and the successive failures made him begin to doubt himself.

If it weren't for his decision, these more than 10,000 passionate young people would have married, had children, and lived out their lives in peace and contentment, but now they have all become victims of war.

But their sacrifice did not bring any reward, the city of Turin still fell, and seeing the rising black smoke, Garibaldi could not be optimistic.

"We've done our best."

Sylvia said calmly.

Although women had a low status in this era, everyone present knew that Sylvia was a ruthless person. Those soldiers who were usually domineering were as docile as sheep in front of her.

After such a bloody battle, even a veteran soldier wouldn't dare to say he could escape unscathed, but Sylvia was not only still alive, she was even in the mood to comfort others.

Suddenly someone shouted.

"Another army is coming towards us!"

Everyone immediately got up from the ground and looked around to see countless soldiers advancing in an orderly manner.

At this time, the Italian Army of the Austrian Empire had crossed the Ticino River. According to Franz, "it is always better for the war to take place on the territory of another country than on the territory of Austria."

Marshal Radetzky certainly understood what Franz meant. Due to the existence of railways, the Italian Corps could assemble at an astonishing speed.

In fact, the Austrian Empire had received the news before the French arrived, but it did not make it public. It only prepared supplies in advance and recalled some elite troops.

At this time, the Italian Legion was also supplemented by elite troops from other regions, with a total strength of more than 200,000.

The light cavalry in front also discovered Garibaldi and his team and immediately surrounded them. The cavalry captain looked at the people who looked like the blood gourd and asked while pinching his nose.

"Who are you? Put down your weapons, or I will kill you without mercy."

The cavalry captain spoke German, and everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief, because it turned out that he was one of their own.

"We are the Po River Guard, and this is our commander, Joseph the Lame. We tried to hold Turin, but French reinforcements arrived."

Then they described their experiences in their unique Italian-German dialect.

The cavalry captain looked at the leg of Cripple Joseph, and Garibaldi understood and rolled up his trouser legs to reveal the hideous scar.

The cavalry captain nodded and saluted everyone.

"Your duty is over. It's our turn now. Give them a horse."

Immediately, a cavalryman brought a horse to Joseph the Lame.

Afterwards, several more cavalrymen dropped water bottles and dry food for them.

"Eat! Don't die of thirst or hunger until the god of death kills you."

Garibaldi and his soldiers supported each other and walked to the rear, and a huge army gradually appeared in front of them.

They received the attention of the officers and soldiers, and even Marshal Radetzky came to their side on horseback.

"What a great bunch of guys! If I were 50 or 60 years younger, I would definitely go crazy with you guys!"