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

Chapter 1589 The Battle of Madagascar (Part 2)
Ramarosson Andrianjaca was a famous general of the Kingdom of Imerina. The fortress where he was stationed was actually considered a dirt city by the locals in Madagascar.

To build this earthen city, Queen Lanavarona I mobilized tens of thousands of people and it took three years to complete.

The purpose of building this earthen city was to counter European artillery, as the Kingdom of Imreina had witnessed the power of artillery in previous battles against England and France.

Even the strongest warriors with shields could not stop cannonballs from harming their generals, so Lanavarona I completed the earthen city at any cost.

Ramarosson Andrianjaca himself had considerable confidence in it and had repeatedly had British and French prisoners test it by bombarding it with cannons.

The artillery brought by Britain and France could not effectively penetrate the walls. Even if the weak points were penetrated, only a small hole was left, and it was not difficult to repair.

Ramarosson Andrianjaca ordered the prisoners to repeatedly test the strength of the earthen city until they were completely helpless before beheading them or throwing them into the mines.

So he confidently took his trump card and hid in Tucheng. However, what he didn't know was that most of the English and French had brought 2-pound and 3-pound cannons.

These cannons were not originally intended for siege warfare, so their damage to the walls was limited.

Actually, this can't be blamed on Britain and France. Before the Austrian Empire completed its infantry artillery, it also liked to bring small cannons when fighting natives. After all, native countries usually had very poor transportation conditions, and the walls were usually made of earth and wooden fences, which were completely useless.

If you were to bring several heavy artillery pieces and encounter any ditches or bumps, it would be a problem. If you were to fall into a large pit, you would be destroyed on the spot.

Heavy artillery was a disaster for logistics and mobility, so the Austrian Empire usually used a combination of infantry guns and rockets.

This time, considering the possibility of an attack on the capital of the Kingdom of Imerina, and due to very limited intelligence on it, the expeditionary force brought super-heavy siege rockets as a precaution.

With a payload of nearly 100 kilograms, the super-heavy siege rockets were far more powerful than the 2-pounder or 3-pounder cannons of Britain and France.

(Generally speaking, rockets of this era would not carry more than 20 kilograms of propellant, because any heavier would affect the range. If a rocket weighed two or three hundred kilograms, it would most likely not be able to take off or would only fly a few dozen meters.)

This was due to deficiencies in materials science and gunpowder technology, and at that point, there was virtually no solution.

Rockets with a payload capacity exceeding 20 kilograms are classified as super-heavy rockets; a 100-kilogram super-heavy siege rocket has a range of only about 800 meters.
These super-heavy siege rockets cannot launch at a range of 3-4 kilometers like ordinary rockets, nor can they be launched quickly; they even require the construction of launch pads.

But it was enough to deal with the natives in front of them; these super-heavy siege rockets destroyed the meticulously designed earthen fortress of the Kingdom of Imerina in almost an instant.

The destruction of the Kingdom of Imerina was sealed when Ramarosson Andrianjaka and his elite troops were buried under the earthen fortress. Although there were still nearly 10,000 native warriors on the battlefield, they could only fight on their own without their commander.

These native warriors could have held out for a while under the leadership of their chieftain, but the Austrian Empire also deployed sniper units in this battle.

The professionally trained snipers mercilessly picked off the richly dressed tribal leaders, quickly shattering the morale of the natives.

Due to a lack of communication, training, and discipline, the army of the Kingdom of Imerina could only identify its commanders by their elaborate clothing.

However, this also provided targets for the Austrian Empire's snipers. Having never encountered a sniper battle before, the tribal chiefs stood ramrod straight until their companions fell one by one.

Most of these tribal leaders were actually intimidated by the tyranny of Queen Lanavarona I and didn't genuinely fight for her. Their understanding of the Kingdom of Imerina was even more superficial. As for ethnicities? Sorry, there are over a dozen ethnic groups and hundreds of tribes on the island.

We're not really familiar with each other.

The so-called reserve troops in the rear had already been bombed and were in a daze in the previous attack. When they saw the crowds running for their lives, the morale of the army naturally collapsed.

Even if someone tried to resist, they would be scattered by the fleeing soldiers and then completely wiped out by the pursuing Austrian army before they could regroup.

Without a commander, the battlefield was in complete chaos, filled with shouts of killing and screams of agony. Under the guidance of reconnaissance balloons, rockets in the sky, trailing long tails, crashed into the rear of the natives as if it were the end of the world.

Battlefields, jungles, and villages were engulfed in flames, a nightmare for the natives.

However, not all the natives were fleeing. Ramarosson Andrianjaka had already planned a backup plan, and his most trusted lieutenant was leading a force to attack the port as planned.

According to Ramarosson Andrianjaca's plan, if the fighting on the front lines becomes stalemate, then the fall of the port will be the final straw that breaks the camel's back.

In his view, Europeans had an extremely weak fighting spirit and were prone to surrender when they were at a disadvantage, which is why he devised this plan to encircle them from both sides.

Imagine the despair the Austrian Imperial army, which was trying to retreat after a prolonged siege, must have felt when a large number of natives attacked from the direction of the port.

Ramarosson Andrianjaka will surely achieve another glorious victory, but unfortunately, he is destined to be a loser from the very beginning of the war.

General Lazimisello's troops, who were in charge of attacking the port, were routed halfway through their attack. Although the casualty rate of the soldiers was less than 5%, after the few warriors at the front were taken down one by one, no one dared to move forward anymore.

Lazimiselo himself died on the charge. In the end, the Kingdom of Imerina lost more than 8000 men in this battle, the defense of Mahazanga province was basically destroyed, all three generals were killed in battle, and countless subordinate officers were killed.

(At that time, the basic combat units on Madagascar were commanded by lieutenants, who typically had 50-300 men under their command.)
However, the Austrian Empire was not faring too well either. Due to the hasty deployment of troops into battle, cavalry became the main force on the front lines.

The cavalry were too large a target, and even though the natives were firing indiscriminately, there were bound to be casualties.

The terrain was also not very suitable for the cavalry to perform well, and half of the 600 cavalrymen were killed or wounded in one go.

But the cavalry did manage to rescue a number of prisoners, so their efforts were not in vain. Archduke Frederick personally visited the prisoners, who were all in poor spirits, emaciated, and almost all wounded.

It was clear that they had endured prolonged suffering and hunger.

However, Bishop Alfred was not among them, and no one cared whether Bismarck lived or died. William IV didn't care, and the Austrian side cared even less.

At this time, Bismarck was not well-known, and even his eccentricities were simply seen by his fellow Austrian soldiers as the barbaric behavior of the Kingdom of Prussia.

But at least one thing is certain: Bismarck was not among the surviving prisoners. Friedrich didn't quite understand why Franz would care about the life or death of a Prussian diplomat.

(End of this chapter)