Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 423 The Second Battle of Craignitz (Part 1)

Yes, where is the main Austrian army? This puzzles most people. Surely they couldn't have flown to Berlin, could they?

However, other recent developments may offer some clues: the railway line north of Kregniz has been dismantled, and many buildings have also been destroyed.

It seems Moltke was right; the main Austrian force is still in Kregniz.

Meanwhile, within Austria, Archduke Albrecht also convened his own military council. He proposed shifting the main force to the Josefstadt fortress, but due to the Prussian army's rapid advance, he was forced to continue deploying his forces at Kregniz. This was to buy time before advancing towards the fortress.

At this moment, skilled Austrian engineers were constructing fortifications near their garrison, while artillery was deployed on the Hrum and Lipa hills, directly opposite the Bistrice River. Various corps and brigades were also gradually converging on their respective defensive positions.

After receiving intelligence from the Austrian army, Moltke re-analyzed the situation and conceived the idea of ​​an "pocket formation." All three Prussian armies involved in the war against Austria were deployed, launching a main attack from one side and flanking from both sides, aiming to completely encircle and annihilate the main Austrian force. Moltke dispatched messengers to the three armies, who fulfilled their mission. The three armies decided to end the war here.

The Austrian army established its positions in a relatively prosperous area of ​​the Austrian Empire, between the Bistrice and Upper Elbe rivers, a region dotted with numerous villages. The southeasternmost point was the city of Knischgretz. Between the two rivers were several high mountains offering panoramic views of the Bistrice region, and the riverbanks were covered with extremely dense forests. Albrecht chose two major high points near the Hlum and Lipa hills as the Austrian army's central defensive line.

Soldiers of the Prussian 1st Army and the Elbe Army hadn't slept well the night before the decisive battle. At midnight, they began dismantling their makeshift camps and officially marched towards the enemy's main force. When the Prussian cavalry of the 15st Army crossed the Bistrice River around 7:30 PM, Austrian artillery opened fire first, thus initiating the battle ahead of schedule. Fifteen minutes later, an Austrian artillery battery unleashed a volley at the King, who was personally commanding from the front lines. The King escaped death, but four of his personal guards were killed instantly.

At approximately 8:30 a.m. that day, about 300 artillery pieces from the Prussian and Austro-Hungarian armies engaged in what was arguably the largest and most intense artillery battle in Europe since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. The Prussian 8th Division, along with the 3rd Division on the right flank, began a forced crossing of the Bistrice River amidst a hail of artillery fire. The Austrian forces on the opposite bank immediately launched a counterattack, using the villages as cover. The Prussian artillery also intensified its bombardment of the villages, quickly reducing the wooden houses and inhabitants to rubble.

The Austrian soldiers had learned from previous battles, making full use of skirmish tactics and fortifications to put up a tenacious resistance, with the Austrian frigates performing particularly well. The Austrian new tactics effectively countered the advantage of the Prussian army's new needle rifles.

However, at 10:00 AM, the Prussian 3rd Division, after suffering heavy casualties, captured two villages. But the Austrian artillery, having prepared firing data at all its positions before the battle, made its fire extremely accurate and deadly, forcing the two regiments to halt their advance and seek cover. Due to the fierce Austrian artillery counterattack, the Prussians were unable to move for the next four hours, making no progress whatsoever. The 7th and 8th Divisions had already passed through the village of Sadova and successfully crossed the Bystrice River, reaching the Hora Forest, easily defeating the Austrian-Romanian forces defending there, which also attracted a fierce and precise Austrian artillery counterattack. The Austrian artillery bombardment remained fierce and accurate; countless pine trees in the forest were blasted away on the spot, and the various fragments from shells and trees killed and wounded the attacking Prussians like shrapnel. The morale of the young Prussian soldiers, who had never seen such brutality, began to waver, and General Horn, commander of the 8th Division, wisely ordered a temporary retreat.

When William I saw the troops retreating, he was furious, accusing them of being cowards and ordering them to return to the front lines immediately. Prince Frederick Karl, known for his prudence, intervened, explaining the soldiers' bravery in previous battles and successfully securing the king's forgiveness and a precious period of rest.

At this moment, with the Prussian army's progress stalled across the board since the start of the battle and time running out, the King and his entourage were extremely agitated. The fate of Prussia, which had committed its entire nation to this desperate struggle, would be decided in this battle, a battle Prussia simply could not afford to lose.

Just as the Prussian army was crossing the Bistrice River and launching a fierce attack on the Austrian positions, Count Festtich, the Austrian general, and his Fourth Army made a decision that had a profound impact and completely changed the fate of both sides.

He moved the defensive position from the originally planned eastern Hrum to the vicinity of the village of Maslovi near Swipwald, because the hill in front of the original position obstructed the battlefield view. Count Thorne, who was ordered to support the Fourth Army at the time, also led the Second Army westward after seeing the Fourth Army's movement. The movement of the two armies tore a huge gap in the Austrian defenses.

The vanguard of the Prussian 7th Division had successfully crossed the river and captured the village of Benatek with little resistance, continuing its advance into the woods. Meanwhile, a brigade of the Austrian 4th Army, moving through the woods, encountered the 7th Division. The brigade's officers and soldiers, mostly Italians or Hungarians, offered little resistance and fled under heavy Prussian fire.

The 7th Division quickly crossed the forest and entered the village of Tstovis, just a few hundred meters south of which lay Mount Lipa, the heart of the Austrian defensive line. When the Austrian 4th and 2nd Corps hastily redeployed their positions, the Prussian troops arriving there faced a barrage of fire from three elite Austrian corps, while the Austrian infantry put up a fierce resistance. The Prussian Magdeburg Regiment suffered over half its casualties; the regimental commander and most of the officers were killed by Austrian gunfire. Due to the overwhelming Austrian artillery fire, the surviving soldiers of the 7th Division could only lie prone on the ground, crawling forward with great difficulty.

At that very moment, the commander of the Austrian Fourth Army, who was preparing a counterattack due to battlefield setbacks, was suddenly struck by Prussian artillery fire and lost both legs. His deputy, Rey, succeeded the Count as commander of the Fourth Army. His first act upon assuming command was to urge the two brigades, soon to be plunged into the carnage, to immediately begin playing military music, raising their flags, and attacking the Prussian 7th Division. During the march, they played the stirring "Radetzky March" and "Ode to the Emperor" to bolster morale. The Austrian officers chose to launch their attack using the dense columns of the Napoleonic era, creating an extremely imposing and awe-inspiring spectacle.

(End of this chapter)