Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2447 Asti

"The shells are out, commander!" In the early morning of February 1702, 2, an artillery lieutenant ran over and said to Leonardo Simeone, the commander of the artillery regiment of the Florence Division.

Simeone was born as an old mercenary, a Sicilian.For the life of his family, he went out to join the army when he was young, and helped the Danes fight against Sweden and the Dutch against France.During the last anti-French coalition war, his troops were hired by the Archbishop of Münster to attack the troops of the Bishop of Cologne.Since his debut, he has been serving in the artillery unit. He started as a handyman carrying artillery shells, and gradually grew into a middle-level officer who commanded more than a dozen artillery pieces.He has fired brass cannons, fired bronze cannons, and also operated British iron cannons. This time he was recruited by the Northern Italian Federal Army and became the commander of more than thirty cannons. Shore's "foreign artillery", this experience is really rich and incomparable.

Simeone also received training from the people from the East Coast at the Eagle's Nest Fortress. Although due to his low level of education, the ballistics and other courses taught by the people from the East Coast were half-understood, but with his rich experience, he still steadily Occupies the position of commander of the artillery regiment.Of course, in the long run, technical arms such as artillery, which require a high level of education, still need to be proficient in professional knowledge.Simeone's self-taught wild way will eventually be replaced by technical officers from the academy. It's just that the Northern Italian Army has just begun to formalize its construction, and it is thirsty for all kinds of officers. "Old Cannon" Simeone played on the stage.

"Rest when the shells are exhausted. Do we still want us to fight with bayonets?" Simeone said with a pipe in his mouth: "Wait, put away the cannons and put on the harness. Anyway, there is no chance for us to play If the front is defeated, we can retreat quickly."

The artillerymen who came to deliver the order were a little confused after hearing this.Of course he knew that if the artillery did not bring back the artillery when they retreated, they would be punished. After all, artillery was one of the most important land military assets in this era. Didn’t you see that Peter’s Tsarist Russian army lost 145 artillery pieces in the Battle of Narva? How heartbroken.Although Northern Italy is known to be rich, it cannot ignore the more than 30 artillery pieces.What's more, only 24 of the more than [-] doors are the equipment of their regiment, and the rest are temporarily borrowed from the warehouse in Alexandria, and temporarily let a group of handymen move the shells and gunpowder (as the reserve personnel of the artillery, they You also need to learn how to use cannons) On the top, if you lose it, it is really hard to explain.

It's just that, being so crisp and ready to escape at any time, is this style the unique skill of Commander Simeone who has been able to roam the battlefield for 20 years and still be alive?The messenger subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but out of obedience to the officer, he still ran down to give orders.

Division Commander Alberto Montini, who was commanding the battle ahead, did not notice the artillery behind him, because the situation ahead had already attracted him.The city of Asti doesn't have a city wall, and there are almost no defensive facilities in the city center except for the relatively strong warehouses and churches.Outside the city, there is a castle with a long history, but it has been captured by the Florentine division at the cost of more than two hundred casualties.

At this time, there were probably hundreds of soldiers in the city. They surrounded more than a thousand militiamen and fought back with old-fashioned bronze cannons and matchlock guns.Obviously, before the Savoy defenders in Asti had time to respond adequately, they were attacked by the Florentine Division who marched overnight, causing some confusion.The many artillery shells dropped in advance also caused heavy casualties to these people. A large number of wounded soldiers lay on the battlefield, and they wailed continuously for lack of rescue, which greatly affected the fighting spirit of the defenders.

"As long as you work harder, it's almost there!" Alberto Montini made a decision, and then with a big wave of his hand, two thousand carefully selected soldiers lined up.They shot out the last projectile in the barrel, then loaded the bayonet, and rushed up—since they were students of the East Coast Army, how could they not charge with bare blades?

The rate of fire of the arquebus is slow, especially for those militiamen who were temporarily captured, because of factors such as emotional tension, the involvement is even slower.In addition, one of the cannons also exploded, and the rest of the ammunition was exhausted. Therefore, the commandos of the Florence Division only suffered dozens of casualties before they suddenly arrived in the enemy's formation.

Curses and screams suddenly sounded.The Savoys' matchlock guns did not have bayonets, and even if a few people were equipped with flintlock guns, they would not use bayonets for a while.I saw them all pulling out the stabbing swords at their waists, roaring and killing them.It's just that the stabbing sword is only good for stabbing, not good for slashing, and it is shorter than the rifles that the officers and soldiers of the Florentine division equipped with bayonets have a total length of 1.75 meters, so they suffer a lot in hand-to-hand combat.

The short and fierce hand-to-hand combat ended within half an hour, and the Savoy defenders killed and injured more than [-] people—the seriously injured basically couldn’t survive, because no one would rescue them, and the slightly wounded had to survive Risk of Infection - Not long after the rest retreated into the city, they raised their flags of surrender under the psychological offensive of the Northern Italian Army, and the battle was over.

"Two battles in a row resulted in more than 400 casualties, and the shells were used up. That's about it. Capture some residents in the city and let them help build a defensive offensive, and the rest take time to rest." Battalion Commander Wang Zhen was not polite at all. He gave the order directly, as if he was the supreme commander here.And Commander Montini didn't think there was any problem at all, he carried out the order to the letter, and then went to visit the wounded.

"The Italians played well, which made me feel better." The special commissioner who accompanied the army appeared out of nowhere, and saw him looking at the temporary field hospital not far away, and said with a complicated expression: "Been in battle, After seeing blood, the temperament is different. These things cannot be obtained by training. Of course, they are much worse than the battle-hardened lions of France and Austria. After all, they have never played high-intensity battles Tough and bitter battles, the psychological level still needs to be sublimated."

Battalion Commander Wang doesn't like to listen to the commissioner's words. Even though he has participated in the training of many officers and non-commissioned officers of the Florence Division, he really appreciates these Italian officers. He has a special feeling that a teacher looks at students, but he doesn't like to listen to others. Bragging about the French and Austrian armies, especially with white shirts who don't understand anything.Therefore, he went straight to it: "What nonsense are you talking about? France and Austria have many veterans and rich combat experience, but the outdated experience at that time has fallen behind the trend of the times. No matter how much outdated experience there is, there is a fart. !"

"A lot of experience is common and will not be outdated." The special commissioner was not willing to admit defeat, said.

"It's useless. Inexperience is lacking, but technology makes up for it. Our way of fighting is beyond their comprehension. They may be able to bully the Northern Italian army like the Florentine Division, but they have no chance of winning against us." Battalion Commander Wang Not weak, said in a slightly proud tone.

"Forget it, I shouldn't talk to you about this." The commissioner sighed, gave up the argument, and asked instead: "How will the matter end? Do you have a plan? Don't tell me that Commander Bai didn't talk to you beforehand." You mentioned it. A single Principality of Savoy is naturally nothing to worry about, but the problem is that there are people behind them. Spain and France are their backstages. Things are not that simple! The Savoy people are actually threatened by France and Spain It's too much, it's just a gesture, and you completely surrender without thinking about it, but you are decisive, and you come here directly. The matter is getting worse, the Principality of Savoy was furious, and if they couldn't keep it together, they assembled a large army to attack gone."

"The end? The rear is mobilizing troops. This is the end of our preparation." Major Wang Zhen said disdainfully: "What time is it now? All of Europe is preparing for a big war. The French have entered the Southern Netherlands , the United Provinces have already mobilized. The British and Austrians are coming soon, and maybe war will break out tomorrow. This is a war that has swept across most of Europe. Show your tough stance before the outbreak, and let everyone see your own strength. 7.5 troops, 1.5 navy, this is their strength! Anyone who doesn't open their eyes and wants to trouble them, or fight the autumn wind, then they have to Consider whether your own strength is enough. As the saying goes, one punch is enough to avoid a hundred punches. This stupid Duchy of Savoy is the best target for establishing prestige. As long as you beat them down, or force them to eat If you don’t dare to act rashly if you lose money, then both France and Austria have to worry about whether they will fall into the quagmire of war once they really invade Northern Italy, and thus be seized by their opponents.”

"Your idea..." The special commissioner muttered for a long time, but he couldn't find any rebuttal words, and finally he could only say bitterly: "It's still a bit unreasonable, but there are better ways to deal with the matter. For example, let us To exert influence and draw the Principality of Savoy to Northern Italy. Special Envoy Sheng has already carried out this work before, but the effect is not very good. This will be ready to make persistent efforts, taking advantage of Chambery's hesitation Put in more effort to achieve the goal. The result is good, but once you come here, things become complicated."

"It's nothing complicated. For some things, it's useless to just grind their mouths. Instead, they can only arouse their greed, asking for sky-high prices, as if they think they are important. We are also doing it for the sake of the Savoy people, to make them sober, A small country sandwiched between several forces is not qualified to pretend. If you don't want to be swallowed by the French or become a puppet vassal of Austria, then it is better to return to the Italian family as soon as possible. Join the Northern Italian Federation , with their strength, they will certainly be able to occupy a certain amount of weight in the parliament. In this chaotic era, don’t hold together to keep warm and wait for death?”

It has to be said that soldiers like Major Wang Zhen really see things differently from civilian officials.Of course, he may not have thought that deeply at first, he just wanted to make trouble, or Bai Chuanping, the garrison commander of the Eagle's Nest Fortress, may have told him, but in short, their swift and decisive "punitive attack" against the Principality of Savoy is indeed true. Can create a considerable deterrent.First of all, the Kingdom of Spain may not have the guts to send troops to Italy to pursue the "betrayal" of Milan, Parma, and Mantua, and the troubled French may not invest too much force in this direction-they have seen the strength of northern Italy It is really not cost-effective to invest at least [-] troops here; secondly, Leopold, who has been hesitant to attack northern Italy before, will probably give up his fantasy. The reason is the same as that of Louis XIV. The risk is too great and it is not worth it; Third, if the situation permits in the future, when the Northern Italian Federation reorganizes its army and goes south to attack other parts of the peninsula, the interference resistance from the outside world may also be less; People) to show their own strength and potential for future development, let the boss understand that the resources he invested will not be wasted, which may attract more investment for them, and then they will be prosperous.

The seven member countries of the Northern Italian Federation have a population of more than 800 million, have a certain industrial and agricultural foundation, have developed foreign trade, and have a relatively high level of education.Now they have a Commonwealth Parliament, seven countries sent a total of 69 representatives gathered in Milan - so it is also known as the "temporary capital" of the Federation, although the Federation is not a country in the strict sense - they It determines the foreign affairs of the Federation, and has a navy and army jointly funded by all states, but other affairs are managed by the member countries themselves, which is a bit similar to the state when the United States was first established.

After years of tug-of-war negotiations, the seven states finally reached an agreement on a unified tax category and tax rate in the second half of last year.This marks the formation of the North Italian common market. There will be no customs barriers between the seven states, and zero tariffs. Therefore, business will surely usher in an explosive boom period.

However, anyone who has experienced the nightmarish negotiation knows how difficult it is to reach such an agreement.If it weren't for the people from the east coast to coordinate and even give certain benefits, the negotiation would have broken down long ago.After the elimination of the internal tariffs between the seven states, a federal tariff took its place.As the name suggests, this tax is at the disposal of the Federal Parliament, and this is also the first official income it has received (previously, the expenses were apportioned in proportion to each country, not fixed), and it is getting closer and closer to the prototype of a normal national government .

In the future, the mission of the Northern Italy Federation is to unify the Italian peninsula and reform the political system, eventually forming a unified country composed of Italians, which will become an important ally and strategic fulcrum of the Eastern China Republic in the Mediterranean.For them, this war of Spanish succession is not only a crisis, but also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and everything depends on how they grasp it.

(End of this chapter)