Chapter 101: Reclaiming Lombardy
After the Battle of Venice, Marshal Radetzky didn’t halt his advance. He allowed his forces only a two-day respite before marching into the Lombardy Region.
The Sardinian Government overestimated their standing in the eyes of the local populace. Having experienced deception, the people of Lombardy held a deep-seated resentment toward the Sardinian Government.
Unfortunately, at this juncture, the illustrious aura around Marshal Badoglio’s name shattered. The Battle of Venice had broken the backbone of the Sardinian forces, and with their loss of conviction, the destructive power of the rout was truly horrifying.
At every location they arrived, they brought calamity with them. Even before the government could rally the masses, they had stirred up animosity to the maximum.
There is no harm if there is no comparison. Ordinary people suddenly realized that the days under the rule of the Kingdom of Sardinia were worse than those under the Austrian Government.
At the very least, the decaying Austrian government had established social order. Despite oppression from the government, nobles, and capitalists, the overall stability of social order allowed people to muddle through their lives.
However, after the arrival of the Kingdom of Sardinia, what followed was a continuous series of wars. The exorbitant war taxes were even more severe than under the Austrian government. The oppression from nobles and capitalists persisted, and there was also the added nuisance of marauding soldiers.
On June 1st, a bread riot erupted in Milan. In a bid for survival, the city’s workers besieged bakeries, leading to a brutal crackdown by the Sardinian military that resulted in the deaths of hundreds on the spot.
On June 3rd, a peasant uprising flared up in Pavia. The uprising grew to encompass over three thousand individuals at one point, and they even openly displayed banners welcoming the Austrian Army.
……
The Sardinian Government had anticipated that a people’s war wouldn’t really affect Austria, but instead, they found themselves submerged in the turbulent waters of a people’s war first.
Obtaining control over Lombardy was too easy for them. Apart from purging a group of republicans, the Sardinian Government had not made significant moves. Now, the consequences were coming to the surface.
After Austria’s rule in this region for so many years, how could there not be supporters?
If the Kingdom of Sardinia had remained dominant, the loyalty of these supporters would likely have diminished. But now, when it was clear that Austria held the upper hand, they couldn’t hold back any longer.
In addition, there was a large group of opportunistic individuals looking to switch sides. The workers’ and peasants’ revolutionary movement in Lombardy was also spreading like wildfire. Marshal Badoglio found himself torn between battling the Austrians on one hand and sending forces to quell uprisings on the other.
Before the Kingdom of Sardinia’s reinforcements could arrive, the Austrian Army was already at the gates of Milan.
In just a few short days, Marshal Badoglio seemed to have aged twenty years, and at this point, all that remained was regret.
If he had known it would come to this, he wouldn’t have been greedy for merit in the first place. Now, he could see that Marshal Radetzky had essentially baited them into abandoning Lombardy.
Unfortunately, they had all been deceived by political propaganda, naively believing that the Austrian Empire was already in decay, and their army was vulnerable to attack.
“Marshal, the enemy is at the gates of Milan. Please, give the order to retreat!” pleaded the anxious Lieutenant General Messer.
“Retreat? Where can we even retreat to?” Marshal Badoglio said with a bitter smile.
Looking at the general in front of him who made him make a wrong decision, Badoglio wished he could just kill him on the spot.
However, those were just his passing thoughts. Now, his spirit was dead. As the supreme commander of this military operation, he had to take responsibility for the failure of this war.
Badoglio couldn’t bear the pain of having his reputation be ruined. He would rather die on the battlefield than go back and be court-martialed.
“Of course, we need to return home. Milan can’t be held anymore, and most likely, Lombardy won’t hold either. The Austrians won’t simply let it be. We still have to fight to defend our homeland. At this point, we must preserve our strength as much as possible, or who will defend the Kingdom of Sardinia?” Lieutenant General Messer asserted with certainty.
Badoglio shook his head and said, “It’s precisely because we need to preserve our strength as much as possible that we cannot retreat. If we don’t engage the main Austrian forces and keep them occupied, do you think the other units can make it back?
If we run ahead, with the enemy chasing us from behind, do you think we’ll have many soldiers left if we make it back to the Kingdom of Sardinia?
Furthermore, for the defense of our homeland, preparations are needed within our own borders, so we must keep the enemy engaged in Milan to buy time for our homeland!”
At this point, he had set aside thoughts of his own life and death. Out of his responsibility as a military leader, he was prepared to fight for a glimmer of hope for the Kingdom of Sardinia.
If we say that the Battle of Venice was a head-on collision between the two sides, then the Lombardy defense will be brutally one-sided, crumbling quickly with the Austrian Army sweeping through like a gust of autumn wind scattering leaves.
Originally, Badoglio believed that with roughly one hundred thousand troops at his disposal and relying on fortified positions, he could delay the enemy for two to three months.
With this much time, the Kingdom of Sardinia had the opportunity to mobilize its entire nation once more. Fighting on home soil with the support of the people, there might even be a chance for a last-ditch effort.
However, it was unfortunate that the Sardinian Army had already lost its fighting spirit. Such a force, no matter how numerous, had become ineffective. Badoglio had no choice but to place his hopes on the defense of Milan.
After all, the Hungarian Republic had successfully defended Budapest against the Austrian Army for over a month, and it still hadn’t fallen. There was no reason to believe they couldn’t do the same.
Badoglio wanted to defend Milan at all costs, but King Charles Albert would not agree. With all of Sardinia’s forces committed to this war, the survival of the entire kingdom was at stake if the entire army was defeated.
In the end, Badoglio made a decision to leave behind ten thousand troops to hold Milan and buy time for the main army’s retreat.
……
On June 10th, after two days and nights of fierce fighting, the Sardinian Army was ultimately unable to withstand the Austrian onslaught. With the cooperation of the city’s residents, Milan once again fell into Austrian hands.
When Milan Fell, Marshal Badoglio committed suicide in the Governor’s Palace, preserving his final shred of dignity as a soldier.
On June 12th, the Austrian Army reclaimed Lombardy and turned its military force towards the Kingdom of Sardinia, marking a new phase in the Austro-Sardinian War.
Turin.
The swift failure of the Lombardy defense left the Sardinian Government stunned. They never expected it to collapse so quickly.
After all, in the beginning of the conflict, Marshal Radetzky had held off an attack from nearly 200,000 Sardinian troops with fewer than 100,000 men, relying on defensive positions.
From their perspective, the Sardinian forces in Lombardy still numbered around 120,000 to 130,000, not significantly different from the Austrian forces engaged in the offensive. Even though their combat capabilities might have been somewhat inferior, as the defending side, they believed they could compensate through geographical advantages.
Charles Albert asked anxiously, “Li Qi, how many troops have we withdrawn from the front lines, and can we hold off the enemy’s advance?”
Minister of War Li Qi replied with a bitter smile, “Your Majesty, a total of 70,000 troops have been withdrawn, and domestically we have mobilized another 150,000 troops. However, these troops mobilized later have not received formal training, and their combat capabilities may be…”.
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