Chapter 1596: God of War

Rescuing the Great Ming — Main Text, Chapter 1585 — Hold On, Rescue Will Come! In the history books of later ages, this Lakeside–Danube campaign was praised to the heavens!

It is said that this campaign had epoch-making significance, completely changed the form of warfare, utterly ended the age of the phalanx, and opened the door to the age of line tactics and skirmisher tactics.

For many years thereafter, military thinkers of both West and East would treat the Lakeside–Danube campaign as a textbook, studying and researching it over and over again, wishing they could thoroughly grasp every detail and reconstruct every engagement.

Yet of all the historical materials they could read, none would mention the true purpose of this campaign — the Ottomans wanted to go to Vienna to rob the banks, while Grand Duke Henri, in order to protect Vienna's banks from being robbed, had no choice but to deploy a defensive line between the Lakeside and the Danube, defending it to the death.

Apart from the true purpose of the campaign, which could not be made public, the dispositions of both sides were clearly recorded in various historical materials, and were of great research value.

And among them, the deployment of the Austrian army, which opened in a defensive posture, completely changed the mode of warfare. The age of the phalanx was utterly ended! The age of line infantry and skirmishers formally arrived, and the age of field position warfare arrived at the same time.

The mode of field battle on land, after this war, became more complex and harder to command.

And the reason for this series of changes was chiefly the advance of technology.

The appearance of the wooden-mortar explosive shell and the wooden-plug rifled musket ball utterly eliminated the phalanx age that had existed for untold years — not that square formations could no longer be formed, but that the age of the phalanx was over. The age of the line and the skirmish order had arrived.

In fact, this process had already begun at the Battle of Szentgotthárd, which made Leopold I a saint, and the Lakeside–Danube campaign was the end of the old age and the beginning of the new!

Besides the revolutionary change in infantry formations, in this campaign the Austrian army taking part had already completely eliminated the pike.

This meant that the infantry's musket was already sufficient to pose a deadly threat to cavalry charging at full gallop!

Moreover, the battlefield of the Lakeside–Danube campaign had also become very broad. It had not only a wide front, but also great depth.

The frontage of the Lakeside–Danube line reached 25 kilometers, while the Austrian army's defensive depth exceeded 5 kilometers. Ottoman reconnaissance had discovered only the width of the battlefield front, and had not discovered the depth of the Austrian defense.

That is to say, the Austrian army, numbering no more than 100,000 in total, was divided into several battle lines 25 kilometers long and deployed across the battlefield.

Of course, the 100,000-strong army was not actually drawn up in several lines on the battlefield — that could not have withstood the desperate charges of the Ottoman cavalry.

These 100,000 Austrian troops were divided into multiple groups, either holding defensive lines or relying on strongpoints, forming a defense in depth that was hard to break through.

And a series of field fortifications greatly strengthened the infantry's combat capability in defensive operations. It was precisely by relying on these fortifications that the Austrians' dispersed infantry could hold out against the concentrated attacks of the Ottoman army.

On October 11, 1700, the main force of the Ottoman army had already arrived before the Austrian line between the Lakeside and the Danube.

The Tatar cavalry had spent the previous day skirmishing with the skirmishers and cavalry covering the Austrian positions. The fighting was not intense, but it lasted a long time, and it was not until noon on the 11th, when the Ottoman main body arrived, that the Austrian skirmishers and light cavalry pulled back into their own positions.

That same day, Mustafa Köprülü and Mustafa Kara, escorted by a large body of Janissary warriors, began to inspect the Austrian army's positions.

They did not dare get too close, for fear of being shot by the enemy's riflemen with rifled guns!

The two of them had no wish to meet the Lord of All just yet.

Although they did not get close, the experienced Mustafa Köprülü and Mustafa Kara still discerned some clues. They discovered that the Austrian line was not a single straight trench with a low wall — that was only the Austrians' first line of defense.

Behind this line there were at least six important strongpoints, each one built around an Austrian village or town converted for the purpose.

As for the specific condition of these strongpoints and what lay behind them, they had no way of knowing.

In addition, both flanks of the Austrian army's Lakeside–Danube line were well protected by the Lakeside and the Danube, making it very inconvenient for the Ottoman army to turn them. Breaking through from the front appeared to be the only option.

Fortunately, the Austrian line's front was too broad, so their forces would certainly be very dispersed; concentrating forces to achieve a breakthrough would not be very difficult — the only question was how many casualties it would cost.

But with the banks of Vienna as bait, Mustafa Köprülü and Mustafa Kara were not very worried about casualties; what worried them was time!

Time was not on the Ottoman Empire's side!

If they could not sack Vienna before the army of Emperor Louis marched into Austria, then perhaps they would never reach Vienna at all... and never be able to rob the banks of Vienna!

After returning to the command tent set up behind the battle line, Mustafa Kara said to the Grand Vizier: "We should concentrate our forces and break through at one or two points... once we burst through their line, we will win a complete victory."

Mustafa Köprülü nodded and said: "We have more men and more guns... as long as we concentrate them, we will surely win. But we should not strike at only one point; we should strike at three points."

"Grand Vizier, how do you intend to fight?" Mustafa Kara asked.

"This is the Lakeside, this is the Danube, and the Austrian line lies between them, in a straight line. What is certain now is that they have dug a long trench, piled up sandbags to form a line, and most likely prepared a great number of 'Spanish riders.'"

Mustafa Köprülü gestured over a table that had been looted from somewhere, and said: "We should first attack the Austrian positions by the Lakeside and the Danube... this is to pin their flanks and draw their reserves to the left and right, leaving the center weak.

Then we will concentrate our finest Janissary warriors and, with the greatest determination, smash through the Austrians' trench and breastwork line in one blow. Finally, we will throw in the Tatar cavalry to strike at the enemy's rear and cut off the retreat of the enemy's left and right wings."

Mustafa Köprülü's deployment was likewise later written into military textbooks and became the standard tactic for breaking through an enemy's positional defense.

"Grand Vizier, when shall we launch the attack?" Mustafa Kara asked again.

"Tomorrow before dawn," Mustafa Köprülü thought for a moment. "Begin at 3 a. m. First place 180 cannon on the two wings and bombard the Austrian positions by the Lakeside and the Danube for one hour, then launch the assault."

Behind the Austrian battle line, Potzno Fortress.

This was a fortress converted from an ordinary farmstead, and because it faced a large stretch of forest marked "felling forbidden," it had become an important strongpoint on the Lakeside–Danube defensive line.

On the night of October 11, 1700 — the eve of the opening of the Lakeside–Danube battle — the headquarters of Henri de Mancini entered this Potzno Fortress, screened by a large stretch of woodland.

At 8 p. m. that evening, Henri de Mancini summoned all three of his corps commanders and seven division commanders to his headquarters, and announced to them the order to take up arms in defense of the Archduchy of Austria! At the same time, he relayed to them several pieces of good news that had just arrived.

"The Roman Emperor Louis I has ordered the 9th Legion stationed in Upper Austria, the 10th Legion stationed in Bavaria, and the 11th Legion stationed in Venice to advance together into Austria! Moreover, the Hussite believers of Bohemia and the Christians of Upper Hungary are rising in revolt. As long as we can hold the Lakeside–Danube line for one week... Austria will be saved! God will be with us!"