Chapter 1598: Push a Little Harder and You'll Ascend to Heaven!

The sky was dim, and the morning wind stirred. Moisture over the plains by the lakeshore hung between heaven and earth, forming a thin layer of mist that further reduced the already poor visibility.

In the murky, pitch-black expanse, only a few dozen bobbing points of firelight could be seen moving forward. These were men carrying torches as they walked through the night. If one drew closer, one could also make out blades coated with morning dew, glinting between one torch and the next!

The Ottomans' eighty or ninety cannon had already been pushed up to the front line. The Ottomans favored heavy guns—3-pounders and 6-pounders were not satisfying enough for them, and 12-pounder and 18-pounder long guns would also be hauled by them onto the field of battle. Of the eighty or ninety guns now concentrated on the lakeshore battlefield, most were 12-pounder or 18-pounder long guns, while the remainder were mortars firing explosive shells or 12-pounder short-barreled guns.

Because 12-pounder and 18-pounder long guns or short guns, as well as 24-pounder mortars, were all very difficult to move, Ottoman artillerymen rarely maneuvered on the battlefield. Moreover, to prevent an immobile artillery position from being wiped out by the enemy in one stroke, the Ottomans habitually dispersed their artillery and deployed it at positions farther from the enemy's lines, relying on range to bombard the opponent from a distance.

In this campaign, however, the Ottomans had unusually adopted a concentrated artillery deployment. The 66 long guns employed on the left-flank lakeshore battlefield were all concentrated in an artillery position less than one French league wide.

At around 3:15 in the morning, the Ottoman long guns one after another revealed their muzzles, and the well-trained gunners rammed powder and shot into the barrels piece by piece. They aimed with the aid of the firelight flickering in front of the Austrian lines, and only then lit the fuses. Finally, amid rolling thunder, every muzzle spat out a tongue of flame!

The Ottoman artillery was positioned on the plains two French leagues southwest of the lake, very close to the Austrian lines—the direct-fire distance was only a little more than a quarter of a French league. The enemy's rifles could not reach that far at all, while the long guns at this range could hit the enemy's position even with their eyes closed—the position was so large and did not move, so firing at will was good enough.

But being able to hit it did not mean being able to break it!

Fieldworks built up from sandbags could not necessarily be destroyed even by later-generation howitzers, let alone solid shot from muzzle-loading cannon.

Therefore the purpose of the Ottoman bombardment was merely to destroy the "Spanish riders" the Austrians had placed in front of their breastworks, and at the same time to frighten the "weak" Austrians.

Round shot after round shot was rammed into the barrels and then belched forth. Although visibility was now very poor, the shot fired still fell upon the Austrian positions! Some of these balls struck the "Spanish riders" and smashed them to splinters!

Some slammed into the breastworks built of sandbags, and the balls at once bored into the sandbags as if confiscated, producing no reaction whatsoever.

Still other balls first struck the ground, then suddenly bounced up and swept over the top of the breastworks—sweeping up nothing, of course, because the Austrian infantry were mostly crouched behind the breastworks.

Although the effect of the bombardment was unremarkable, the spectacle of 66 12-pounders or 18-pounders firing together was still terrifying—it truly made the earth shake and the mountains sway!

And the place where the cannon made the earth shake and the mountains sway was not limited to the lakeshore. On the right flank of the Austrian line, the sector near the Danube, dozens of 12-pounder or 18-pounder bronze cannon were also carrying out a fierce bombardment.

Word that both flanks of the line were under heavy bombardment quickly reached Fort Poczno, where Archduke Henri was.

"François, John, what do you make of it?" Archduke Henri, who had not slept all night, had been somewhat drowsy a moment before, but now he had driven away all sleepiness and stood alertly with arms folded before the map table. On his right stood the short and homely François Eugène; on his left stood the pretty-faced John Churchill.

François Eugène smiled. "It should be a feint... I estimate the Ottomans want to strike our left and right flanks, draw off our reserves, and then concentrate their strength to break through the center."

John Churchill laughed. "I think we can open up the center, draw the Ottoman main force to the front of Fort Poczno, and then smash them in one blow!"

Archduke Henri asked, "John, how should we smash them?"

John Churchill said, "We can divide our forces into three columns. The center column will be responsible for luring the enemy and delaying them, fighting while retreating, drawing the Ottoman main force to the front of Fort Poczno, and using the woods in front of the fort as the final defensive position.

The right and left columns will attack fiercely, striving to crush the Ottoman feint forces in one blow. After crushing the Ottoman feint forces, the left and right columns will then press inward toward the center, forcing the Ottomans to fall back."

"But can the center hold?" Archduke Henri's brows were tightly knit. "We have only seven divisions in all... If we commit heavy forces to the flanks, how many divisions can remain in the center? Two? Or one? Moreover, once the center withdraws, will it shake the army's morale?"

John Churchill said, "Two divisions will be enough... I will command the center column, and I will certainly be able to hold!"

Can you really do it? Henri looked at the pretty-faced John Churchill, feeling not at all confident in his heart, and so turned his head to look at François Eugène.

"Your Highness," François Eugène said to Henri, "I believe John's plan is workable, and I also have faith in his ability."

Henri thought for a moment, then asked, "How should the remaining five divisions be allocated?"

"Your Highness, you will personally lead three divisions in an attack along the Danube to drive back the Ottoman right wing... You may have Count Daun assist you in command. Though he is young, he is an exceptionally fine soldier." François Eugène said, "I will command the remaining two divisions to the lakeshore battlefield and break the Ottoman left wing."

The Count Daun whom François Eugène mentioned had the full name Wirich Philipp Daun. His family had fought for the House of Habsburg for generations and had been enfeoffed as counts. After the fall of Vienna, he had followed his father and gone over to Emperor Louis. But as a German, Daun could never see any opportunity for advancement under Louis. So six years ago, under François Eugène's recruitment, he had gone over to Archduke Henri, who had no military talent available to him.

Compared with François Eugène and John Churchill, those two fellows who "did not look like famous generals," Count Daun appeared rather more reliable—imposing in appearance, strict in disciplining troops, and quick of mind—so Henri was comparatively at ease with him.

"With Count Daun assisting, my column should have no problems," Archduke Henri paused. "François, you have only two divisions—can you crush the Ottoman left wing?"

"Please rest assured!" François Eugène nodded. "Victory shall belong to Austria under God's protection!"

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The bombardment on the lakeshore front had already lasted nearly two hours—such a prolonged and large-scale bombardment was extremely rare in seventeenth-century field battles, because in those days no one much bothered to dig artillery-proof fieldworks. After two or three hours of shelling, the infantry on both sides could not endure it either!

Standing in ranks to be shot was already bitter enough; if it were changed to standing in ranks to be shelled, and for hours at that, would the infantry even be allowed to live?

Moreover, thanks to the "invention" and promotion by Zhu Cilang, wooden-fuze explosive shells had already become widespread... Who could stand in ranks and be pounded by explosive shells for hours?

Therefore field defensive works began to appear on battlefields. After infantry took the field, they would often dig a trench or pile up something with sandbags, and then rely on the works to withstand bombardment.

Because the infantry now had artillery-proof works, the artillerymen's work became extremely arduous. Bombardments grew longer and longer, and the powder and ammunition expended grew greater and greater.

And in the Lakeshore–Danube campaign that began in the early morning of October 12, 1700, the Austrian infantry constructed the largest field defensive works to date, while the Ottoman Empire likewise concentrated a great quantity of artillery and carried out a prolonged bombardment.

Especially after the sky brightened, Mustafa Köprülü ordered the 12-pounder short guns and 24-pounder mortars that had not previously taken part in the bombardment to all open fire, hurling 12-pounder and 24-pounder explosive shells at the Austrian artillery-proof works.

As the heavy explosive shells burst one after another, the Austrian positions by the lakeshore were at once shrouded in blue-black smoke. The smell of gunpowder filled the battlefield, drifting slowly, choking men until they could scarcely breathe.