Chapter 555: Preventing Scorched Earth Tactics

A Knight of Luxembourg rode on the back of his steed as he gazed towards the bridge in front of him. This valuable piece of infrastructure acted as the only means to cross the nearby river. It was because of this strategic importance that his liege ordered him to destroy it before the Austrian invaders could use it to cross.

By now, news had spread to the Capital of the Duchy of Luxembourg of Berengar's invasion of the Northern German States. Rather than face the enemy in the fields which would surely result in his army's destruction, the Bastard of Luxembourg had ordered a full retreat. In doing so, he gave additional commands to destroy all valuable infrastructure to slow down the Austrian advance.

His intention was obvious, buy enough time for all of his men to make it back to the Capital which they would defend to the last man. If he was from any other Kingdom, this would be a foolish act, as the King of Austria had showed repeatedly his willingness to obliterate cities to spare the lives of his soldiers.

However, Luxembourg was a German Duchy, and thus Hartman knew his rival would not be so willing to waste the lives of a people he believed to be his own. Truthfully, it was the best plan he could come up with, as his enemy had overwhelming advantages in all aspects of warfare.

Only by forcing them into the Capital City, and fighting them in brutal urban warfare, did his army have a chance of defeating the Austrian host. Thus, this Knight began issuing orders to the men at arms beneath his command, so that they would fulfill their obligations in these scorched earth tactics.

"Quickly, fetch the casks, and light them up. I want this bridge brought to ruin before the Austrians arrive!"

The soldiers beneath his command struggled to bring forth the casks filled with gunpowder. Such a substance was a rare commodity in Europe, especially in the hands of Berengar's enemies. After all, the Austrian King's Triple Alliance had a stranglehold over the trade of saltpeter within Europe, and saltpeter was a critical component in the development of gunpowder.

To waste such a vast quantity of the explosive compound on scorched earth tactics would severely limit Luxembourg's ability to combat the enemy when they finally arrived at the capital. Still, it was a calculated risk that Hartman had thought through, and ultimately was a necessary expense.

Unbeknownst to the Knight and his retinue of soldiers, various men clad in camouflaged clothing hid within the treeline nearby. Among these men were a few Jagdkommandos, but mostly, these were the rebels that Hartman had attempted to root out and destroy over the past three months.

While the Knights of Luxembourg had their orders to engage in scorched earth tactics to buy time for their retreat, the rebels had their own objectives, which were to prevent such actions from being carried out at any cost.

Thus, at the moment Andreas Jaeger, who was garbed in his Jagdkommando uniform, pressed the stock of the g22 rifle firmly against his shoulder as he aimed down his sights towards the enemy force. Without needing to issue orders, he squeezed the trigger, which ignited the .45-70 cartridge, propelling its Spitzer shaped copper-jacketed bullet down range and into the skull of the Knight Commander.

Before the enemy commander could even react, his skull blasted apart, and his body fell off its horse, lifelessly landing on the ground. Yet Andreas was not the only one to shoot. A thunderous roar accompanied by plumes of smoke surrounded the treeline as dozens of rebels opened fire on the enemy forces.

They were careful not to hit the black powder casks, as doing so could easily cause a chain reaction, destroying their objective in the process. The rebel's bullets riddled through the torsos of the enemy man at arms. Still, the rebels were few, and a single volley from their rifles was not nearly enough to eliminate the enemy units. Thus, they rapidly reloaded their weapons, while the hostile men at arms formed a firing line, and aimed their primitive firearms towards the treeline where the volley of fire had come from.

The men at arms fired off a volley of their own towards the treeline. In doing so, it hit several rebels. At such a range, the arkebuses would be entirely ineffective against the armor that Austrian regulars wore, however these guerillas were not wearing any protective gear, and thus, those unfortunate enough to be struck by the arkebuse balls quickly entered the afterlife.

As Andreas was reloading his weapon with a spare cartridge, a lead ball struck his sloped steel helmet. Luckily for him, his helmet protected against shrapnel, and even modern pistol rounds. Thus the primitive projectile deflected upward, leaving the Jagdkommando with a minor case of whiplash and nothing more.

As the man struggled to get his thoughts in order, he quickly realized that he had instinctively loaded his weapon, thus as he came back to reality, he aimed down his sights once more and fired his cartridge towards the enemy forces.

Like his previous targets, the projectile found its way into the enemy's body, and burst through his armor and out the other side, followed by a stream of blood and bone fragments. The man quickly collapsed to the floor as he rapidly bled out. By the time the soldier had passed away, Andreas had already loaded another round and fired towards the enemy once more.

Despite having an overwhelming numerical advantage, the sheer rate of fire that the rebels possessed with their needle rifles quickly caused the Luxembourg numbers to dwindle. In the end, a single man at arms took command as he issued the following orders.

"Retreat! Abandon the mission!"

With this said, the Luxembourg unit rapidly broke ranks and routed, allowing the Rebels to reveal themselves as they secured the bridge. Andreas, despite having suffered a mild concussion, quickly gave out his orders to his troops.

"I want those casks removed. The last thing we need is for an accident to occur, and this bridge to be brought to ruin. After you have removed the explosives, secure the area and wait for our main host to arrive!"

Not a single guerilla beneath the Jagdkommando's command disobeyed. Instead, they quickly did as they were instructed. By now, these men were well accustomed to following orders without questions, and thus they acted with the same discipline that the regular army would have.

Before long, the explosives casks were removed, and the bridge was secured. The rebel guerillas maintained operational security until they witnessed the Austrian host in the distance. Only then did they sigh in relief. Eventually, Captain Andreas Jaeger stood before his King, who had a smile on his fae as he witnessed the remains of the battlefield.

"Captain! I am glad to see that you and your band of rebels have secured the bridge. This makes my life easier as we advance forward towards the Capital city! At this rate, the war will be over before the leaves fall from the trees!"

This was not the first time Berengar had used this quote, and unlike the origins of the quote which ended up being a colossal blunder, every time the Austrian King had said these words, it became reality. In response to Berengar's claim, Andreas merely smiled as he uttered the thoughts in his mind.

"I hope you are right, your majesty... Tell me, what are my orders now?"

Berengar quickly began informing the Special Forces Captain as to the current reality of the war effort.

"By now, we have secured the southernmost region of the Duchy with limited conflict. Intelligence supports the idea that Hartman is withdrawing his forces to the Capital to force our army into a bloody struggle for the city. He intends for every man, woman, and child to fight us to the bitter end, like Carthage in its last days.

I won't stand for such needless bloodshed. It is with this in mind that I have a special task for you and your insurgents. I want you and your troops to infiltrate the city and ensure that you prepare the people to rise against their masters when we finally arrive. With your men on the inside, I believe it is possible to take the city without senseless slaughter."

Andreas did not hesitate in his response. He simply saluted his King before speaking the words that had become quite common as Austria's battle cry.

"Hail Victory!"

Berengar naturally returned the man's salute and responded with the same shout.

"Hail Victory!"

After saying this, the Austrian Jagdkommando and his rebel forced crossed the bridge, and headed towards the city. They would first make a stop at the nearest allied village and assume the identity of peasants fleeing the war before infiltrating the enemy's capital.

While the Rebels rode off into the distance, Berengar gazed towards the direction of the enemy's capital with a stoic expression. He feared that Hartman's reluctance to surrender and face judgement for his crimes would ultimately result in the mad man taking his city hostage.

According to intelligence provided by his spies embedded within his rival's court, the Bastard of Luxembourg had become increasingly unstable after Renault's assassination, and Berengar feared the lengths of terror the man would go to in order to avoid his fate. With a heavy sigh, the King of Austria spoke to himself in a tone so low only he could hear.

"I will do what I must..."