After re-invigorating the morale of the Continental Army, Washington immediately summoned several top generals of the Continental Army to his military tent.
The previous Continental Army was encircled and suppressed by the joint efforts of Britain and Prussia, so after escaping to Missouri, the entire army had only more than a thousand troops left. Later, with the efforts of Washington, the strength of the Continental Army reached 3,000.
Although the size of the Continental Army is not very large, there are a lot of officers in the Continental Army. Except for Washington, who was appointed as the marshal of the Continental Army, there are twenty generals among the other officers.
several.
There is also a very funny phenomenon, that is, a major general may command less than 200 troops.
Later, after the Continental Congress decided to restart the war against Britain, especially the passage of the emancipation plan, the strength of the Continental Army was greatly expanded. However, the ratio of officers to soldiers in the Continental Army was still very small.
disorder.
Take the army of more than 10,000 people currently led by Washington as an example. Although there is only one lieutenant general in the army, there are more than a dozen major generals, and there are naturally more brigadiers under the major generals.
Originally, when the Continental Army was first established, because the Continental Army followed the British military system, the ranks of officers in the army were suppressed to a certain extent. The highest rank at that time was Washington's lieutenant general rank.
However, when the Continental Congress was forced to leave Missouri by Britain and Prussia, the Continental Congress made an exception to promote the ranks of many officers out of the need to attract military talents.
After all, the Continental Congress at that time had nothing else to offer to appease these officers besides their military ranks.
Under such circumstances, the only ones qualified to be summoned by Washington to participate in decision-making meetings on the military were the major generals and the only lieutenant general under Washington.
"Everyone, according to the current progress of tunnel excavation, it is estimated that it will take four days before we can dig the tunnel under the city of Dayton. Under this situation, in order to prevent the British from discovering our actions, we must
Carry out necessary cover-ups, so I think attacks like today’s during the day will still have to go on!”
After Washington finished speaking, there was silence in the military tent, and then a Continental Army lieutenant general spoke:
"Your Excellency, Marshal, you have also seen our attack during the day. Not only did our attack fail to make progress, we even suffered heavy casualties. Under such circumstances, if we launch an attack with an intensity similar to today's during the day, our soldiers will
I’m afraid it’s all gone!”
The words of this lieutenant general can be said to have played a representative role among these generals. After all, as he said, the daytime attack caused the Continental Army to suffer heavy casualties. The key is that it did not have any effect, except of course consumption.
Beyond the ammunition of the British army.
Under such circumstances, no general would want his troops to engage in such a battle that would only increase casualties.
"Putnam, I understand your concerns, but as long as we can capture Dayton and annihilate the main force of the three thousand British troops, the casualties we are suffering now will be worth it! According to our reports, the British have already reduced the strength of the entire Ohio army.
They are all concentrated in Dayton, which means that as long as we can capture Dayton, at least in a short period of time we will be unstoppable in Ohio! Therefore, this sacrifice is worth our efforts!"
Putnam was a veteran general in the Continental Army. When the Continental Congress created the Continental Army, it established three divisions, and Putnam was one of the division commanders.
Under such circumstances, even Washington, with Putnam's objections, could only slowly persuade.
After Washington finished speaking, he also secretly expressed his disapproval to a major general in the military tent. This major general was Washington's confidant Nicholas.
In the original history, this Nicholas can be said to be a famous one. In May of 1782, the North American War of Independence had achieved a total victory. This Nicholas represented part of the army.
The generals wrote a letter to Washington, asking Washington to become the king of the new government that was about to be formed!
This letter and the subsequent reply that Washington resolutely refused are known in history as the Nicholas Affair.
However, in the original history, Nicholas did not receive as much attention from Washington as he does now. The main reason was because of the attacks by Britain and Prussia in this time and space. After the Continental Congress fled to Missouri, despite many efforts,
There was still very little force that could be gathered, and many officers and soldiers were unwilling to flee to Missouri, so they surrendered to Britain and Prussia.
In this case, Nicholas had both military qualifications and could be said to be a fellow countryman of Washington. He was naturally regarded as a confidant by Washington in Missouri and was thus reused.
Nicholas noticed the color of Washington. After thinking for a while, Nicholas immediately said:
"General Putnam, although the price paid is a bit high, it is very necessary. The expansion of the army during this period has made most of our army new recruits without any experience. Although it seems that there are many people, the combat effectiveness is not
It is very low and questionable.
Under this circumstance, continuing to attack Dayton can not only cover our actions, but also play a role in training our soldiers. If this is the case, then paying these prices is completely acceptable!"
After hearing what Nicholas said, several more generals came forward to support him. These generals were all close to Washington.
Seeing these people speaking one after another, Putnam didn't know what Washington was thinking. At the moment, Washington did not forcefully issue orders as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. This was simply because Putnam and the other two generals in the military tent were
He was a veteran Continental Army officer. In this case, Washington wanted the Continental Army to have no objections and had to gain their understanding.
After a long silence, everyone in the military tent focused their attention on Putnam.
"Well, since Your Majesty the Marshal and all the generals think so, I naturally have no objections!"
Hearing Putnam's soft words, Washington felt happy and said:
"Since everyone has no objections, I will now announce the battle order. Starting tomorrow, the first brigade led by Putnam, the second brigade led by Nicholas, and the third brigade led by Horatio, three brigades
Take turns to attack Dayton. As for me personally leading the fourth brigade as the supervising team, it is understandable that each unit retains its strength, but the offensive intensity must not be weakened, otherwise military law will be ruthless!"
After Washington's order was issued, all the generals in the military tent stood up and loudly agreed.
Starting from the next day, under Washington's personal supervision, Nicholas led the Second Brigade of the Continental Army towards Dayton.
Due to the strength limitations of the Continental Army, the strength of each brigade of Washington's army was between 2,000 and 3,000 men, in addition to the black slave soldiers.
The Prussian army's attack on Venice lasted for two days. Within two days, the Prussian army once captured two stone bridges. However, they were later recaptured by the Venetian army.
It wasn't until the third day that Henry arranged for the boat to be harvested and arrived in a river not far outside Venice.
May 12, 1794
The Prussian army unexpectedly appeared on the moat outside Venice in a boat. Seeing this scene, the Venetian defenders were shocked and hurriedly mobilized artillery to attack the water. Just as the Venetian army's attention was attracted by the river,
Prussian troops also launched a total.
The battle lasted for more than an hour. After the Prussian army on the ship suffered nearly half casualties, the remaining Prussian soldiers boarded the rear of the stone bridge. Then, under attack from two sides, the stone bridge was quickly captured by the Prussian army.
After seizing the stone bridge, Prussian artillery quickly moved forward, and then under fierce artillery fire on the top of the Venetian city, the Venice city gate was blasted open by the Prussian army artillery.
After the city gate was broken open, the Prussian army quickly rushed into the city of Venice. That night, the Prussian army occupied important buildings such as the Grand Council of the Republic of Venice and the Doge's Palace in the city. Early the next morning, the Prussian army finally stood firm at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice.
The remaining soldiers among them were also annihilated by the Prussian army.
Although it did not last long, the Prussian army paid a considerable price. The 30,000-strong attacking Prussian army suffered huge casualties under the tenacious resistance of the Venetians. Close to 3,000 soldiers were killed, and the Prussian soldiers who lost their combat effectiveness
There were even as many as five thousand people.
This meant that one Venice cost Prussia 10,000 troops. Such huge casualties made William very angry.
After the city of Venice was captured, William ordered that all high-level officials in Venice be arrested and killed if they resisted.
On May 13th, in addition to Domingo who committed suicide in St. Mark's Church and some of the members who were killed, more than 160 members of the Grand Council of the Republic of Venice reunited in the Grand Council.
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However, the mood of these congressmen at this moment can be said to be very complicated, because unlike every time they entered the Grand Council with their heads held high, at this moment, there are bright bayonets behind these Venetian congressmen.
After hearing Hornde's report, William entered the Grand Council under the escort of a group of royal guards.
William's face was quite gloomy. After all, Venice had caused him to pay heavy casualties.
After walking onto the high platform in the middle of the Grand Council, William unceremoniously took his seat on the throne of the Doge of Venice.
After William sat down, Henry immediately walked to the speech box on the high platform and said:
"Members of Venice, of course, you will lose this title forever when you walk out of the door of this building, but for now, I still call you senators.
By the order of His Majesty William, the king of all Romans and the supreme ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, from today on, the Republic of Venice will forever lose its title of republic. Venice will become a free city of the empire, and will be managed by His Majesty William.
At the same time, other territories of the original Republic of Venice will be directly under the Holy Roman Emperor!"
After saying that, Henry took a step back.
William glanced around the parliament hall with a gloomy face, his eyes indirectly staying on the faces of the Venetian members. The parliament hall was surrounded by heavily armed Prussian soldiers.
After hearing Henry's words, many Venetian congressmen immediately became stunned. They could not imagine that the Prussian threat before the war had really come true, and the Venetian Republic, which was once famous in the Mediterranean, became history.
"No, you have no right to do this. Even if you are the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, you cannot dismember the Republic of Venice or even forcibly occupy it! You executioner, God will not forgive you, you will go to hell! You will live forever and ever.
In company with the devil!"
A Venetian councilor was stunned for a while and immediately started yelling crazily as if he had been greatly stimulated.
Hearing this congressman's curse, not only William, but also the faces of the entire Prussian people in the parliament hall turned ugly.
Seeing William's livid face and the blue veins gradually appearing on his forehead, Hornde immediately ordered several royal guards to pull the member out of the parliament hall.
When the congressman's body was controlled by several Prussian soldiers, he obviously knew what price he would pay for cursing William before, so he continued to curse without any intention of stopping:
"Damn Prussian barbarians, bastards. Get out of Venice! The people of Venice do not welcome you. You all deserve to go to hell. You all deserve to die without a burial!"
A Prussian soldier tried to cover the congressman's mouth to stop the treasonous words he said next, but it was obvious that the congressman did not stop fighting. When the soldier's hand covered his mouth, he violently
He bit the soldier's hand firmly with his teeth, apparently preparing to bite off a piece of meat.
The pained Prussian soldier couldn't help but look fiercely in his eyes. He suddenly pulled out a dagger from the waist of his comrade beside him and stabbed the congressman in the chest fiercely.
In full view of the parliament hall, the congressman was stabbed to death on the spot by a Prussian soldier.
"Anyone who resists His Majesty's will will suffer this fate!"
Prince Henry's tone was so harsh that for a moment, the parliament hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
"Venice must pay the price for its previous actions. As the ruler of the entire Holy Roman Empire, I came to Italy with a friendly attitude. But obviously Venice's actions made me very angry, because Venice's previous actions were completely
A betrayal of the empire! The Venetian people are also the subjects of the empire, so I am not prepared to implement any cruel tyranny against the people of the empire.
But as a price for standing up to me, those of you who make the decision must pay the price!
I declare that all Venetian senators who have previously agreed to make trouble with Prussia will have all their property confiscated, and their family members, including their family members, will be sent to work in Prussian mines to pay for their crimes. Anyone who resists or tries to escape
All shall be punished with capital punishment!”
After William finished speaking, he ignored these Venetian deputies and walked out of the parliament hall. At this moment, these deputies were no different in his eyes than fish under the knife.
After William left, many Venetian members in the parliament hall became noisy as expected, but after killing several of the most violent members, the rest of the members also understood that the Prussian determination would not waver.
Therefore, he no longer used his own life to challenge the Prussians' bottom line.
The Prussian army was stationed in Venice for two days. During these two days, the Prussians were not only busy ransacking the houses of the congressmen, but William was also thinking about the possible impact of capturing Venice.
According to the Prussian search, correspondence between Domingo and Florence, a Pisa native, was found in Domingo's residence. When he saw Florence, the Duke scolded the Prussians in the letter.
When he was being shameless and despicable, William's hands couldn't help but clenched into fists.
According to the Florentine's plan, the four thousand troops they summoned should arrive at the gates of Venice two days before the Prussian army conquered Venice. However, according to the intelligence of the scouts wandering outside Prussia, no Florentine has been found in the Venice area.
The movements of the Sri Lankan army.
After capturing Venice, the only other countries in Italy that can pose a threat to the Prussian army besides Venice are Florence, Rome, and the Kingdom of Sicily.
Among them, Venice had been captured by Prussia, and Florence only had 4,000 troops. They did not pose much of a threat to William.
This leaves only Rome and Sicily.
In William's mind, the factor that can pose a threat is the ability to gather a fully armed army of 5,000 or more people. In addition to Florence having an army of 4,000, Rome has an army because of its special status.
The population of about 10,000 people is about the same as that of Venice, while the Kingdom of Sicily is slightly more, reaching 16,000 people.
Although there are letters in Domingo's residence communicating with powerful people in the city of Rome, based on the contents of these letters, it is obvious that resisting the Prussians is not the unified opinion in the city of Rome.
For most of the forces in Rome, they don't particularly care about who ascends the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. They only care about one thing, and that is whether this monarch will pose a threat to Rome and the Pope after he comes to power.
From the current point of view, it is obvious that William, who rules Prussia, ascends the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor and will not pose a threat to Rome at least for a period of time. After all, the Prussian rule is based in the north and not in Italy.
After thinking about it, William decided to leave five thousand troops in Venice, and the remaining fifteen thousand troops would follow him to Rome.