Steel Empire
Destroying the Rebels

Over the past few days, Berengar's progress to Salzburg has waned. With the constant need to send troops forward in a series of search and destruction missions for enemy skirmishers, Tyrolean forces were forced to march through Salzburg at a slow but steady pace.

Therefore, Berengar became impatient, and it was only because of Arnulf's constant advice that he did not commit such rash acts as marching through Salzburg without being swayed by the idea of an ambush, that he did not, which will inevitably result in more casualties than it should. . 

So at that moment, Berengar found himself inside the camp that his troops had made in the field, with a significant level of leisure time. The hierarchy of his troops was so well applied that he honestly did little to campaign as Supreme Commander, as the officer class was more than capable of fulfilling their daily duties without his interference.

Berengar found himself cutting wood for entertainment, and as such, was carving a wooden figure very similar to his lover Linde. Although his artistic skills were lacking, the rugged figure displayed the natural curves of women in great detail. It wasn't a bad job, given his relatively poor art skills.

It was at this moment that the lid of his tent opened, and Anrulf forcefully entered, seeing that his Master and Command were in the process of making a wooden statue of what looked like a full-bodied woman, and that he was in the process of making a wooden statue of what looked like a full-bodied woman, Arnulf wisely chose not to question it, and instead reported the news he had received.

"Your Majesty, I have a report to make."

Berengar did not bother to put the wooden figure that was still in the process of carving it. Instead, he continued to do so while listening to Arnulf's words. Therefore, he nonchalantly agreed to Arnulf's request to inform him of the problem at hand.

"Continue..."

Seeing that Berengar was more interested in his statue than the important news he had to share, Arnulf quickly sighed before starting the report with a sentence that would definitely catch Berengar's attention.

"We have obtained some decent intelligence from the captives!"

Hearing this news, Berengar's ears churned, and he immediately stopped his activity. Instead, he placed the half-finished wooden statue in the stand next to him and the knife with it before turning his full attention to Arnulf, where he responded to this news with great curiosity.

"Continue..."

Seeing that Berengar's interest was fully captured, Arnulf smiled before fulfilling the rest of his report; therefore, he placed the map in his hand onto a nearby table in Berengar's tent and spread it where it showed some marks at certain positions in the nearby hills and forests. 

"This is the location of the enemy's ambush within a nearby area; our scouts have determined the information is accurate!"

Hearing this news, Berengar quickly got up from his seat, where he proceeded to the table where the map was displayed and observed it closely, with a wide smile on his face. Now that he knew the position of the enemy, he could easily bombard them with the overwhelming firepower of his 140 cannons. 

Upon seeing this information, Berengar quickly gave Arnulf orders to be met by the army. He pointed to different locations and ordered a daring attack on them.

"Move artillery battalions to each of these positions, supported by infantry battalions. I want this damned skirmisher to be bombarded enough before we encircle them with our infantry line! Only after they suffer our bullet streak will our infantry move in and mop up from what's left of them!"

Hearing Berengar's command, Arnulf quickly saluted the man by hitting his chest protector with his fist.

"Yes sir!"

After that, the General left the tent and immediately executed the order. Although Berengar wanted to participate in the operation, he was forced to stay behind with the main host. Therefore, he let out a heavy sigh before pouring himself a glass of beer. Where he quickly finished.

Thus, the location the skirmishers hid was quickly surrounded by Berengar artillery and infantry. In all four areas, there were hundreds if not thousands of Bavarian ambushers gathering, hiding, and waiting for the main Tyrolean army to pass by so that they could gather at the enemy and surprise them with a swift attack. 

Unfortunately for the Bavarians, they had been betrayed by the captives, and thus without realizing it were quickly attacked by artillery, whose roar echoed in the air like the thunder of God. An explosive bullet landed in the position Bavarian skirmishers exploded on impact and sent shrapnel into the air. 

The 12-pound steel ball, used as a place for explosives, contained enough shrapnel to injure or even kill those unfortunate enough to be caught within its range. Steel fragments flew out at such speed that they were fully capable of breaking through less solid armor like brigandines. As for the full plate armor, it was partially resistant to shrapnel. However, the explosion itself was more than capable of killing those trapped within its deadly range. 

Most of the Bavarian soldiers were not fully equipped with plate armor, perhaps chest armor and helmets, but there were many gaps in their armor, and thus, there were, the shrapnel easily penetrated through that crack and into the flesh of people unfortunate enough to be hit by it. 

The bombardment did not stop with one shot. The survivors of the initial attack had only roughly half a minute to set their minds before another shot was fired from the 18 field guns present at each location. Thunder resounded in the air, and what was soon to happen was death and destruction.

The armed Bavarians wept and wailed when their comrades were blown up, and the artillery fire severely wounded them. But despite their efforts to advance and advance on their attackers, 18 bullets repeatedly bombarded their location every 30 seconds like clockwork. 

Corpses were scattered in the forests and hills where the Bavarians gathered, blood pooled in small ponds, and limbs scattered throughout the area. The armor the Bavarians wore was torn and chiseled across the country, along with the body that furnished it. Shields, swords, and spears were removed and destroyed by a 12-pound bomb blast that bombarded the area. 

It was as if death itself had descended to earth. Unfortunately, for those lucky enough to escape the bombardment, they quickly realized they had been surrounded as they walked right into the shotgun fire of the Tyrolean forces. Their brief hope of survival met a lead projectile that pierced through their chest armor and left a large hole in their chest. 

With the first wave of Bavarians completely destroyed by artillery bombardment, and the second one shot dead by a rifle, the, Tyroleans quickly refilled their weapons as more people desperately tried to escape the siege.

However, their fate was sealed when their location was revealed to the Tyroleans. Although artillery bombardment continued to focus on the center of the siege, it destroyed those unfortunate enough to be caught in its shockwave. The majority of Bavarians had now rushed out of the forests and hills they occupied and into the Tyrolean infantry, which had prepared themselves well for their attack.

In doing so, another shot was fired from the infantry line, which tore apart the bodies of the gunmen, equipped mainly with melee weapons, some of the archers in their ranks who were still alive chose to stay from afar launching their missiles at the Tyrolean forces. However, it was far less effective than they had imagined.

Only a small number of Tyroleans were killed and injured by arrows and bolts that fell towards them. The rest released their bayonets on the gunmen, who rushed to their positions in a desperate attempt to break through and escape the scene. However the Tyroleans were well prepared for such a reality, and thus the bayonets pierced into the gaps in the enemy's armor, piercing the Bavarians' limbs and bodies and spilling their blood and entrails into the field. 

This chaotic scene of absolute brutality shows itself in the four regions housing Bavarian units. No one could escape the siege where the Tyroleans had captured them. As for the Archers, they were quickly captured by the Jaegers who lived at a distance of over five hundred yards and were experts at shooting their enemies with their hexagonal bullets, they were, penetrating through brigandine and gambeson of Bavarian archers and archers. 

With this attack, the Tyroleans alone had dropped the threat that loomed over their heads over the past few days, which had slowed their progress. The course of the war for Salzburg has shifted in a matter of hours, and those lucky enough to survive the massacre find themselves arrested and interrogated for information. 

With the rebellion crushed and its supply lines secured, Berengar was once again able to quickly march into Salzburg and meet the main Bavarian forces preparing for his eventual arrival. The war for County Salzburg will be decided in a massive battle between about 20,000 Tyroleans and 5,000 Bavarians. Berengar was convinced that the conflict would be a one-sided massacre.

Berengar's army was already big enough for that era, far more than a Count like himself should have. On the other hand, the Duke of Bavaria had paid a significant fee in raising his own troops so large as to march on Austria; it had quite a lot of levies, mercenaries, mercenaries, and armed men among his ranks.

In total, the Bavarians had about 50,000 people in the region at the start of the conflict. With several Berengar and Eckhard victories, both in border conflicts and in their ongoing invasions, the Bavarians now have less than half of those remaining victories. Salzburg was considered a very important area, and thus Duke Dietger had invested quite a lot of troops into the region; most of them were now either dead or captured.

So the Battle of Salzburg was a much-anticipated battle for Berengar. Because if he could demonstrate his overwhelming strength in Salzburg, it would probably intimidate future Bavarian soldiers into surrendering upon seeing his troops. At least he hoped for such an outcome, even though he realized the possibility of such a thing was slim. Nevertheless, he intended to sweep the floor with the Bavarian army waiting for him at his destination.