On January 27, Marshal von Hausen, Commander of the German 3rd Army Corps and also the frontline Commander for operations against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, gave the order to attack.
After two days of rest and recuperation, the German officers and soldiers who had marched long distances had recovered their energy. Both physically and mentally, they had returned to their peak. Moreover, the logistical units had delivered vast quantities of combat supplies, meaning the time had come for the frontline forces to launch a general assault on Vienna.
"Fire!"
The moment the clock struck eight in the morning, the artillery Commander gave the order to open fire. Four army corps, forty Infantry Divisions, and four Armored Divisions—just the artillery assigned to those Infantry Divisions was already formidable. Seven hundred and twenty 150mm heavy howitzers, 1,440 105mm Light Howitzers, and 2,160 75mm Field Guns: more than four thousand artillery pieces in total began bombarding Vienna.
Although Vienna was also a world-famous historic city with a splendid and illustrious past, the German military did not care in the slightest about its historical significance. To the German artillerymen, it was merely a target they were about to destroy. Besides, the German military had done this plenty of times before. Paris and London, for instance, had likewise been bombed into fields of ruins by the German military.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire's artillery strength was not weak either. Škoda heavy artillery was renowned throughout the world. Unfortunately, Škoda Works was not located within Austria, but in the Kingdom of Bohemia. After entering the Kingdom of Bohemia, the German military had seized the factory at the first opportunity. Once the war ended, Krupp would absorb it, allowing German artillery production capacity and craftsmanship to rise another step.
Although the Austrian military had also equipped some heavy artillery, most