Kannitz was in a bit of a bind. He had tried not using artillery before, but the cost of hand-to-hand fighting had been far too high.
What was more, the people's resolve was astonishingly strong. If they really relied on bayonets, they would lose over a thousand men every day.
Soldiers were people too, not puppets who could be manipulated at will. They had tempers and grievances of their own.
If they kept using this kind of suicidal tactic, the best-case scenario was desertions and disobedience on the battlefield; the worst was a mutiny.
If unrest among the people escalated into unrest among the troops, the situation would be hard to control. If the French people had not had the army's support back then, Louis XVI might never have been sent to the guillotine.
Kannitz could not actually carry out William IV's order, but of course he could not openly disobey it either.
And so Prussia's minister of war fell ill. At this crucial moment, no one was willing to take his place.
That was easy enough to understand. No one wanted to take the blame. The king had forbidden them to fire, but how were they supposed to fight without firing?
If they suffered heavy losses by holding their fire, the king might let the successor off, but the soldiers would not. If firing caused too many casualties, His Majesty would most likely throw him to the wolves to appease the people.
And so everyone chose to keep quiet. Frederick William IV had no choice but to give in.
The soldiers halted their advance, gathered up the bodies, and returned to their barracks. But the furious crowds took to the streets again, dumping the corpses in front of the palace.
Flowers, coffins, mutilated bodies, furious crowds, an ancient palace,