On the day war was declared, the well-prepared Austria dispatched an army of 400,000, divided into three columns, to launch an offensive against the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Caught completely off guard, the Bavarian government could only meet the enemy passively, with predictably tragic results. Having made no preparations whatsoever, they were struck by the Austrian army without warning.
The moment the Bavarian government received pleas for help from the front, chaos erupted. Maximilian II knew they were in serious trouble. Austria had moved too quickly—the battle had barely begun when the border had already fallen.
In Freilassing, the news of war between Austria and Bavaria sent everyone into a panic. Colonel Andreas, commander of the garrison, immediately sensed that things had gone badly.
Looking at the intelligence in his hands, he had no idea how this war was supposed to be fought. He did not know how many Austrian troops were on the other side, but there had to be at least tens of thousands, while he had only two garrison regiments under his command.
More than three thousand Bavarian soldiers trying to hold back an Austrian force of tens of thousands—even a reborn God of War could not accomplish that.
But there was no choice. The country had issued a death order: garrisons everywhere had to hold their ground to the death. National mobilization also took time, and to buy that time, the troops at the front could only be sacrificed.
That was the will of Munich's bureaucrats, and also the will of King Maximilian II. Munich was too close to Austria. Without anyone to block them, the Austrian army could be at the city gates in two days at most.
A guard reported, "Commander, Mr. Marcus is here to see you."
Andreas was slightly taken aback. At