456 Construction of the Suez Canal
Within in the deserts of Egypt, a large group of Austrians were gathered. It had taken them close to a year, but during this time, they had gathered the necessary manpower and equipment to begin construction of the greatest canal the world had ever seen. A year ago, Berengar had met with the Byzantine Emperor, and asked for a bit of land to build a canal that would connect the Western and Eastern worlds, and allow for regular trade between them.
Emperor Vetranis had thought Berengar was crazy to think of such an idea, but he was indebted to the Austrian King, and thus permitted him to begin construction. Now, after a year of painful logistics, the Austrian Corporation that was hired to fulfill the task had begun to break ground.
With a series of steam powered dredging equipment, the Austrian construction workers were currently removing vast quantities of dirt from the western shores of the Suez canal. The local slaves who the Byzantine Empire had provided for support gazed in awe at the technological marvels as they dug their way into the earth, and removed tons of sand which every shift of the gears.
While the Austrians left the slaves to their work, the Byzantine slave drivers were quick to whip the men with their lashes, instantly snapping them out of their daze, and forcing them to dig into the earth.
The Austrian foreman, who had been hired to lead the project, was a man who had undergone years of training in Austria's educational institutions, and had a proper layout of the planned project in front of him. Soldiers of the Austrian Royal Army who were dressed in their arid uniforms and equipped with the latest weapons surrounded him.
Currently, several hundred meters of canal had been dug out, and it was increasing in size by the day. Upon seeing the progress of the project, the foreman took a swig from his canteen before talking to the Lieutenant Colonel whose battalion was tasked with protecting the Austrian workers in this strange frontier.
"Tell me, Colonel, how is the progress on eliminating those pesky savages? Don't tell me a few Arabs can defeat the Grand Army of Austria?"
The Lieutenant Colonel was a tall, blonde-haired man with green eyes. He also had a mustache which was perfectly waxed and curled upwards. He was dressed in an Arid officer uniform, which had become standard issue to the soldiers of the Austrian Army since the War in Iberia. However, this man wore a monocle to help with the fading vision in his left eye.
When broached about the status of his dealings with the local tribesmen, the Lieutenant Colonel scoffed as he twisted his mustache with his fingers.
"Those filthy savages are well contained. Though the Arabs may have succeeded in their first few attempts to halt our progress on this Canal, I assure you they will no longer be a problem."
The foreman did not appear to be convinced, after all these Arab tribesmen rode camels, which were much more accustomed to the desert environment than the horses the Austrian Cuirassiers used. Often times they would appear and attack the laborers before running off into the sunset. Thus, he had a skeptical expression as he raised his brow in contempt.
"Oh? Is that so? Tell me, what makes you so positive about your ability to ward off these barbarians?"
A wide smile appeared on the Lieutenant Colonel's face as he made an inviting gesture towards the foreman.
"New weapons have arrived from the fatherland. Why don't you come take a look?"
A baffled expression appeared on the foreman's lips as he heard this. What new weapons? Why was he not informed of this matter? Nevertheless, he followed the Lieutenant Colonel over to a hill where a group of Austrian Artillerymen were stationed.
They draped a large cloth blanket over their newest acquisition, which the Lieutenant Colonel removed with a flashy movement. The moment he did so, it revealed the ten barrel Gatling gun, which was attached to a wheeled carriage.
The foreman gazed in awe at this strange new weapon. Previously, he had served in Austria's armed forces, and was familiar with the original Schmidt guns. While the concept of this new weapon was similar, it appeared to be far more functional, thus he immediately inquired about its use.
"What is this marvel of engineering?"
The Lieutenant Colonel smiled as he proudly announced the arrival of Austria's newest weapons platform.
"This is the Schmidt Gun Model of 1422, however us soldiers have simply begun referring to it as the Mk2. It is a ten barreled repeating firearm, capable of firing between 400-900 rounds per minute. It uses a .45-70 government metallic cartridge and has an effective range of over 300 yards! Trust me, if those savages show their faces once more, they are going to regret it!"
The Austrian foreman had a cruel smile on his face. Upon witnessing this new weapon, he had a newfound sense of confidence. Just what would the boys back home think of next? He once thought the original Schmidt gun was impressive, yet this Mk2 was in a league of its own.
Just when the foreman, and the Lieutenant Colonel had begun admiring the new weapon, ad bell rang in the distance. This was an alert that the enemy had approached the perimeter, thus the Colonel did not hestiate to act, he instantly barked orders at the soldiers beneath his command.
"Get the Mk2 loaded, and prepared for combat, I don't want a single one of these savages escaping this time!"
The soldiers beneath his command immediately saluted their officer and responded in the affirmitive before getting to their tasks.
"Yes sir!"
After nodding his head, a cruel smile carved itself upon the Lieutenant Colonel's lips as he placed his hand on the foreman's shoulders and congratulated him.
"It looks like it is your lucky day foreman. You get to be among the first civilians to witness this technological marvel mow down the enemies of Austria!"
As he said this, the Austrian Artillery crew grabbed ahold of the boxes filled with ammunition and began to load it into the top of the Mk2. The sights were aimed in the position of the oncoming enemy, and the gun's elevation was adjusted to accuracy.
While this was going on the infantry who supported the artillery crew, loaded their G22 Rifles, and found cover behind some makeshift barricades as they prepared to fire upon the Arab tribesmen who rode towards the encampment with scimitars in hand.
The howling screams of the Arabs tribesmen would normally strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, but in the face of the battle-hardened Austrian soldiers it had no effect. Instead, the moment the Arabs entered engagement distance, the Mk2 Crew cranked the weapon. In doing so, repeated echoes of gunfire resounded throughout the air as bullets rained down upon the hundreds of charging tribesmen.
The bullets shredded the Arab cavalrymen who rode on the backs of camels. The firing Schmidt gun filled each man with multiple bullet holes as their blood sprayed into the air like a fine mist. As for the Austrian Infantrymen, they also fired their weapons, causing even more projectiles to rain upon the enemy and their mounts.
In less than a minute, several hundred Arab tribesmen, and their mounts, lie dead, riddled with bullet holes as if they were nothing more than bloody sieves, spilling onto the sands of Egypt. Not a single raider still drew breath.
The foreman broke out into laughter as he saw the rapid annihilation of the enemies who had plagued their project for months on end. He took off his hat in a fit of joy and held it tightly to his chest as he expressed the only thoughts on his mind.
"My god! Absolutely wonderful!"
The Colonel sneered in disdain at the fallen Arab warriors, and spat on the ground in contempt. After doing so he shifted his attention back to the foreman with a proud smile on his face.
"As you can see, these pesky savages will no longer trouble your crew and its operation!"
The foremen let out a heavy breath as he tried to calm his nerves. It had all happened so quickly, his mind barely had any time to register it. After collecting his thoughts, he broke out into a smile and nodded his head thrice.
"Yes, I believe you now. Keep up the good work Colonel, I will make sure to relay your achievements back to the fatherland! This is truly a remarkable new era for our Kingdom!"
He once more repeated the phrase as he walked off back towards the encampment.
"My God..."
As for the Arab raiders, the Austrians would leave their bodies for the hyenas to scavenge upon. To the Austrian soldiers, they were not even worthy of a proper burial. The colonel gazed in the fatherland's direction with a wide smile on his face. To think that such weapons were now being employed by the army, and the enemies of his people were completely unaware of it.
He decided he would write a report on this brief conflict and how effective the new Schmidt Guns truly were in battle. Though he did not know it, this report would inspire the Military Leadership of Austria to heavily in vest in more of these weapons, and the development of those like it.
When Berengar finally read the Lieutenant Colonel's report on the fight against the Arab raiders, he would award the creators of the Model 1422 Schmidt Gun with a Civilian Order of Merit, and for those who were commoners, he would grand them a minor title of Nobility as a Baronet.
After defeating the Arab raiders in this brief exchange of fire, they would come back only two more times before they finally got the message. The construction project of the Suez Canal was here to stay, and if anyone tried to interfere, they would face the full might of the Austrian Army.
Unknowingly, this skirmish would act as a cause for concern to the nearby Muslim nations, as Austria's military presence in North Africa complicated their plans for retaking the region from the Byzantine Empire. As the days of the next Jihad drew nearer, the agents of the Muslim Kingdoms would focus further on gathering intelligence about just Austria was doing in this region of Egypt.
Emperor Vetranis had thought Berengar was crazy to think of such an idea, but he was indebted to the Austrian King, and thus permitted him to begin construction. Now, after a year of painful logistics, the Austrian Corporation that was hired to fulfill the task had begun to break ground.
With a series of steam powered dredging equipment, the Austrian construction workers were currently removing vast quantities of dirt from the western shores of the Suez canal. The local slaves who the Byzantine Empire had provided for support gazed in awe at the technological marvels as they dug their way into the earth, and removed tons of sand which every shift of the gears.
While the Austrians left the slaves to their work, the Byzantine slave drivers were quick to whip the men with their lashes, instantly snapping them out of their daze, and forcing them to dig into the earth.
The Austrian foreman, who had been hired to lead the project, was a man who had undergone years of training in Austria's educational institutions, and had a proper layout of the planned project in front of him. Soldiers of the Austrian Royal Army who were dressed in their arid uniforms and equipped with the latest weapons surrounded him.
Currently, several hundred meters of canal had been dug out, and it was increasing in size by the day. Upon seeing the progress of the project, the foreman took a swig from his canteen before talking to the Lieutenant Colonel whose battalion was tasked with protecting the Austrian workers in this strange frontier.
"Tell me, Colonel, how is the progress on eliminating those pesky savages? Don't tell me a few Arabs can defeat the Grand Army of Austria?"
The Lieutenant Colonel was a tall, blonde-haired man with green eyes. He also had a mustache which was perfectly waxed and curled upwards. He was dressed in an Arid officer uniform, which had become standard issue to the soldiers of the Austrian Army since the War in Iberia. However, this man wore a monocle to help with the fading vision in his left eye.
When broached about the status of his dealings with the local tribesmen, the Lieutenant Colonel scoffed as he twisted his mustache with his fingers.
"Those filthy savages are well contained. Though the Arabs may have succeeded in their first few attempts to halt our progress on this Canal, I assure you they will no longer be a problem."
The foreman did not appear to be convinced, after all these Arab tribesmen rode camels, which were much more accustomed to the desert environment than the horses the Austrian Cuirassiers used. Often times they would appear and attack the laborers before running off into the sunset. Thus, he had a skeptical expression as he raised his brow in contempt.
"Oh? Is that so? Tell me, what makes you so positive about your ability to ward off these barbarians?"
A wide smile appeared on the Lieutenant Colonel's face as he made an inviting gesture towards the foreman.
"New weapons have arrived from the fatherland. Why don't you come take a look?"
A baffled expression appeared on the foreman's lips as he heard this. What new weapons? Why was he not informed of this matter? Nevertheless, he followed the Lieutenant Colonel over to a hill where a group of Austrian Artillerymen were stationed.
They draped a large cloth blanket over their newest acquisition, which the Lieutenant Colonel removed with a flashy movement. The moment he did so, it revealed the ten barrel Gatling gun, which was attached to a wheeled carriage.
The foreman gazed in awe at this strange new weapon. Previously, he had served in Austria's armed forces, and was familiar with the original Schmidt guns. While the concept of this new weapon was similar, it appeared to be far more functional, thus he immediately inquired about its use.
"What is this marvel of engineering?"
The Lieutenant Colonel smiled as he proudly announced the arrival of Austria's newest weapons platform.
"This is the Schmidt Gun Model of 1422, however us soldiers have simply begun referring to it as the Mk2. It is a ten barreled repeating firearm, capable of firing between 400-900 rounds per minute. It uses a .45-70 government metallic cartridge and has an effective range of over 300 yards! Trust me, if those savages show their faces once more, they are going to regret it!"
The Austrian foreman had a cruel smile on his face. Upon witnessing this new weapon, he had a newfound sense of confidence. Just what would the boys back home think of next? He once thought the original Schmidt gun was impressive, yet this Mk2 was in a league of its own.
Just when the foreman, and the Lieutenant Colonel had begun admiring the new weapon, ad bell rang in the distance. This was an alert that the enemy had approached the perimeter, thus the Colonel did not hestiate to act, he instantly barked orders at the soldiers beneath his command.
"Get the Mk2 loaded, and prepared for combat, I don't want a single one of these savages escaping this time!"
The soldiers beneath his command immediately saluted their officer and responded in the affirmitive before getting to their tasks.
"Yes sir!"
After nodding his head, a cruel smile carved itself upon the Lieutenant Colonel's lips as he placed his hand on the foreman's shoulders and congratulated him.
"It looks like it is your lucky day foreman. You get to be among the first civilians to witness this technological marvel mow down the enemies of Austria!"
As he said this, the Austrian Artillery crew grabbed ahold of the boxes filled with ammunition and began to load it into the top of the Mk2. The sights were aimed in the position of the oncoming enemy, and the gun's elevation was adjusted to accuracy.
While this was going on the infantry who supported the artillery crew, loaded their G22 Rifles, and found cover behind some makeshift barricades as they prepared to fire upon the Arab tribesmen who rode towards the encampment with scimitars in hand.
The howling screams of the Arabs tribesmen would normally strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, but in the face of the battle-hardened Austrian soldiers it had no effect. Instead, the moment the Arabs entered engagement distance, the Mk2 Crew cranked the weapon. In doing so, repeated echoes of gunfire resounded throughout the air as bullets rained down upon the hundreds of charging tribesmen.
The bullets shredded the Arab cavalrymen who rode on the backs of camels. The firing Schmidt gun filled each man with multiple bullet holes as their blood sprayed into the air like a fine mist. As for the Austrian Infantrymen, they also fired their weapons, causing even more projectiles to rain upon the enemy and their mounts.
In less than a minute, several hundred Arab tribesmen, and their mounts, lie dead, riddled with bullet holes as if they were nothing more than bloody sieves, spilling onto the sands of Egypt. Not a single raider still drew breath.
The foreman broke out into laughter as he saw the rapid annihilation of the enemies who had plagued their project for months on end. He took off his hat in a fit of joy and held it tightly to his chest as he expressed the only thoughts on his mind.
"My god! Absolutely wonderful!"
The Colonel sneered in disdain at the fallen Arab warriors, and spat on the ground in contempt. After doing so he shifted his attention back to the foreman with a proud smile on his face.
"As you can see, these pesky savages will no longer trouble your crew and its operation!"
The foremen let out a heavy breath as he tried to calm his nerves. It had all happened so quickly, his mind barely had any time to register it. After collecting his thoughts, he broke out into a smile and nodded his head thrice.
"Yes, I believe you now. Keep up the good work Colonel, I will make sure to relay your achievements back to the fatherland! This is truly a remarkable new era for our Kingdom!"
He once more repeated the phrase as he walked off back towards the encampment.
"My God..."
As for the Arab raiders, the Austrians would leave their bodies for the hyenas to scavenge upon. To the Austrian soldiers, they were not even worthy of a proper burial. The colonel gazed in the fatherland's direction with a wide smile on his face. To think that such weapons were now being employed by the army, and the enemies of his people were completely unaware of it.
He decided he would write a report on this brief conflict and how effective the new Schmidt Guns truly were in battle. Though he did not know it, this report would inspire the Military Leadership of Austria to heavily in vest in more of these weapons, and the development of those like it.
When Berengar finally read the Lieutenant Colonel's report on the fight against the Arab raiders, he would award the creators of the Model 1422 Schmidt Gun with a Civilian Order of Merit, and for those who were commoners, he would grand them a minor title of Nobility as a Baronet.
After defeating the Arab raiders in this brief exchange of fire, they would come back only two more times before they finally got the message. The construction project of the Suez Canal was here to stay, and if anyone tried to interfere, they would face the full might of the Austrian Army.
Unknowingly, this skirmish would act as a cause for concern to the nearby Muslim nations, as Austria's military presence in North Africa complicated their plans for retaking the region from the Byzantine Empire. As the days of the next Jihad drew nearer, the agents of the Muslim Kingdoms would focus further on gathering intelligence about just Austria was doing in this region of Egypt.
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