in the name of the queen.

Chapter 320 Shameless Sneak Attack

The important border town of Franks.

This is a big city with a population of 140,000.

This city is very peculiar. Sometimes it is a trading city, and sometimes it is a military fortress. It switches between the two cities smoothly without any stagnation.

In the past few years when the Continental Treaty was still in place, this was the forefront of international trade between Sussex and Prudence.

Now it has become the front line of confrontation between the two major camps.

The Franks and Hanses were both located in the northern plains of Rodinia, where the terrain was flat without any undulations, and could be described as being completely flat, making it an excellent agricultural area.

This fortress is particularly important precisely because it has no strategic location to defend.

If this fortress is lost, the cities in between will not be able to be defended at all, and the enemy will be able to reach the Hansa city very quickly.

The first battle is the decisive battle, war is so cruel.

The special geographical conditions of the Franks Fortress mean that it is impossible to build a super fortress here, and it is difficult for the number of garrisoned soldiers to exceed 30,000.

As early as when the Continental Treaty was abolished, Roland ordered the construction of this fortress to be accelerated.

With solid and thick permanent fortifications, intricate trenches, and elite troops, all possible defensive measures were taken, and they were implemented very seriously.

Stationed here is the 1st Division of the newly formed 1st Army.

As we all know, the name of the 1st Division is not given casually, it must be based on real substance.

The configuration of the 1st Division is worthy of this title.

They have the largest number of people, the most brutal training, the best equipment and the highest bonuses.

Not only that, the commander of the 1st Division is Baron Dailong, a Major General who is deeply trusted by Roland.

Dairon is an old man who has followed Roland since he first arrived overseas. His loyalty and ability are impeccable. Having him stationed here shows how much Roland values ​​the Franks Fortress.

As long as the enemy is not crazy enough to send out more than 100,000 troops and hundreds of artillery pieces to attack, this fortress is simply invincible.

However, more than 100,000 people from the Kingdom of Pruden really came.

When the Prudens launched an armed invasion without declaring war, Daron was completely stunned.

The two major camps were on the verge of a war and had long been preparing for it. He would not be surprised if a war really broke out, but he did not expect it to be in this form.

There was no declaration of war, no preparation, it just came suddenly.

A few days ago, senior military officers from both sides were still conducting routine exchanges, and trade convoys also passed through the fortress, bringing thousands of newly produced cloth from Hansa City.

Although they had long smelled the approaching smoke of gunpowder, the war still came too suddenly.

What made Dai Long even more angry was that more than 100,000 troops were assembled and mobilized to surround the fortress silently, and he was kept in the dark about it. It would be a joke if he told others about it.

Dai Long wanted to laugh at himself, but he couldn't.

Because he is the one facing the pressure.

Hundreds of heavy artillery bombarded indiscriminately as if they were free, clearing the way for the army.

These Prudens seemed to have saved their lives, and they began to charge following the artillery fire.

Artillery shells whizzed past overhead, and there were even quite a few explosive bombs filled with magical elements. The saturation fire attack caused the position to be blown into a cloud of dust.

The Sussex soldiers were stunned and then they skillfully rushed into the fortifications to avoid the shells, while the Prudens continued to advance under the artillery fire.

Hiding in a bunker can certainly avoid artillery fire, but it is impossible to concentrate shooting. Except for a few elite hunters equipped with rifles with scopes to stop the enemy, ordinary infantry can only shoot randomly using the black uncle shooting method.

The Prudens' fearlessness made Dai Long's face turn black.

What kind of barbaric tactic is this?
Several times more Pruden's soldiers were killed by artillery shells than the Sussex men, but they managed to break through the outer positions with the cover of artillery fire.

On the first day of the battle, Pruden's army suffered 3,700 casualties, while Sussex's army suffered 900 casualties.

Looking only at the exchange ratio, the Sussex had a huge advantage, but they had lost their outer positions and all three trenches were crossed.

The next day, General Jebacs, who was in charge of commanding the operations on the periphery, gritted his teeth and issued a cold-blooded order, requiring the soldiers to leave the bunkers and block the attack head-on.

The soldiers were very brave. They lined up to face the enemy head-on under artillery fire and stray bullets, but were stunned by the violent artillery fire.

On the second day, the 1st Division lost more than 2,500 men.

Although the Pruden Kingdom Army also suffered heavy losses, the Sussex people suffered the loss in the exchange the next day.

What’s even worse is that morale was almost collapsed by the bombardment.

No one wants to stand there and be bombarded.

This tactic not only destroyed the outer troops, but also undermined the morale of the defenders in the city.

The soldiers refused to follow orders and refused to line up to die.

Dai Long was helpless. He also knew that this order was outrageous. He could understand the soldiers, but he could not understand the other side.

Aren't their soldiers human beings? Why aren't they afraid of death?

Fortunately, the defenses of the Franks fortress were strong and it did not fall on the third day, but instead held out in a tragic way.

In the exploratory attack, the elite squad of the Pruden Kingdom climbed up the city wall three times, but was beaten back each time by the heavy infantry of the First Division.

On the third day, the Sussex had the upper hand in casualties.

After the failure of the assault, the Pruden Kingdom Army was also somewhat overwhelmed. They gave up the frontal attack and instead dug trenches on the periphery, planning a long battle.

They occupied the high ground outside the city and began to carry cannons up the mountain, intending to bombard the fortress from above.

Dai Long observed the battle situation coldly and continuously sent elite troops out of the city in an attempt to retake the high ground outside the city, but all his attempts failed.

To be fair, there is nothing wrong with his conducting.

He did not lose the fortress due to a surprise attack or the disparity in troop strength, nor did he abandon his troops and flee. He firmly guarded the fortress and even found a way to send elite scouts to the rear for help.

He did everything the defenders could do.

However, the Franks Fortress was still in danger and was about to fall.

There is no way, the combat power gap between the two sides is too great.

He could only watch as the Prudens opened up a mountain road and slowly and inexorably transported cannons to the mountaintop positions.

As long as these hundreds of cannons are put on the mountain, it is only a matter of time before the Franks Fortress falls.

What was even more desperate was that he was completely powerless to stop it.

Sending a small force would be useless, and a large number of troops leaving the city would be caught by the enemy.

Placing cannons on a mountain is not an uncommon tactic. The Oden Kingdom Army did this during the Battle of Helensburg.

However, the artillery level of the Oden Kingdom Army was far behind that of Pruden. Without explosive bombs containing magical elements, they could only rely on inertia to smash the enemy.

Helens even has a well-developed underground city that can sustain itself even after the ground collapses.

More importantly, Her Majesty the Queen and Governor Roland personally led a group of experts to retake the mountain back then. How can they take it back now?
The Prudens are not second-rate like the Kingdom of Oden. Their defensive positions on the top of the mountain are perfectly arranged.

The defenders in the city could only watch as they carried the cannons up, set them up and fired them into the city without any way to stop them.

Maybe there is still a way out.

But this is even more of a dead end.

The Pruden cavalry simply didn't show up, they weren't dead.

A vast plain stretching over 300 miles in length, with infantry and cavalry being forced to race against each other, any general who could command in this way should be brought to a military court.

Unable to fight, unable to retreat, and with no way to escape, one can imagine how Dai Long felt.

He stood on the top of the watchtower, looking at the artillery position being built in full swing on the top of the opposite mountain, and was so worried that he couldn't open his eyes.

Just when he was at his wit's end, footsteps were heard from behind.

At this time, there was only one person who approached the watchtower without notifying, and that was his deputy, Jebakis, the hero of the Helensburg Defense Battle.

A glimmer of hope surged in Dai Long's heart.

Jebakis has performed miracles before, maybe he really has a way?

He turned abruptly, glanced at his deputy, and froze for a moment.

Is this still the newly promoted major general who was full of ambition and wanted to become a hereditary baron or even earl?
Jebakis hadn't shaved for at least three days, his eyes were sunken, his face was haggard, and although his military uniform was neat, it could not hide the faint smell of gunpowder.

His left hand was wrapped in thick bandages.

Jebakis's hoarse voice was full of fatigue. "I'm sorry. It's hard to say, but we couldn't hold our outer positions after all. We have lost them all."

Jebacs led more than 6,000 people to block the city outside. He was very brave and resolutely carried out Dairon's orders. However, he collapsed under the strong pressure of the Prudens.

War has its own objective laws. Courage and will are certainly useful, but they are far from enough on their own.

After reporting the battle situation and casualties of the final position, Jebakis asked in a low voice:

"General Dai Long, what should we do?"

Although he sympathized with Jebacs, this question still made Dailong speechless. If he had a way, would he still be standing here in a daze?
Even if the Governor himself were to come and take charge, this battle would still be impossible to win.

"You are the hero of the Helensburg defense. You have experience in this kind of defense. Do you think we still have a chance? If so,

"No."

Jebakis interrupted him bluntly before he could finish his words.

Dai Long: “.”

Please listen to me before you interrupt.

Although he was interrupted directly, he couldn't get angry. After all, they were comrades fighting side by side and had cooperated very well these days.

The construction of this defense system is the result of their cooperation.

Dai Long laughed at himself and responded with Sussex-style humor: "Is there really no way? Perhaps we should learn from you a few years ago and dig deep. Maybe we can find the arsenal of the Alemanni Empire."

"Sorry, I don't have this either."

Jebakis said calmly, "Dalong, you just came here two months ago, but I organized people to dig here a year ago. We dug for three months and two hundred meters, but found nothing."

"Well, it can't be said that there was no gain at all. At least I got a few bills and a letter of warning from the headquarters." Although he tried hard to be humorous, Dai Long couldn't laugh.

The underground fortifications were certainly important for the defense of Helensburg, but the excavated armory was the key.

In this era when technology mainly depends on archaeology, whoever can unearth the remains of the Alemanni Empire basically represents a great harvest.

After all, the Alemanni are meticulous by nature, and their weapons are carefully wrapped in oilcloth and preserved so that they will not rust or mold no matter how long they are kept.

Seeing Dai Long's disappointed expression, Jebacs couldn't help but tease him, "It's enough to have such a good thing happen once. Do you want to have it a second time?"

After a slight pause, he couldn't help complaining: "But Tom refused to accept his fate. He led the excavation team down again."

"The young man who performed so well in the defense of Helensburg?"

"Yes, I heard that he will be on the promotion list next month. He will be a lieutenant colonel soon."

The lieutenant colonel, who had just turned eighteen, was indeed young and promising. There were a group of young officers on the promotion list at the same time as Tom.

These people are the future of the empire. They are young, promising and full of fighting spirit.

When this name was mentioned, Jebakis inexplicably felt a little old.

Although he is not yet forty years old, he really can't keep up with the pace when faced with the young people's creative ideas.

If he were not their old leader, these young people would probably not be willing to associate with him.

Just as the two middle-aged generals were lamenting their aging, a lieutenant hurried over, saluted General Dai Long and reported, "General, Lieutenant Colonel Jerry wants to see you, he is outside."

"Invite him over."

Lieutenant Colonel Jerry was responsible for the defense of the eastern wall of the fortress. After all the outer positions fell, his position was in direct contact with the enemy.

If he comes at this time, there must be something wrong.

Dai Long glanced at Jebacs and whispered, "Don't mention the things we just discussed in front of the young people."

Jaybackus nodded but said nothing.

Old people can get together and say discouraging things, but they can’t pass them on to young people.

Dai Long sighed and shook his head. "I still can't understand why the Holy Alliance dares to attack us when they haven't completely conquered the Wende Empire yet."

Jaybackus did not answer, but remained silent.

Yeah, why?

"Because everyone felt they were still a few months away from launching an offensive."

A sonorous young voice came along with the sound of military boots stepping on the ground. Jerry walked very fast and came in front of the two generals in a blink of an eye.

He saluted the two generals in turn, and instead of continuing the previous topic, he reported to them on the situation of the eastern city wall.

Sporadic fighting continued, but large-scale offensives had ceased.

"According to my observation, the mountaintop artillery position will be fully deployed in three days at most. Do you two generals have any solution to this problem?"

Dailong and Jebacs looked at each other and sighed in their hearts, what was coming had finally come.

The old guys are mature and steady, while the young guys are full of fighting spirit. Jerry came to them probably to get them to take the initiative.

Since the young man asked, it would be impolite for Lao Deng not to answer. Dai Long groaned, with a hint of fatigue in his voice.

"If we allow the fort to be built, the fortress will surely be undefendable. I am considering organizing a mobile force to destroy the mountaintop fort."

"There are sufficient reserves of magic bombs in the fortress, as well as a large amount of explosives that can be used to make bombs. If there are brave warriors who are not afraid of death, there should be hope."

Jerry frowned slightly, but couldn't help but remind him: "General, the suicide squad is not a suicide squad. No one wants to go on such a meaningless and mindless charge."

"In fact, we did this stupid thing during the outer position defense battle, and what was the result? We couldn't even delay the enemy's advance, and instead lost thousands of people."

Jerry was telling the truth, but the truth is the hardest to hear.

Dai Long didn't like to hear this.

He frowned and angrily said, "Jerry, you are only a lieutenant colonel. Your old leader is in charge of the outer defense. If you have good suggestions, you can speak frankly, don't be sarcastic."

Jerry glanced at the dusty Jebacs and felt a little sympathy, but he still pointed out the various mistakes in the outer defense battle without hesitation.

Jebacs is pitiful, but who will pity the soldiers who died because of wrong tactics?
Since becoming a major general, Jebacs has become the backbone of the overseas legion. Coupled with the heroic aura of the Battle of Helensburg, fewer and fewer people dare to criticize him to his face.

In this battle, Jebacz fully exposed his shortcomings in commanding operations.

Slow reaction, rigid and stubborn, poor adaptability.

In fact, such generals were very common among the middle and high levels of the empire.

Most of them have received a good military education, are familiar with military theories, know all the famous battles in history like the back of their hands, and are excited when talking about war.

However, in actual warfare, they performed far weaker than they imagined.

In Jerry's opinion, the assault on the artillery position on the top of the mountain was doomed to fail. Their only chance was to take advantage of the time difference and destroy the artillery position still on the plain before the enemy's artillery was transported.

It is difficult to get the cannons up the mountain, so we should stop them from going up the mountain. There are many ways to stop them from going up the mountain, and it is not necessary to do it on the mountain.

Jerry's proposal is bold and targets the enemy's blind spots in thinking.

After introducing his ideas, he reiterated the surprise attack by the Kingdom of Pruden.

"The Prudens' sneak attack hit our blind spots, and my surprise attack plan is the same."

Dailong and Jebacs looked at each other and saw hope and surprise in each other's eyes.

Jerry was right. No one would have thought that they would dare to launch a surprise attack. Moreover, they did not sneak attack the top of the mountain, but directly killed into the center of Pruden's army and kicked their artillery positions.

It's crazy and beyond most people's understanding.

This meets the premise of a sneak attack, which the victim would not expect.

"Can you tell me more about it?"

The sudden inspiration of ideas is valuable, but how to turn them into reality is more important. If it is just on paper, this grand raid may directly send the entire campaign away.

Jerry knew this was a critical moment, so he cleared his throat and began to explain the battle plan.

Through repeated feint attacks and harassment by small forces, the enemy was misled into thinking that their target was still the high ground outside the city, and then the only cavalry unit was mobilized.

"Give their artillery a fatal blow!"

Jerry's tone rose a few degrees, his eyes were full of fanaticism, and his voice trembled slightly.

"Our cavalry is small, only 500 men, but they are warriors with the highest salary, their loyalty and fighting ability are impeccable, and they are willing to sacrifice for the motherland at any time!"

Dai Long pondered for a moment and slowly asked, "Who will command this army?"

Five hundred cavalrymen raided the artillery position at night, bombing the position with various magic bombs and earth bombs. The chances of survival can be imagined.

The officer commanding this cavalry unit must have extremely strong military qualities, able to find the enemy's weak points in the chaos, complete the task quickly, and then return.

Of course, there was a high probability that they would die during the charge, and it would be a miracle if one third of them could come back alive.

Dai Long narrowed his eyes and looked at Jerry, waiting for his answer.

Jerry looked him in the eye without giving in and said calmly, "Me."

"You can not!"

Jaybackus interrupted Jerry's self-admiration loudly, "Jerry, I think you have been a little too proud of yourself recently. In terms of military ability and prestige, can you compare with me?"

"General!" Jerry's face changed slightly. He didn't expect that Jebakis would take the initiative to accept such a mission that was almost suicidal.

In this kind of raid, the leader is more likely to die than ordinary soldiers.

Ordinary soldiers just have to follow the general, but the leading officers not only have to rush in the front under the hail of bullets, but also have to accurately judge the situation. This is impossible without strong military qualities and incredible luck.

Jerry was about to say something when Jaybucks raised his hand to stop him.

Jebakis lowered his voice and said, "Jerry, the future is yours. I'm old, and this is my last chance to improve myself. Don't compete with me for it."

Jerry choked back all his words.

This is the power of the military merit system.

Even if Jebacs died in battle, as long as he could turn the tide of the battle, hold the fortress, and wait for reinforcements, he would still be the number one hero.

He will be posthumously awarded the rank of lieutenant general and the title of earl, thus entering the ranks of high-ranking nobles.

Although he can't enjoy it, he still has his family.

"Jerry, you are not married yet, so even if you are awarded the title posthumously, there will be no one to inherit it. But it's different for me. I have a son who is almost an adult, and the title is just right for him."

"Don't compete for opportunities with your old father who is eager to make achievements."

Jaybackus patted Jerry on the shoulder and smiled with relief.

There was another reason he didn't say, and he didn't intend to tell anyone.

Among the thousands of soldiers killed in the outer positions, there were a dozen young men from his hometown.

He said he would help them achieve merit and enjoy a comfortable life, but they all died.

He couldn't go back and face their parents.

But he still has a chance to make amends. On the way to the underworld, these young children need an elder to lead the way.

He has no choice but to do his duty.

Looking at Jebakis's determined gaze, Jerry was stunned, and then relieved.

He couldn't see through his old boss's eyes, but he could read his determination.

Without further ado, he stood up straight and saluted his old boss, whom he somewhat resented in his heart.

Dai Long looked at his old friend who was ready to die, sighed softly, and said nothing.

He looked towards the artillery position a few miles away, his eyes narrowed slightly.

The enemy must have thought that the Frankish fortress was untenable.

Tonight, they are going to give the Prudens a super surprise.

(End of this chapter)