Chapter 40: Declaration in the rain
Pale white lightning mixed with a deafening roar cut through the night sky of Thunder Fort.
On the siege position at midnight, the torrential rain continued; thousands of soldiers were mobilized in the knee-deep mud water to the rhythmic drumbeat.
General mobilization.
The Lei Mingbao levy, the entire army's five corps, plus the artillery and cavalry companies, were divided into two columns, entered the position according to the latest military deployment, and launched a general attack on the Thunder Fort at one o'clock in the morning the next day.
When the levy officers got the news from the messengers, they couldn't believe their ears.
After confirming again and again that this was Brigadier General Ludwig's order and not a "New Year's joke", the group rushed to gather the officers under their command and quickly assembled the troops.
The rifle on his back, the bayonet hanging on his waist, and the ammunition clips constantly collided and rubbed in the crowded formation, such as Lin's flag being soaked wet by the torrential rain, and languidly wrapped around the flagpole.
No matter how the captains and non-commissioned officers of the squadron shouted and cursed, and even beat them with military sticks; the soldiers in soaked military uniforms who only drank a bowl of ice-cold broth were still shivering in the cold wind, looking listless. Appearance, can not see the slightest morale.
Faced with such an atmosphere, the officers who had no confidence in this raid could not see the slightest hope of victory; if it wasn't for a guy who was shot in front, no one would dare to disobey the military order. Now there is even the thought of running away.
Even though many of them have only learned to queue up to be shot and eat with knives and forks in the military academy, they know that night battles are extremely complicated and have a considerable element of luck.
In such a hurry or in bad weather like a heavy rain, maybe there is still an element of anger in the decision, no matter how you look at it, it looks like you are going to die.
The only thing that is fortunate is that, as Brigadier General Ludwig said, the imperial defenders of Thunder Fort are completely indifferent to the movement outside the city - but the rain is so heavy, I am afraid they don't even know what happened outside the city. what?
Inside the cannon base, An Sen with a slightly drunk face stood on the side of the 12-pound gun, lowered his head, stared intently at the pocket watch in his hand, and counted down silently from the bottom of his heart.
Click, click, click...
On the cover full of raindrops, it crossed the short hand of "Twelve", and finally started to move towards the next round.
Boom, boom, boom...
I don't know when, the sound of the clockwork was replaced by the uniform steps, beating in his heart.
"The 1st Battle Infantry Regiment—four columns, offensive formation, assemble!"
Carl Bain's cry rang in his ears, causing Anson to put away his thoughts.
Inside the fort was the first regiment of nearly 400 men; and in the forward positions on the two flanks of the fort, there were three full infantry regiments behind.
This is slightly different from Anson's original plan, because the Grenadier Regiment and Lieutenant Colonel Roman were transferred to Oak Town and lost a force that could serve as the main attack.
In the rainy weather, the imperial defenders who sensed the movement of the siege position will definitely shoot blindly; adding a new active direction under the premise of not guaranteeing morale is to gain experience for the artillery.
Therefore... even if Lieutenant Colonel Roman can return to the battlefield in time, he will be the main attacker.
Ludwig Franz, who gave his whole life to himself, was waiting for this moment.
With a loaded Leopold rifle, Carl Bain walked over to Anson with a heavy expression on his face.
"Although I've been thinking about it for a long time, I still think you're sending me to death, and I'm going to die with all of us; but..."
"This is the best way to keep as many people alive as possible!" Taking the rifle from Carl, Anson smiled and looked at his adjutant:
"Trust me, it's the last time."
Carl, who had a complicated complexion, snorted softly and exhaled a long breath: "I'll ask you one last time, how sure are you?"
"Or to put it another way—was this battle forced by the archbishop's own son, or was it an impromptu act of your own that was bursting with confidence?"
"I…"
Anson, who was on the edge of his mouth, suddenly saw the gaze behind Carl, and was suddenly stunned.
The more than 400 pairs of eyes of the first corps were staring at themselves in a daze.
Standing in the first row, Lisa, carrying a rifle taller than herself, stared at her big eyes that were bright even in the rainy night, stood on tiptoe and watched her expression nervously.
I don't know when, the entire front position became quiet, and the silent can only hear the movement of rain falling from the sky, and only see a pair of bright eyes in the rain curtain.
An Sen, who was stunned for a moment, first took a deep breath, then raised his chest, and roared out with all his strength:
"I have got!"
"I'm sure to win!"
"what about you?!"
The cry that penetrated the rain curtain seemed to freeze the air.
Carl Bain, who was stunned, stared blankly at Anson who suddenly changed color. After a long time, he reluctantly smiled: "Don't, don't ask us, it's not me..."
"It's you who I'm asking, say it!" An Sen stepped forward abruptly, and roared in the torrential rain with the spirit of the wine that had not yet receded:
"If you can't win tonight, how long do you want to wait?!"
"Wait until it can't be attacked for a long time and be transferred away by the army? Wait until the fortress runs out of ammunition and food and surrender?"
Speaking of which, even Anson couldn't help but sneer:
"Stop dreaming!"
"In front of you is a solid fortress, behind you are the cut supply lines, and the imperial cavalry swept and looted everywhere."
"If we can't win, we'll die without a place to die! We'll be attacked by the imperial people and slaughtered!"
"But we can win! Tonight...we can win!"
After the conversation changed, Anson's eyes also scanned the queue for a week:
"Because we have nearly 5,000 people, we have heavy artillery, and we have guns in our hands! We... are not the scum who can't resist the slaughter and slaughter, but we are soldiers who can fight and kill!"
"They can kill us, and we can kill them too!"
"It's that simple!"
The next second, Anson raised the Leopold rifle in his hand and aimed the muzzle in the direction of Fort Thunder:
"Tonight... those imperial scumbags are hiding behind the walls of Thundercastle, wearing drenched clothes, leaning on the fire, eating hot bread and soup, and maybe taking a shower, and then laying peacefully on the bed. Get some sleep...why?"
"Because they never imagined that there would be such a gang of mad fools who would attack a well-guarded fortress on a rainy night!"
"It's like they didn't understand at first, why would there be a group of idiots stationed in the artillery position, forcibly repelling the imperial army three times their size, and waiting for reinforcements!"
Anson gave a thumbs up and pointed hard at his chest.
"I... we... are that fool!"
"That fool who only thinks about how to win, how can UU read www.uukanshu.com survive on this **** battlefield!"
"So...I'm telling you now, I believe I will win and I'm sure to win."
"what about you?!"
The hoarse shouts faded away in the torrential rain.
An Sen stood alone on the fort, facing the countless pairs of eyes staring at him in the rain.
"Boom!"
Lisa, who was standing in the front row, suddenly smashed the rifle in her hand on the muddy ground.
Soon, the entire first row, including all the soldiers of the first corps, all began to raise their rifles and slammed into the ground.
The chaotic sounds gradually became neat and unified after repeated interactions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
This orderly response is like a prelude to a rising tide, followed by waves of waves; more and more, more and more dense, until the sound overwhelms the rain and echoes throughout the front.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The dumbfounded Carl Bain looked at the soldiers in front of him like a fool.
Lisa, whose face was flushed with excitement, began to smash harder as she watched more and more people around her "following her own example".
An Sen, whose mouth began to rise, slowly turned around and raised his rifle to the soldiers behind him:
"Soldiers of the First Corps, those who believe that they can win will follow me, and the rest will follow the First Corps."
"There are more than ten minutes left, it is the 100th year of the saint's calendar; let's go to Thundercastle together and talk to those imperial scumbags who just went to bed..."
"Happy New Year-!!"