The next two days were still peaceful, except that the enemy's camp looked like a large construction site and was very busy. Many trees were cut down and transported to the camp every day. Claude estimated that the enemy must be manufacturing a large number of siege equipment. He believed that when they launched another attack, it would be like a stormy sea, one wave after another. It would not be easy to survive this battle.
Claude's suggestion for the two prairie golden eagles that circled above the castle every day has been implemented. A tight fishing net was suspended on the top of the rooftop, with a dozen little lambs and a group of chickens and ducks underneath. These were originally kept in the garden in the back area, but now they are used as bait to lure the two prairie golden eagles.
The newly moved lambs, chickens and ducks are not used to living on the rooftop. After all, there are two natural enemies above their heads. On the first day, I shivered and huddled in the corner. On the second day, I felt better and occasionally started to move around on the rooftop. Maybe it was because the two prairie golden eagles never wanted to come down, or maybe the fishing net on the rooftop gave these lambs, chickens and ducks a false sense of security, so in the evening these chickens, ducks and lambs started to become lively. , and also have the appetite to eat the hay feed thrown on the ground.
The two prairie golden eagles overhead were obviously attracted by the prey on the rooftop. They had been hovering over the rooftop, but their position was still very high, and they were very cautious and did not pounce down easily. Major Skerry selected a small group of soldiers with good marksmanship and ambush on the surrounding city walls. Their target was the two prairie golden eagles above.
But before the two prairie golden eagles fell into the trap, the enemy launched an attack.
"What is that?" The soldiers standing guard on the defensive tower of the city wall knocked on the iron plate in panic. The loud continuous sound indicated that the situation was urgent and the enemy was about to attack the castle.
"God of War, they actually built three siege towers..." Captain Heimkling, the captain of the second brigade, opened his mouth in surprise. Not just him, everyone who saw what the enemy launched on the city wall felt as if they had seen a ghost.
Across the ruined village, three behemoths could be seen moving extremely slowly in the distance. Claude raised the monocular, and the true faces of the three giant towers appeared in the frame. How to put it, this is more like a tower-shaped building built with three bundles of logs tied together. The lower part is the largest. Compared with the dozens of strong cattle pulling the cart and the people driving the cattle in front, Claude estimated that the lower part is about five or six meters wide and four or five meters high. The middle part is about three meters wide and three or four meters wide. meters in height, the top part is two meters wide and more than two meters high...
There are rows of solid wooden wheels on both sides of the bottom. Even if there are more than a dozen strong oxen pulling it in front, the speed is still very slow. The main reason for this is that the outside of this so-called siege tower is all tightly arranged. The big log looks very heavy.
"Artillery preparation, target the siege tower at the front, fire!" Major Skerry no longer bothered to ask for other people's opinions, and directly ordered the light infantry artillery deployed in the city walls and defense towers to fire at the behemoth at the front. A distance of two to three hundred meters is within the range where the light infantry artillery fires live ammunition with the greatest power.
There was a rumbling sound of cannons, and the city was filled with smoke.
Claude had to find an opening that was not obscured by gunpowder smoke, and continued to carefully observe the siege tower at the front with his monocular. The first round of shelling by the twelve light infantry artillery hit only seven or eight targets, and the giant siege tower stopped moving forward. It's a pity that this was not a siege tower that was destroyed by artillery fire. Claude could see clearly that the live iron pellets that hit the siege tower only shook the tower slightly, and then took away a piece of the log where it was hit. The bark of the tree leaves only a few small white spots on the logs smeared with wet mud...
The reason why the siege tower stopped moving forward is very simple. One of the dozen or so strong cattle being pulled in front was hit by a cannonball and fell to the ground, causing the herd to panic. Several soldiers driving the cattle were pulling the cow that was hit by a cannonball. The healthy cow killed by the shell was unloaded from the traction rope, and the pack horse was pulled over to pull the cow corpse to the open space next to it so as not to block the path of the siege tower.
The twelve light infantry artillery pieces on the city wall fired a total of three rounds before having to stop. There was no way, the smoke covered the entire city wall, and no one could see the target clearly, so they had to stop firing and wait for the wind to take away the smoke. It was only after the smoke dissipated that the people on the city wall discovered that the siege tower at the front in the distance still looked intact except for dozens of small white spots on the row of logs in front.
It's useless. Although the light infantry artillery can hit six to seven hundred meters, the iron pellets of the solid artillery shells, which are only as big as a fist, weigh only three to five kilograms. Hitting such a huge siege tower is like scratching its itch. , it is of no use at all...
"Fire the artillery, hit the cattle pulling in front, don't let the siege tower get close to the city wall!" Claude shouted, letting the light infantry artillery continue to target the cattle in front of the siege tower and fire. If you can't destroy these three siege towers, then don't let them get close to the city wall.
The artillery on the city wall roared again. In just one round, more than a dozen bulls pulling the siege tower fell down, and the remaining bulls ran around in fear. The soldiers who were driving these bulls were also killed and injured in this round of shelling. The remaining few quickly lay down on the ground, rolling and crawling behind several broken walls.
The artillery fired two more rounds before stopping. The siege tower at the front no longer had a healthy bull that could be used to pull it. It was either killed or the traction rope was broken and ran away.
Major Skerry was very satisfied with Claude's instructions just now. If the siege tower is not close to the city wall, it will pose no threat to the castle: "Okay, stop the bombardment and be on guard. If the enemy still wants to move the siege tower over, bombard those pulling it." The herd…”
But before he finished speaking, he heard the sound of a cannon, and a sharp whistling sound from far to near. A cannonball passed over the city wall in front and hit the wall of the castle behind, breaking two outer wall bricks.
Turning around, I saw a cloud of white gunpowder smoke rising from the second floor of the huge siege tower in the distance. I bet the enemy also moved the light infantry artillery to the middle floor of the siege tower, leaning against the gun window. Start bombarding the castle.
"Hidden, watch out for enemy shelling!" Captain Hemkling yelled, bending down and hiding behind the wall. The soldiers standing on the city wall were all gone. No one dared to show their bodies anymore and they all hid.
The enemy's three siege towers began to bombard the castle, but they were of no use. They were also light infantry artillery. The projectiles fired could only leave a small hole in the city wall at most. There were two artillery pieces on one siege tower, which bombarded the castle. After five or six rounds, it was found that there was no effect, so the bombardment naturally stopped.
Next, the enemy drove a group of strong cattle forward to pull the siege tower forward, but was dispersed by a round of artillery fire from the city wall.
The big man Gemi smacked his mouth in envy: "They can eat a lot of beef for lunch..."
The enemy tried it twice in a morning, but under the interception of artillery bombardment, they were unable to drive the cattle forward to tow the siege tower. Even though they later pushed a few wooden carts to block the front, the artillery on the city wall was high up and could still hit the cattle effortlessly. There was a stalemate like this in the morning. The enemy's three siege towers were stuck on the street entering the village, preventing them from advancing even an inch.
At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the Eskiline Infantry Regiment launched a large-scale attack, dispatching a battalion of troops and rolling out more than 40 newly built wooden platoon vehicles, which were arranged in several rows in the village in a hierarchical manner. Go to the open space of 100 meters between the castles. There were as many as fifteen or six wooden carts lined up in front of the trench, almost including the fifty-meter city wall in front of the front gate within their effective shooting range. Moreover, the wooden cart they pushed forward this time also had a roof, which effectively protected the soldiers who were hiding behind the wooden cart and fired at the city wall.
At the same time that the enemy launched an attack, the enemies in the village gathered and drove their cattle to pull the siege tower in the front. Obviously, they launched this large-scale attack to disperse the firepower on the city wall. In addition, they also used wooden platoon vehicles approaching the city wall to cover the soldiers and shoot at the top of the city to suppress the firepower on the city wall and eliminate the artillery crew. .
Today, the second group was responsible for guarding the front gate wall. Captain Heimkling was an officer who was very accustomed to such formal defense and offensive tactics. He commanded in an orderly manner without any panic. First, the four light infantry artillery pieces placed in the defense towers on the left and right sides were ordered to continue bombarding the cattle in the village, resolutely preventing the enemy from moving the siege tower. Then he ordered six of the eight cannons placed on the city wall to fire solid shells to bombard the wooden platoons in front of the castle. Even if they could not break the log platoons used as shields, they would also blow off the roof above.
The last two light infantry artillery were loaded with shotguns on the left and right to carry out cross-flank attacks. This was really a nightmare for the enemy who used wooden platoon vehicles as cover to shoot at the city head. They could defend the front and top, but they could not. From the side, every shot fired caused great damage to the attacking enemies below the castle...
The soldiers of the second group rarely had the opportunity to fire, and most of them waited for orders behind the wall. It wasn't that they didn't want to shoot, but the city was filled with smoke, and it was so white that nothing could be seen clearly. The same is true for the enemy. If you shoot upwards with your eyes closed, any precise aiming and shooting will be nonsense. Twelve artillery pieces fired non-stop, and the smoke was as thick as mist. Even those artillery groups only bombarded the enemy's wooden platoon vehicles based on their impressions.
Basically, after six rounds of artillery bombardment, Captain Hemkling will order them to stop firing. One is to let the artillery barrel cool down, and the other is to wait for the strong wind to blow away the smoke from the city so that he can observe it carefully. By the way, at this time, let the soldiers hide behind the walls and shoot down with precise aim to suppress the enemy and become familiar with this defensive battle mode.
Because the four artillery pieces in the defense towers on the left and right sides had been suppressing the enemies in the village and preventing them from using cattle to pull the siege tower, the enemy finally gave up this plan and instead used the artillery in the siege towers to bombard the city wall. . And there is no need for the four artillery pieces in the defense tower to fight against the siege tower, so there is nothing anyone can do about it. He could only lower his gun muzzle to bombard the wooden carts in the open space in front of the castle, and at the same time pay attention to the movements in the village. As soon as the enemy tried to drive away the cattle, he would immediately turn around and bombard the village again...
All in all, the afternoon of offense and defense was very lively and intense, but it was all the artillery that played the big role. Seeing that it was getting late, the enemy abandoned more than a hundred corpses and evacuated. More than 20 wooden carts in the open space in front of the castle were also blown to pieces. The second brigade on the city wall also suffered more than 20 casualties. Most of them were hit by enemies who were approaching the city wall and hiding behind wooden platoon trucks. The artillery crew was mostly composed of people. They were easily damaged when firing. Expose your body and be shot by the enemy.
The most unlucky thing was a light infantry artillery placed on the city wall. The six artillery pieces on the enemy's siege tower fought for more than an hour and fired more than a dozen rounds of shells. Most of them either missed or hit the city wall. However, during the last two or three rounds of shelling, a solid projectile as big as a fist hit the light infantry artillery, hitting the barrel and injuring two gun crew members. For the 1st Ranger Battalion, this was the biggest loss in this battle, as one of the guns was damaged.
Judging from the number of casualties, the 1st Ranger Battalion should have won a great victory in this battle. The more than 100 corpses left behind by the enemy are proof that these were still those who died in battle, and those who were injured and fled back were not included. , it is estimated that the casualty ratio should be about one to ten. But as the sky darkened and night fell, most of the commanders of the 1st Ranger Battalion looked unhappy. This night, the enemy will definitely use the cover of darkness to move the three siege towers forward.
Two to three hundred meters apart, the six artillery pieces on the enemy's three siege towers had already posed a great threat to the defenses on the city wall. If the enemy's three siege towers are moved to a distance of seventy or eighty meters, apart from anything else, just loading shotguns and firing them can cause devastating and fatal damage to the defenders on the front gate wall.
Once there are no soldiers guarding the front wall, the enemy can take the opportunity to launch an attack on the city. If the front city wall is occupied by the enemy's attacking troops, the enemy can use their strength advantage to open the gate and attack the castle, or continue to attack along the city wall. It will be difficult for a battalion of guerrillas to defend the castle after a split attack.
For the 1st Ranger Battalion, the biggest threat was the three huge siege towers, and the shelling of the light infantry artillery they equipped could not do anything to them. The enemy's artillery was placed on the middle level of the siege tower, which first evened out the defenders' superiority on the city wall, and was unable to be destroyed despite the cover of the siege tower logs. On the contrary, they posed a great threat to the artillery and guard soldiers deployed by the 1st Ranger Battalion on the city wall. The artillery that was damaged today is a good proof.
There are different opinions, and some people propose to build log rows on the city wall to provide cover for soldiers and artillery. The problem is that there are not so many logs collected in the castle. So some people hoped to send out soldiers at night to collect the logs from the wooden trains that were destroyed in the afternoon, but Major Skerry was worried that the enemy would find out and take the opportunity to launch a night attack, causing him to lose sight of the other. Finally, he looked at Claude.
Claude sighed and said: "At night, some soldiers are sent out from the side gate, along the trench to collect the wooden carts in front of the city wall, and they are pulled up from under the city wall with ropes. There is no need to open the main entrance. The other is to send out some people, by I will lead the team and sneak into the village to see if there is a chance to burn down the three siege towers."