The Castle of Count Crelaus is a flat castle, so its walls are built relatively high, with a height of five or six meters, and are built with large rocks quarried from the mountains. The entire castle is divided into three areas: front, middle and back. The front area is the barracks, arsenal, stables and training ground. The central area is where the warehouse is located and where the lord has his office. The original earl lord used to handle territory affairs, entertain guests, etc. here. The back area is the residential area of the original lord's family, which is strictly prohibited for others to enter. There is also a small garden and a small pond.
It is said that three generations of the original lord's ancestors spent countless wealth, energy, and decades to build this castle as a basis for future generations to live and work in peace and contentment here. They would never have imagined that their descendants would give up the family territory and this strong castle so easily, making it a stronghold for the enemy, and then their descendants would hire an army to attack the castle. This sounds really dramatic.
To be honest, if the original lord, Earl Leucade Barclaus, had not destroyed most of the family armed forces in his brigade in the fire when he attacked Squirrel Village, then he would never have given up his territory. and this castle. The castle was still strong, but without the power of defense, it was useless no matter how strong it was. Count Loycade finally left.
Now Count Loikade is back again, because the Grand Duke of Karnars told them, the nobles who had abandoned their territories, to regain their family territories themselves. The enemy only has one battalion and is stationed in four castles. He can send a regiment of light cavalry to assist these territorial nobles, but they have to recruit their own troops to attack the castle. If the territory cannot be recovered, the title and territory inheritance qualifications of these territorial nobles will be cancelled.
Although the Grand Duke of Karrnath did not agree to the request of these territorial nobles to send troops to help them regain their territory, he at least sent a regiment of light cavalry to assist. They are not responsible for the task of siege, but reconnaissance, cover, and sweeping the place are theirs. From this point of view, with the assistance of this light cavalry regiment, the only remaining job for the territorial nobles is to attack the castle.
For these nobles who have given up their family territories, all they need to do now is to raise money and recruit an army to take back their family territories. According to the reports of the light cavalry who went to reconnaissance, not even a ghost could be seen in their family territory now. This made all the territorial nobles breathe a sigh of relief. At least after they regained the family territory, they no longer had to worry about the useless citizens. The family is responsible.
But there is still bad news, that is, the enemy has gathered forces and is trapped in the strongest castle of Count Crelaus. All the lords here know how strong this castle is. Count Loycade has shown off before that as long as his family's large group of family armed forces is present, the enemy cannot attack it even with ten times the force, unless The enemy used siege artillery.
Although these words are bragging, Earl Crelaus Castle is indeed difficult to conquer for the territorial nobles in this area. Decades ago, Count Loikade's father had a territorial war with the surrounding territorial nobles. The seven or eight territorial nobles gathered more than ten times the number of troops and besieged Count Crelaus's castle for half a year. As a result, Not only did they fail to attack, but they suffered heavy casualties and lost many troops. In the end, they had to make peace with the mediation of other territorial nobles.
Of course, the men and horses of the territorial nobles were very poor in combat effectiveness, and the family's armed forces of Earl Loikade were not that strong. It was just that they had a strong castle to rely on, which gave them a great advantage. This was not a big deal. The castle is now guarded by the regular army of the Kingdom of Overas, which dominates the eastern region of the continent with its combat power. It has a battalion of troops. I don’t know how many troops these territorial nobles have to recruit to fill them in to win...
Don't look at the fact that the anti-Austria alliance forces have just wiped out the three legions of the Kingdom of Ovelas in one fell swoop on the prairie. Among them is the Blue Feather Legion, one of the four field aces of the Kingdom of Ovelas, called Kan. Big win for Nas. But these territorial nobles are all well-informed people. The main forces in this battle were the two legions of the Kingdom of Nasseri and the seven light cavalry legions of the Principality of Karnas. Although they won a great victory, they also suffered heavy casualties. , his vitality was severely damaged and he was no longer able to fight anymore. Now the Grand Duke of Karrnath is sending two light cavalry regiments to show off their power on the border between the prairie and the former Eskiline Principality. It is actually a bluff. The private order was to retreat immediately if the enemy showed signs of counterattack and never to entangle with the enemy.
This is why the Grand Duke of Karrnath only sent one regiment of light cavalry to assist these territorial nobles in regaining their lost lands. He could not spare more troops. After ambushing the three legions of the Kingdom of Overas on the prairie, the Principality of Karnas discovered that after the battle, it had lost almost four legions. Don't worry about the three temporarily formed legions. They were destined to die in the first place, but the loss of a legion of elite light cavalry in the final siege of the Blue Feather Legion was what made the Grand Duke of Karnas most heartbroken.
The two legions of the Nasseri Kingdom also suffered heavy casualties. The second-line legion was beaten to half a disability, and the standing legion also lost one-third of its combat strength. Nine legions ambushed the enemy's three legions, still on the boundless flat prairie. The enemy could not rely on the terrain to defend. Although they annihilated the enemy, they found that the casualties they paid were greater than the enemy's. This was a great victory. It's also a joke.
The territorial nobles who knew the inside story did not dare to recruit troops to regain the territory and attack Count Crelaus's castle. Having suffered a big loss in Squirrel Village, they knew very well that the rabble they had recruited was no match for the well-trained regular army of the Kingdom of Ovilas. Even though the enemy could not have any conspiracy this time, they occupied the strong castle of Count Crelaus, and they still had a battalion of troops. This is not a territorial war between territorial nobles. Everyone is competing against each other. To deal with the regular army, the only thing needed is the regular army.
So these territorial nobles changed their minds and turned their attention to the Eskiline Legion and the newly formed troops of Grand Duke Rimodra. After all, these were also the regular troops of the two previous principalities. Let them deal with the troops occupying the castle. The army of the Kingdom of Overas is not only justified in name, but also relatively reliable in terms of combat effectiveness.
However, Grand Duke Rimodra asked for a very high price. This Grand Duke who lost his principality gave people the feeling that he was crazy about poverty, so he offered a sky-high price. He said that he could pull the troops of the three regiments under his command, but their logistical supplies would need to be taken care of by these territorial nobles.
The faces of the nobles in the territory turned pale. If you calculate it like this, it will almost make them bankrupt. The number of troops to support three regiments is not a small amount. If the time drags on for a longer time, everyone will not be able to regain any territory. I have to ask for food. It was obvious that Archduke Limodra had bad intentions and was simply trying to shirk the blame.
So everyone went to find the person in charge of the Eskiline Corps again, and this time it was more reliable. Speaking of which, the Eskiline Legion's life was not easy, and the treatment they received from others was very poor. Although the Anti-Austrian Alliance agreed to pay half of the military expenses, it still lacked interest in this exiled armed legion that could not be controlled by itself.
Although the war has been going on for nearly four years now, and both the Kingdom of Nasseri and the Principality of Karnas are in need of troops, these nobles of the former Eskilin Principality are not fools. They know that this legion is already lost to them. It was the only one to rely on, so it was unwilling to accept the tasks of serving as cannon fodder. As a result, the status of this legion in the eyes of the senior leaders of the anti-Austrian alliance was getting lower and lower, and the treatment it was given was getting worse and worse.
The two parties hit it off immediately. The territorial nobles of the Principality of Karnas needed a combat-effective armed force to regain their territories and attack the castle of Count Crelaus. The nobles of the Eskiline Principality need to find some allies for themselves and earn some extra money so that the legion under their command can obtain some additional support and supplies. So the two sides quickly reached a deal, and the Eskiline Legion sent an infantry regiment to help the territorial nobles regain their lost territory.
The noble commanders of the Eskiline Principality are very confident in the combat effectiveness of their infantry regiment. After all, they are fighting with real swords and guns on the front line of the Rimodra Principality and the regular army of the Kingdom of Ovelas. Killed. Although they were on defense at the time, they also caused heavy casualties to the offensive troops of the Kingdom of Overas, and they can be regarded as veterans of hundreds of battles. Now that the enemy only has one battalion of defensive troops, sending an infantry regiment to attack is already a sign of respect for the enemy.
Therefore, the noble officers of the Eskiline Legion were very optimistic that they could capture the castle held by the enemy at the cost of at most two battalions of casualties. This was already an overestimation of the fighting power of the defending enemy and the strength of the castle.
This was the second day after the enemy came to the city. Yesterday afternoon, after two regiments of enemies arrived at the castle of Count Crelaus, the light cavalry regiment of the Principality of Karnars was divided into four battalions. Three battalions were stationed on three sides of the castle to monitor The other three sides of the castle. Another battalion rushed to the entrance of the mountain road, obviously wanting to close the connection between the mountain road and the castle. They do not need to attack the defensive position deployed by Muriel's squadron at the entrance of the mountain road. They only need to prevent the mountain road from sending reinforcements or transporting supplies to the castle.
The infantry regiment of the Eskiline Corps, after setting up camp, went to the abandoned villages to collect wood, went to the orchards to cut wood, and made city ladders and wooden carts. They were busy for half a night, and did not blow the trumpets until midnight. rest. Diaverde also volunteered and wanted to take people out to attack. However, Claude rejected this request after careful consideration. The enemy had just arrived and there was no way he would have been so negligent. He was either secretly vigilant or setting a trap to lure the defenders into attack...
Because they rested too late at night, the enemy did not launch an attack the next morning. It was not until two o'clock in the afternoon that they launched a tentative attack. Their purpose should be to detect the firepower of the castle's defenses. They dispatched a large group of troops, pushing seven or eight wooden carts. They used the cover of the broken walls in the village to rush out of the streets and try to attack the wooden carts. The platoon carts were pushed to the bottom of the castle, and then the wooden platoon carts were used as cover to suppress the enemies on the city wall by accurately aiming and firing muskets...
The idea was a good one, and the attack strategy was also very appropriate. The only mistake was that they did not expect that the defenders in the castle were the first ranger battalion to use precise aiming and shooting muskets.
"Do we need to use artillery to destroy these platoon cars?" Major Skree asked.
Claude shook his head: "There is no need, so the enemy just sent out a large group of troops. These seven or eight wooden carts just want to come over to test the firepower deployed at the top of our city. Let them get close, and we will shoot at them. Select some soldiers with outstanding marksmanship, and the rest hide behind the city wall to help load the ammunition. The performance of the enemy's precision aiming and shooting muskets is not as good as our Obas III standard matchlock gun, and the effective precision range is shorter. They can only get closer Walls, let us use them as targets."
The castle of Count Crelaus has only one gate facing the village. Although a trench was dug in front, there was no water and it was not deep. The remaining three city walls only have a side door covered with iron on each side. However, the side door is not big, only about one meter wide, and is sandwiched between two protruding city walls. So from an efficiency point of view, the attacker's best choice is the front door. As long as you cross the trench and smash the two gates, you can enter the castle.
The enemy attacking now neither held the planks laid on the trench nor held the ladder to climb the city. They just pushed seven or eight wooden carts close to the trench. It was obvious that they wanted to test the power of the artillery deployed by the defenders on the city wall. However, Claude did not go as they expected. Instead, he selected twenty or thirty soldiers with accurate marksmanship to snipe at the enemies pushing the wooden carts.
Claude is also shooting. Even if the enemy is blocked by a wooden raft, he will always accidentally expose part of his body. Many smart soldiers will aim at these exposed body parts of the enemy and shoot, and then the enemy will fall to the ground wailing and be killed by another gun. .seven
In the short distance of seventy or eighty meters from the village to the trench in front of the castle, the enemy dropped twenty or thirty corpses. When the enemy parked these seven or eight wooden carts in front of the trench, they also raised their muskets and launched a counterattack against the defenders on the city wall. Suddenly, there was a fierce exchange of fire between the wooden carts on the city wall and under the castle. White smoke filled the air above the city wall and under the castle, making it even more difficult to aim...
Five or six meters away from Claude, a soldier with half of his body exposed on the city wall was shot in the head by a gun fired from below, and fell to the ground like a torn sack.
Claude yelled: "Pay attention to concealment, don't expose your body, shoot in another place, don't always shoot behind a battlement!"
There are too many new recruits, and even if some of them are good at marksmanship, they have too little experience on the battlefield. They didn't know how to protect themselves, and they often forgot about safety while fighting. Just now, the soldier stuck his head out of the city wall just to get a clearer view. As a result, he was spotted by the enemy on the side and shot in the head.
Claude had already discovered the place where the enemy was hiding. He squatted between the wooden raft and the wheel, put the fired musket on the ground and loaded it. Although his movements were very slow, the position he was hiding in was really hidden, in front of the city wall. It was difficult for the soldiers to spot him.
Claude took the loaded musket handed over by McJack, moved to a nearby battlement, set up the musket and aimed it at that location. The enemy could load the musket while squatting, but he had to stand upright when firing. Sure enough, the enemy loaded the ammunition and leaned his musket on the big wheel. He knelt on the ground and straightened up, looking up for the target on the city wall...
"Bang" Claude pulled the trigger, and the lit match was pressed into the medicine box by the clamp handle. The gun body vibrated, and a cloud of white smoke came out of the muzzle. The enemy's left eye was caught in the sight. A line of blood spurted out. He also fell to the ground without saying a word, and the musket on the wheel slowly slid down...