Chapter 957 Sea of Fire
Lamosilière's legions encountered almost no resistance when they invaded Lorraine. Almost all cities were defeated, and the losses caused by sporadic resistance were negligible.
In fact, before the seventeenth century, the two provinces of Alsace and Lorraine had been HRE territory, and they were territories ruled by the Habsburg family.
But after all, more than two hundred years have passed. If the French still cannot cultivate a group of loyal dogs, that would be their real dereliction of duty.
Of course, these loyal dogs were also the group of people who suffered the most losses after the crisis in Alsace-Lorraine. Their transcendent status was challenged, and their property and rights suffered varying degrees of losses. Therefore, their counterattack was particularly fierce at this time. Even more active than the French army.
This is the limitation of nationalism at this time, and it is not inclusive enough. However, Franz really does not want to tolerate this group of rubbish, bastards and traitors. It is a good thing for everyone that they can jump out.
The French army could advance quickly, and they could regain the power they once had, and Franz would not have to look for trouble.
The thorn in the flesh is the most painful and the hardest to find.
However, the troops of the Second French Republic were advancing so fast at this time, and it can only be said that the Orleans Dynasty was rotten to the core.
Lamosilière's main force arrived at the city of Metz without any hindrance. He couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion when he looked at this fortress city with complete defense facilities and located at the confluence of two rivers.
The city of Metz was once the center of Lorraine's rule by the Shinra, and later became a major military center for France against the Shinra. A city that had been repeatedly fortified for thousands of years was so easily captured by him, which made Lamosierier feel a little uncomfortable. reality.
He was prepared to lay waste to the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers under the city of Metz to seize this fortified city.
"If the soldiers of the Orleans Dynasty are bloody and they want to defend this city, how many people do we need to lose? How long will it take to capture this city?"
Adjutant Brown hesitated for a moment, then said.
"If the army of the Old Kingdom defends the city, it will take at least three days and at most a week. But if our army comes to defend it, even if the Old Kingdom army has 100,000 people, they will not be able to capture it in several months."
Lamosilière nodded and did not continue the topic.
He rode to the front of the team, tightened the reins, and raised the horse's hooves high. At the same time, he waved his riding crop and shouted.
"Soldiers! Enter the city! Cleanse!"
The tired look on the faces of the French soldiers disappeared instantly, and they rushed towards the open city gate like wolves and tigers.
The so-called purge was a decent practice of looting. Some gentlemen who had surrendered and some who were willing to swear allegiance to the Second French Republic and who could spend enough money and materials to labor could be spared.
Others must pay back taxes and enforce military service.
Robbery is actually the same as killing pigs. It seems simple, but in fact it is a delicate job. If the method is not used correctly, not only may you not eat the pork, you may even be kicked away by the pig or mauled to death.
Although the general who planned the plunder had to carefully plan and divide the entire city's residents, the details were similar to the soldiers.
As the fierce-looking soldiers rushed into the city, the streets were filled with terror and chaos. Innocent civilians were frightened and ran away, closing their doors and windows like frightened beasts hiding in their caves.
But this was just a cover-up. Soon there was a knock on the door. As time went by, the soldiers outside the door gradually lost their patience, and knocking on the door turned into banging on the door.
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Finally, accompanied by angry curses, the door was violently broken open, and the soldiers broke into the room and began to loot everything of value, including gold, jewelry, cloth, food...
In particular, cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, tea, and spices were the focus of searches by soldiers.
Of course, there are also the necessary long-haired creatures at the end, who will be gathered together and then disbanded after the army leaves.
There was a mixture of cries, screams, whistles, cheers, curses, and occasionally a gunshot or two and a scream.
The senior generals of the French army do not have this special habit, and some of them will even use their own pockets to give money to suffering women and children.
However, the war is approaching, and they need to boost the morale of the soldiers, and this is undoubtedly the most effective and direct method, so they can only suffer the common people.
"It's all about France."
But for the nationalists at this time, this was undoubtedly a way for the country to purify itself. They wanted to take the opportunity to eliminate those impure, inferior, and inferior foreign nations.
The attack method Lamosilière chose was to attack separately and combine attacks. He undoubtedly achieved an overwhelming victory in the Lorraine area.
However, the French army in Alsace suffered a head-on attack, and Selestadt, the gateway to Alsace, refused to surrender.
The French army continued to attack for a week and suffered losses of more than 8,000 people. The soldiers and civilians in Celesta City suffered even greater losses. If it hadn't been for a group of mercenaries resting in the city, they might not have been able to hold on at this time.
The battle was extremely fierce, because Celesta City was not a fortress. In history, it was more of a commercial city.
It does not have iconic bastions, high walls or deep moats, and it does not even have a regular army.
But the determination of the residents of the city was extremely firm, because they had witnessed the brutality of the French army, and the brutal artillery battles on the banks of the Rhine were still fresh in their minds.
Even if it failed, the French army did not forget to set fire to block the pursuit of the coalition forces.
As the main battlefield of the last crisis in Alsace-Lorraine, the shadow of pain and death is not easy to erase.
Bono de Coulen was the French commander who was ordered to attack Alsace. He did not want to stay here longer. The order he received was to capture Strasbourg and then beat the German allies who came for reinforcements.
Unable to attack by force, Bono de Cullen thought of a detour almost immediately.
However, in order to stop the French army from advancing, the Alsatians turned tens of thousands of acres of cotton fields into a sea of flames, blocked the canals with boulders, and blew up every bridge they could see.
The men took up arms, while the old, weak, women and children took refuge in the Vosges Mountains.
Bono de Cullen looked at the burning earth in front of him. For the first time, he felt the insignificance, powerlessness, strength and fearlessness of human beings.
Bono de Cullen was not an incompetent general. On the contrary, he was knowledgeable about the past and present, especially good at artillery and logistics. He was considerate of his subordinates and was deeply loved by his officers and soldiers.
But at this time, he tried his best and couldn't get into Alsace. There was almost no flat land outside the city of Celesta. All the surrounding buildings were in ruins, and above the ruins was a new battlefield.
Bono de Cullen had to sincerely admire the courage and courage of the Alsatian people. In the other direction, the troops sent by La Mosierier to pursue Thiers also encountered an unprecedented stubborn resistance in Salburg.