Chapter 1021 Winning or losing is right or wrong
Such false propaganda has certain benefits. It can stir up national hatred and at the same time endorse one's own justice, allowing soldiers to do unjust things without any scruples.
But the disadvantages are also obvious. After their own morale collapsed, ordinary soldiers were too afraid of the suffering they might suffer after surrendering, so they all chose to scramble to escape.
As for the French military supervisory team, they are not fools. There are few deserters and they will naturally be loyal to their duties. But in the face of such a huge defeat at this time, they would only choose to block the car with their arms.
By this point, the French army's defeat was certain.
Lamosilière finally couldn't sit still when he saw the airships in the sky. After all, when the intelligence was sent before, he only thought it was the nonsense of those in the Papal State.
In fact, when he saw those hot air balloons before, he had a vague feeling that maybe the Austrians would build bigger hot air balloons.
However, what Lamosilière saw at this time was something further. These airships could not only control the flight direction, but also drop bombs to the ground.
Combined with the French army's previous inability to deal with hot air balloons, it now had the same result when facing airships.
Being beaten unilaterally on the battlefield is much scarier than being unilaterally transparent on the battlefield.
However, at this time, the German Allied Forces, which bypassed the rear of Saarburg, changed their tactics. Facing the fierce impact of the French army, they directly chose to use incendiary bombs to burn down the nearby woods.
Yes, the strength of the coalition forces behind them is indeed not enough to stop the French army's full attack, but fire can. Those trees are not temporary fortifications at all, they are simply coalition soldiers using combustible materials to block the road.
Facing the raging fire, no matter how brave the warrior is, he loses his temper. After all, no one wants to fight a battle where death is certain.
"Quickly put out the fire! Put out the fire!"
Although the fire cannot reach the Saar Fortress, the coalition airships are already hanging above their heads, and the infantry will soon advance here.
As the fire spread, the tall trees were not spared, and the fire snakes greedily devoured everything that could be burned.
The billowing smoke kept rising, choking people and making it impossible to get close. Black smoke covered the sky, as oppressive as a huge boulder.
The French soldiers were carrying buckets and shovels in the hope of clearing a path through the fire. However, the most vicious violent group in mankind seemed so weak and helpless in the face of the power of nature.
What's even more terrible is that the secret forces of the coalition did not completely evacuate. From time to time, they would fire two shots or launch two rockets at the French troops fighting the fire.
On the other hand, the fear and retreat of the French army undoubtedly stimulated the nerves of the German Allied Forces. The latter had already paid too much for this war, and they just wanted to take it all back with profits.
In particular, the Austrian airboat force raised the morale of the German Allied Forces to its peak. The soldiers frantically attacked the French positions, looking for the French who were still resisting.
The French artillery once again became the key target of the Austrian army. The remaining French artillery under artillery fire and snipers finally collapsed when they saw the nearby airships.
Without the support of artillery, it was only a matter of time before the French army's position was completely lost.
Lamosilière chose to surrender because there was no other way to go.
However, before Albrecht received his letter of surrender, at least one-third of the French army had died tragically under the Allied attack.
However, this obviously did not satisfy Albrecht. Another day later, the German Allied Forces finally accepted the surrender of French Marshal Lamosilière.
At this time, the more than 40,000 French troops originally stationed in Saarburg were reduced to less than 3,000, and almost all of the remaining troops were injured.
During the surrender ceremony, Lamosilière limped and handed over his command knife. Seeing this scene, the coalition soldiers couldn't help but burst into an overwhelming cheer.
Generally speaking, after the surrendering party hands over the command knife, the victorious party will politely return the knife to preserve the opponent's honor and dignity.
However, Albrecht, who was high-spirited at this time, forgot about this for a moment, and he directly threw Lamosilier's command knife to the soldiers.
Albrecht reacted as soon as he finished doing this. He looked at Lamosilier with bulging veins in embarrassment, and had no choice but to step forward and comfort him in a low voice.
"General Lamosilier"
"It's the marshal!"
Lamosilière emphasized angrily.
"Marshal Lamosilière, I will buy it back for you after the ceremony is over."
"No need! I am a prisoner!"
To be honest, Albrecht didn't have the slightest fondness for people like Lamosilière. Whether from an orthodox perspective or a nationalist perspective, people like Lamosilière were unworthy of sympathy and respect.
When the crisis came in February, Lamosilier became Marshal of the Second French Republic without any resistance, and even now led troops to attack the territory of his original monarch, Louis Philippe.
In the eyes of the orthodox faction, this is simply a traitor who has been favored by the country and turned his back on the battlefield. He even wants to eradicate the original monarch for the sake of his new master.
In the eyes of German nationalists, Lamosilière was an invader and a butcher, and he should be cut into pieces by a thousand knives.
If it weren't for the years of royal education, Albrecht would have wanted to punch him twice. However, as a member of the Habsburg family, he cannot do this, but that does not mean that others will not do so.
After hearing what Lamosilier said, Albrecht spread his hands and turned around to leave. As soon as the Archduke of Austria and the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces left, the nationalists who had been patient for a long time immediately rushed forward.
One of them plucked off the French flag and threw it to the ground. Then a group of people stepped on it.
The delicate tricolor flag was soon trampled into rags. Looking at the flag that had turned into rags, a French officer couldn't help but stand up and scolded.
"We have surrendered, you have no right to humiliate us like this!"
"Do you also know that you have surrendered? This flag now belongs to us, and we can do with it whatever we want."
"You should have the most basic respect for your opponent! Sir!"
"Sorry, sir! All I know is that you're a damn invader! We didn't invite you here!
If possible, I would rather farm at home! Milk the cows! Instead of fighting to the death with you damn French guys!
You'd better respect others before you ask them to respect you. If you bring champagne, we also have Pilsner.
If you carry a gun and a stick, you can't blame us for being at war with each other! "
Pilsner refers to Pilsner beer.
The French officer suddenly seemed to have caught some inspiration and said with a smile.
"You are the invaders! This is not your country, but our French land!"
But he soon stopped laughing.
"No, sir! This is our German land! Our ancestors have lived here for generations! It was you who once occupied it!"