Chapter 26 Capturing Ackerman
(This is my first time writing about siege, so I don’t know how it goes, so please forgive me)
Aron also carried out emergency mobilization in Ackerman, and a total of two thousand residents were mobilized. And there is plenty of food and water.
At dawn the next day, the cannons outside the city began to fire. A cannonball fired hit the city wall, and Ackerman was indeed the strongest fortress. Apart from some scattered rocks, there was nothing serious.
The cannon cannot fire continuously, and the barrel must be allowed to cool down. Fortunately, the trebuchets have also been installed, a total of 15 turrets, and the shells have been prepared.
"Ignition" At the command of the commander, some shells were ignited with torches. The outside of these stone bullets are soaked in oil, so they are very easy to ignite.
"put!"
Stone bullets streaked across the sky and landed directly on the city wall. No matter how strong Ackerman is, he can't withstand such a fight.
The attack points of these stone bullets were also a bit low, and most of them landed on the foundation of the city wall. Several large holes soon appeared.
In addition to large stone projectiles, some small artillery shells were also fired. They came specifically for the soldiers on the city wall.
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"
The soldiers who were hit fell to the ground and howled, and some died immediately.
"Sir, look. They are a little overwhelmed."
On the hillside, Constantine told Peter about Ackerman's situation.
"We must win Ackerman today." Peter said. "attack"
"Yes" Constantine drew his sword and pointed it at Ackerman, "attack"
The infantry began to move, and they advanced towards the city wall step by step. The returning artillery and crossbowmen were responsible for suppressing the defenders in the city.
For the moat, Peter adopted the so-called Nianhan filling method. He first made a template in the shape of a house, placed wheels underneath, and installed huge rocks and wood on top. He first placed large pieces of wood and firewood inside, and then covered the wood with soil and stones. superior. The exterior was first covered with rawhide and then wrapped with iron sheets, and people pushed it around inside, in successive stages, totaling fifty vehicles. There were many pack cars parked behind them. The pack cars were loaded with sacks filled with soil that had been made before. Countless soldiers without armor lined up and passed the sacks forward one by one. The soldiers pushing the cart in the carriage did the same. Soon, sacks of soil were thrown into the trench one after another.
Although Aron didn't know what these wooden carts were for at first, out of intuition, he still ordered the soldiers to shoot bows and arrows at them.
At the same time, many arrow-blocking carts with a wide wooden plank erected in front were lined up, advancing towards the city wall in the gaps between the five wooden cart columns. These arrow-blocking carts were pushed in front of the trench, forming a discontinuous wooden wall. Archers and crossbowmen fired arrows at the defenders at the top of the city through the gaps between the planks.
At noon, part of the moat was filled in. The soldiers began to approach the city wall, which was different from ordinary siege warfare. They did not bring ladders, but each had a large bucket, and some also had manuscripts and shovels.
"Attack, attack."
Under Alon's order, some defenders began to attack the soldiers below. But the fierce returning artillery and the distant crossbow arrows made it impossible for them to get out.
Taking this opportunity, the five hundred warriors originally trained by Peter expanded the large holes and buried explosive barrels. and lit the fuse.
"Look, they're retreating."
The defenders looked at the enemy troops escaping quickly and shouted directly. Aaron was also happy. He thought that the opponent saw that the fortress was strong and ran away because he thought he was outmatched.
"Run, when the Grand Duke comes back, we will beat you up hard."
The defenders also continued to output words, but not before they all joined. There was a loud bang and then there was no sound.
The huge smoke completely covered the fortress, and the sound of explosions spread to every corner. Peter was looking forward to the results, and so was Constantine.
The smoke cleared, and a huge gap appeared in front of them. The effect of using gunpowder to blow up city walls is really remarkable, not to mention granular gunpowder. (One pound is better than three pounds)
"Attack!" The herald blew the horn of attack.
Ackerman's remaining defenders no longer knew what to do, because just now, their commander had been killed. Seeing the tidal wave of troops coming, they surrendered smoothly.
Towards evening, all of Ackermann's defenders were wiped out. Peter really took over Ackerman in one day. (The defenders didn’t expect this to be a heavenly weapon attack)
During this day, the defenders and local people suffered more than 2,000 casualties, and less than 500 defenders surrendered. On Peter's side, 10 people died (6 were killed inside the city, 3 were shot by the enemy's bows and arrows outside the city, and one was killed when he couldn't dodge).
Peter entered the fortress and was amazed at the wisdom of the people who built it. I am also glad that I have mastered the special siege method. In doing so, I can save at least half of the army.
Entering the office, Peter ordered all information to be sealed. And started to search for the money in it, and found a lot of it.
Various currencies are piled up in the treasury, including Polish zlotys, Venetian ducats, Moldovan Groschen, etc., and there are also a large amount of grain, cloth, etc. If an ordinary army comes, it will not take more than ten and a half days. It can't be beaten in a month.
"Sir, what should we do next?"
Constantine asks what happens next.
"General Constantine, I order you to lead an army tomorrow to sweep away the surrounding disobedient manors and castles. If you need anything, please ask."
"yes"
With Ackerman in hand, the mission of capturing Moldova is half successful. Because the two fortresses of Kilia and Ackerman can provide Moldova with a lot of income every year, and they are also the key to Poland and Lithuania, it can be seen how much harm the fall of these two places will have to Moldova.
The soldiers who followed Peter also had many trophies, and Peter gave them different rewards according to their degree of danger. As for those soldiers who died, Peter gave each family a pension of 60 ducats. This move brought tears to many people's eyes. If it weren't for the inappropriate age, they would have immediately worshiped him as their adoptive father.
In this era, the lives of civilians were low, and as long as the military was not from a noble family, there was no compensation or pension. Many generals even confiscated the property left by soldiers who died in battle instead of handing it over to the families of the deceased.
Therefore, Peter's behavior seemed to others to be taken advantage of. But Peter was unmoved. He needed this move to make the soldiers loyal to him, which was the key to Ottoman in the future. Those yenichiri are no joke.