The cavalry delivered the latest battle report to the Emperor. The Emperor, who was eating, was immediately ecstatic, "The brave Second Army! The brave Frossard!"
"Hahaha... It seems that we really worried too much. Prussia does not have a strong fighting force!" Napoleon III looked at his son and said with a smile.
"The Prussians were so cowardly that they blew up their own railway bridges. Do you think they still have the ability to attack? This shows that their strategy is only defensive!"
"The second army should be credited with the first achievement!" The Emperor excitedly asked his attendant for a glass of wine and happily drank a large glass.
The Second Army's battle report pleased everyone present. Not everyone had doubts, but the fact that the Prussians blew up the railway bridge was indeed unexpected.
Prince Eugene stopped talking. He was thinking whether he was worrying too much. Do I really lack the courage to govern a big country? Are you being too cautious?
He did not dare to speak to refute, but his eyes revealed his subconscious worries. At this moment, his eyes were focused on the points on the eastern front on the map.
Wissembourg, Chateau Lotay... those are the most important fortresses in France on the eastern border. Only when safety telegrams are sent there can the prince truly feel at ease.
…
At the same time, Marshal Xiao Letian and Steinmetz were also paying attention to the battle situation in Saarbrücken, but they were not on the map but on the forest highland five kilometers north of the small town, quietly observing with telescopes The battle ahead.
The messengers kept sending reports on the battle situation ahead, and the two men looked extremely serious!
"Marshal, let the First Division withdraw... They have completed the task of luring the enemy deeper. If they continue to hold on, the casualties will be too great!" Xiao Letian reminded worriedly.
But Marshal Steinmetz shook his head, "It's not enough! It's far from enough! Don't underestimate the French officer corps. They have lost their vigilance completely because of their arrogance!"
"To be fair, the quality of these French officers is still very high, because after all, they have fought many battles over the years!"
"If we fight too weakly, it will also make them suspicious! An army of 10,000 people only held out for a whole day and then retreated? It would be strange if we didn't become suspicious..."
"We must buy more time for Prince Carl!"
Xiao Letian looked at the eastern sky and whispered, "According to the plan, there should be an exchange of fire, right? As long as we can hold off the Second Army, then Prince Carl's right wing will have no worries..."
"The head of state is right. The prince is directly facing the famous French general Marshal MacMahon. He has 40,000 people in his hands! They are all veterans of hundreds of battles!"
"If the Second Army in front of us suddenly abandons Saarbrücken and turns around and rushes eastward, it is very likely to cause a pincer attack on Prince Karl's army!"
"We must not let this happen! For the sake of the grand strategy, we must endure sacrifices!"
"You Chinese are willing to sacrifice your lives as guests, so don't underestimate the pride of my Prussian soldiers!"
Marshal Steinmetz coldly ordered the adjutant beside him, "Send the order to the First Division! Although they face an enemy four times their size, they still have to defend the lone city!"
"They have to use their lives to hold back the French army and buy time for victory!"
"Tell them that in order to attract the French Emperor, the Chinese dare to risk their lives and enter the heart of France! Are we all cowards?"
These irritating words made the adjutant unable to sit still. He raised his hand and saluted, "Yes! Marshal! I request to stay in Saarbrücken directly! I request to directly participate in this bloody battle after the order is passed!"
"Okay! Order the Third Division to send three regiments of troops to march towards Saarbrücken. We don't want to defeat the French army, but just want to stalemate the French army from a distance!"
"We must give Froshad an illusion, an illusion that we have not given up on this city!"
The adjutant took the order and left the high ground on horseback, rushing towards Saarbrücken. When the marshal's military order was sent to the city, the French army almost completed the full siege of the small town.
As soon as the marshal's military order arrived, it completely aroused the morale of the First Division. All officers declared on the battlefield, "Hold Saarbrücken! Support the Eastern Front Army!"
"God bless Prussia! Even the Chinese can shed blood on the battlefield, and our brave Prussian soldiers are not cowards!"
"Tell the entire army that the Chinese friendly forces outside the city who fought bloody battles for three days and two nights are watching us! We cannot be disgraced and thrown into the Pacific Ocean!"
"The entire army will defend! Defend Saarbrücken!"
Boom boom boom... The French artillery outside the city fired continuously, and the houses in the city were blown down one after another. No one in the first division's defenders knew who would be killed next.
The corpses of their dead comrades were gathered in the church square, and the injured soldiers were gathered in the hiding place under the city wall. The city walls surrounding the city were crowded with vigilant soldiers, who stared at the French camp in the darkness, which was ablaze with fire. Continuously circle the city.
Although France's logistics management is in chaos, no matter how chaotic it is, it is not inferior to the use of vanguard units like the Second Army. This time the vanguard army brought sufficient artillery shells, which was enough for Frossard to squander.
More than a hundred cannons bombarded them indiscriminately all night long. In Frossard's mind, the enemy's morale might have collapsed long ago due to such density of bombardment.
At six o'clock in the morning, the French army was finally ready to attack the city. Under Frossard's order, 20,000 French troops simultaneously launched attacks on the city walls in three directions: east, west, and south.
Only Beicheng was spared. It seems that Frossard also understood the principle of encircling three and missing one. He just wanted to keep Beicheng as a living place to shake the morale of the Prussian army.
"Haha... When the killings in other directions are so cruel that angels close their eyes, when the north becomes your only way to survive... I want to see how long you can hold on!"
"Kill...charge for the empire!"
"Long live France...God bless the fatherland!"
The army rushed towards the city wall like a tide. Hundreds of ladders in the crowd were bumping on the shoulders of the soldiers. The engineers were mixed in with the charging crowd and carried strong weapons on their backs.
The siege warfare of this era still has some shadows of the Middle Ages. Although siege engines, trebuchets and other equipment have withdrawn from the stage of history, the gradual siege weapon such as the ladder has been retained.
It's not like Frossard never thought of using artillery to blow down the city wall. Unfortunately, all he brought were small-caliber field guns and no mortars for siege. Those high-explosive shells were completely useless against such a stone wall.
If you want to break through the siege, you have to rely on engineers to get close to blast, or infantry to use ladders to trample the city!
The Prussian troops on the city wall had long been ready for battle. The commanders with red and swollen eyes took a look at the charging French troops and suddenly stood up and roared.
"The whole army is ready for battle...artillery fire! Kill these French guys!"
