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The Prussian troops under the city of Strasbourg really started to take action. The French troops on the opposite side all had pale faces. They didn't even need to count the number of enemies on the opposite side. Just based on the density of shelling for five hours, they knew that there were not ten legions on the opposite side. There must be 80,000 in ten thousand!
McMahon left only two divisions of regular troops in Strasbourg, with only more than 20,000 people. The remaining more than 60,000 were local militia and temporarily armed citizens.
Twenty thousand elites led 60,000 citizens, facing a hundred thousand Prussian regular troops armed to the teeth. Although there were city walls to rely on, the atmosphere of despair still spread in the city.
Churches were packed with people praying, and soldiers began to set up sandbag shooting positions on the streets. Shooters were also ambushed on the top floors of many buildings.
The whole city fell into panic. They knew that the last moment was finally coming. McMahon's order to them was to hold on for three days. No one knew whether this task could be completed.
But people know very well that no matter whether the mission can be completed or not, the city will have to pay huge casualties. The tragic scene of rivers of blood and corpses scattered everywhere is probably not far away.
The soldier kissed the cross on his neck and placed the rifle on the city wall. His hands were numb!
At this moment, the soldier with good eyes was suddenly shocked to find that the enemy was moving backwards and their direction had changed!
"Oh God! Look...they've taken the artillery away!"
"God! Their legions are retreating, they are retreating!"
There was a roar, and countless heads popped up on the city wall. People looked at the miracle in front of them in disbelief. No one thought that the enemy had actually abandoned Strasbourg.
The commander climbed up to the observation tower and used his telescope to confirm again and again, "They are really retreating! God bless, they are really retreating!"
"Long live!" Strasbourg cheered!
But the commander was only excited for ten seconds when a flash of lightning suddenly flashed in his heart!
"No! Send a telegram to Marshal McMahon quickly. The enemy is deceiving us. Their main attack direction is the Vosges Mountains. They deceived us for five hours!"
That's right, what Prince Carl wants is these five hours of deception!
Some people may be wondering, what is enough for five hours? Facts have proved that even five minutes in a war, let alone five hours, are fatal!
Five hours was enough for the Prussian army to secretly mobilize 90% of its artillery to the shooting positions in the Vosges Mountains!
Five hours is enough for the main force of the Prussian army of 60,000 to 70,000 to move their positions!
Five hours is enough for the Prussian army to re-plan the material allocation schedule and transport ammunition, food and medical supplies 60 to 70 kilometers to the front line in advance!
There's a lot you can do in five hours. You can lay a dragnet around the Vosges Mountains in five hours!
For the French army, this five-hour delay was even more fatal!
Five hours is enough to put McMahon's soldiers into a deep sleep to recover from the fatigue of these days!
Five hours is enough to make those soldiers who are rushing to build defensive positions relax their work!
Five hours is enough for the French army to enter a period of relaxation and exhaustion, but it cannot fully recover their physical strength!
When the Prussian army chose to launch an attack on the Vosges Mountains at five o'clock in the afternoon, it was due to these five hours of deception that McMahon had nearly 40,000 troops, all of whom were in a lazy state.
The soldiers at the forward observation post smoked cigarettes and stared boredly at the Prussian position opposite. They had long known that the Prussian army's main attack direction was Strasbourg, which meant that this was not the main force of the Prussian army.
The Prussian observation sentries, who were not in danger, were completely unaware that a major battle was about to begin. They were not even alert when countless figures appeared and moved in the enemy's position on the opposite side.
"Look! Why are the Prussians on the other side suddenly so busy? There seems to be some cry of killing..."
"Forget it, were you scared out of your wits in Walter? Did they leave Strasbourg alone and climb the mountain after eating well?"
Just as the two soldiers were talking, a thunderous sound suddenly came from the Prussian army position!
Boom boom boom...then there was a sharp sound in the sky, which was the friction sound of cannonballs piercing the sky and the air!
boom! There was a loud noise, and the observation sentry was rushed more than four meters away by the air wave of the explosion. The two men spurted blood from their mouths and noses, and they couldn't survive the sight of it!
"Enemy attack! The Prussians are firing on us!"
"Artillery fires back! All soldiers prepare for battle!"
At this time, most of the French soldiers were still resting. Some were leaning on the big trees and snoring loudly. They were really exhausted after escaping all the way from Walter to here!
"Where is the enemy attack...? Ah! Ah..." The dizzy soldiers were awakened by the sound of cannons, and when they opened their eyes, they saw that their camp was already a sea of fire.
The shell exploded among the sleeping soldiers, and the flying shrapnel swished through the human body, and the bloody shrapnel was nailed to the tree trunk!
The air wave of the explosion threw the soldiers into the sky and then hit the ground hard. There were screams everywhere in the camp!
"Ah! My leg is broken... medic... medic..."
"Where are the bullets! Where is the ammunition box? Damn it, I obviously put it here..."
"Flag! Protect the flag!"
"Hide your * behind, be careful not to get blown up!"
There were running figures everywhere and roaring sounds everywhere!
These French troops were all veterans of hundreds of battles, but even they had never experienced such intensive artillery bombardment. The Prussian army on the opposite side probably assembled thousands of cannons, and the shells fell like hailstones.
Where are the thousands of cannons! In fact, Prince Karl only had more than 400 artillery pieces in total, and these artillery pieces were divided equally among the four main breaches!
Although the Saarburg position in front of him was the main offensive position of the Prussian army, Prince Carl only dropped 150 gates!
It's a pity that the French army didn't understand the terrifying loading speed of this kind of breech-loaded artillery. Their artillery only fired one shot, and the French army on the opposite side had already fired four shots. This created the illusion of thousands of artillery being fired intensively!
The shelling only lasted fifteen minutes, and the French army's forward position was already in a mess, with dead bodies lying on the ground as far as the eye could see!
At this moment, a loud bugle sounded from the Prussian army position, followed by the intensive sound of marching drums. Countless soldiers lined up in skirmish lines and began to charge towards the French army!
McMahon, who was far away in Saarburg, was completely stunned by the French attack. He held the telegram from Strasbourg five hours ago and looked at the eastern sky in disbelief.
"How could this happen? Why didn't Karl fall for it? I gave him Strasbourg as a dessert, why didn't he fall for it!"
"Also... why does he have so many cannons? How many soldiers does he have? Who can tell me how many Prussian troops are on the opposite side?"
"Damn it! Didn't any of you give me an answer?"
McMahon's roaring voice scared his men to death!
