The Battle of Sedan was undoubtedly the most powerful artillery battle at the end of the 19th century. France and Prussia invested a total of nearly 1,400 artillery pieces. This artillery battle basically set the tone for large-scale artillery battles in future wars.
From ancient times to the present, artillery has been used as an auxiliary tool for infantry attacks, because artillery is too expensive, and the price of an artillery shell is also too high. Except for the navy, which has no choice but to choose artillery battles, most of the army is still used to it. It’s up to the soldiers to end the battle.
But the Battle of Sedan gave Prussia a very bad start. He made the world aware of the important role of artillery cluster bombing for the first time.
Seven hundred cannons fired at Sedan City in turn. This field gun produced by Krupp's unique steel sleeve technology has a reloading speed twice as fast as French artillery and a range three times greater than that of French artillery.
While France's 'Napoleon cannons' were still made of expensive and heavy bronze, the Prussians had already come a long way in steel cannon-making technology.
Almost all Krupp steel cannons were placed more than three thousand meters away from the city of Sedan. This epoch-making weapon, which already had all the characteristics of modern artillery, caused the French to suffer a lot.
Breech loading, rifles, steel cannons, collision fuses...these are not something the French can possess.
On the other hand, the French still use delay fuses for artillery shells. Each shell is marked with a certain meter and then explodes at that number, regardless of whether it has reached its destination at that time.
The entire Sedan sky was filled with rumbling artillery sounds. Prussian soldiers preparing to attack gathered in a safe area in front of the artillery position, enduring the strong explosions and waiting for the final attack order.
At first, these soldiers were worried about the French counterattack, but when the gunfire rang out in Sedan City, their worries were relieved.
Facing the crazy Prussian bombardment, McMahon angrily ordered, "Let our artillery fire back! We can't be passively beaten like this. If the bombing continues like this, the morale of our army will not be preserved!"
"Our soldiers must hear the counterattack of their own cannons. Only in this way can they feel safe!"
"Don't be afraid of casualties, let our cannons fire!"
Boom boom boom... More than 600 cannons in Sedan City opened fire at the Prussian troops outside the city, and a black shadow like locusts suddenly flew out of the sky.
Boom, boom... The crater exploded by the shell was like the pockmarked face of the moon, but all the Prussian troops breathed a sigh of relief, because almost all the French shells were within a distance of 1,500 to 2,000 meters from Sedan. exploded.
It looked like the explosion was in full swing, but the Prussian army suffered no losses at all!
When Xiao Letian saw the exciting part, he slapped the railing with his excited hands, "Hahaha... Is this what the French artillery is capable of? It's shameful, it's shameful... Napoleon III, you have completely embarrassed your uncle!"
"What did Napoleon the Great say? He said that God is on the side of the one with the best artillery. Artillery has always been the pride of France, but now what has become of this pride being trampled on by your nephew?"
"A national strategy maker who invests the most military expenditures in flashy heavy machine guns but completely ignores the development of artillery is a complete pig!"
"Emperor Napoleon, who valued artillery technology the most, raised a nephew who despised the development of artillery technology... The key is that this nephew actually succeeded in restoring the empire!"
"It's hopeless, it's hopeless! France is rushing towards a second-rate military power, and there's nothing that can be done to stop it! It's hopeless..."
Xiao Letian was watching the fire from across the bank on the watchtower, but under the watchtower were layers upon layers of Prussian Guards, all of whom had just arrived from Berlin.
Although William I was not on the front line at the moment, he also came to Luxembourg to command the battle in person. He knew that Xiao Letian had an unconstrained command style and was extremely adventurous. Even Bismarck and Moltke could not suppress him, so he had no choice but to let himself Enter the Praetorian Guards.
Their only order is to prevent Xiao Letian from going to the battlefield in person. You can command the troops as you wish, but as long as you dare to approach the battlefield, these guards will fight to the death to stop you.
William I's personal guards all came up, which stopped Xiao Letian's idea of going into battle in person. He handed over the command of the 30,000 Belgian troops and the reorganized 2,000 Chinese special forces to Sima Yun and Luo Huo. He finally I can easily be a guest.
Under the watchtower, Xiao Letian's troops were also responsible for a 300-meter-long front line. His more than 30,000 troops would later launch an attack on Sedang City on this front line.
On both sides of the watchtower were 150 cannons specially arranged by the Prussians, plus 100 old-fashioned cannons brought by the Belgian army. At this moment, the firepower density of Xiao Letian's front was already the most powerful in the entire battle. .
The violent explosion and powerful recoil of the artillery made the wooden observation tower tremble, and Xiao Letian felt like a slight earthquake when he was on it.
Seeing the weak artillery counterattack from the opposite side, Xiao Letian shook his head helplessly, "It's finished, the Emperor is completely finished!"
I opened the pocket watch cover and saw that twenty-five minutes had passed since the bombardment, and the charge was about to begin in five minutes!
"Brothers! This is the last battle! It's time to finally settle all our grievances!"
"Napoleon III is inside the Sedan Fortress. Today we will repay the shame he brought upon us twice as much!"
"Capture the Emperor alive!"
Suddenly, the world became quiet, and the crazy bombardment suddenly stopped. The soldiers on the battlefield were not used to such silence, and their ears were buzzing, and they even felt itchy.
But then there was the harsh sound of the charging horn, and the encirclement that stretched for dozens of miles sounded the charging horn at the same time.
"Kill! Enter Sedan! Capture the King of France alive!" The first attack wave of 80,000 people rushed towards Sedan like a huge roaring wave!
"Kill! The last battle...charge forward!" The officers raised their sabers and rushed to the front line, followed by layers of murderous soldiers.
They trotted quickly, and they had to use the most energy to complete this three-kilometer-long charge!
Almost at the same time, countless heads suddenly appeared on the walls of Sedan Fortress, and the French troops who had just escaped from the bombing suddenly emerged again.
"Fire...keep firing...kill these barbaric Germans!"
"Set up our heavy machine guns...open all the ammunition boxes for the Mitrayotz machine guns!"
"Hold on to Sedan! Don't give up an inch of ground!"
Swish, swish... The sky was filled with the screams of French artillery shells passing through the sky, and the huge explosions created gaps of flesh and blood in the Prussian army formation.
But these gaps were quickly filled by soldiers who were not afraid of life and death, and the attacking crowd surged forward!
Note: There will be another update soon!
