The year 1870 is almost over, and time is gradually entering October. This year, autumn in Europe has come much earlier than in previous years. As October has just entered, the autumn wind is so cold that it feels like November.
While the fierce battle in Orleans continued, the city of Metz, a major military town in the north of France, was also shrouded in bloody terror. The continuous war turned this famous border city into a dead zone!
At 6:30 in the morning, the morning light spread across the earth, and several moving heads gradually emerged from the ruins in the east of the city. They carefully looked at the Prussian army gradually retreating in the distance, with expressions of surviving a catastrophe on their faces.
"Damn it, these Prussians are getting more and more cunning. They carried out sneak attacks from ten o'clock in the evening to four o'clock in the morning. When everyone thought everything was fine, they actually launched another night attack..."
"Stop whining and clean up the battlefield quickly... Louis and Mark... It's your turn to clean up the battlefield today. God bless you both with good luck!"
"The rest of you should be alert, be careful of the enemy's sharpshooters, and fight back immediately if there is danger..."
Two cautious figures crawled out of the ruins. Two young soldiers were crawling among the ruins of bricks and wooden blocks. Many of the woods were still burning and emitting pungent smoke, which showed how violent the shelling last night was.
Metz is a famous French border city with a very long history. Its history can be traced back to the ancient Roman era. It is located in a traffic chokepoint. In ancient times, an important highway to Rome passed through here, which shows the importance of its strategic location.
From the Middle Ages to the present, the main mission of Metz has been military defense. After years of painstaking management, Metz has become a huge fortress city that can accommodate 100,000 people.
The solid city walls, complex bastions, and water and land transportation and supply systems built on the Moselle and Seire river systems make this city easy to defend and difficult to attack. It has become an important guarantee for France to maintain the security of the Northeast region!
In the Franco-Prussian War, in the war plan formulated by Napoleon III, the city of Metz was an important forward position for the French army to attack Germany, and it was also the first-line command base!
Napoleon III once imagined that when his army of hundreds of battles crossed the border and invaded German soil, he would completely sit in the Metz Fortress!
The French army attacked Prussia with overwhelming force, while the southern German states surrendered after hearing the news!
At that time, materials from Bavaria, Hesse and other countries will be used to sustain the war. In this way, very few domestic materials will be used.
Only in this way can the reputation of the Bonaparte family be restored!
When the time comes, the people of France will see that the emperor can do it! Not many taxes were raised, not many people died, and the lives of the people in the country were not destroyed... News of the final victory came one after another!
There are still victories in wars, which can always alleviate social conflicts. This is the secret of governing the country that the French emperor has believed in for many years!
But reality slapped him in the face. He never expected that the Prussians' combat effectiveness was so high. The vanguard of his army was beaten back just after crossing the border!
The city of Metz suddenly became a besieged island!
The city of Metz has never been captured. The Prussians' previous claim that the city of Metz was captured was just a fake news to cheer people up!
The city of Metz has a very complex defense system, with nine bastions on the outside, and the city walls are as complicated as a maze!
When the Prussian army attacked the city of Metz, the French army was completely caught off guard. At that time, the main force of the French emperor did not reach Metz or even the city of Chalon!
The vanguard troops were defeated all the way, leaving Metz with less than 10,000 defenders and more than 30,000 residents!
But these 40,000 people actually defended the city of Metz. They relied on a complex castle system to confront the Prussian army, and refused to surrender or open the city gate!
Old Moltke would not compete with such an isolated city. His important task at that time was the Pharaoh. He had no time to waste time fighting city after city!
In the end, the Prussian army only captured two outer bastions. The shocked defenders of Metz did not dare to leave the city, so they circled around the city!
From that moment on, the status of Metz City became embarrassing. The city had plenty of guns and ammunition, but not much food and medicine.
Ten thousand regular troops plus thirty thousand civilians, this pitiful force can only be trapped in the isolated city. They don't dare to go out to fight at all!
During the entire Franco-Prussian War, the city of Metz watched helplessly as the Prussian army and countless supplies passed through the city, heading towards the hinterland of France like a rolling torrent.
This situation did not last long, and soon General Bazin's defeated army fought and retreated all the way to the city of Metz. Only then did this important military town come back to life.
The entry of 170,000 troops into the city of Metz brought hope to the military and civilians in northeastern France, but it also brought huge logistical pressure.
How to fill 170,000 mouths? This is a difficult problem for Marshal Bazin!
At the beginning, there were not many Prussian troops outside the city, and the surrounding people could still take risks to supply supplies at night. However, as Moltke mobilized more and more troops, the connections inside and outside the city of Metz became more and more severe. It’s getting harder!
To be honest, Bismarck and Moltke didn't have many troops at their disposal. Although all Prussians were soldiers, only a few hundred thousand could actually fight.
These elites are all in the hinterland of France at the moment, but the city of Metz has become the rear area. Most of the troops surrounding Metz at this moment are troops from Hesse, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg... these countries!
Although their combat effectiveness is not low, they are still unable to defeat the entire medieval fortress city built by France!
The battle situation was so stalemate, and then after the victory of the Battle of Sedan, Moltke mobilized a group of real Prussian elites through defense changes and other modes. Only then did the city of Metz feel the huge pressure of the war!
The city of Metz is too close to the border. The logistical supplies here are very beneficial to the Prussians. The trains can travel here without any harassment, transporting Krupp cannons and New Army troops one after another!
The number of troops besieging Metz has rapidly expanded from 100,000 to 250,000, and the number of troops is still increasing!
When Paris was completely surrounded, Bismarck and Old Moltke jointly ordered a decisive battle against Metz, requiring the rear troops to eat this border fortress in one go!
But this order was obviously unrealistic. In the battle for half a month, the Prussian army suffered heavy casualties, but Bazin's troops defeated the powerful enemy again and again!
No matter how powerful the Krupp cannon is, it is still a field artillery series. There is not a single cannon in the Prussian army that can truly attack a city and destroy a city wall!
Such firepower is simply a dream to break through the city defense of Metz. At this moment, the Prussian army can only rely on human lives to fill the gap. The only thing left is to hope that the supplies in the city will be exhausted quickly!
