After the outbreak of the civil war, Trochu realized how powerful the Commune really was. The 180,000 Paris garrison had lost 50,000 in several months of fighting, and now only had 130,000 exhausted troops.
Leaving aside the old, weak and injured, the number of regular troops capable of fighting was only over 100,000. These men had to be scattered along the defense line to resist the attack of 300,000 Prussian troops.
This time, relying on Bismarck's ceasefire promise, Trochu mobilized 60,000 elite troops to enter the town to suppress these crazy thugs.
But what can these 60,000 people do? All the armed forces of the Paris Commune came out in full force, and 300,000 National Guardsmen launched an attack on the French army like a wave.
"Go forward! Kill all these lackeys of the emperor and capitalists!"
"If we want to save France, we can only rely on ourselves!"
"Don't fantasize about a fairy emperor, and don't believe in any savior! Only our own strength can save France!"
In the National Guard, workers' leaders were everywhere shouting loudly, and all the soldiers were as enthusiastic as if they had taken enough morphine to attack the French army.
Every street and every alley became a battlefield for fighting. Crowds gathered together and charged at the French army with various weapons!
The situation suddenly became unbearable. The anxious cavalry ran wildly throughout the city. The garrison's offensive posture was suppressed by the mob in the city before they could maintain their offensive posture for an hour.
"Report... The first brigade was besieged by more than 20,000 thugs. The brigade commander was shot and injured but still insisted on commanding the battle..."
"Report... The leading troops in the third area were besieged by ten times the enemy. Our troops cannot hold on and are beginning to retreat to the south bank of the Seine..."
"Report...The artillery on Montmartre began firing...The enemy used artillery..."
"Look...the Tuileries Palace and the Louvre have hung up flags calling for help. The enemy is marching towards the palace..."
General Trochu's face was pale. At present, Paris has become a confrontation between north and south. Because Paris is divided into two by the Seine River, it is commonly known as the left bank and the right bank.
This title is actually based on the direction of the emperor's seat in the palace. Because the main entrance of the Tuileries Palace faces the west, then when the emperor sits on the throne, his left hand side is the Seine River and the south bank of the river, so the south of the Seine River It is called the Left Bank.
On the contrary, on the right side are Montmartre, the Louvre, the Champs Elysées and other North Bank buildings. This is commonly known as the Right Bank!
The very romantic name today is the division of blood and fire. Since the National Assembly was placed in the Bourbon Palace, and the Bourbon Palace is on the Left Bank of Paris, the focus of General Trochu's defense was on the Left Bank.
In today's repressive activities, although the revolution of the poor broke out in many districts on the left bank, under the suppression of superior force, these rioting troops were dispersed and even expelled to the north bank.
But the right bank of the Seine, that is, the north, is where the most important stronghold of the working class, Montmartre, is located, where the National Guard has an overwhelming advantage.
As soon as the civil war began, the French regular troops stationed on the right bank suffered a devastating blow. They were besieged with almost ten times the force. No army could withstand such a scale of attack!
The National Guardsmen shouting slogans rushed upward in waves like a colony of suicidal ants, and the most senior leaders of the commune personally participated in the battle.
You can see Varland waving his pistol and leading the troops forward, and you can also see Duval and the boys pushing the bronze Napoleon cannon forward with difficulty!
The female warrior Louise Michel even led the brave female commune warriors to rush into the crowd. Whenever the figure of Rose of the Battlefield appeared in that neighborhood, the morale of the men there would skyrocket like crazy!
"The men of the commune cannot let women compete! Charge! Charge!"
The commune's royal reporter, Sali Longe, recorded everything in front of him with tears in his eyes. His camera and pen will eventually become a spiritual bayonet stabbing the enemy. He wants this deed to be passed down forever!
Boom, boom, boom... the cannon roared and exploded, disrupting the French army's formation. The bodies were thrown in the air, and the French soldiers, whose eardrums were shattered, knelt on the ground and wailed.
No matter how the officers tried to restore order, they were unable to save the situation. Ten times the number of National Guardsmen smashed all stubborn resistance to pieces.
"Retreat! Retreat to the left bank! Engineers light guns to stop these madmen..."
Boom boom boom... Engineers had long been hiding in the buildings on the street*. Buildings were blown down one after another, and smoke and dust rose into the sky. Taking advantage of this opportunity, a large number of French troops began to flee south.
Gradually, the fighting overwhelmed the Seine River. The National Guard on the Montmartre Heights expanded its territory block by block. The entire northern part of Paris has become a sea of red.
Almost all the bridges on the Seine River became confrontational positions between the two sides. The French army that retreated to the left bank began to pile up sandbags, set up heavy machine guns, and even launched cannons from the rear.
Notre Dame Bridge, Twin Bridges, New Bridge... became the key areas for the confrontation between the two sides. The number of soldiers on both sides of the strait reached 50,000, and they looked at each other in darkness and couldn't see their heads.
At this point in the battle, everyone became cautious. The stone bridge was very narrow, and there were too many troops stationed on both sides. Under the suppression of absolute firepower, whoever attacked first would suffer the most misfortune.
The National Guards were not stupid either. They quickly set up defensive positions along the river bank. This was like a bull's-eye on both sides!
But at this time, the Louvre and Tuileries Palace on the right bank of the Seine raised signal flags for help. The 1,500 French regular troops stationed here had completely become an isolated island in the vast ocean.
Behind the exquisite iron fence, there were frightened faces. These soldiers, who were still wearing palace guard uniforms, aimed their rifles at the street outside the palace. Seeing more and more commune members who were ready to move, everyone was in panic all day long. .
Swallowing, the soldier trembled and said, "What are they going to do? We have always been neutral. We are just the guards guarding the palace. We have not participated in this civil war..."
"Shut up, stop talking, they are all a bunch of lunatics... They must be occupying the palace to prove the legitimacy of their regime!"
The battalion commander stroked the command knife on his waist. It was his family's treasure. He would never let the family's glory be shamed!
"Brothers of the Empire's First and Second Guards Battalions...the First Cavalry Battalion!" The commander suddenly stood up, "No matter how things change, no matter how chaotic the political situation is...but don't forget our original oath! "
"Loyalty is my life! From the moment we entered the Guards, our lives have been connected with this palace!"
"Anyone who dares to seize the palace will step over our corpses!"
"Hold on and fight to the last soldier!"
Refuse to retreat! The soldiers from the three Guards Reinforcement Battalions roared at the same time!
