In the end, the Norman army won. However, due to the opponent's final crazy resistance, and the resulting massive casualties of our own army. Everyone in the Norman army, from General Farr to ordinary soldiers, were not happy. Some Norman soldiers who had lost many lives in the war were still clamoring to kill all the Swiss who had surrendered before. Although this did not happen in the end, the soldiers who took the lead in making trouble were caught by General Fall and beaten with dozens of military sticks. It looks like I haven't been able to get out of bed for several months. But the dislike of the Swiss spread throughout the Norman army.
Of course, this disgust is not due to the other party¡¯s fierce resistance. There are reasons why one's own side suffered too many casualties, but that's not the main point. The point is - the way the Swiss ultimately conserved their strength is truly disgraceful. .
From the beginning, the Swiss exceeded expectations and were able to preserve their physical strength even when there were no supplies and supplies were exhausted. Many Normans became suspicious. And after the war was over, they inspected the Swiss positions and strictly interrogated several seriously injured and captured Swiss mercenaries. This question finally has an answer.
It is indeed true that at the most critical moment, the Swiss people ate human flesh in order to maintain their fighting capacity. The human bones and meat scraps found in their camp, as well as the Norman armor and weapons next to the bones, all prove this - they ate the Norman soldiers who came to attack and eventually died. Or their blood. In these days, the Swiss people relied on eating the flesh of the Normans and drinking their blood to maintain their physical strength. This is why the Norman soldiers are so angry at the Swiss.
"It's really crazy"
When General Farr wrote these things in a letter, it reached the desk of the Norman Emperor. The emperor said with emotion. At the same time, he gave instructions to General Fall's troops: "The captured Swiss do not need to be killed. However, they will be responsible for the mistakes they made. As serfs, it is inevitable to work hard in farming and mining. However, I can guarantee that .Their treatment is equivalent to that of ordinary serfs. After working for a period of time, they can be freed.
And for those who have committed heinous crimes. That is, it offended the majesty of the Norman Empire. At the same time, villains who violate the will of God and eat human flesh must be severely punished. I command you to cut their filthy bodies into pieces and throw the stinky meat to the wild dogs. Hang their heads on the tree and let the wind and rain beat them. Birds peck at food.
Their families also need to pay the price. Updates no matter how distant. Just have some relationship with them. Relatives, friends, neighbors. Even the bakery they frequent! I want them all to die and use their blood to warn those ignorant people who try to go against me and the empire. How miserable will be their fate! "
Such a letter was sent back to General Fall¡¯s headquarters a few days later. At this time, the general had reached the city of Bern. Said it before. The Swiss Parliament originally planned to send 60,000 troops. In the end, it was due to inconvenient roads and other reasons. In the end, only 50,000 troops were dispatched. Originally, the MPs were still complaining about this matter. But now they are happy because of this matter.
That¡¯s about ten thousand. Army on paper. In the end, more than 7,000 people arrived in Bern. Plus a small number of broken troops and the citizens of Bern. The Swiss Parliament can still muster nearly 10,000 troops at this moment. If those people were not late. Then Berne might not even be able to struggle at the last moment.
Berne is different from the previous cities captured by General Farr. That Switzerland was poor and fought its enemies mostly in the mountains. Therefore, it does not pay attention to urban defense. There is also no capital to build strong urban defenses. Most of Bern's city walls are made of wood. The defense is quite weak. However, the location of this city is quite good. This troubled General Farr.
A fast-flowing Aare River guards the eastern part of the city. A wooden bridge that was originally passable was demolished by the Swiss a few days ago. The rapid river water also stopped the Norman army from trying to cross by force. And in the west of Bern. It is a series of quite high mountains. Easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is also a place where the Swiss built a small number of stone walls and focused on defense.
Such terrain made General Fall find it a bit difficult to attack. Plus the previous war. The losses of the Norman army were both high and low - more than 3,000 Norman soldiers were killed in total. The number of wounded was also over a thousand. Such casualties were also a problem for the Norman army.
"It's really" At this moment, General Farr saw the emperor's letter. The killing intent that filled every line of the words made the general feel even heavier. General Farr could feel the wrath of his master. And he also felt that as a minister, he had the obligation to calm down the lord's anger. Therefore, the general worked even harder to capture Bern.
"The feint is ready." After thinking for a long time, General Fall made his decisionDecide. Dispatch a large number of troops to the east of the city and among the mountains. Make a strong attack stance. And let a small number of elite troops, artillery and heavy equipment, and engineers stay on the other side of the Aare River in the west. Prepare to make a sound from the west and attack the east.
This cunning general discussed it with the commanders of the engineering corps. If you want to build a bridge over the Aare River, it will take more than ten days according to normal methods. It would be too long to say, and it would not fit in with the raid that General Fall had in mind. However, the engineers also proposed another plan - the narrowest point of the Aare River is only ten meters. What if they built some extremely strong wooden and iron structures and then stretched them directly across the river. It can be used as a simple bridge.
"So, can such a bridge be accompanied by artillery?" General Fall asked with bright eyes after listening to the engineer commander's proposal.
"This I'm afraid it won't work. Because those artillery pieces are too heavy. And the production period you requested, General, is also relatively short. So we can only make a simple bridge that can pass infantry." The commander of the engineering corps felt a little embarrassed. , said this later.
"It's just infantry That's about it." General Fall thought about it for a moment. The opposite side was said to be a city wall, but it was actually just a slightly higher wooden fence. It is three meters high and can be crossed by a personal ladder. As long as the raid is successful, it is not impossible to use artillery
In this way, the two sides agreed on the battle plan, and General Farr asked them to make more simple ladders. Then they put these troops aside. Turn around, go to the west, and command the Norman army to feint attack.
A famous general is worthy of being a famous general. The feint attack in the mountainous area on the west side was fought vigorously under the command of General Fall. Compared with the real attack, the difference was only in the number of people. General Fall has many ways to make the attack appear grand and realistic, and it does not consume a lot of power. Coupled with the new defeat of the Swiss army, they were afraid of the Normans. At the same time, those commanders who were good at fighting basically died in the previous wars. Those who are in Bern now are either cowards or country people in poor ravines.
The combination of these factors made General Fall's feint tactics successful. The Bernese army has determined that the west is the main direction of the Norman army's attack. And dispatched most of the troops facing the river to the east. And that night, Bern dispatched its troops. General Fall's surprise attack tactics have begun!
The general returned to the east of Bern and watched with his own eyes as the engineers knocked down two large, seemingly sturdy structures. The shelf fell over, and the other end fell directly on the opposite river beach. The dust was flying. A few soldiers who were good at water ran over, pressed the shelves hard, and walked over carefully step by step. After finding that nothing happened, he waved to the other side of the river. General Fall immediately ordered: "Commando, attack!"
So the attack began. The so-called commando team totaled two thousand people, all of whom were Norman assault infantry who had taken off their full plate armor, leaving only their breastplates. They quickly crossed the Aare River carrying a long-handled battle ax in one hand and a simple ladder in the other. Then after taking a short rest, he ran towards the city of Bern, erected the ladder and quickly climbed up with one hand like a squirrel. He climbed to the top of the city in two steps. Then he jumped directly off the city wall. A height of three meters is not difficult for these soldiers. Not even a louder sound came out.
In this way, in less than two hours, a total of two thousand strong Norman soldiers entered the city of Bern. The few troops placed by the Swiss in the east were due to lack of vigilance and lack of experience. I haven't even discovered this yet
So, immediately afterwards, the sound of violent burning, roars and screams of the dying came from the city of Bern. And the scope is getting bigger and bigger. It is starting to spread to the whole city.
"Okay!" General Fall shook his fist fiercely and shouted "Okay." Then I saw the Norman black and white phoenix flag erected on the top of the city of Bern. He waved his hand again and roared: "Follow-up troops advance!" Then another five thousand lightly-armed Norman infantry wearing only breastplates ran along the bridge. By the time they all crossed the river, it was already four o'clock in the morning and the sky was bright. And the shouts of death in the city of Bern have also spread to the center of the city, to the most glorious parliament.
Most of the Swiss troops, whose morale was already low, lost their fighting spirit after discovering that there were suddenly so many Normans in the city. Surrender. The last remaining troops continued to retreat. Finally, he huddled in the Swiss Parliament in the center of the city. There are only a few hundred broken troops left in the chamber. In any case, even the most optimistic people cannot have expectations for their future To be continued. .
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