CHAPTER 547: CHAPTER 539: A DESPERATE BATTLE

After Canrobert and Bokeys arrived at Pellissier’s location, Pellissier immediately informed Generals Canrobert and Bokeys of the next action plan.

Canrobert and Bokeys looked at General Pellissier in astonishment, unable to understand why Commander Pellissier wanted to act ahead of schedule. Had something unexpected occurred?

Once General Pellissier finished explaining the deployment of the action, General Canrobert, with this doubt in mind, asked Commander Pellissier, "Commander, wasn’t our original plan to act tomorrow? Why rush the action by a day? Has something happened?"

Pellissier glanced at Canrobert and nodded, responding, "Indeed, something has happened!"

Subsequently, Commander Pellissier recounted to Canrobert and Bosskay the battles Brigadier General Trocch had on the South Shore.

The expressions of Canrobert and Bosskay grew even more shocked; the combat capability of the Russian Imperial soldiers had exceeded their understanding.

Brigadier General Trocch, with only 5,000 troops, managed to achieve such feats. Was it due to the overwhelming strength of the British and French Armies, or the weakness of the Russian Imperial Army?

"This... this is truly... too..." Major General Bosskey was so astonished he couldn’t finish his sentence.

"In the coming period, the soldiers on the South Shore of Sevastopol will undoubtedly concentrate all their efforts on the battle for the forts. Therefore, we must create a major diversion on the North Shore to draw their attention!" General Pellissier resolutely told Canrobert and Bokeys.

"What about Britain?" General Canrobert asked Pellissier, "Do we need to consult with them about this matter?"

"There’s no time left! We must act swiftly!" Pellissier displayed the decisiveness and firmness of an excellent commander.

An excellent commander must possess a keen sense for warfare, capable of making significant decisions in extreme time constraints.

Any hesitation could tip the scales of war toward the opponent.

In the historical attack and defense of the Sevastopol Fortress, it was the hesitation of the British and French commanders that gave the commanders inside the Sevastopol Fortress ample time to fortify it, consequently causing countless British and French troops to fall before the fortress.

If not for the historical Commander Pellissier’s determination to capture Sevastopol at any cost, Sevastopol might truly have become a bloodletting ground for the British and French Armies.

At this time, Sevastopol had not yet started its path of becoming a fortress, and with the internal panic in Sevastopol, it allowed the British and French Army to easily capture the fort near the residential area close to the South Shore of Sevastopol Port.

If we wait any longer, it might become difficult to capture this morale-restored fortress.

As soon as Commander Pellissier finished speaking, Generals Canrobert and Bosskay hurriedly declared: they would certainly follow Commander Pellissier’s orders and asked Commander Pellissier to give them commands!

Commander Pellissier immediately assigned the task of attacking the Star Fortress to General Canrobert of the First Division. As for Major General Bosskey of the Second Division, he was also to replace Britain in guarding the flanking units of the First Division.

"That’s all I have to say! How to proceed specifically will be detailed in the plan that will be given to you by the staff later!" Pellissier looked at his pocket watch before saying to Canrobert and Bokeys, "It’s now 3:20. You have only 1 hour and 20 minutes to organize your troops! By around 4:40, I need to see an elite brigade! Do you understand?"

Even though Commander Pellissier’s requirements were somewhat demanding, Canrobert and Bosskay had no choice but to stiffen their resolve and promise Pellissier they would assemble their troops as quickly as possible!

"Go! Don’t disappoint me!" General Pellissier waved his hand, dismissing Canrobert and Bosskay.

Not long after Canrobert and Bosskay left, the Expeditionary Army’s Staff Department handed a battle plan to Pellissier.

"Commander Pellissier, this plan is a revised version based on the June 6th (also tomorrow’s) attack plan! I wonder if you are satisfied!" said the staff member standing beside Commander Pellissier.

Pellissier spent 4 minutes carefully reviewing the staff plan, then closed the plan book.

Under the apprehensive gaze of the staff member, Pellissier spoke, "The plan is well made! However..."

"However, what?" the staff member anxiously asked Pellissier.

"You have exceeded the time by 10 minutes!" Pellissier pointed at the pocket watch and told the staff member.

"I..." The staff member breathed a sigh of relief, fearing the plan would be rejected.

"Next time, make sure to submit it on time!" Pellissier took a pencil out of his military uniform pocket, signed his name, and then returned the plan book to the staff member: "Now, convey this plan to the troops that need to execute it immediately and do it quickly!"

"Yes!" The staff member saluted in response and then jogged away from Pellissier.

At 4:40 in the afternoon, June’s sun still hung brightly in the western sky, emitting seemingly endless light and heat.

At this moment, in the cloudless blue sky, a nearly 20,000-strong force was advancing towards the distant Star Fortress in two columns under the command of their division leader Canrobert near the North Shore of Sevastopol.

Trailing this force were two Artillery Legions. These Artillery Legions were composed of six Artillery Battalions (eighteen Artillery Companies), featuring 108 cannons in total, including 72 six-pound Napoleon Field Cannons and 36 twelve-pound Napoleon Field Cannons, making for an impressive ensemble.

Not only was this sufficient to capture the long-neglected Star Fortress, but attacking the Austrian Empire’s proud Four-Corner Fortress would also be more than adequate.

The Artillery Legion stopped about one kilometer away from the Star Fortress. The two commanders of the legion, mounted on their horses, arranged their cannons in two rows, with the Little Napoleon Cannons placed up front and the Grand Napoleon Cannons behind.

"Load!"

With the command from their commander, the soldiers opened the ammo boxes and loaded the cannons.

About 10 minutes later, all the cannons were loaded.

Holding his command saber, the commander pointed its tip toward the distant fort and shouted, "Fire!"

shells flew out of the cannon barrels, headed for the distant Star Fortress.

Like raindrops, the shells continuously fell near the fortress, causing the ground to tremble incessantly.

The 2,000-plus defenders inside the Star Fortress were inevitably filled with panic upon hearing such commotion.

"Sir... can we... really hold out?" a soldier behind the fort’s parapet asked his commanding officer, holding his musket.

"I don’t know either!" the officer replied to the soldier, his voice trembling.

He was equally uncertain if they could truly hold this place, as the fortress hardly had any weapons for a counterattack. Only a few pitiful artillery pieces from the Holy King (Alexander I) era remained, and even their ability to fire was doubtful, as the walls of the fortress hadn’t been repaired for a long time...

"Watch out!"

Just as the officer was considering the shortcomings of the fortress, he suddenly heard a shout in his ear.

Snapping back to reality, the officer instinctively looked up into the distance, seeing a shell with a parabolic trajectory heading for the parapet where he stood.

Oh no!

Before the officer could react, the shell descended swiftly, striking him directly and causing him to lose his life instantly.

An explosion followed the impact in the next second, with the resulting shockwave taking a few more soldiers and the temporary parapet with it.

The soldiers near the fortress started consciously distancing themselves from the parapet, while those inside the fortress weren’t faring any better.

Having gone over thirty years without repairs, the fortress walls had become extremely fragile.

The shells easily penetrated the walls, and the resulting explosions directly injured the defending troops inside the fortress.

As the First Division approached the Star Fortress, the entire structure was full of breaches from the attacks by both the Grand and Little Napoleon Cannons.

Seeing the dilapidated fortress ahead, Conrobel couldn’t help but click his tongue, hardly able to believe that the fortress built by the Russian Empire was in such a shoddy state.

Consequently, Conrobel silently abandoned the planned siege strategy.

Under these circumstances, a siege would be nothing more than a meaningless waste of time.

"Charge!"

Following Conrobel’s order, the First Division soldiers switched from column to line formation, fanning out to encircle the Star Fortress.

The defenders inside the fortress, seeing this, immediately called in their adjutant and ordered, "Go to the port at once and have the warships point their naval guns around our Star Fortress!"

"But this will cause our troops to suffer losses!!" the adjutant responded to the fort’s commander.

"There’s no choice now!" the fortress commander responded through gritted teeth and ordered his soldiers to move the cannons onto the walls, determined to use the meager artillery inside the fortress for their defense.

Riding away from the Star Fortress, the adjutant quickly arrived near the pier at the port on the north shore, where he witnessed an even more desperate scene.

At this moment, the Russian ships moored inside the Sevastopol Fortress were under bombardment, with several ships ablaze.

Critically, the attacking army had not entered the Sevastopol Port but were lined up outside, launching an overwhelming bombardment into the port.

However, their fleet’s artillery couldn’t offer effective counterstrikes; the technological gap between the two had reached a level of despair.

"The Russian Empire... is finished!"