Chapter 694: Silver Eagle Defense War

Chapter 695 Silver Eagle Defense Battle

Gdansk is located on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea.

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After the "One Melon", Prussia had occupied all the cities around the port, turning it into a Polish enclave.

The reason why Horn was so eager to attack Gdańsk was not because he thought it would be difficult to capture and that he needed to plan ahead. On the contrary, Prussia now unanimously believes that as long as it sends an army at will, Gdansk can be easily obtained.

Horn's targets were the valuable goods of Polish merchants in the port, as well as Polish merchant ships.

News of the war will soon reach Gdansk, and he must get there as quickly as possible in order to catch as many "big fish" as possible.

So he even left behind the clumsy artillery battalion, and took only the Royal Brandenburg Regiment and more than ten cavalry squadrons, totaling more than 13,000 people, to march northward.

Port of Gdansk.

In the three-story red building next to the Royal Mile, 16 members of the Gdańsk Management Committee were arguing fiercely.

"We only have 400 soldiers, and I'm afraid we won't be able to defend it for even half an hour! Handing over port management rights to the Prussian army is our only option!"

"I agree. The Prussian army will abide by the 'co-management agreement' and ensure that we... well, ensure the safety of merchants and goods."

Committee Chairman Kovodeich lowered his head and murmured: "However, the two countries are already in a state of war. If the Prussian army is allowed to..."

The daily affairs of Gdańsk are handled by this management committee, so he is equivalent to the mayor.

Someone immediately said: "We can't do anything at all. Any obstruction will only anger them."

"That's right! And we haven't received any combat orders from His Majesty the King..."

Gdansk has no border with mainland Poland, so it is impossible to receive any information from the mainland.

Several committee members sitting on the west side of the room quietly watched these people arguing, looking at each other from time to time, showing disdainful smiles.

They are Prussians.

Although Gdansk is Polish territory, Prussia also has considerable administrative rights.

Things in the world are so magical sometimes. Although Prussia had declared war on Poland, due to long-standing custom, they still sat with the Poles to discuss the fate of the port.

The Prussian army should be arriving here soon. Now they are the masters here. Only by begging them to come forward can the Poles avoid being treated harshly by the army.

"Ta-ta-ta..."

There were bursts of footsteps outside the door, and then the door was kicked open with a bang.

In the surprised eyes of Kovodeich and others, Port Sheriff Romilev, wearing a gray-green uniform, rushed in with a pistol. Behind him were more than twenty patrolmen, all carrying flintlock rifles.

"You, what are you going to do?"

Romilev ignored the committee members' inquiries, looked straight to the west side of the hall, and said loudly: "Werner Bangelmann?"

The Prussian commissioner in a black coat nodded subconsciously.

Romilev raised his gun without hesitation and pulled the trigger.

"Bang--"

Bangelman was overturned by the huge momentum, and a black and red hole appeared in his chest.

The Sheriff read another name: "Kurt Mueller."

The patrolman next to him stepped forward and shot the stunned Prussian commissar to death.

Only then did the other four Prussians react and fled towards the door as hard as they could, but fell to the ground after several gunshots were fired.

"God! Are you crazy?!" A committee member looked at the corpse on the ground and exclaimed.

Romilev put away his gun, signaled his men to carry the body out, and then looked at the other committee members: "Gentlemen, there is no need to hesitate anymore.

"We have only one option left, and that is to defend Gdańsk!"

Committee Chairman Kovodeich shook his head tremblingly: "It's over, it's over, we are all going to die now..."

Romilev said: "Please sign an order to arrest all Prussians in the port."

"No, no..."

Behind the patrolmen, a middle-aged man wearing a felt hat and capable eyes came out and said to Kovodeich: "We must not hand over the port to the perfidious Prussians! Please believe me, we will definitely be able to hold it. Gdańsk.”

"Mr. Schumann?"

The person who came was none other than Pierre Edgar Schumann, the financial officer appointed by the French investors. Of course, his other identity is the artillery captain of the French Royal Guards Corps.

"But we simply don't have enough troops..."

Schumann pointed out the window and interrupted: "There are thousands of sailors and more dock workers here, and they are all willing to fight to the death for Poland!"

Kovodejic shook his head: "Even if these people are included, they are no match for the Prussian army. They will send at least tens of thousands of soldiers."

"We can rely on the fortress." Schumann said confidently.

"Fortress?" Kevodje asked in surprise, "Where did the fortress come from?"

"Baron Lacoste's new residence." Schumann said, taking out a drawing and spreading it out. "It was designed with defense in mind."

What is drawn on the drawing is the luxurious manor newly built at the entrance of the Port Steprat Peninsula - Baron Lacoste is one of the shareholders of this huge investment of 4 million francs. He previously said that he liked the scenery of the port very much and spent money to build a holiday estate here.

"This, this is a bastion?!" A member of the committee who was slightly familiar with military affairs exclaimed immediately when he saw the drawing.

Yes, Joseph had to use all means to deploy the defense of Gdansk when the Poles did not believe that Prussia would invade them.

Fortunately, there was the example of the "Silver Eagle Defense War" in which Poland defended Gdansk during World War II for reference.

At that time, Nazi Germany sent 10,000 soldiers, supervised by 1,500 SS troops, and planned to capture Gdansk in 15 minutes.

However, hundreds of Polish defenders in the port cleverly used the terrain of the Steplat Peninsula to deal with the German army.

The German army attacked fiercely for a week, even dispatching warships and bombers, but still failed to enter Gdansk. In the end, the Polish government surrendered and ordered the Polish defenders in the port to abandon their defense, so that the Germans were able to occupy it.

At that time, the Polish army's method was to tightly control the entrance to the Steplat Peninsula.

The Port of Gdansk is divided into two parts-the land on the south side and the peninsula on the north side. There is a narrow waterway between the two, which can be used as a safe haven for ships.

As long as the peninsula on the north side is occupied, the southern part of the port can be covered with artillery fire.

At the same time, the entrance to the peninsula is very narrow, and a few bunkers can block the passage here.

Joseph used a bastion instead, which would only be more effective.

In order to avoid the Prussians from making trouble, he claimed to the outside that it was the manor of Baron Lacoste - from the outside it did look like a castle-like building. Only a few French engineers in charge of the construction knew that the full picture here was a pentagonal bastion with rounded corners.