Chapter 483 Attacking Jerusalem

The entire wall of Jerusalem is only about one kilometer long, and the army led by Peter quickly surrounded it. There were garrisons in the main places, and the external roads were blocked.

Before the siege, Peter specifically asked the military chaplain to pray for everything to go well. He also did this to worship God and hope that he could bless him. Sometimes some things really cannot be explained by science, such as a meteorite suddenly falling from the sky to turn the tide of the battle.

"General, get ready." An officer said loudly.

Woick looked at Jerusalem not far away and nodded: "Let's start!"

"Yes!"

With an order, the Roman army began to attack Jerusalem. Dozens of field guns roared at the same time, and the shells flew towards the holy city with a whistling sound. When the shells hit the solid wall, the wall stone collapsed, countless rubble splashed everywhere, and when the shells fell directly on the people on the city, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and screams continued.

"Low! Don't run around, don't be afraid!" On the top of the city, several leaders were shouting loudly. But they only played a comforting role, and they had never seen these things.

With the improvement of gunpowder purification and smelting technology, the Roman field artillery has become much stronger than before in terms of attack distance and power. Those small shells are more accurate and fierce! The defenders hiding behind the city wall tried to lower their heads and curl up to avoid being hit by shells or flying stones and causing casualties. As for the low-level officers, they kept an eye on the movements of the enemy outside the city at any time under the artillery fire, because they knew that once the artillery fire slowed down, it would be time for them to attack.

Indeed, when the sound of the artillery gradually slowed down, the Roman army, which was ready for battle, began to move out. When they saw that the enemy was about to reach the bottom of the city wall, the defenders on the city suddenly showed their heads from behind the city wall one by one. With an order, the overwhelming rolling logs, stones and bows and arrows were shot at the enemy outside the city to prevent them from approaching the city wall.

The counterattack of the defenders on the top of the city brought some trouble to the attacking Roman army, but they were well prepared and suffered few casualties, only two ladders caught fire and burned. But there were more than ten ladders. The Roman legions, who were ready with these ladders, rushed to the bottom of the city wall in one breath, and then set up the ladders to climb up.

"Quick! Bring the stones over there!" A newly promoted officer shouted loudly, commanding his subordinates to use the things they had prepared long ago to counterattack the enemy troops under the city. When the bricks and stone battering rams were thrown down, the Roman soldiers who were climbing the city screamed immediately. Several who had climbed halfway fell from the air with screams, but the soldiers behind seemed to be unaware and continued to climb up regardless of everything.

Perhaps it was the religious encouragement of the priest that played a role, or perhaps it was the reinforcements with little hope that brought them hope. The resistance of Jerusalem was extremely fierce. The Roman army's attacks were blocked by them several times. When he learned that the attack was blocked, Woick asked about the situation and immediately stopped the attack without hesitation, and asked all the troops to withdraw.

Jerusalem's resistance was beyond his imagination. He immediately realized that it would take more than a day or two to capture it by force, and the Roman army would inevitably suffer serious losses.

At this time, there were about 30,000 people in Jerusalem. If all of them were mobilized, it would be a huge garrison. Besides, it is difficult to attack but easy to defend. Relying on the defense of the city walls is an advantage. If they fight to the death, it will cause multiple losses to the siege army.

War does not rely on momentary courage, but more on the correct decision of the commander. So when he learned that the attack was blocked and the defenders resisted fiercely, Woick decisively called off the attack and withdrew the troops.

When the Roman army retreated like a tide, the defenders on the top of the city gave a thunderous cheer. It seems that Allah is still on their side.

"General, these pagans are too arrogant. Let me charge again!" Looking at the defenders on the top of the city, several generals said indignantly, especially the officer in charge of the attack in front was even more angry.

"Why are you in such a hurry? If a dog bites you, will you bite it back?" Woick sneered, and then pointed to several places in Jerusalem and said, "Warfare is not just about courage. Aren't the pagans relying on the city walls now? Let them have a good taste of the power of gunpowder!"

Woick ordered a feint attack while digging tunnels to bury gunpowder. It was not the first time that the Roman army used explosives to attack the city. Peter had used this trick when attacking cities in Anatolia and the Balkans, and it worked every time.

The Roman army outside the city fought fiercely around the city walls from attacking the city to retreating that day. Although there were casualties on both sides, the casualties were not great from the perspective of defending the city. Even the casualties of the Roman soldiers attacking the city were only a few hundred.

The bishop and the city lord were of course happy to repel the enemy. They even walked around the city wall in person to boost morale.

Before dawn the next day, the defenders had not recovered from their joy, and they saw the enemy continue to attack, and their artillery continued to exert its power.

The following battle was similar to the previous one. The Roman soldiers desperately climbed up, trying to open a gap and attack the city wall. The defenders on the city wall fought hard, and the two sides fought back and forth, with blood and flesh flying everywhere, and screams of pain were heard. The battle was extremely fierce, and Roman soldiers who were about to climb the city wall were constantly beaten down by the defending defenders, while defenders on the top of the city were hit and fell to the ground by the Roman army below.

Outside the city, the Roman soldiers responsible for digging the wall chose one on each side. The reason for choosing these two places was that they were close to the middle of the wall. Once the gunpowder was buried, the explosion would have the best effect. Taking advantage of the fierce fighting on the wall, the soldiers under the wall rushed to the place and started working. More than a dozen people waved hoes, shovels and other tools and dug desperately. At this time, they were thinking about victory. Even if the wall was gone, the emperor would build a new one.

This was also Peter's original words. Just do it. Even if the city was completely renovated, he would pay for it himself. This also made them let go, so after experiencing the situation on the first day, they used gunpowder blasting on the second day.

The speed and strength of the excavation almost used up all their strength. After digging for a while, these extremely tired soldiers would withdraw under the cover of friendly forces, and then a group of fresh troops would be added at the same time to ensure the fastest speed and maximum efficiency. As they continued to work, the chamber for placing gunpowder was finally dug. At noon the next day, as the gunpowder was transported and placed in the powder room, the troops working under the city wall began to evacuate. At this time, the defenders on the city wall still cheered. They only needed to hold out for a month, and reinforcements would surely arrive. By then, they would be able to cooperate with the enemy from inside and outside and destroy the enemy. Many people thought so.