247 – Siege of Gryfino Castle (1)
Two months later, near Grypino Castle, Grand Duchy of Warsaw.
“When I came two months ago, the village was quite nice to see, but now it is a mixture of houses that look very shabby due to hasty reconstruction and houses that have not yet been restored, leaving only blackened skeletons. Isn’t it so vain? Isn’t that right, Ensign Vincent?”
After saying that, I looked around without waiting for Vincent’s answer.
Among the houses where the official residence and village officials live, the stone-built houses still have some black scorch marks, but they appear to have been properly restored and are still standing, and the fields that were burned by the fire must have already been plowed after giving up on harvesting, so only dirt is visible. .
Meanwhile, the serfs and citizens of this village were trying to survive, and there were huts scattered around the area that they had roughly built out of straw and wood, and in between were houses that had been charred and could not be restored, leaving only the skeletons looking ugly. When I saw the scene, I felt a little pitiful.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I regret implementing tactics out of strategic necessity.
“Yes, sir. “It has become a very poor town.”
“This is what war is all about, so it can’t be helped. So, what is the perimeter of Griffino Castle Wall like?”
“According to what the scouts reported, Gryfino Castle’s alert posture was extremely tight. In contrast, the morale of the soldiers on the walls and the citizens inside the walls seemed very low. “Despite the situation, the castle was heavily guarded, so it appears that the Archduke of Warsaw has ordered the castle to be defended.”
…… Although Gryfino Castle is a fairly large trading city with a port, the number of troops stationed there is only about one division.
Even if refugees were added there, there would only be about 30,000 adult men with the strength to defend the castle.
Griffino Castle itself was not built with defense in mind, so it is clearly not enough to deal with our 100,000-strong army.
The Grand Duke of Warsaw, you son of a b*tch, are you ordering the citizens and soldiers of Gryfino Castle to die here in order to trap us here?
“Aide, what is our marching route? “I believe it passes through Gryfino Castle and then Swupsk.”
“Yes, Gryfino, we will pass by Słupsk and fight against a large enemy force on the nearby Lodz Plain. But if we get blocked like this at Gryfino Castle, the operation plan will go awry.”
“The Archduke of Warsaw used some tricks. “It was quite a pain in the ass.”
“Then, how about moving back a little from Gryffino Castle and fighting on the blood and plain side?”
If I mobilize an army of 100,000 men and wage a siege, Gryfino Castle will definitely fall into the hands of our Reich Imperial Army.
So, it may be a good strategic choice to drop the castle and open a port within the territory of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw that serves as a port through which supplies can be supplied through ships of the imperial army.
No matter how low the walls and weak defenses seem, a castle is a castle, so it must have some degree of defensive ability.
The citizens inside will be trembling with fear before we begin the attack, but when we actually begin the siege, they will fight to the death to avenge the burning of their village.
Anyway, he couldn’t get out of the castle, and even if he managed to survive by deserting, his hometown to which he would return to was devastated, so he was determined to at least die to avenge his grudge.
In this way, our troops will face fierce resistance at Gryffino Castle and suffer considerable damage.
If you fight the large army sent by the Archduke of Warsaw in that situation, you may be severely defeated.
From that perspective, the aide seems to have suggested fighting on the blood and plains to increase the odds of winning just a little… Before that, there’s something I’d like to check.
“Who is the mayor of Griffino City?”
“According to reports from internal spies, this is Baron Risch von Spiegelman, and he has been holding the position of mayor since before our attack.”
“Although it wasn’t technically his fault, he had robbed the area around Gryffino Castle just a few months ago. And even then, you weren’t fired from your mayoral position? “If it had been the Reich, he would have at least been stripped of his mayoral title and forced to retire.”
“Two months ago, when Grand Duke Bathory of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw carried out a major purge to correct administrative discipline, he barely managed to keep his position because he was not involved in corruption. According to the spies, he cares for his people and has integrity, so he has had a good reputation since long ago.”
If I had been planning on waging a siege, I would have felt very uncomfortable when I heard that the castle lord was loved by the people.
This is because the difficulty of a castle battle, in which each soldier and citizen risk their lives to protect the castle, varies greatly depending on the evaluation of the commander who commands them.
An example of this is not the defense of the castle, but the Battle of Lichen…
If a near-perfect trust relationship had not been formed between me, the commander, and the soldiers of the 7th Division under his command, the defense would have been quickly breached even if we had fought on advantageous terrain along the hill…
I took the lead and fought to the death with my sword for the soldiers, and the soldiers responded and showed their ability to go beyond their limits.
The damn Duke of Switzerland was unable to break through our defense until the end.
But fortunately, looking at the current situation, it seems that the castle can be breached without a siege.
“Have you found out anything more about Baron Spiegelmann’s personality or career?”
“I don’t know exactly what his personality is, but according to spies, he is a talented person who has made it this far by proving his abilities after passing the civil service exam for the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. “I don’t think he ever served in the military.”
“To pass the administrator exam and rise to the rank of major general in the Reich Empire, your administrative skills must be truly outstanding. However, I don’t think it’s very suitable for risking one’s life to protect a castle. “Isn’t that right?”
The aide didn’t quite understand what I meant, but he thought it was because I said that, so he nodded.
“If Deus helps us, we can easily take down this castle. Take 100,000 troops and surround the castle right now. “Mobilize soldiers to build simple catapults and siege towers.”
“Then can we prepare for a siege?”
“We will prepare for a siege, but we will not actually go beyond the walls. “I’m only planning to pretend to take over the castle, so please let me know and convey this to a division commander or higher.”
When Aide Melchemheim left after receiving my order, I grabbed Vincent next to me and said,
“Lieutenant Vincent, the principles of war are very simple.”
“What is that, sir?”
“The one who plays with the other person’s weaknesses wins. Therefore, an army general should act as if it is no problem even if the enemy’s weak point is attacked, and when he finds the enemy’s weak point, he should pour very salty salt on it and let it fester.”
Vincent, who had just graduated from the Academy, responded with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
“…… It’s a little different from what I learned at the academy. “I learned that war must be won through honorable battles.”
“How to fight an honorable battle includes ‘how to insult the opponent to excite him’ and ‘method of analyzing the enemy’s weaknesses,’ right? However, I just expressed it a little more honestly. And as an imperial officer, the most important thing is to return at least one more imperial soldier to his family. “That is the greatest honor.”
“Then there is no need for any other process?”
After those words, I patted my brother-in-law on the head and said,
“Actually, there is no need. You can tell when you look at me, right? “I had a higher rank and rose faster than the professors who flew and crawled at the academy.”
**
And the next day.
The 100,000-strong army led by me completely surrounded Gryfino Castle, leaving no water leaks and making it difficult for even an ant to pass through.
At the rear of the unit, they cut down trees near Gryfino Castle and began making siege weapons such as siege towers, battering rams, ladders, and catapults.
“Why don’t you move the tree quickly, you bastards!”
“Yes, boss! “I’m taking it now!”
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“You idiots! If you make a siege tower out of wood or something like that, everything will be destroyed! “I told you to polish the surface well, right?”
If the situation was a bit urgent, I would have grabbed the hammer and participated directly, just like Captain Keitel did in the past.
Originally, in most situations, when high-ranking people intervene in the soldiers’ work, only the low-ranking soldiers end up getting hit by the officers’ backs and pooping blood.
So, I spent my time watching the soldiers’ work and watching for attacks such as ballistas and catapults coming from the castle walls.
During the six days of working hard to produce siege weapons, he went to the gate every day and urged them to surrender until they were hoarse, but Baron Spiegelmann did not surrender.
And a week later, the day when all other siege weapons except the siege tower were completed.
“Load the catapult with stones and have the siege equipment ready to be used at any time. Before that, please bring out only one oak barrel containing wine today. “I will make a final invitation to surrender.”
If my predictions are correct, there will probably be some response today.