The Fox of France

Chapter 477: The Siege (3)

However, the British, after all, are not comparable to those barbarians from the colonies. The British of this era still possess a robust martial virtue, even within the British Army. Despite the demoralization they've suffered from the security operations in Ireland over the years, a few cannon shots were not enough to cause any significant issues. It was indeed disheartening that the wealthy fled first, but despite the heartache, the British defense did not exhibit any notable weaknesses.

Thus, the only thing left was to slowly wear them down. At least, that was the case until the orders from the Turks and the Russians were completed.

A military meeting was convened by the French advisory group and the leaders of the Irish Independence Army. They gathered to summarize the military intelligence they had acquired over the past few days and to study the combat plans for the offensive operation.

According to the plan, the Irish Independence Army would first approach the main British positions through tunneling, using the cover of night to disrupt the British wire entanglements and minefields.

The offensive operation would focus on swift assaults, with French artillery providing short but intense preparatory fire, while the heavy artillery, under the direction of hot air balloons, would engage in counter-battery fire.

"The British defense is quite formidable, as the British have been operating this defensive line for many years. Therefore, we must overcome impatience and not fantasize about quickly breaking through their defenses. We can only advance bit by bit, like peeling an onion, layer by layer. Any hasty actions will only cause significant and entirely unnecessary losses..." General Soult, the French commander, spoke first. Because the last war ended too quickly and the subsequent peace lasted too long, Soult remained a general and had not yet become a marshal.

However, Napoleon greatly appreciated his talents, expressing more than once that if Soult had been with him in Italy, he would have certainly become a marshal by now.

Following Soult's command, the Irish began to approach the British positions through tunneling. Tunnels are difficult to attack with ordinary weapons, but the British had plenty of grenade launchers and even larger ones—mortars.

With the technological advantage in propellant, French grenade launchers and mortars had significantly longer ranges than the British knock-offs. When the French began counterattacking based on the positions of the black smoke from the British grenade launchers and mortars, the British found that their mortars and grenade launchers could not reach their targets. Therefore, the British suffered greater losses in this regard.

Under the cover of

the French, the Irish continued to advance despite casualties, pushing the tunnel to near the minefields.

At night, the Irish emerged from the tunnels attempting to clear mines. The British, meanwhile, mounted searchlights on a handcar. They occasionally turned on the lights to sweep the minefield with beams of light, then immediately turned off the lights and moved to avoid potential incoming bullets and shells. If their searchlight beams happened to illuminate the Irish attempting to clear mines, British bullets would fire rapidly.

In this confrontation, it took the Irish and French three nights to essentially clear the first minefield. Ahead was the first British barbed wire.

At this time, the news of France declaring war on Britain and the outcome of the Battle of the North Atlantic had already reached North America. The timing of this news was perfect, as the United States had just suffered a setback on the northern front. General Arthur Wellesley's forces had once again defeated the U.S. Army near New York State, with troops pressing directly toward New York City.

Within the United States, even before this, some had argued that peace should be restored as soon as possible. Naturally, these propositions were immediately met with rebuttal by the angry American public, especially the Southerners who had experienced multiple devastations by British fires along the coastline. They declared they would deal with these traitors "in the manner of patriots and warriors" to "forever silence their disgusting mouths." These voices temporarily quieted down. However, after a series of defeats, such opinions began to emerge again, even causing some wavering within the presidency. But once this news was confirmed, the entire situation changed dramatically.