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Chapter 1370 Long Distance Attack

He was not yet 20 years old when the religious wars broke out in Europe. As a descendant of German nobility, he certainly could not stand idly by, so he also gathered a mercenary army to test the waters.

Bernhard's first employment contract came from King Gustav II of Sweden. He followed this Nordic war god in his battles against the Habsburgs, demonstrating his military talent in the constant warfare and earning the deep respect of Gustav II.

In the Battle of Lützen in 1632, Gustavus Adolphus was killed in action. One would expect the Swedish army to suffer a crushing defeat with their commander gone. However, Bernhard, who was in charge of the Swedish left wing, launched a fierce attack on Wallenstein's right wing, turning what should have been a rout into a draw.

Two years later, at the Battle of Nördlingen, Bernhard continued to lead German mercenaries in a joint effort with the Swedish army against the Spanish and Holy Roman Empire forces. Although they suffered a major defeat, they quickly recovered.

At this time, Sweden was already showing signs of decline, and France seized the opportunity to join the battle. Richelieu defied public opinion and appointed Bernhard as Marshal of the French Army, continuing to fight against the Catholic army on the German front, winning many victories and regaining the situation.

Just as the religious war reached a critical juncture, with France and Spain preparing to fight to the death, the Ming Dynasty navy suddenly attacked the west coast of the Americas, annihilating the Spanish fleet and revealing to European countries another tiger even more dangerous than the Habsburg family.

After European countries collectively agreed to stop their civil wars and form a coalition to fight against external threats, countries including Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire recommended their most capable generals to serve as commanders of the coalition. However, no single side could gain an absolute advantage, and the selection process was delayed.

Ultimately, French Prime Minister Richelieu proposed a compromise: each candidate nominated by a country would submit at least one operational plan, and whoever received a majority vote from a jury composed of political leaders from each country would be elected as the commander-in-chief.

Bernhard was the French candidate, and his battle plan was approved by more than 9% of the jury members, and he was successfully elected as the first commander-in-chief of the European coalition.

In this plan, after fully understanding the achievements and strength of the Ming Empire's army and navy, Bernhard decided to take a different approach. Instead of engaging in a large-scale direct confrontation, he adopted a strategy of launching attacks from multiple directions and focusing on key targets.

To be more specific, Bernhard divided the European coalition into three major parts, plus the military forces of the Ottoman and Persian Empires, making a total of four battlefields.

First, on the northern battlefield, the Russian and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces, with the Crimean Khanate forces as a secondary force, made full use of the advantages of nomadic cavalry, setting off from the Black Sea and marching a long distance to launch an attack on the Kazakh Khanate.

The strategic objective of this route was not to penetrate as far into the interior of the Ming Empire as possible, but to attract its attention, take the opportunity to strike at the Kazakh Khanate's vital forces, deprive the Ming Empire of its allies in Central Asia, or to destabilize the region and deplete the Ming Empire's military strength.

Secondly, there was the battlefield in the Holy City, or the battlefield of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In this direction, the armies of the Republic of Venice, the various states of the Italian Peninsula, and the Holy Roman Empire launched an attack on the port cities of Suez and Faust, which were occupied by the Ming Dynasty.

The strategic objective of this route was relatively simple: to expel the Ming Dynasty's forces from this region and then divide it up with the Ottomans and Persians according to the previously reached agreement.

To increase the pressure on the Ming army defending these two port cities, the Ottoman and Persian armies would also launch a joint offensive, creating the illusion of a large-scale eastward invasion of the Khanate of Bukhara. Finally, there was the battle for Enniu Port. Bernhard believed that no matter how the army was deployed or how the tactics were designed, Enniu Port was ultimately unavoidable. Without capturing this port, it would be impossible to open the door to Asia and allow European merchant ships free access.

The location of Enbird Port is somewhat easy to defend and difficult to attack. If the traditional approach is adopted, the European fleet would have to sail thousands of kilometers in the turbulent South Atlantic and then engage in a large-scale naval battle with the Ming navy's fleet stationed in Enbird Port.

Putting aside the question of whether victory is possible, and whether a naval swarm tactic can be used to wear down the Ming navy, sailors alone certainly cannot take down that heavily guarded sea fortress; infantry and cannons are necessary.

Sending infantrymen on a tumultuous journey of thousands of kilometers at sea, risking their lives to break through a naval blockade, landing in raging winds and at sea conditions where they could run aground at any moment, and then launching an assault on a fortified stronghold would be inhumane and virtually impossible.

Therefore, to take Enbird Port, a surprise attack must be launched to catch the defenders off guard and to minimize the disadvantage of landing by sea.

But if they didn't land by sea, were they supposed to march thousands of miles through the desolate interior? Bernhard's answer was yes.

Before developing this plan, he visited several explorers, slave ship captains, and privateer captains who had experience in southwestern Africa and received corresponding rewards.

A captain told him that there were several black slaves from the Orange River region on a Portuguese slave ship on the Slave Coast. Because the capture had been going on for a long time, these black slaves had become accustomed to life on the slave ship and had not been sold, but had become guides and helpers for the Portuguese slave-catching team.

Bernhard immediately dispatched ships to the slave coast and posted reward notices in all ports, supply points, and trading posts frequented by European ships in search of the Portuguese slave ship.

A generous reward always attracts brave men. Just a few days after the notice was posted, the captain of a slave ship came to claim the reward. He then took the few black slaves and was hired by the French navy, becoming a guide for the European allied forces.

Guided by these traitors, an expedition of 500 French marines successfully entered the lower Orange River region during the rainy season aboard a Dutch West India Company slave ship.

They tried to bribe those they could, and eliminated those they couldn't. By adopting a strategy of winning some over others, they gradually gained a foothold and began to make contact with the local tribal leaders.

With the help of local tribes, a road was made possible to travel eastward along the Orange River into the interior. According to local tribal chiefs, if one continued along the river, one could eventually reach the heart of the Xhosa region, a journey of no more than 10 days and approximately 200 kilometers from Enniu.

This was the core of Bernhard's plan: he would personally lead the elite of the European coalition across the desert and plateau, marching for two months and covering nearly a thousand kilometers, to suddenly appear north of Ennbird City and catch the defenders off guard.

Of course, the actual process was far more difficult than theoretical discussions. But Bernhard believed it wasn't impossible; the only difference was the extent of the losses. Therefore, he planned for a 50% casualty rate: if half of the 30,000 elite Allied troops could reach their destination, it would be a victory!
(End of this chapter)