I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1280 Bloodbath at Erz Fortress
The close-range firing allowed the cannons to achieve extremely high accuracy, with the first shell hitting a gun emplacement on the inner wall of the fortress. A large chunk of the stone wall in front of the cannon was instantly torn away, and more than a dozen Austrians nearby were covered in blood from flying debris, screaming and rolling on the ground.

The Polish soldiers directly below the fortress cheered, then dodged and opened up a volley of fire overhead, while more than a dozen others lit grenades and threw them in.

Once the enemy's firepower had been reduced, the engineers quickly moved forward and began constructing a ramp using the wooden frames they carried, based on the earthen mounds previously built by the infantry.

Meanwhile, Warrenovich and his men began using shovels to build a semi-circular earthen wall in front of the precious twelve-pounder, in an attempt to turn it into a semi-permanent firing point.

But at that moment, the Austrian artillery suddenly resumed its firing rate, firing at least two shots per minute, clearly indicating that someone had brought in cooling water.

Several plumes of blood mist immediately erupted around the Polish twelve-pound cannons. The soldiers who were digging were forced to huddle under the 50-centimeter-high mound of earth by the intense artillery fire, unable to lift their heads.

The young major dodged the hail of bullets and finally reached the fortress walls, only to hear the enemy's artillery fire suddenly intensify. Turning his head, he saw his own lone cannon like a leaf adrift in a giant wave, about to be overturned at any moment.

"We have to think of a way!" He looked at the slope not far away, which was still more than a person's distance from the top of the wall, and he was immediately anxious—in the front line where building materials were scarce, it would take at least half a day to build up this height.

He gritted his teeth and shouted to the Polish soldiers around him, "I am Gerzegory Jannik, commander of the 9th Royal Infantry Regiment. I need someone to climb this damned wall with me to suppress the enemy's fire!"

"Commander?" The surrounding soldiers turned their heads, and when they saw Yannick's collar insignia, they exclaimed in surprise, "It really is a major!"

"Why did you rush up here yourself?"

"You are the bravest officer I have ever met!"

Yannick gestured towards the distance: "All the officers of the 12th and 16th Royal Infantry Regiments have also joined this assault, including their commanders."

"So, who wants to charge up with me?"

Two or three hundred people immediately gathered around, shouting, "Me, I'll go!"

"If you're not afraid of death, what do we have to fear? Come on!"

"That's right, count me in too!"

"I've never fought a battle with a major before..."

Ten minutes later, Yannick's attendant, along with several others, took the lead on the unfinished slope.

They were lucky enough to dodge bullets flying from all directions and ran all the way to the end of the slope. Then, half of them crouched down, and the other half stepped on his shoulders and jumped up, grabbing the edge of the wall with their hands.

But immediately, a barrage of bayonets appeared above their heads.

Yannick waved and shouted, "Cover fire! Quickly!"

More than a hundred Polish soldiers, braving the hail of bullets, retreated to create an angle and fired at the approaching enemy troops.

The Austrians also retaliated fiercely from the walls.

At a distance of only ten meters or so, both sides had a very high hit rate. Every second, someone was hit and fell. Gunshots and cries of agony blended together, turning the place into a living hell.

But soon, the Austrian army was defeated in this desperate exchange of fire and began to retreat to the sides in fear.

"Let's go!" Yannick gave Grochoska a wink, rushed up the slope in a few steps, ran more than ten meters, and with the help of a sergeant, grabbed the wall and then climbed over it.

Without time to assess his surroundings, he rolled several times on the spot, then suddenly drew his pistol and fired a shot to the side. The Austrians closest to him were clearly startled, retreating hastily and frantically reloading their weapons.

Grochoska and several soldiers followed, climbing up and immediately forming a simple linear formation shoulder to shoulder: "Aim—"

"shooting--"

A cloud of smoke rose, and the Austrian soldiers retreated even faster, shouting incessantly, "Reinforcements! We need reinforcements here!"

Grochoska reached out to pull the soldiers below, and within minutes, forty or fifty people had gathered on that section of the wall.

Yannick waved his hand forcefully: "Expand the control area! Lower your body and wait for orders before reloading!"

On the inner wall of the bastion, Austrian officers also noticed the unusual appearance of the outer wall and hurriedly ordered the nearby cannons to be reloaded with grapeshot and turned to fire in this direction.

On the distant hillside, Vorenovich quickly noticed that the enemy's artillery fire had weakened significantly. He immediately grabbed his shovel, stood up, and shouted, "Quick! Keep digging!"

On the outer wall, a black iron ball swept across where Yannick and the others were standing, instantly turning at least a dozen people into a shower of blood and flesh, scattered everywhere.

The soil from Warrennovi's shovel landed on the earthen wall, which was already more than a meter high. At this point, the twelve-pounder cannon behind it was no longer threatened by bullets or small-caliber cannons.

He then gestured to his comrades: "Don't stop! Zlatopor, you and Buyak reinforce the breastwork."

"Everyone else, follow me and widen it to both sides!"

“Grochoska, tell everyone not to look up…” Yannick called out as he turned his head, only to find that the staff officer was no longer there.

A sergeant relayed his orders to the soldiers.

Yannick, his eyes reddening, caught sight of the earthen wall that was beginning to take shape on the hillside, and smiled at the spot where Grochoska had just stood. "Look, we've done a good job, old buddy..."

Half an hour later, two more twelve-pound cannons were transported to the makeshift breastwork erected by Warrenov and his men. By this time, the rudimentary barrier was more than ten meters wide and about a meter thick.

On the wall in front of them lay the bodies of nearly a hundred Polish soldiers, yet people continued to climb up from behind.

Yannick's left hand was a bloody mess, but he seemed oblivious to it, still encouraging the soldiers around him in a hoarse voice: "Hold on, everyone! The enemy is starting to lose heart, we will eventually take this place!"

Three consecutive cannon shots rang out from the direction of the hillside. The shells flew over his head and slammed into the inner wall, creating two clearly visible craters.

The Polish soldiers on the wall cheered and unleashed a hail of bullets at the enemy on both sides.

Finally, Lieutenant Colonel Steinocher, the fortress commander, noticed that the Polish forces on the southwest side were receiving artillery cover and their offensive was becoming increasingly fierce. He hurriedly ordered the officer beside him to lead six companies to provide support.

On the north side of the fortress, a messenger handed the latest report from the hot air balloon to Rana: "Commander, the high-altitude reconnaissance battalion has discovered that the enemy is transferring a large number of soldiers away."

Rana listened to the intense artillery fire on the other side of the ridge, narrowed his eyes, and said, "It seems our Polish friends have done a good job."

"Order the artillery to advance 600 meters. The 4th Skirmisher Brigade begins its attack."

(End of this chapter)