However, it is unlikely that the enemy commander will collapse himself to death by playing with artillery bombings like before.

However, it is still feasible to use a surprise army to flank on both sides, or to rush directly into Lucerne and capture Konstantin Sigwater alive.

Unfortunately, his surprise vanguard only knew how to hurry, and did not find the Austrian squad hidden in the valley.

The small vanguard of the Liberty Alliance even lit a bonfire, which was actually a signal to the rear that it was safe.

The smoke that rose was similar to the smoke of ordinary hunters and shepherds' fires, and only their own people could tell the difference.

On the cliff face, groups of Austrian soldiers were lining up, with a long rope tied around their waists, heading towards the designated area.

Dufour's main force in charge of the surprise attack was not much prepared under the leadership of Colonel Kerber, after all, the previous battle was too smooth, and the previous vanguard had sent a signal of safety.

Colonel Kerber felt that he would become a hero, because he would capture the great traitor Konstantin Sigwater, and then he would become a real colonel.

(At this time, he was still a lieutenant, but was temporarily promoted to colonel.) ）

However, General Dufour did not allow looting, which in the eyes of Colonel Corbel was an insult to the war.

After all, many people join the army to make money, and the most lucrative thing about joining the army is war, and the reason why war makes money is because it can be looted.

Colonel Kerber had already thought that he could go to the capital of Lucerne and plunder first, and if Constantin Sigwater's acquaintance bribed him with money, then Colonel Kerber could think about it.

At that moment, a gunshot broke the silence of the valley, and the herald next to Colonel Kerber fell in response.

The battle was on the verge of breaking out, and many Swiss soldiers were killed before they could reload their rifles with gunpowder.

In fact, in the panic, more soldiers forgot to charge their smoothbore guns, and just held the guns and pulled the trigger frantically, and kept making "biu~biu~" sounds in their mouths.

The gunfire of the attackers was incrucious, which made Colonel Kerber feel that he must have encountered the main force of the Orthodox Alliance.

A one-sided massacre was unfolding in the valley, and Colonel Kerber ordered a retreat, only to be knocked to the ground in disbelief by a bullet clutching his chest.

An officer with gray hair put away his rifle, which was still smoking, and handed it to the soldier next to him.

"When they're finished, remember to only chase and kill at the tail end, and not to engage the enemy head-on."

"Yes!"

It could be seen that the soldiers around him had great respect for the old officer.

Here the commander of the enemy army has been killed, and the morale has collapsed. Sigismund will rush to the next battlefield and repeat the previous killing.

Although it is a bit shameless to beat an officer, it is too efficient to destroy the enemy's chain of command in this way.

"Sniper rifles? If this thing had been born decades earlier, perhaps the war against France would have been much easier. ”

Sigismund said to himself, but even if it was shameless to use a sniper rifle, he would do it, after all, he was not a knight, but the captain of the guard of the Grand Duke Karl.

Several surprise forces suffered the same fate, the commander was killed after the order to retreat, and the remnants fled without a trace.

After a whole day's fighting, nearly 8,000 men were lost, and Dufort did not know how many people were ambushed in the valley.

Not only that, but the number of people killed is ominous, the number of enemies killed is ominous, and the number of people who have fled is unknown

Dufour only knew that half of his elite shepherd army had been scrapped, and the shepherds of the Swiss mountains often had to deal with wild wolves and bandits, and occasionally did some unfounded business, so they were considered the most combat-ready warriors.

However, at this time it was only a battle, and in less than a day, the shepherds of the eight regiments were reimbursed in this way.

Dufort immediately ordered the storming of the most important fortress on the outskirts of Lucerne, the bridgehead on the Reuss River, which was not covered by a hill, but was a standard bastion.

What's even more disadvantageous is that if you want to attack this fortress, you have to cross the Reuss Bridge or cross the Reuss River.

The river isn't too wide, but it's not a good idea to cross it on foot in winter.

Then you can only attack head-on and open the way with your own one hundred and thirty cannons.

In fact, the main reason why Dufort stormed the bridgehead was that he felt that the commander of Lucerne must have placed a large number of troops in the valley, so that he could break up his own formation so quickly and effectively.

However, reality gave him a blow in the face, and instead of engaging in an artillery duel with Dufour, the defenders hiding in the bridgehead aimed their artillery at the soldiers who were preparing to cross the bridge.

The soldiers on the bridge huddled together like minced meat, and shells flew into the crowd to make bloody alleys. There were stumps and severed arms everywhere, wails came and went, and flesh and blood covered the entire bridge.

Looking at the hellish scene in front of him, Dufort realized that he was actually fighting.

The previous fantastic start made him forget the cruelty of war, and he even fantasized about being able to do it in Fribourg.

Thinking of these Dufort orders the Overseer to drive more soldiers to the front, the peasants who had been digging in the fields more than ten days ago couldn't help but tremble when they saw the bridge covered with fresh flesh and blood in front of them.

The Warlords had been experienced in fighting as mercenaries, and the soldier on the far left fell in response to a gunshot.

"Up!"

The recruits still shuddered, and another shot rang out, followed by a row of gunshots.

"Listen to the one who retreats! Hesitate to die! Death to those who fear the enemy and cowards! ”

"Up!"

"Ahh

Finally, a soldier couldn't stand it and rushed onto the slippery bridge with his gun, but soon fell and died without knowing his life.

More recruits were then driven onto the bridge, and the brave soldiers carved a path out of the corpses, but the bridge collapsed just before they could reach the other side.

The dead and the living fell into the icy Reuss River, which soon turned red and eventually emptied Lake Lucerne.

Dufort thumped his chest, but he knew that this was what war was all about, which is why he hated it so much.

The Battle of the Reuss River was one of the worst of the previous Swiss Civil Wars, but this time the Freedom Alliance alone suffered more than 2,500 casualties, a hundredfold number of casualties.

Including the shepherds' regiments lost in the western valleys, the losses of the Free Alliance in the first battle of Lucerne exceeded 10,000 (most of them were deserters), while the losses of the Orthodox Alliance were less than 100, of which 17 were caused by a misfall into the valley during the pursuit.

(They were tied together when they walked the cliffs, but they weren't tied together after the war.) ）

Archduke Karl looked at the bloody battlefield through the telescope, and did not show much emotion, but Konstantin Sigwater and Ulrich Salis looked very excited.

"What a miracle! If we continue to fight like this, our counterattack on Geneva will be just around the corner! ”