In the depths of the mountains, the night is as varnish as paint.

The Pyrenees Mountains shrouded in the night are like a winding snake, lying on the edge of the plateau and hilly basin, becoming the natural border between Spain and France. The entire mountain range extends from east to west for thousands of kilometers. The rugged mountain roads and an average altitude of more than 2,000 meters make the Ass Pass between the mountains the most important transportation route in the two countries for more than a thousand years.

The AS Pass is only more than 300 meters above sea level and less than 200 meters perpendicular. Its left and right ends are mountains and steep cliffs. The north side of the pass is the French realm, which is down along the gravel-covered and winding and rugged slope. It is a undulating mountain hilly area within a range of several kilometers. It is located in dozens of highlands of all sizes, and several highlands exceed the height of the pass.

I don’t know if the Spanish are lazy by nature or if they lack hard rocks nearby (according to the solidity of the rocks of Platz coefficient, the hardness coefficient of limestone is only 1.5 to 2, which is not enough to build solid fortifications). Except for more than a dozen sentinels used to protect tax collectors, the mountain pass has almost been unprepared. The main defense lines of the armies of the two countries are basically more than ten miles away from the mountain pass.

In the 1st century BC, while suppressing the Gaul rooster, Caesar also brought his invincible Roman infantry regiment to the Iberis Plateau through the Ass Pass; around the 10th century AD, the Arabs rushed down the plateau through this pass, spreading the unpleasant body odor throughout southern France; in the early 18th century AD, in order to support the Louis family, French troops also crossed it and arrived in Madrid...

But when history entered 1794, the situation changed. General Geronemo planned to strengthen the fortifications of the mountain pass at the beginning of defending the area. However, because Commander Geronemo initially faced the opponent, only the most incompetent Dopp among all the Blue Legions, the battle between the two sides seemed to be a game-like tug-of-war between the two agreed. Therefore, General Geronemo's initial defense in the mountain pass area was more symbolic, with only one dissatisfied battalion soldiers and a small number of light artillery, mainly used to warn and prevent enemy spies.

When Andrew arrived in Meas and reorganized the New Pyrenees Legion, the number of Spanish defensive soldiers on the mountain pass increased from less than 300 to more than 5,000. With the support of the Duke of Sanchez, Gironimo also forcibly recruited tens of thousands of migrant workers and transported a large amount of hard granite from the city of Saracoza hundreds of miles away. Within just 30 days, tens of thousands of people worked hard day and night, making the defensive fortifications at Ass Pass from the initial simple chest wall to be reconstructed and expanded to standard, a solid three-dimensional defensive fortress and a triangular prism.

This triangular basin originated from the 16th century Black Fire War, with its walls low and thick, extending from the triangular basin on the flanks of the city wall. At the same time, in order to enhance the solidity of the city wall and prevent the French infantry from taking advantage of the opportunity, Geronemo ordered a wide moat ditch around the castle to build an outer cliff next to the ditch. Some light cannons were also deployed on the outer cliff to deal with a large number of siege cannons and prevent the enemy from getting close.

In terms of firepower, considering that the 4-pound light gun was not enough to suppress the influx of the French, two heavy artillery positions were also constructed in the ring area on the left and right sides of the bastion. General Gironimo took all his belongings to transport more than half of the large-caliber artillery of 16 to 24 pounds in the legion, totaling 12, with the intention of suppressing the attack of French weapons with his condescending geographical location.

Note: Since the strong recoil generated during the launch of heavy artillery can easily destroy the cornerstone of the city wall, it cannot be placed on the castle wall.

Geronemo's months of hard work were finally not in vain. At least Andrew's legion has not appeared within the sight of Spanish soldiers. In Geronemo's opinion, although his defensive fortress cannot guarantee that it will resist the fierce attack of the French, he believes that he can kill and attack troops on one side in a large number of days or dozens of days of battle, seriously damaging the offensive spirit of Andrew's legion.

Even if the "extremely brave" French people crossed the Ass Pass regardless of casualties, they would not be able to conquer the city of Figueras dozens of miles away in a row. By then, in accordance with the strategic deployment previously practiced with Duke Sanchez, 30,000 Spanish reinforcements will also be surrounded and siege from behind the French. The two armies gathered at the city of Figueras, attacked from the front and back, and then encircled and annihilated the weak and exhausted Andrew's army, so that the proud Frenchmen could get the power of the Spanish iron fist.

Obviously, Commander Geronemo's wishful thinking was so loud that he even forgot that there were two serious fatal injuries in the entire strategic defense idea:

First, in terms of intelligence, he only knew his own strategic defense deployment. Because of the serious lag in intelligence work (Spanish spies were too incompetent, and the British spies suddenly stopped transmitting messages), Gronimo was unaware of the other party's tactical use arrangements. General Gronimo, who had never experienced a great war and a fierce battle, never looked down on his opponent, General Andrew, still naively believed that the other party would take the initiative to jump into the Spanish trap.

Second, in terms of defense, Gronimo only cared about the defense of Ass Pass itself, but failed to strengthen the defense work on the mountain monument highlands parallel to Ass Pass and less than 400 meters away. He was too conservative in the construction of the entire defense system. The Spanish enemy commander only emphasized his weak position and was always in a passive state of being beaten in the layout. Finally, at the suggestion of the adjutant, at the two high grounds closest to the mountain pass, one of the few outpost troops were dispatched to guard there, and even the cannon was reluctant to be placed.

"Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles." After arriving in the Pyrenees, Andrew strengthened the anti-espionage function of the military police to prevent the leak of information from his own side; on the other hand, he actively sent various personnel to spy on the Spanish military information. The well-trained special forces brigade often crossed mountains more than 2,000 meters above sea level, went deep into enemy positions, and drew sand tables and artillery attack locations. The one who really allowed Andrew to obtain all the enemy information was the extremely charming woman. This female Irish agent with no real name was able to take out the entire theater defense plan from the Spanish commander's quilt, which really allowed Andrew and his subordinates to feel the special use of special forces.

Originally, Andrew wanted to learn from Napoleon's way of crossing the Alps and attacking the Italians unexpectedly. The army detoured the middle of the Pyrenees, which was rarely visited and carried out a strategic strike. However, after repeated practices with Massena and others on the sand table, Andrew finally gave up this plan for three reasons:

First, the middle road of the Pyrenees is an altitude of 3,000 meters. The steep and rugged mountain roads cannot guarantee the movement of the large army and provide continuous supply for the future. According to Major General Massena's experience in alpine combat, if he wants to forcibly cross the unmanned land, the soldiers must go into battle lightly and prepare for about one-tenth of non-combat casualties, and give up all kinds of artillery that are extremely heavy. This is obviously something Andrew is unwilling to do. In the commander's tactical concept, the non-combat reduction of troops must be minimized, and the attack power of the artillery must always be placed first.

Secondly, the cunning Duke of Sanchez had already been prepared for the raid tactics that Andrew was about to adopt. He deployed many rangers and a large number of independent battalions in the middle of the Pyrenees. These people were originally private troops armed by local feudal aristocracy, but were later incorporated and trained by the Duke. Although their combat effectiveness was not strong, they were very familiar with the local geographical environment and hated the French. The task assigned by Duke Sanchez was to not engage in any head-on battles, and to carry out guerrilla warfare in the jungle at all costs, trying their best to tangle, drag and die, and exhaust the French who were trying to cross the central mountains.

Third, Captain Tede failed to convince the Basque elders. Although the captain tried all his strength, coupled with the coercion and temptation, he could not shake the armistice agreement just reached by the elders and Duke Sanchez. In desperation, Captain Tede had to join forces with several Basque rebels who were broken by the Spaniards, retreated collectively to the mountains and forests, and constantly sent spies to use Nighthawks to convey intelligence information to Commander Andrew.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Andrew finally decided to use Ass Pass as a battle breakthrough. Indeed, the low and easy-to-transport supply Ass Pass should become the only way for the Pyrenees legion, but Andrew did not want to attack the Yama Pass with infantry at the mercy of his opponent.

The heavy lesson of injury on the Lassein Peninsula last time has made him unforgettable. Nearly a thousand brave French soldiers fell on the hillside one after another. If Colonel Shush's rifle company had not lucky enough to destroy the enemy's artillery position, he might have been hung in front of the Little Gibraltar Fortress. Since then, Andrew's heart has been extremely disgusted with attacking the solid fortress on the front. He would never let the infantry take weapons, drag heavy steps, and rush up the triangular bastion between the rugged mountain roads. What's more, the path leading to the fortress is too crowded and not suitable for large-scale movements by the cavalry.
Chapter completed!