novelSusiti Chapter 99. The Battle of Cux 6
Chapter 99. The Battle of Cux 6
Chapter 99. The Battle of Cux 6
In fact, by the fourth day after Cuxhaven was captured by the German army, the thick fog at the mouth of the Elbe had completely dissipated, and the weather had been fine for days.
Excellent sea weather allowed the Royal Navy's transport fleet to travel smoothly and arrive at the waters off Cooks Harbour on schedule.
A dense array of transport ships were anchored in the shallow waters. Accompanied by the loud commands of officers and the creaking of winches, the second batch of 4,000 German Army soldiers, all their reserve mules and horses, heavy field artillery, and a massive amount of strategic supplies landed on the beaches of Cuxhaven.
At this point, the entire German Legion under Duggan, consisting of eight thousand soldiers, was transported to Hanover.
The cannons, supply wagons, and warhorses were piled up in layers, creating a magnificent spectacle.
Everyone knew that a large-scale French counterattack was only a matter of time, and they didn't have much time left to build a defensive system.
From the very beginning of his landing, Dugan adopted a strategy of holding out to the bitter end.
Cuxhaven is currently the Legion's only landing point and supply port. If the port falls, the German Legion will be trapped on the European coast, facing a dead end with no way to advance or retreat.
Therefore, before the second batch of troops had fully landed, Dugan ordered the entire engineering company to prioritize the construction of multi-layered earthen and wooden fortifications.
Coastal defense positions were built along the coastline, intersecting trenches were dug around towns, breastworks and foxholes were constructed, and simple fortifications were built at important transportation nodes, equipped with artillery firing positions and ammunition cellars.
Captains Behrens, Bach, Prot, and Mainek of the engineer company were working themselves to the bone, but they still couldn't keep up with the schedule.
This is understandable, as the German Army Corps only had a little over one hundred professional engineers. Even with everyone working in two shifts, day and night, it was still a drop in the ocean compared to the planned fortifications stretching for several kilometers.
While ordinary infantrymen could assist in digging trenches, they lacked the specialized skills to handle complex tasks such as integrating civil engineering structures, resulting in an appallingly slow construction progress.
Inside the forward command post on the Altinwald Heights, Dugan was furious as he looked at the bunker, which was less than half-finished.
"You idiots, lazybones, vermin, do you expect to finish repairing this damn bunker before the French bayonets are pointed at your noses?" Dugan pointed at the noses of Captain Behrens, Bach, Prott, and Mainek.
"If there's not enough time, perhaps it would be better to use them as your graves!"
On a makeshift table made of a dozen or so ammunition boxes, there was a huge blueprint. On the blueprint, trenches and fortresses were planned in an orderly manner.
"General, at the current construction speed, it will take at least twenty days to complete all the basic defensive works," Major Harkert said, standing to the side. "The engineering corps is already operating beyond its capacity, and many soldiers are exhausted. If we continue to put pressure on them, it could easily lead to non-combat casualties."
The cavalry commander, von Bock, chimed in, "We can spare some cavalry to assist in the construction, but the cavalry's primary duty is reconnaissance and field combat. Spending so much time digging fortifications will seriously affect their ability to fight in the future."
"Twenty days?" Dugan found a new target for his venting. He unleashed a torrent of abuse on Major Harkert, and finally Dugan quipped, "Maybe you could write a letter to Napoleon and ask him to give us twenty days."
The officers remained silent.
Dugan was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up and saw Cookes citizens chopping wood on the distant hillside.
A thought suddenly struck him, and he looked up at Colonel Deakin beside him: "Colonel Deakin, how many local civilians are within our controlled area?"
Deken paused slightly, quickly recalled for a moment, and replied, "Cooks currently has no fewer than a thousand local Hanova civilians in the city, according to rough estimates. Adding the villages around Wana, Neukirchen, and Nordleda, as well as some civilians who have come to join us, there are at least four or five thousand people."
"That's enough," Dugan said. "You immediately take men and mobilize all healthy local civilians—men, women, even children and the elderly—to help the engineering corps dig trenches, transport building materials, and construct fortifications."
But Deakin hesitated, taking a half-step forward. "General," he said, "recruiting civilians as laborers is no problem. My question is, what standard will we use to pay these local laborers? How many pence per day? Will it be paid from our troops' pay? And will their food come from our rations?"
In this era, it was an unwritten rule for the military to conscript civilian labor and pay them wages.
Whether it was British troops stationed on the mainland or French troops conscripting laborers in occupied territories, in theory, labor was settled in monetary terms. Unpaid conscription was likely to incite public resentment and would be counterproductive.
British military conscription was divided into two categories: one was voluntary employment, in which daily wages were paid in cash.
In 1804, the daily wage for an ordinary laborer was about 2 pence, which usually included food rations. If you had a skill, the daily wage would be higher.
Another type is emergency requisition, such as wartime repair of fortifications and transport of grain. Forced conscription is possible, but an official requisition receipt must be issued on the spot, specifying the number of people, working hours, and amount to be paid, with a promise to settle accounts with the British military supply department after the war based on the receipt.
At least legally, it is forbidden to get something for free.
Harkert chimed in, "Colonel Decken is right. If we requisition without compensation, the locals might mistakenly think we're just like the French who plunder and exploit."
Dugan firmly disagreed with the suggestion.
"What? Salary? Not a single guinea." Dugan shook his head vigorously.
"cough!"
Dugan walked up to the hanging map of Hanover and put on a serious expression. "You need to understand a very basic principle. We, the British army and the German Legion, crossed the Channel to Hanover not to serve as mercenaries for the Hanoverians, nor to provide everything for them free of charge."
"We have come here with only one purpose: to expel the French occupying forces, overthrow the foreign enslaving regime, and liberate the entire Hanoi homeland."
Dugan waved his hand, mimicking the gesture of someone from later generations, and swept his serious and sharp gaze across all the officers present, asking them in return: "Since it's about liberating the Hanoverians' homeland, helping the Hanoverians break free from French control and enslavement, and protecting their families and livelihoods, why should we pay for it?"
"Fighting for the liberation of the Hanoverians on Hanoveran soil, and they want payment? Is our homeland a commodity to be bought and sold?"
Dugan put one hand to his chest, feigning deep sorrow.
"Once the French counterattack and recapture Cuxhaven, it will not be the British, who are far across the Channel, who suffer, but the Hanoverians who have lived here for generations. Their homes will be destroyed by war, their families will be implicated, their property will be looted by the French, and everyone will fall back into the abyss of being enslaved by foreign powers."
"The fortifications were built to defend against the French army, not for the British, but to protect the homes of the Hanoverians themselves."
Dugan raised his right hand again, pointing to the sky, "I believe there should never have been any compensation. When the country is in danger, every Hanova should contribute money and labor. The able-bodied should go to the front to build defenses, the wealthy should donate military funds and supplies, and all Hanova should work together. This is the situation that should be in place right now."
After delivering this long speech, Dugan paused deliberately to observe the officers' expressions. Gris and Ken remained expressionless, as the fate of the Hanoverians was none of their concern.
The German officers seemed to have been persuaded by Duggan.
"Paying money only yields passively employed laborers, while awakening national consciousness brings forth compatriots who actively fight alongside them."
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Dugan added another sentence as he pressed on.
"I understand!" Deken was the first to have a sudden realization.
He solemnly saluted Dugan, "I will immediately go and gather local gentry and civilian representatives to call on the whole people to build a defensive line!"
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"And the church too, we need to mobilize the pastors as well," Dugan added. "But remember, violent conscription is prohibited. We respect civilians who are willing to contribute; as for cowards who are unwilling to fight for freedom and Hanover, we will only condemn them morally."
"Yes, sir!" The officers saluted in unison.
Just as Dugan had predicted, many ordinary people were initially hesitant and unwilling to work for free.
However, the German officers appealed to their emotions (through a combination of coaxing and deception) and reasoned with them (using moral blackmail), threatening the civilians that if the French counterattack succeeded, everyone would return to a life of enslavement. As a result, the vast majority of civilians were willing to cooperate.
After all, for ordinary people at the bottom of society, a stable home is far more important than a meager salary.
In Cux alone, more than 200 able-bodied young civilians spontaneously gathered, bringing their own shovels, picks and other tools, and went to various construction sites outside the city to work alongside the engineers and infantry of the German Army Corps.
Subsequently, the call was extended to Wana, Neuinkirchen and Nordleda, where nearly 2000 civilians responded to the call, bringing their own food and tools to help the British build fortifications.
The addition of many shipbuilders, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other skilled craftsmen caused the previously stagnant construction progress to increase several times over in an instant.
With breastworks and trenches extending continuously, and fortresses rising from the ground, a solid defensive line that combines land and sea defense, nested layer upon layer, is taking shape at a visible speed.
However, Dugan felt it wasn't enough.
Under Dugan's command, the engineers built a sloping breastwork for the infantry.
This type of breastwork is lower on the side facing the enemy and higher on the side facing oneself.
The advantage of doing this is that even if a shell hits this breastwork directly, it will bounce upwards, making it less likely to injure the person behind the breastwork.
When infantrymen stand behind such breastworks, they basically only show their heads, and even with the accuracy of modern rifles, it is difficult to hit them even after several volleys.
However, our own infantry can use the breastwork as a firing platform, which not only allows them to dodge bullets but also improves their shooting accuracy, killing two birds with one stone.
In addition to these slopes, Dugan also ordered many pits, six feet wide and three feet deep, to be dug on the flat ground to stop mass charges by French infantry and cavalry.
By June 25, 1804, Cux's fortifications were almost entirely completed.
Duggan arrived at the newly completed forward command post on the Altinwald Heights and personally raised the British flag and the German Legion flag.
"I hereby declare the Dugan Connaught Line a successful completion." Gris, standing nearby, was the first to cheer and applaud.
"Let the French do it!"
"I can't wait to kill those Frenchmen!"
"Long live the General!"
"Let the French see how powerful the Hanoverians are!"
Various shouts rose and fell.
"Brother, how did you come up with this name?" Dugan glanced at Gris.
Since parting ways with the farm girl who had contracted syphilis, Gris has been living a life of abstinence and celibacy. Could it be that he's developed some kind of mental illness from holding back his desires?
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