Ming Zuo

By the port in Barcelona, ​​Paul Coraris was on the verge of tears.

Since the French left, their independence movement has suffered a major blow.

Facing the pressing force of the Spanish government forces, the Catalans have little room to maneuver.

Unexpectedly, just as they were about to prepare for the street battle in the city, the National Defense Forces came.

After sweeping across the Mediterranean, the ocean-going fleet began to reinforce Catalonia according to the established plan.

They will not go ashore to fight, so as not to be dragged into the situation in Spain, but they can provide weapons to the Catalans.

In fact, what the Catalans lack most is weapons.

Regarding independence, Catalans can be said to be united and united.

It's just that Catalonia's strategic space is limited and its resources are scarce. No matter how planned it is, it cannot manufacture too many weapons.

The French would aid them before, but since the French left, the rebels are facing a severe shortage of weapons.

"A total of [-] muskets and [-] cannons. I hope they can help you out of the predicament."

Xu Jianzhong handed over the weapon to Paul Colaris.

It doesn't seem like much, but it's definitely a blessing in disguise for the Catalans.

"Thank you very much for the support of the empire, the Catalans will be the eternal help of the empire."

Coralis burst into tears, and seeing the joyful looks of the others around the weapon, he finally saw hope.

They also know the movements of the Spanish army.

Of the 2 Spanish troops that had besieged Barcelona, ​​there are now only more than [-] left.

The rest of the troops were dispatched to various places to fight the fire.

The ocean-going fleet caused great trouble to Spain. There were wars everywhere, attacks everywhere, and many cities fell.

The territory of mainland Spain is actually not large, and no one can guarantee whether the National Defense Forces will land.

After all, the Wehrmacht landed from any place, and it didn't take much time to reach Madrid.

However, the ocean-going fleet travels by boat, while the Spanish army travels on foot.In the next period of time, the Spanish army had to be exhausted, and no longer cared about destroying the Catalan rebels.

Now that the Catalans are backed up with arms, they have the confidence to hold on to Barcelona.

With this thorn stuck, Spain is like a thorn in the throat, full of loopholes.

But the biggest eye of the storm in Europe is still on the British Isles.

After nearly two years of intense preparations, Charles II was impatient.

He didn't like living in Edinburgh, he wanted to return to loyal London.

Especially now that Scotland is independent, he lives here more like a foreigner.

People here don't respect him either, just treat him as a guest.

With the training and support of the National Defense Forces, the royal army has expanded more than ten times, and its weapons have been greatly enhanced.

Charles II was full of confidence and felt that the parliamentary army could be wiped out in one battle.

"The king is very stubborn and turned a deaf ear to our persuasion. The consequences of this battle may be unexpected."

The military attache of the embassy reported to Liao Zhongjian and was worried at the same time.

Compared with him, Liao Zhongjian is much calmer.

"What does it matter who wins or loses? Our purpose is to weaken Britain, and we don't need to be responsible for the outcome of the war."

Liao Zhongjian is very cold-blooded.

Under his auspices, the empire's assistance to the royal family can be said to be dedicated.If you don't do this, everyone agrees that the royal army will never be able to defeat the parliamentary army.

Under the auspices of Cromwell, the Parliamentary Army has completed a thorough reform and evolved into a more modern army.

As for the royal army, because the remnants of the old era widely exist in it, the officers of the empire have spent a lot of effort, and it is difficult to help it achieve transformation.

The biggest culprit among them is the King of England.

Through the training of the royal army, everyone has a deeper understanding of class.

Fortunately, the royal army has weapon bonuses, as well as the help of the Wehrmacht and the Dutch army. The overall situation is good.

At the beginning of October, under the order of Charles II, Ruprecht led the left army to attack Kendal, with the goal of Manchester, and seized the British industrial base.

The Earl of Essex led the right army to attack Leeds, with the goal of opening the door to London.

Cromwell did not dare to neglect, and immediately used all his troops to fight.

In the Yorkshire Dales, the soldiers and horses of the two sides faced off.

After the previous blows, Ruprecht became much more stable, and did not underestimate the parliamentary army because his weapons were more advanced.

After he captured Kendal, he quickly sent troops to seize Sedberg, so as to prevent the parliamentary army from going around the valley to attack his rear.

Then he marched into Burton.

In the wild just outside Burton, the two sides met.

Compared with the king's army with messy costumes and severe malnutrition, the uniforms of the parliamentary army are all bright red, and their morale is high.

Under the command of Fairfax, the parliamentary army moved quickly, and soon formed a three-way sandwich situation against the royal army.

But it's useless!
That's exactly what Ruprecht hoped for.

He curled up his own formation, effectively avoiding the weakness of the army's poor command, and at the same time hit the firepower even more.

When the parliamentary army began to press to the near point, Ruprecht gave an order, and more than 400 artillery pieces began to roar.

The parliamentary army hit by overwhelming shells could no longer maintain a complete formation, creating a large gap.

The fierce vitality of the Mines rifle made it impossible for the parliamentary army to fight back.

They hadn't come within range of their own side yet, they were beaten to pieces, and the formation was sparse.

No matter how brave a soldier is, he cannot persevere in the face of such a terrible blow.

Ruprecht was overjoyed and quickly launched a counterattack.

Although Fairfax stayed behind, he dispatched cavalry in time.But in the face of sharp firearms, the cavalry of the parliamentary army had little effect.

Even if the attack of the royal army was finally blocked and the retreat of the main force was covered, it also paid a heavy price of 700 casualties.

After this battle, Fairfax deeply understood that Manchester could no longer defend.

While retreating, he wrote to Cromwell, describing in detail the changes in the royal army, and at the same time he was full of pessimism about the follow-up battle.

It's a pity that he lacks the necessary understanding of the royal army.

The left army won a complete victory, but the right army pulled their hips.

The parliamentary army commanded by Cromwell himself fought against Lord Essex on the outskirts of Darlington. After seeing the terrible firepower of the royal army, he wisely did not fight head-on, but withdrew the parliamentary army.

At the same time, a large number of stragglers were sent into the surrounding hilly areas, and even smuggled across the Tees River in Middlesbrough at night.

Lord Essex was dazzled by the victory and rushed after Cromwell. As a result, the formation of the team was loose and the front and rear were very out of touch.

When the stragglers of the parliamentary army suddenly attacked Darlington and burned the food and grass of the royal army, Lord Essex was shocked and completely lost his position.

Cromwell quickly launched a counterattack, chasing the dispirited royal army and massacring them.

Facts have proved that even the best weapons have to be used by people.

People can't do it, weapons can only be subsidized for opponents.

This victory and one defeat brought the situation in England back to a balanced state.