The capture of Bruckewasser (2)

Ilse had made contact with their local agents in Bruckewasser and now she and Hans sat in the back of a bar where they could see out over the main square. They observed the panic caused by the French landing and the flight of most of the nobility from the town once news of the defeat arrived. More disappointing was the local militia who began to vanish whenever they had chance leaving the defences to a couple of companies of garrison infantry plus a few gunners. Of course the biggest loss had been Colonel Faffen who possibly might have held the defences together.

Ideally Ilse would have liked to have seen the bridge across the Farrett to the northern quarter destroyed but there had been no attempt by the Pommaine forces to prepare for the eventuality of French attack.

Hearing a change in the noise level they looked out again on the square and saw the local troops slowly mustering there rather than being on the walls and realised the worse, the town had capitulated. Then to the beat of drums the French marched into the square and their forces gradually surrounded the soldiers in the centre of the square.

The remaining Pommaine commander, a Captain Ockup, surrendered and his troops were marched off to be imprisoned. Realising what would happen next, Ilse and Hans left the bar by a back exit and travelled to a safe house organised by their main agent Franz Ferdinand.

In fact the French were well disciplined, but their commander demanded that sufficient food and drink be brought to the main square for his troops. This was only the start of the requisitions.