I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 694 695: The Battle for the Silver Eagle

Gdańsk sat on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea.

Since the First Partition of Poland, Prussia had seized all the cities surrounding this port, leaving Gdańsk as an isolated Polish enclave.

General von Hohen's urgency to march on Gdańsk was not because he expected it to be a difficult conquest, nor because he wanted to prepare an elaborate plan. Quite the opposite—Prussian leadership unanimously believed Gdańsk could be taken with minimal effort.

Hohen's true objective was the wealth contained within the port: the valuable goods held by Polish merchants and the Polish trading ships anchored there. He knew news of the war would soon reach Gdańsk, so he needed to arrive quickly to catch as much "big game" as possible.

Leaving his cumbersome artillery behind, Hohen led the Royal Brandenburg Corps and over a dozen cavalry squadrons—13,000 men in total—in a forced march north.

Gdańsk Port.

Inside a red three-story building along Royal Avenue, the 16 members of the Gdańsk Management Committee were engaged in a heated debate.

"We only have 400 soldiers; we won't hold out for half an hour! Handing over control of the port to the Prussians is our only option!"

"I agree. The Prussians will honor the 'Joint Management Agreement' and ensure the safety of... uh, the merchants and their goods."

Committee Chairman Kowalczyk sat with his head bowed, muttering, "But... the two nations are at war. If we allow the Prussians in unchecked..."

As the head of the Management Committee, Kowalczyk functioned as the equivalent of the city's mayor.

"We can't do anything! Resisting will only provoke them further!"

"Exactly! Besides, we haven't received any orders from the King for combat readiness..."

Indeed, with Gdańsk entirely cut off from mainland Poland, no orders from Warsaw had reached the port.

Meanwhile, on the west side of the room, a few Prussian members of the committee silently watched the Poles argue, exchanging disdainful glances and smirks.

Although Gdańsk was Polish territory, Prussia also held significant administrative authority over the city.

It was a peculiar situation: Prussia had declared war on Poland, yet longstanding conventions allowed Prussian officials to continue attending these discussions about the port's fate.

The Prussians were confident their army would soon arrive, making them the true masters of the city. The Polish officials would have to grovel for their protection if they wanted to avoid being mistreated by the invading soldiers.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway.

The door was flung open with a loud "Bang!"

To the committee members' shock, Romilev, the port's chief constable, stormed in, pistol in hand, followed by 20 armed patrolmen carrying flintlock rifles.

"What... what are you doing?" a Polish official stammered.

Romilev ignored the question, striding into the room and looking toward the western side of the hall.

"Werner Bengelmann?" he barked.

The startled Prussian official instinctively nodded.

Romilev raised his pistol without hesitation and fired.

Bang! Bengelmann was thrown back by the force of the shot, a gaping, bloodied hole in his chest.

"Kurt Müller," Romilev announced next.

A patrolman stepped forward, shooting the dumbstruck Prussian dead.

The remaining four Prussian committee members finally realized what was happening and scrambled for the door. A volley of gunfire rang out, cutting them down before they could escape.

"Good God! Have you all gone mad?!" a Polish official exclaimed, staring in horror at the corpses.

Romilev calmly holstered his pistol and ordered his men to drag the bodies away. Then he turned to the remaining committee members and declared:

"Gentlemen, we no longer have any reason to hesitate.

The only option left to us is to defend Gdańsk to the death!"

Kowalczyk's voice trembled as he shook his head. "It's over... We're doomed now..."

"Please sign an order to arrest all Prussians in the port," Romilev insisted.

"No... no..." Kowalczyk refused weakly.

From behind the patrolmen, a sharp-eyed man wearing a felt hat stepped forward. "We must not surrender the port to the treacherous Prussians! Trust me, we can hold Gdańsk."

"Schumann?" Kowalczyk recognized the speaker as Pierre Edgar Schumann, a financial officer representing French investors. Unbeknownst to the others, Schumann also held the rank of captain in the French Royal Guard's Artillery Corps.

"But we don't have enough troops..." Kowalczyk protested.

Schumann pointed out the window and interrupted: "There are over a thousand sailors and even more dockworkers willing to fight for Poland to the bitter end!"

"Even with them, we can't match the Prussian forces. They'll send at least 10,000 soldiers."

"We can rely on the fortress," Schumann replied confidently.

"Fortress? What fortress?" Kowalczyk asked, bewildered.

"Baron Lacoste's new estate," Schumann explained, spreading out a blueprint on the table. "Its design incorporated defensive features from the outset."

The blueprint depicted a luxurious mansion situated at the entrance to the Westerplatte Peninsula, part of Gdańsk Port.

Baron Lacoste was one of the major stakeholders in the 4 million francs invested in the port. Claiming he adored the view, he had spent a fortune constructing a lavish vacation estate there.

"This... this is a bastion fort?!" a military-savvy committee member exclaimed after examining the blueprint.

Indeed, knowing the Poles were in denial about the possibility of a Prussian invasion, Joseph had quietly orchestrated preparations to fortify Gdańsk's defenses.

He drew inspiration from the "Silver Eagle Defense" during World War II, when Polish forces had successfully defended Gdańsk against Nazi Germany.

At that time, 10,000 German troops, including 1,500 SS enforcers, had planned to capture the port within 15 minutes.

Instead, a few hundred Polish defenders held the Westerplatte Peninsula for an entire week. Despite relentless assaults supported by naval ships and bombers, the Germans failed to breach their defenses. It was only after the Polish government surrendered and ordered the garrison to stand down that Germany claimed Gdańsk.

The key to the Poles' strategy lay in tightly controlling the narrow entrance to the peninsula.

Gdańsk Port consists of two main sections: the southern mainland and the northern peninsula, separated by a narrow channel that serves as a safe harbor for ships.

By fortifying the northern peninsula, defenders could use artillery to dominate the mainland section of the port. The narrow entrance to the peninsula could be blocked with just a few well-placed fortifications.

Joseph's plan went one step further, replacing temporary barricades with a bastion fort.

Disguised as a "mansion," the fort resembled a castle from the outside. Only a handful of French engineers knew it was actually a pentagonal bastion, complete with rounded angles for optimal defense.

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