Chapter 479: Burning the Palace of Versailles (3rd update, please subscribe)
Palace of Versailles!
For France, it has a very special meaning. From 1682 to 1789, it served as the French court for 107 years.
It is the most prestigious palace in Europe and also the most luxurious. The court balls here were once the dream of every European nobleman. For any European nobleman, being able to enter and exit this palace and attend the balls here is an honor worth showing off for a lifetime.
On October 6, 1789, Louis XVI was taken to Paris by the people, and the history of Versailles as a royal palace came to an end. During the French Revolution, Versailles was looted many times by the people, and this "former heart of Europe" became a ruin for 40 years. It was not until 1833 that King Louis Philippe ordered the restoration of Versailles and turned it into a historical museum.
Although it is no longer a royal palace, it is the glory of France and it witnessed the most glorious past of France. Since the completion of this magnificent palace, it has been the political symbol of France! And now, due to the needs of Prussian national sentiment, this former royal palace has become the base camp of Prussia. Even when William I led his base camp members into the palace, the whole of Berlin, the whole of North Germany, and even Austria cheered!
This is the glory of Germany!
Because Germans also hold grudges!
From 1806, Napoleon decided to personally send the "Holy Roman Empire", which was only a title, to the grave, and issued an ultimatum to the Austrian Emperor Francis II, demanding that he dissolve the Holy Roman Empire and give up the title of "Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Romans".
The most simple national sentiments of the divided, devastated, and warring German nation were impacted in a way that outsiders could hardly understand. From that day on, revenge and unification were engraved in the hearts of many Germans.
And now, when William I led his base camp into the "heart of Europe", the entire German nation naturally cheered.
"We - the King of Germany is in Versailles! In the French palace!"
What a simple national sentiment!
When German newspapers reported the news with excitement, they apparently forgot one thing - the situation of the war had changed.
Glory, most likely, is the glory of achieving success for others.
At about three o'clock in the afternoon on October 1, Prussian soldiers on guard outside the Palace of Versailles heard a roar from the air and they immediately sounded the alarm.
For a moment, urgent whistles echoed inside and outside the Palace of Versailles. As in the past, King William I, Prime Minister Bismarck, Chief of Staff Moltke and others all hid in the underground wine cellar near the palace. The underground wine cellar, which was once used to store fine wine, was the best shelter.
The guards guarding the palace hid in the woods.
"Maybe just passing through here."
The officers looked at the black spot in the distance and said to themselves that the airship had flown to the palace before, but it just circled over the palace a few times. Maybe it would be the same this time.
Just as this thought came to their minds, the airship flew over the Palace of Versailles and began dropping bombs.
"bomb!"
With an order, the hatch opened and bombs fell one by one. Liu Cunyu aimed the camera at the Palace of Versailles. At this time, no one knew that this was the last image of the "Heart of Europe".
The Prussian officers and soldiers hiding in the forest could even see silver-white bombs falling from the sky, which even reflected the dazzling sunlight.
"Quick, lie down!"
When they saw the bombs falling, the officers all shouted and immediately fell to the ground. As professional officers, they may not have found a way to fight against the airships, but they have developed many ways to protect themselves.
Even as they lay down, it did not prevent them from looking up into the sky. The bombs that were suddenly dropped made a somewhat harsh whistling sound and "flew" directly towards the palace.
At the moment the bomb fell, there was no violent explosion, but a muffled "bang". The explosion was not earth-shattering, but at the moment of the explosion a huge ball of fire rose up near the palace. The rising flames rolled and spread along the outer wall of the palace, spreading for hundreds of meters. The fiery red flames rolled and engulfed the palace.
But in just a blink of an eye, the once magnificent palace was engulfed by such a fire dragon. Hundreds of napalm bombs fell from the sky, exploded, and burned. The flames engulfed the palace!
"Oh my God!"
William I, who was hiding in a nearby wine cellar, was stunned. He opened his eyes wide and looked at the palace hundreds of meters away in amazement. In just a moment, the palace was engulfed in flames.
"What weapons did they use?"
Moltke was also stunned by the scene before him. They were not unfamiliar with artillery fire or bombing, but they had never seen such a scene.
“Is this a firebomb?”
Moltke said with some surprise.
It was indeed an incendiary bomb, but napalm was more powerful. Although the flames had already engulfed the palace, the airships in the sky did not stop dropping bombs. They not only dropped bombs, but also high-explosive bombs.
One after another, aerial bombs weighing hundreds of kilograms whizzed down from the sky, setting off storms on the ground. The once very solid palace was like paper in the violent explosion, collapsed in the burning flames, and turned into ashes in the fire...
Occasionally, some bombs would fall in the nearby forests. The moment the napalm bombs fell, a fire dragon hundreds of meters long would burn in the forest. Those fire dragons would always devour some unlucky people. Bursts of miserable screams would ring out in the forest. When the black smoke from the burning napalm bombs dissipated, the Prussians who had escaped the disaster would see an even more horrifying scene - fire men twisting and struggling in the forest.
"Ah, help, help me..."
Heart-wrenching screams echoed in the burning flames, and then hundreds of fireballs struggled and ran in the forest. Around them, the trees were burning, and the forest seemed to be burning too!
"Oh God, hurry up, let the people in the forest escape immediately, they will definitely be burned to death..."
While the king was shouting in horror, Bismarck stared at the flames outside the window with a grim face. He was not concerned about the people struggling in the fire, his eyes were fixed on the burning palace in the distance.
Staring at it intently like this...
(End of this chapter)
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