After Issak puts a bullet through the eye of Spinola's gunnery commander, the Spanish cannons stop finding their mark. The defenders are elated, but their reprieve is a short-lived one. Spinola dramatically increases the length and ferocity of the cannonade in response-accuracy be damned. Under the relentless barrage that grinds on from dawn till dusk, it's only a matter of time before the fortress walls are pulverized into dust...that is, if the minds of the men within them don't go first. With their options rapidly dwindling, Issak decides to take drastic action.