Chapter 71 Shotgun Attack against Cavalry
The artillery on the high ground had noticed the enemy's approach, and the spearmen who came to assist them fixed the bottom of their spears on the ground and were ready to defend against the cavalry.
After Paul's order was received, the artillerymen adjusted the direction of the artillery loaded with shotguns, pointing at the must-pass place on the route of the Bailding Knights' advance.
Abut saw the Arda soldiers turning around in a defensive posture.
Hmph! Grayman only arranged two thin layers of spearmen to face them, and they could rush away in one go.
The knights of this era had their own fiefs, wore the best equipment, ate the best food, and had a high social status. Under the inculcation of virtues such as loyalty and bravery, they valued honor and faith more than their own. Life, the above-mentioned things give the knight powerful material and spiritual power.
Once they violate the virtue of loyalty and bravery, such as receiving an order from their master to charge but flinching, they will lose everything. For knights, it is a punishment more terrible than death.
So, although charging is dangerous, they will still rush towards the enemy without hesitation. The first knight to contact the enemy will receive supreme honor and reward, regardless of whether he survives or not.
The knights and their horses are all wearing thick armor, which makes them natural heavy cavalry.
The war horse also wears a special iron mask on its head. This mask only leaves an opening in the front. The horse's viewing angle is close to 360 degrees, and it can pass through a small field of vision between the mask opening and the blind spot directly in front. You can see the terrain and obstacles in front of you clearly, and the narrowing of the field of view prevents the war horse from being distracted by things on both sides or becoming frightened by seeing the endless jungle of spears.
When facing the spear array, the knight's impact is not to hit headlong. Even if the person is determined to die, the war horse will instinctively avoid sharp objects. This is done only when the battle situation is unavoidable and the horse is completely blindfolded. , and also need to meet certain terrain and distance requirements.
Under normal circumstances, the first row of knights throws spears or shoots with short bows, and then spreads out to both sides. The knights behind decide to continue throwing or directly impact according to the situation. After opening a small gap, the subsequent cavalry will quickly expand the breakthrough and rush into the square formation to kill.
Unless they have undergone long-term and rigorous training, most people will have a psychological breakdown when faced with the powerful force of knights charging in groups before the opponent even starts throwing spears. Those infantry phalanxes composed of temporarily recruited militiamen will often fall into disarray. Dispersed.
Although Abt led only a few dozen riders, as they got closer and closer, they still caused a huge sense of oppression to the Arda army, and many soldiers were sweating nervously.
“It’s broken, it’s too big!”
Looking at the smoke and dust rising in the distance, Paul felt regretful. The two rows of spearmen might not be able to stop it.
He and the two battalion commanders whipped their riding whips hard and ran along the formation of the team, hoping to quickly convey the new order to the entire army: "The third to sixth rows all face backwards!"
The sudden formation change order caused some confusion in the team, especially when enemy cavalry charged at high speed.
Abut looked at the changes in the Arda people's team and sneered in his heart: "Humph! It's too late! The queue is so thin that you are looking for death."
He picked the one In the gap between the two infantry battalions, prepare to break through from there and engage in a front-to-back pincer attack with the infantry in front.
Then the artillery fire of the army of Arda!
It is a terrifying thing for eight cannons to fire shotgun shells at the same time. With the flash of fire and the rise of thick smoke, each cannon sprays hundreds of shotshells, 400 meters ahead. A fan-shaped area with an arc length of 30 to 50 meters was created within it, and a terrifying and deadly metal storm rushed towards the Bailding Cavalry.
Just as Abt and the knights nearby raised their spears, countless deadly projectiles also struck from their right side. Nearly half of the 30-horse assault team were directly mopped down. , even the men and horses were beaten into a sieve, and the protection they wore had no effect.
Almost all the rest were injured. The surviving horses either fell to the ground and neighed in pain, or ran around uncontrollably. The knight who fell to the ground struggled to avoid the trampling of his mount, or howled uncontrollably because of the pain of his wound.
The few knight servants following the team were very lucky not to be harmed in any way. The tragedy that happened in front of them made them lose their judgment and allowed their mounts to be frightened and carry themselves around on the battlefield. Paul stared blankly at the tragic scene in front of him, feeling a sense of familiarity, and said to himself: "The morale is gone."
He reacted quickly and ordered the four rows of spearmen at the back to turn around and attack the infantry directly in front with all their strength.
In fact, the will of the Bailding soldiers in front had been shattered. In the process of approaching the Alda army again, they received two rounds of volley fire from the musket company and another round of mortar shelling. , morale has bottomed out, and many people have quietly deserted.
Finally, the soldiers on the side not close to the musketry company reached the front of Alda's army. They tried several times to destroy the spearmen's line formation, but no matter how they tried to "tease", as long as they If you dare to get close, the opponent will have only one action - stabbing without any avoidance or cover.
Following the officer's command, a row of spears stabbed over in unison, killing a group of people each time.
Finally, with no hope of breaking through, they subconsciously distanced themselves from each other. The fear of death made them instinctively resist moving forward, allowing themselves to be whipped by the whips of the war knights.
Just when the knight supervising the battle drew his sword and prepared to kill a few cowards to show his power, he saw through the gap between Arda's troops the terrible process of the annihilation of his companions. There was a clang and the sword fell. Under the horse.
Many Bailding militiamen standing in front also saw it. "The knight who outflanked the enemy has been completely wiped out!" The terrible news soon spread among the crowd. That was the normally majestic knight!
The militiamen beside the war supervisor begged him not to let them continue to die. The knight who reacted violently cracked his whip to disperse the crowd, and urged his mount to run towards the rear without looking back.
Seeing that the Arda men in front were about to charge forward with their spears raised, the abandoned Bairdin militiamen cried and knelt on the ground begging for the enemy's mercy, without even the energy to escape.
The overall situation was decided, and Paul said to the officers around him: "Everyone, it seems that we can have dinner in Butua today."
The order was quickly issued: the 1st Infantry Battalion and the Musket Company were sent to The gate of Butuya was approaching, and the Second Infantry Battalion gathered the prisoners.
......
Angelo and others have been observing the battlefield, and now they finally realize that failure is inevitable.
"Abbott, that idiot, bastard, he failed!"
He cursed Abt hard, and now it was all over.
"Master Steward, what should we do now? Should we retreat to the city and defend it."
The faces of the two barons were filled with despair.
Angelo shook his head: "Even if we gather back some defeated troops, it will be useless. Butuya cannot defend it."
He pointed to the south and said: "We ourselves We can't stay in our territory anymore. The remaining old, young, women and children can't resist Grayman's army. Now we should go back to our homes to collect some belongings, take our families and go south to the Earl of Kent. He will definitely take us in. .”
The three people immediately reached an agreement and ran in the opposite direction of Arda's army.
Thanks to "Zimikui", "Irfandar", and "hades丶Harley" for the rewards.
(End of this chapter)