Chapter 241 Hollow Phalanx 1
“Fire the bayonet!” “Fire the bayonet!”
With a crash, the Arda soldiers pulled out the bayonets from their waists and put them on the muzzles of their guns.
"Officer forward!"
Bryce shouted, and Deputy Commander Joyce immediately repeated his order: "Officer forward!"
No one moved, because the officers of each company, platoon, and squad had stood in the front row of their ranks from the beginning.
The Kent family’s cavalry is getting closer and closer, and is already less than 500 meters away from the square formation.
"Ready!" "Ready!"
The outermost row of soldiers on both sides of the phalanx facing the cavalry immediately knelt down on one knee, while the second and third rows of soldiers remained standing. In the pose, the soldiers in the third row passed their muskets through the gap between the soldiers in front. The soldiers in the three rows all pointed their muskets forward.
“Steady, steady!”
"Never shoot without an order!"
Makarov whispered to the people around him. Many people can't help but shoot in advance when facing a high-speed advancing enemy, regardless of whether the opponent is Entering the range, especially those new recruits who have never been on the battlefield.
Joss nervously wiped the sweaty palm of his left hand on his body, and then pulled the trigger again. This guy was left-handed when he first started using the musket. Others held the gun with their left hand and pulled the trigger with their right hand. Only he held the gun with his right hand and pulled the trigger with his left hand. After a period of training, this habit was forcibly corrected by Sergeant Makarov, who strictly abided by the "1991 Infantry Training Regulations" (compiled and issued by the General Staff). But in the tense moment of this great enemy, he unconsciously returned to his original habits.
He was arranged to stand in the third row. This was to "take care" of their new recruits. However, the protection on his body was not as good as that of the soldiers in the first two rows. Jos only wore a leather suit on his upper body. Armor, and the soldiers in the first two rows are basically wearing armor made of metal in important parts. After all, this was an era when cold weapons were prevalent, and since he could produce a large amount of iron, Paul did not hesitate to increase the armor coverage of his army to cope with hand-to-hand combat that might occur at any time.
……
The corners of Jia Aisi's mouth turned up and he laughed contemptuously.
He recognized the flag held by the army blocking the road ahead. It belonged to the Graiman family, the family of the small lord who almost got into a fight with the Kent family last year.
"Paul Graiman! I was extremely gracious to spare you last year, but I didn't expect that you would not be grateful but would try to continue to fight against us!"
"Graiman, look at it. Your army! There are just over a thousand peasants recruited, armed with ridiculous weapons such as sticks but not guns, and those horses are only used to pull carts and loads, and they are arranged in a very neat formation. But what's the use?"
He ordered his deputy to wave the flag and signal to the other cavalry - to break up the square one on the left and the other on the right. The cavalry team he led, including knights and retinues, totaled nearly 300 people. Although the number was far less than the Arda army, Jaais was confident that it would be effortless to break up the phalanx.
There is a huge difference in fighting ability between knights and peasants.
The leading knight picked up the throwing spear hanging on the horse - unlike on Earth, the knights here did not think it was despicable and shameful to use long-range weapons - according to his past knowledge, as long as he and those behind him When their companions throw the guns in their hands, the farmers who have just put down their hoes will squat on the ground with their heads in their hands or simply disperse. When the opponent's formation is disrupted, they can rush in and trample them wantonly.
And seeing that there are no crossbowmen in the opposite phalanx, this is even more reassuring. They can "tease" each other unscrupulously. However, even if there are crossbowmen, it is difficult to cause effective damage with the inferior crossbows that ordinary soldiers can equip and the thick armor on their bodies.
……
Close! Getting closer! Bryce raised his command knife high.
In the Arda army, the four sides of the hollow phalanx are called front, back, left and right respectively. Now the four battalion commanders, chief and deputy, are responsible for each side, and Blaise is responsible for commanding the front troops.
Finally, the first enemy rushed to a place about 50 meters away from the square formation. The opponent held a throwing gun in his hand and was ready to attack.
"First row in front fire!"
The command knife fell quickly, and Bryce's order resounded throughout the phalanx.
"Touch!" "Touch!" "Touch!" Continuous roars of muskets sounded, and thick smoke immediately enveloped the front of the phalanx.
The few knights running at the front immediately flipped over, keeping their guns raised, and fell under their horses.
......
"No!" The knight who fell to the ground instinctively wanted to roll to the side. He didn't want to be trampled into a pulp by the companion behind him who couldn't restrain his horse's hooves.
But what made him feel bad was that the strength in his body seemed to be taken away all of a sudden, and it was difficult to turn over.
Wait, what happened just now? The knight's brain realized something was wrong.
I just heard a noise, and then I felt like I was hit hard by something, and then I fell off the horse.
What exactly is it? I haven’t seen the incoming trajectory at all.
The knight suddenly felt a burning sensation rising on the right side of his abdomen and subconsciously touched it with his hand.
A big hole - the touch on his hand shocked him, the thing actually penetrated his thick armor!
More terrifying things followed.
The pain...the feeling of more and more pain...replaced the previous burning sensation and began to spread radially throughout the body.
"Damn! It hurts!"
The knight grabbed a handful of grass from his side and threw it into the air in a vent.
What came into view was a terrifying sight - the dead grass leaves that were supposed to be yellow were dyed red by something.
...
"The second row in front fires!"
The Kent family cavalry who followed suffered the fate of their companions in front.
The two battalions that went on the expedition have been equipped with flintlock muskets. Without match ropes, the soldiers can be arranged almost side by side. One of the major effects achieved is that the density of firepower output during salvos has been greatly improved. .
Some of the cavalrymen who rushed over were shot, some were shot on their horses, and some were hit by both men and horses. However, thanks to the accuracy of the muskets, many people survived. Some people's horses were frightened by the sound of gunfire and ran around without control, carrying their masters on their backs.
But there were still lucky ones who rushed within the throwing distance of the throwing spear and used all their strength to throw the throwing spear into the phalanx.
Under the attack of these few knights, Arda's army suffered casualties.
The wounded were immediately dragged to the central open space of the square formation, and some medical soldiers who had just been trained and mastered basic disinfection knowledge and bandaging techniques immediately treated them.
"Fire from the third row ahead!"
Bryce issued the order bitterly. Seeing the soldiers who had worked so hard to train injured, he suddenly felt distressed.
Gunfire rang out from the third row, and the Kent family cavalry who threw away their guns and turned their horses' heads in an attempt to break away from contact were swept away.
The first round of firing caused nearly 50 enemy cavalry to lose their combat effectiveness.
(End of this chapter)