Chapter 305
On August 10th of the Holy Calendar, four new infantry battalions arrived in Yuwei Town, and Paul Grammy also arrived with the troops. The war has entered the final decisive stage, and as the supreme military commander of Arda, he does not want to miss the opportunity to win the victory...er, no, it is the moment to witness the enemy's last cry.
Before Paul had rested enough in Fishtail Town, he received a battle report from Schroeder from the front line. The Duke’s army launched an attack on him with absolute superiority. The enemy’s strength was estimated to be nearly 10,000 people. Arda's army was defeated in the battle and has now retreated to a town called Saint Mir.
An army of nearly ten thousand people? Lost the battle? Paul almost jumped after reading the report. He was used to Arda's army constantly winning, and he couldn't accept the word defeat when he suddenly heard it.
In addition to two regular infantry battalions, the troops in Schroeder's hands also included nearly a thousand militiamen and auxiliary troops recruited locally, totaling about 3,000 people. Although Paul is very confident that his training and equipment are much better than those of his opponent, the gap in strength is also a bit huge.
Paul wrote back to Schroeder: Stand still and wait for reinforcements. He will immediately set off south with four infantry battalions to join him.
So, the more than 2,000 horses who had just disembarked from the ship began to run southward without much repair.
After two days of forced march, Paul led the troops to the town of St. Mir and joined Schroeder's troops.
The old knight said with some shame: "I'm sorry, Lord Earl, it was my improper command that caused the Arda army to be humiliated."
Paul waved his hand: "I can't blame you. You have too few soldiers.”
Even though the battle was defeated, Schroeder still had 2,500 troops. After detecting that the opponent's strength far exceeded his own, he decisively chose a combat method to preserve his strength as much as possible, waiting for the arrival of Paul's four infantry battalions.
The real combat effectiveness of Schroeder's army is the more than 1,000 soldiers of the 2nd and 4th Infantry Battalions, and about 1,000 Alda militiamen equipped with spears but with poor defense. As for those recruited locally It’s okay not to mention the auxiliary troops.
"What is the specific situation of the enemy's army?" Paul did not believe that Maltz Kent could train 10,000 soldiers now, otherwise it would be a waste.
“According to our observations, the number of real trained soldiers is between 3,000 and 4,000, of which there are nearly a thousand cavalry. Among these nearly a thousand cavalry, there are about 400 regular knights.”
"Three to four thousand people?" Paul crossed his arms and kept comparing the strength of the two sides in his head.
So if we simply compare the "regular armies", the strength of the two sides is now basically the same. There are nearly 4,000 people on our side including the militia. Arda's victory lies in its balanced quality and strict discipline, while the opponent's victory lies in its highly mobile troops such as cavalry.
As for the remaining miscellaneous soldiers in the Duke's army, Paul is basically not considering it. After traveling through time for such a long time, he knew the level of these temporarily recruited cannon fodders. If he allowed these soldiers to charge together, he might have to cause chaos first.
Paul asked Schroeder's opinion: "Do you think we can win with our current strength?"
The old knight replied confidently: "If the other party does not come with new reinforcements, there will be absolutely no chance. Question. "
Schroeder's confidence is well-founded. In addition to the four infantry battalions, the Count also brought 20 rapid-fire cannons, which will definitely make the Duke's army drink a lot.
Paul patted several large wooden boxes and said to his chief of staff with a smile: "In addition to strengthening firepower, material incentives are also indispensable."
......
Two days later , enemy troops appeared in the south of St. Mir's town, and the Duke's army, which had been repaired, pursued them. The Alda army quickly formed a formation in the south of the town, but there were only two battalions of troops, and the rest of the army was hidden in the town.
"Very good, they don't seem to have added new soldiers." Schroeder held up the binoculars and roughly estimated the number of people on the opposite side. After the losses in the previous battles, the enemy's current size was more than 8,000. .
……
"Lord Jai Ace, we have carefully investigated and there are no ambushes around the town."
A knight rushed to Jai Ace and reported loudly.
Jaais looked at the Arda army in the distance with a gloomy face. He was curious as to why the other party always found him first. This was the case in previous battles with Schroeder. Every time the Alda army appeared in his sight, they were all ready to face him. The opponent's scouts must also have ridiculously good eyesight.
Is it true that as his father guessed, Grayman also secretly accepted the help of wizards and gained some mysterious power? No matter, let's end this difficult opponent here. What reassures him is that the opponent is still the same two thousand people who retreated last time.
Jaais ordered the officers around him: "Start the attack according to the previous plan."
The tactic they adopted was to first send a wave of cannon fodder soldiers at the front to consume the ammunition of Alda's army, and the following Followed by spearmen and archers.
Because the flintlocks of the Arda army fired direct fire, the cannon fodder provided a good cover for the troops behind them before they died or ran away. During the attack, the only thing that can cause a lot of casualties to the troops behind is the long-distance cross-fire of the thunder hammer.
After approaching Arda's infantry line, the cannon fodder was almost exhausted. After the archers suppressed fire, the spearmen approached the opponent and started fighting.
During this process, the cavalry was cruising around the enemy. On the one hand, it caused huge psychological pressure on the opponent, and on the other hand, it looked for weaknesses in the enemy's formation and waited for opportunities to break through.
Previous battles have proven that this tactic is effective when one's own side has a strength advantage and the other side lacks cavalry.
It seems to be the first time since the war that Arda's army was forced to retreat to the rear. Jaais didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
......
The sound of artillery rumbled, and for a while it was the sound of musket shooting, and for a while it was the sound of hand-to-hand fighting. The two armies launched a fierce battle in the wilderness south of St. Mir Town. fighting.
The soldiers of the Duke's army attacked the enemy's array again and again under heavy rewards and severe punishment. The soldiers of Arda were highly morale-boosted by Paul's personal presence and receiving military pay several times higher than usual, and they repelled the attacks again and again.
Looking at the corpses and wounded on the ground in front of the battle, Schroeder signaled to Paul: "It's almost time."
Paul nodded heavily, and Schroeder immediately ordered: "Retreat to the town!"
Before the enemy launched a new attack, the Arda army turned collectively and ran towards the town of St. Mir.
Jaais had already learned of Paul's existence at this time. A knight who was injured in the charge and retreated brought him news that the bastard who had disgraced the Kent family was on the opposite side.
This made him even more determined to deal with this army that had the audacity to run to his rear and cause trouble. As long as Paul Grayman was killed or captured, the entire northwest bay would be wiped out in a matter of seconds.
"The enemy has retreated! They ran towards the town!"
More than one person noticed the strange movements of Arda's army.
"Quick! Gather all the cavalry and follow me to attack the town. The infantry will follow! Jim, lead your people to block other exits of the town."
Jais Arrangements were made within a minute. Obviously, the opponent could not bear the pressure and retreated. Except for a few special circumstances, pursuing victory is the only law in military affairs.
"Graiman, don't even think about running away!"
The rumble of horse hoofs sounded in the wilderness, and the black cavalry rushed towards the town of Shengmi.
Jaais saw that some Arda people tried to pull the thunder hammer back into the town, but after seeing the charge of the cavalry, they immediately dropped the thunder hammer and followed the people in front of them and ran into the town. Haha, these cowards.
Coming in! Come in!
Jais whipped his beloved horse and led the cavalry around a street corner.
Then he saw the dark muzzles, which seemed to exude endless chill.
Sorry, I worked overtime yesterday...
(End of this chapter)