Facing Beyelan's army, Roland felt a little dizzy.
It was not long before sunset, but Beyeland's forward cavalry had no intention of stopping - a group of well-maintained hussars pursued the slowly retreating Confederate troops.
The infantry made a slight commotion.
"Send the young men of the Guards Cuirassiers and Dragoons." Roland pointed the command staff toward the river, and the already prepared command immediately sent a signal to the battalion behind.
"I will lead them." Harandil got on his horse and rushed to the rear troops.
Roland's Star Fortress has been basically completed, and the troops deployed to provide cover on the front line can withdraw into the fortress for the night. However, if they are strongly pursued by Beyeran during the retreat, what may have been an innocuous operation may turn into a collective panic and collapse.
.
On a wide battlefield, one or two infantry battalions cannot disperse the flexible cavalry. If more infantry are sent, the difficulty of organizing the retreat will double.
The heavy cavalry after the march did not have enough physical strength to launch a pursuit, but the light cavalry troops of the Beyeland Army were equally sharp. They wore light armor or no armor at all and did not rush into the formation. They covered the formation of the legion before the battle began and carried out the battle after the war.
Pursuit and rearguard. Well-trained riders rely less on muskets and are more accustomed to using lances and sabers in their hands to launch harassment and surprise attacks.
Compared with them, the Confederate cavalry was not that experienced. Both heavy cavalry and cavalry had only been trained for a few months, and even the most mature troops did not know how to use lances. Light cavalry, dragoons and cuirassiers
They all use sabers and carry one or two pistols or cavalry flintlocks.
The Confederate cavalry was a mass-produced unit that compromised cost and production capacity. Many of them even learned to ride horses after joining the army, and their quality was far inferior to that of the troops of the Senate. What's more, during the process of building the army, some people provided wrong ideas and suggested war
The weak cavalry units relied on firearms.
From a distance, seeing the Byeran cavalry rolling towards them, the Confederate cavalrymen pulled out the pistols they had on their waists for self-defense.
What's the use of cavalry who don't dare to fight hand-to-hand, can only fire guns thirty or forty steps away, and then be driven around... As soon as Harandil arrived at a dragoon unit, the situation was already very bad.
He shouted to the cavalry:
"No pistols allowed!
"I repeat, no pistols are allowed. All sabers are charged. Anyone who disobeys the order will be subject to military law!"
The order could not reach the troops on the front line at all.
The Beyeland cavalry accelerated with all their strength, maintained a smooth and dense formation, and launched a hand-to-hand attack on the Confederate cavalry.
A dense barrage of lead bullets swept across the battlefield. The Confederate cavalry launched intermittent volleys from a distance of 20-40 yards, knocking down several enemies. In the blink of an eye, Beyeland's hussars had already rushed to where they were standing still.
The faces of the moving Confederate cavalrymen.
Almost everyone saw the god of death's sickle flying through the air in a trance. There was a chilling sound in the air, the blade cut through the air, tearing the flesh and blood vessels, making a weird sound.
The Confederate light cavalry that was attacked immediately collapsed and was chased off the battlefield. The cuirassiers still maintained their formation, but were still beaten by the deployed Beyeland hussars and could not lift their heads.
"Dragoon, dismount!"
Harandil issued an order to the stunned cavalry around him. His order was immediately and resolutely implemented. A squadron of dragoons, although many of them had white lips, instinctively dismounted with their rifles and formed a team.
The infantry battalion cannot catch up, so I will take this squadron to rescue people!
Harandil raised his command sword and pointed in the direction of the cavalry melee. More than a hundred people wearing helmets rushed toward him, forming a column.
They approached the battlefield, spread out in formation at an astonishing speed, and fired a round of guns at the Beyelan light cavalry that was besieging the friendly forces. The Beyelan light cavalry was knocked down in a large area, and immediately gave up the siege and retreated outside the shooting range to reorganize.
formation.
"They are gathering, and they are going to charge again!" Harandil even saw more Beyelan cavalry rolling in further away. He immediately drew out his command knife and shouted an order: "Fix the bayonet! Hollow!
phalanx!"
This was originally just a tentative harassment before sunset, but seeing that Beyelan's cavalry had already gained an overwhelming advantage, reinforcements from both sides were coming here one after another.
The beaten and disgraced cuirassiers withdrew from the battlefield. Confederate reinforcements had not yet arrived, but more Beyelan cavalry had already bitten Harandil and the dragoon squadron.
The military drums beat rapidly, and the dragoons changed from horizontal formation to hollow square formation.
This squadron was adapted from an infantry unit with excellent training. The soldiers are more familiar with infantry formations and tactics. Each squadron formed two rows in all directions according to the training. The first row knelt in front of one leg and put the bayonets on their rifles.
Pointing diagonally upward. The rifles in the rear row are held flat, ready to fire at any time.
Successive squads formed a phalanx with bayonets facing outward.
The series of maneuvers took less than three minutes. At the same time, Beyeland's light cavalry, which had received some reinforcements, had already moved towards the phalanx. Seeing the phalanx in front of them, they did not escape, but the front was just two thin rows. The cavalry raised their heads high and gleamed with cold light.
The sabers struck at full speed, and the raised iron hooves were thunderous. The soldiers who had been trained in countless infantry and cavalry confrontations felt like someone was hitting their heads with a sledgehammer one after another.
Harandil's scalp was about to explode. The dragoon squadron leader next to him opened his mouth and couldn't even speak.
The troops were too few and the firepower was too weak... At the critical moment, Harandil estimated that the enemy was close to 20 yards away, and then slashed his command knife downward: "Fire!"
A white smoke screen erupted from the front row of the phalanx. The Beyelan cavalry that rushed forward hit an invisible wall and fell on their backs under the rain of bullets. The remaining cavalry rushed to the front of the phalanx, but their horses did not dare to hit the cold light.
The two rows of gleaming bayonets separated to the left and right, preparing to kill in a roundabout way.
The soldiers on both sides of the hollow phalanx immediately responded with regular shots, hitting the cavalry that passed in front of the formation head-on.
These two rounds of shooting stunned the hussars. The disorganized cavalry began to circle blindly around the square formation, and then received another round of volley fire.
Dozens of corpses of men and horses had been dropped around the phalanx. Most of the first wave of light cavalry were disrupted and scattered far away from the hollow phalanx, unable to be gathered together for a while.
"Hold on! Maintain formation!"
Harandil held up his command sword and kept shouting, restraining the soldiers' organization. As soon as he finished speaking, another wave of cavalry rushed out of the diagonal stab, almost breaking through the hollow square formation.
The dragoons gritted their teeth and fought desperately. They all knew that as long as the formation was slightly disordered, the cavalry would overwhelm the phalanx, and no one would be able to escape.
The momentum of the cavalry charging at full speed is extremely frightening. However, long-term training has given the soldiers a conditioned reflex-like instinct to mechanically load and shoot in the melee.
Just after they had driven back the enemy in front of them, another wave of cavalry appeared, preparing to charge again in the direction of the Confederate dragoons.
Harandil immediately ordered and shouted: "Distance 60, fire!"
The gathering light cavalry were covered by dense lead bullets from a long distance before they could charge. They only had light armor, and several cavalry fell off their horses on the spot.
This shooting slightly delayed the arrival of a new wave of impact. Harandil looked back and saw two battalions of infantry running towards him with battle flags held high.
Suddenly there was the sound of gunfire in the air.
A series of blazing red cannonballs passed over the heads of the infantry and hit the cavalry. The gathering cavalry was covered by the shelling. Accurate shots penetrated fleshy paths among the people and horses, and screams and moans were mixed together.
Beyeland's cavalry had no artillery support and was almost exhausted. They did not dare to fight anymore and turned back to the direction of the legion.
"Stop shooting!"
Seeing that Harandil was in danger, Roland personally came to the artillery position to take command. After being hit by the artillery, the Beyelan hussars finally gave up the idea of eating the small force in front of them and slowly retreated to the main formation. Until then,
Only then did Roland feel relieved.
Harandil was already covered in sweat. As the cavalry attacked one after another, he felt several times that he must confess here.
The people of the dragoon squadron were also frightened. Their horses could not be found. Everyone did not dare to change their formation, and moved little by little towards the army in a hollow square formation. They did not relax until they entered the middle of the two reinforcing battalions.
One breath.
…
"Roland's soldiers are well trained," Count Chalon, who was watching the battle from a distance, admired, and then chuckled, "Who came up with such a stupid idea for the pistol cavalry? Cavalry who dare not charge and are afraid of sacrifice are rubbish.
"
Both sides suffered losses in the short encounter. But Xia Long was very confident that the Beyelan army that had come from afar had not yet shown its true strength.
Troops arriving in a steady stream occupied nearby open spaces and hills, set up barracks, installed artillery mounts, and dug long trenches regardless of fatigue.
That night, Beyeland's generals carefully inspected the Confederate bastion. There were many large sharp corners protruding from the irregular shape. Sharon immediately understood the tactical significance and evil of such an arrangement.
Generals Macdonald and Modres, who were traveling with them, suggested that the artillery team be strengthened in tomorrow's attack to first destroy the Confederate fortifications.
"Don't place all your hopes on artillery bombardment," said Charon. "See those thick outer walls and bevels? Roland's fortress gave up height and fully strengthened its defense against artillery. Our advantage is not in firepower.
superior."
He walked out of the tent and came to the open space of the military camp. There, the engineers were working with the assistance of wizards. They carefully took out the huge crystals and assembled them with the base. These facilities are equipment used by the legion to give soldiers psychic enhancement.
Place them everywhere on the battlefield.
Xia Long looked at the crystal and said: "Our army has been upgraded in terms of tactics and equipment. What Roland did was to build a brand new army.
"Except for some officers and sergeants who have experience in small-scale combat, this army has never squarely set up a battle formation to fight a battle.
"Tomorrow, let's see what happens to the Confederacy."