"We have to retreat." Claude said to the officers around him.
"Can't we hold on to the defense here for a few more days?" Markchi's face looked a little ashamed. Dozens of people rushed to the position during the second charge launched by the enemy in the morning. This should be considered his fault. He did not control the two artillery well.
The pace of firing was so intense that the two artillery pieces fired canisters almost at the same time. This gave the following enemies a chance to rush forward in the short two minutes while the artillery re-cleared the barrels and loaded the ammunition.
position, and engaged in a brief hand-to-hand battle with the defenders, causing more than 20 casualties to the defenders.
Now there are only about 80 soldiers under Claude who can still fight. Adding the three artillery crew members and himself, Mike Jack and the big man Germi, there are only about 100 soldiers. The coalition of territorial nobles from the two principalities in the morning
Although the three attacks launched suffered heavy losses, there were still more than 3,000 men left. If they continued to attack in the afternoon, it would be difficult for Claude to guarantee whether the defensive position would be captured by the enemy. The difference in strength was really too big.
Another morning of defensive operations made the soldiers on the position exhausted. Fortunately, those who rushed into the position in the morning were the brave conscripts instead of well-trained elite veterans. In addition, Markchi's side re-enlisted two soldiers.
The light infantry artillery fired shotgun shells to cover the forward position and cut off the enemy's subsequent reinforcements. Only then did Claude and others have time to eliminate the enemies who rushed to the position.
Claude shook his head: "Let's see in the afternoon whether the enemy will launch a desperate attack like in the morning. Our defense here does not necessarily resist the enemy, but only relies on the favorable terrain to reduce the enemy's effective strength. If the enemy continues
If we attack, we need to maintain our defensive strength and not cause too many casualties here. If we really cannot resist the enemy's attack, we must retreat. There is no need to fight with the enemy here."
In fact, Claude only saw the huge difference in strength between the enemy and ours. He did not know that the heavy casualties caused by the three attacks in the morning almost frightened the territorial nobles of the two countries. More than 1,500 people launched the attack.
There were only three attacks, and only about 600 people were left standing after retreating. They were still desperate and frightened. There were not many noble private soldiers left who were temporarily organized into two brigades. The main reason for this is that
The defenders on the position gave priority to shooting the attackers who were holding muskets and wearing military uniforms. As a result, after three attacks, more than 500 enlisted citizens who retreated lacked the supervision of the noble private soldiers and refused to attack again until their death.
attack.
The territorial nobles had no choice but to withdraw their troops and return to the camp. They no longer launched an attack in the afternoon. Instead, they gathered in the big tent to renegotiate ways to deal with the current situation. Some people even proposed to withdraw their troops and go home. However, the suggestion to retreat was quickly rejected.
The territorial nobles put it behind them. After all, there were less than 200 enemies and there were more than 3,000 on their side. If they went back like this, it would immediately become a shame for the nobles. The two Grand Dukes would probably use this war as an excuse to deprive them of their titles.
Take back their territory...
It is related to the survival of the territorial nobles' family and the bottom line of the territorial title. The territorial nobles present finally got angry and discussed for a long time. They decided to eliminate these enemies guarding Squirrel Village regardless of the cost of casualties. They once again allocated their respective troops in proportion.
The private soldiers were reorganized into three brigades of more than 700 people, and then all the remaining conscripted citizens were added to form an offensive force of more than 2,000 people, with one private soldier leading two people.
In order to reduce casualties, the territorial nobles decided not to attack in the afternoon and let the attacking team have a good rest before taking action at night. At the same time, they decided to detach a temporary private soldier group and lead a conscripted civilian group to go up the mountainside from point A after dinner and detour back to
On the side of the enemy's defensive position, wait for an attack here before launching a sudden attack. This will make the enemy focus on one thing and miss the other, unable to cope with the flanking attack from both sides. Take advantage of the strength of the troops to attack the position in one go and destroy the enemy.
"Boss, we touched the enemy's camp and found that the enemy's defense was very tight. I observed with a monocular telescope and saw that the enemies in the camp were all resting. Most of them were lying on the ground sleeping, and few people were moving around..." I took a few
A soldier went to conduct reconnaissance, and Murield, who also wanted to make a sneak attack, came back to report to Claude.
Claude touched his chin: "It seems that the enemy doesn't want to attack in the afternoon. Letting the soldiers rest now shows that they want to attack at night. In this case, let's go over and join in the fun. Don't let them sleep too deep and wake them up to pee.
Urine, Markchi, you lead a small team to move the two light infantry artillery units forward one thousand meters. Fire at the enemy's camp within the maximum range, and don't let the enemy sleep too comfortably.
If the enemy's entire army is dispatched, then you immediately retreat with two artillery pieces. We will retreat while fighting. When the enemy approaches 200 meters, load up the shotguns and alternately fire to retreat. If the enemy's small force is dispatched, then you just continue to fire at the camp. These
The enemy is left to us to dispatch, do you understand?"
This is already a very risky behavior. The camp of the territorial noble coalition is opposite point A, about 1,500 to 600 meters away from Claude's defensive position at point D. The limit range of light infantry artillery is 700 meters, but generally
In actual use, it is about 600 meters. Claude asked Marcci to lead a small team to help the two artillery groups move the two light infantry artillery one thousand meters forward, and then fire at the enemy's camp. The main purpose was to cause damage to the enemy.
I was so frightened that I couldn't take a good rest. In fact, the damage caused by live iron pellets the size of a fist is very limited, and there is also the risk that the enemy's entire army will attack and my side will not be able to retreat safely with the two artillery pieces...
Muriel first led a small team of soldiers to attack the guards of the enemy camp to see if he could lure some enemies out. However, the result was as Claude expected. Three attacks failed in the morning, and the territorial nobles suffered heavy casualties.
The coalition forces had no intention of entangled with Claude and the others, and they did not chase a large group of people out of the camp noisily when they were attacked by cold guns like in the past. After losing a few guarding soldiers, they hid behind the log fence of the camp.
, they will not leave the camp even if they die. Anyway, there are only a few enemies who are cold-blooded. How can they still come in if they can’t hit anyone? Wait for the night and then settle the accounts with them...
Less than an hour later, artillery sounded, and two fist-sized iron pellets fell into the camp. Only one soldier was injured, but the entire camp was in chaos like a vegetable market. No one could be safe.
While sleeping, the panicked conscripts ran around, trying to find a safe place to avoid the shells.
There were two more cannon shots, and two more shells hit the camp. This time, the killing effect was good, killing a soldier and injuring two local residents like headless flies. The blood and the wounded were tragic.
The howling increased the chaos and uneasiness in the camp. Many of the conscripts were almost crazy with panic. They were shouting and running around, and anyone who stood in front of them was pushed to the ground, whether they were people or
thing……
Artillery shells continued to be fired into the camp two by two. Several territorial nobles risked their lives to look over and almost vomited blood. The enemy on the defensive position actually dared to move the artillery to a place less than six or seven hundred meters away from the camp and fire. This
This is simply unreasonable. They are so arrogant that they treat the coalition of nobles as a piece of cake. There is no need for any discussion. Several nobles directly ordered their family private soldiers to rush out of the camp and seize the enemy's two artillery pieces.
Two to three hundred noble private soldiers rushed out of the camp and went straight towards the artillery. When the artillery discovered that the enemy had rushed out of the camp, it quickly stopped firing, pulled the two pack horses behind and pulled the artillery towards the defensive position.
The territorial nobles who sent private soldiers to pursue them couldn't wait to shout "Come on" behind them. The location where the artillery was fired was about a thousand meters away from the defensive position. In the mountains, even with pack horses, the speed was very slow. If these private soldiers of their own could run faster,
You can catch up within ten minutes, and then you will have the two standard light infantry field artillery pieces produced by the Overas Kingdom. With these two artillery pieces in hand, you don’t have to worry about attacking the enemy’s defenses.
How much will the position cost in casualties?
In the fiery eyes of the territorial nobles, the private soldiers who had just chased more than 200 meters were suddenly fired from the side with muskets. A small group of enemies opened fire at the chasing private soldiers from the weeds. Five or six were hit.
The unlucky guy fell to the ground...
"Ignore them, go after the artillery!" The territorial nobles in the camp saw the pursuing private soldiers hesitating. They didn't know whether to continue chasing the artillery or turn around and pounce on the small group of sneak attackers. They stood on their feet and shouted loudly.
He waved to the pursuers to ignore the sneak attackers and pursue the artillery first. It was obvious that these sneak attackers were intended to slow down the pursuers so that the artillery could retreat smoothly. If the pursuers turned towards them, they would be trapped.
There was also a clear-headed private soldier among the pursuing private soldiers. He saw the signals from the territorial nobles in the camp behind, and quickly called on the private soldiers to chase the artillery. Ignoring the sneak attackers on the side, he chased in the direction of the artillery. But soon, the side was attacked.
When the small group of enemies who made the sneak attack saw that the pursuing private soldiers did not turn, they managed to reload the ammunition and fired again at the private soldiers' backs, knocking down seven or eight more private soldiers...
The territorial nobles in the camp hurriedly organized more than a hundred private soldiers to rush out to attack the small group of sneak attackers. At the very least, they had to drive them away to prevent them from following the private soldiers who were chasing the artillery and firing.
Take advantage. Now the only ones that the territorial nobles can command are these private soldiers of the family. Those people who have been drafted are still panicking and frantic in the camp. If it weren't for the wooden fence set up outside the camp, these guys might have escaped long ago.
Another small group of sneak attackers opened fire on the side of the private soldiers chasing the artillery, causing another seven or eight private soldiers casualties. The leader who led the pursuit of the private soldiers still ordered his men to ignore it and continue to pursue the two artillery pieces. And the camp
The territorial nobles here assembled more than a hundred private soldiers and chased this small group of sneak attackers...
Three hundred meters, two hundred meters, the pursuing private soldiers were getting closer and closer to the two artillery pieces. Seeing that they were still far away from the defensive position, the gun crews of the two artillery pieces unloaded the artillery pieces from the pack horses and placed them on their backs.
Pick up the gunpowder barrel from the ground and pour gunpowder into the barrel.
"No, the enemy is going to blow up the artillery. Run quickly and stop them!" The keen-eyed private soldiers were shocked when they saw the actions of the artillery crew. It was very simple. The gunpowder exceeding the firing weight was poured into the barrel and covered with wood or cloth.
Block the regiment, then point the muzzle down at the ground, light the match and explode, the barrel will be destroyed. This is a type of artillery destruction training that every veteran will receive in the army. Generally speaking, it is the simplest
Just use red-hot iron nails to nail the gun doors. But now the enemy has no place to find red-hot iron nails...
None of the pursuing private soldiers noticed that the muzzles of the two artillery pieces were unintentionally pointed in the direction in which they were charging, and the artillery crew members who seemed to be panicking next to the artillery were actually showing off a lot of showmanship.
It's an exaggeration. The two gun crew members who were holding gunpowder barrels and pouring gunpowder into the barrel didn't have any nervousness on their faces, and even had smiles on their faces. The gunpowder barrels in their hands were originally empty, and there was no gunpowder at all.
Seeing that the pursuing private soldiers were less than a hundred meters away, the two artillery crew members who were pouring gunpowder threw away the empty gunpowder barrels in their hands and pretended to be panicked and shouted: "Run quickly, the enemy is catching up!"
The two artillery pieces were obtained! All the pursuing private soldiers had smiles on their faces. They just wanted to take these two artillery pieces back to the camp and get rewards from the territorial nobles. Everyone wanted to catch up as soon as possible.
Snatching these two artillery pieces, he even forgot about the musket in his hand while running desperately...
"Fire!" A loud shout woke up the few noble private soldiers running at the front. They only saw the muzzle flash of the two artillery pieces, and a large black granular object came towards them, followed closely by several of them.
When the place gets hot, there is a sound of water leaking, and then it falls into permanent darkness.
The one hundred, thirty and forty private soldiers of the nobility who were chasing in front were almost wiped out by the shotgun shells fired by the two artillery pieces. The sixty or seventy private soldiers who fell behind were stunned by this sudden incident. They were really
Unexpectedly, these two artillery pieces were loaded with shotgun shells. They ran so far just to tempt them to catch up...
Before they could recover, about fifty enemies with muskets stood on the two flanks of the two artillery pieces. The sound of gunfire rang out, and the surviving private soldiers were knocked down one by one in the smoke.
On the ground.
The territorial nobles in the camp almost watched helplessly as the two to three hundred private soldiers who went to pursue them were wiped out. The two artillery pieces were reloaded with gunpowder and shotshells, and the soldiers next to them pulled out their bayonets and inserted them into the muzzles of their guns.
He went to check the noble private soldiers lying on the ground, and from time to time stabbed the injured one by one with a bayonet to relieve their pain. At the same time, he searched the corpses of these private soldiers for money.
The two sneak attack teams led the more than a hundred pursuing private soldiers behind them in a large circle in the mountain forest and returned to the two artillery pieces. They looked at the two artillery pieces that were ready to fire and the four
Fifty soldiers raised their guns and were ready to shoot. The leader of the private soldiers wisely chose to retreat back to the camp instead of rushing forward in a hurry...