The battle between the Tang Army and the Tatars had already occurred during the Unification War. During the Northern Expedition, Anda Khan personally led tens of thousands of cavalry south to support the Zhengde Emperor. At that time, the Tang Army once fought
Very embarrassed.
In the end, the Tatars were not familiar with guns and artillery, and they rashly launched a large-scale charge against the infantry phalanx of the Tang Army. In addition, at that time, the Tang Army also produced the first batch of flintlock muskets and installed some of them side by side.
The Northern Expedition, relying on several main forces such as the Guards, resisted the Tatar cavalry charge and finally won the victory.
After that, there were no large-scale battles between the two sides. However, there were a lot of small and medium-sized armed conflicts, involving hundreds of thousands of people. At the same time, the Tatars also knew very well that in the Liaodong Campaign, the Chahar tribe
And how the three guards of Duoyan were beaten to the ground by the Tang Army.
So much fighting experience has already made the Tatars know the fact that they should never attack the Tang Army's infantry square unless absolutely necessary, especially if they rush up to engage in hand-to-hand combat. In that case,
Even if you can win, it will be a miserable victory, and the exchange ratio will be very ugly.
Such a tragic victory was a big loss for the Tatars, because the infantry of the Tang Army was worthless. They lost tens of thousands of people. In the blink of an eye, they could rebuild an army of tens of thousands of people. But if the Tatars
The loss of tens of thousands of cavalrymen was definitely a serious injury, but it would take several years to recover.
Therefore, many times, the Tang army was willing to compete with the Tatars, killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred to themselves.
This situation was generally reflected in today's battle. If these five thousand Tatar cavalry did not take the initiative to launch an attack, the 13th Baggage Regiment and the 45th Transport Regiment would not be able to stop. Although
The movement was slow under the threat of cavalry, but if you walked slowly, you would be able to walk to the next castle and then all the way to the main station of the Ninth Army.
They must intercept!
But even if they were intercepted, they did not directly give up the saber charge and engage in hand-to-hand combat, because they knew that this was not advisable and would lead to a tragic death!
In past battle experiences, the Tatars have never gained any advantage in hand-to-hand combat between the two sides.
On the contrary, in the mid- and short-range bow and arrow and musket shooting, the two sides were evenly matched.
Don't be surprised, this is the fact. Even if the Tang Army has installed flintlock guns in batches, and even the artillery has been upgraded to howitzers, the Tatars' riding and shooting skills are not for viewing. On the contrary, this
This is what they are best at.
Riding horses at high speed to approach the bow and shoot arrows. Although they themselves will suffer some casualties in the process, they can also cause casualties to the infantry phalanx of the Tang Army, and they can also move in and out quickly to avoid falling into the melee stage.
The cavalry's high-speed mobility is always maintained.
The Tatars' fighting style had mixed advantages and disadvantages for the Tang Army. The advantage was that they could fire at the most suitable distance without even having to worry that the opponent would rush up and tear the phalanx apart.
The disadvantage is that your own side also needs to suffer a lot of casualties.
This duel between the two sides will test the amount of firepower projected by both sides, the protective capabilities of the armor, and the ability to withstand casualties.
In terms of firepower projection, both sides have their own advantages. The Tang Army's guns have a long range and are powerful. They can bombard the Tatar cavalry from hundreds of meters away, and they can use flintlock rifles to hunt large numbers of people within a hundred meters.
Kill their cavalry.
But whether it is artillery or flintlock, the rate of fire is still too slow.
The Tatars' bows and arrows shoot very fast. Some highly skilled Tatar cavalry can start shooting on horseback as early as forty-five meters away, and then quickly draw the bow and fire the arrow during the high-speed turn and parallel stage, in just a few seconds.
Multiple arrows can be shot within a minute, and the amount of arrows projected in a short period of time is quite large.
In terms of firepower, for the time being, everyone is only half-matched!
As for the protective capabilities of the armor and its ability to withstand casualties, the Tang Army was able to defeat the Tatars!
Thanks to the explosion of the domestic steel industry, even though the price of steel remains high, the output is enough for military use. Nowadays, even the musketeers of the Tang Army basically only have one piece of armor.
And they are all made of steel plate armor.
The combat arms of the Tang Army have an armor coverage rate of 100%. Even the auxiliary arms have an armor coverage rate of more than 50%. Some auxiliary soldiers who do not wear armor, such as artillery, are not because they are not equipped with armor.
, but affects their combat after wearing armor.
If it is really necessary, the entire army can wear armor.
On the other hand, the Tatars' armor coverage rate is not that high. Whether it is their traditional armor or the export-type plate armor imported from the Tang Dynasty, the quantity is actually not large, and the armor coverage rate is not even 30%.
And the most important thing is that these armors are basically useless when facing guns and cannons, they just make holes every time!
However, the armor of the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty could block cold weapons such as bows, arrows, swords and guns.
There is a serious asymmetry between the two sides in terms of protection.
In terms of their ability to withstand casualties, the Tatars have some elite troops who are not weak in their ability to withstand casualties, but overall, the Tang Army can defeat them.
This is because the two sides have completely different military systems and different training models.
The infantry divisions of the Tang Army were generally able to launch attacks when their infantry casualties reached more than ten percent.
Some elite troops suffered more than 30% casualties and were still able to launch an attack.
This is an attack, not a defense. As for defensive operations, the ability to withstand casualties is even higher.
As for the Tatars, their ability to withstand casualties is definitely not as high as that of the Tang Army.
In terms of firepower projection, protection capabilities, and the ability to withstand casualties, the Datang Army actually has an advantage. However, the Datang Army also has its own advantages, that is, the infantry unit lacks mobility and therefore loses strategic initiative.
.
The Tatars on the opposite side are cavalry, and their mobility is needless to say. Even if they encounter any unexpected events, they can choose to retreat at any time, and the infantry of the Tang Army can only watch them retreat.
That's it now!
When the Tatar cavalry rushed up in three waves, a middle-aged Tatar general who was commanding the battle from the rear frowned. This man was also a famous figure on the grassland. He was Anda
Huang Taiji, the eldest son of the Khan, was the eldest son of Amada Khan, and he was the natural heir of Amada Khan. Since his youth, he had followed Amada Khan in the north and south, and he had quite a lot of war experience.
Anda Khan wanted to send troops to cut off the logistics supply line of the main force of the Ninth Army. Who could he entrust such an important task to? Naturally, it was his eldest son Huang Taiji, whom he trusted quite a lot.
Anda Khan asked Huang Taiji to lead his headquarters of 3,000 people. In addition, he also removed two thousand direct descendants from Anda Khan's personal army. A total of 5,000 troops went out to attack the Tang army's food road.
These five thousand cavalry are not cannon fodder cavalry from collateral tribes, but direct cavalry from the Tumote tribe, one of the main forces used by Anda Khan to control the 30,000 households on the right wing.
Such direct line cavalry, the horses and weapons attached to it, are naturally quite good, and they are also the most loyal force of Anda Khan and his son. However, this most elite cavalry under his command, in the previous three waves of charges, turned out to be
Two out of ten!
This battle is not easy to fight!
Immediately, I saw him saying a few words to his subordinates, and then the soldiers behind him blew the horn. This was their withdrawal signal!
The fourth wave of Tatar cavalry that rushed up had already rushed to a distance of nearly a hundred meters after hearing the horn. However, they did not continue forward, but chose to turn and evacuate directly!
At the beginning of the charge, he was as fast as the wind, and when he retreated, he did not pause at all. This shows that Huang Taiji also has a good way of running the army.
The fourth wave of Tatar cavalry retreated directly to the side. Before them, the three waves of Tatar cavalry totaled nearly a thousand cavalry, but the number of Tatar cavalry who fell during the charge was at least two hundred!
A large number of dismounted Tatar cavalry did not die immediately, but lay on the ground wailing. Their horses either ran aimlessly on the battlefield, or stopped beside their masters and looked at them.
Wail in pain and then gradually die.
Three waves of thousands of cavalry charged before and after, but the number of casualties reached 200, and the casualty rate reached 20%. This kind of casualty number is a very scary number even if it is placed among the cannon fodder tribal cavalry.
, not to mention, these cavalry are all the elites of Tumut!
With such a large battle loss ratio, even the battle-hardened Huang Taiji could not help but frown!
The last time he led his army into battle and suffered such a loss ratio, it was the decisive battle with the Oara people at the beginning of the year. But at that time, he led 3,000 cavalry from his headquarters and launched a charge towards the more than 5,000 Oara people's cavalry. This was not the case.
It's not a mounted charge, but a real saber charge. When you charge forward, you cut each other with one sword and the other with one sword!
In the end, the casualties of his 3,000 headquarters cavalry reached more than 500, but the 5,000 Wala people's cavalry were directly defeated by him, and more than half of them were killed or injured!
However, today, the battle was far from heroic. Three waves of our own cavalry rushed up, bows and arrows, while the Tang army on the opposite side only opened fire. The battle actually lasted a very short time, from the order to attack to the order
The retreat lasted only about a quarter of an hour.
If we count from the time when the first wave of cavalry entered a distance of 500 meters and the Tang Army started shelling, strictly speaking, the actual fighting between the two sides lasted for more than a minute at most!
However, in this minute, our own cavalry suffered more than two hundred casualties.
Although the exact number of casualties in the Datang Army on the opposite side is not known, they are estimated to be more than 200, and definitely not more than 300.
In other words, in the confrontation just now, the losses of both sides were about half a pound, almost the same!
However, you have to know that the casualties of the Tang Army were only infantry. Any young farmer who has trained for three months can pull the infantry onto the battlefield!
However, the Tatars were killed and injured by cavalry, and it was the cavalry that Tu Tumut's tribe experienced after countless battles. Each one of them can be called an elite cavalry!
And more importantly, Huang Taiji could not see any retreat from the Tang army on the opposite side, nor any signs of loosening of formation.
Faced with this situation, Huang Taiji just frowned slightly and ordered a retreat, but did not lose control of his emotions on the spot. That was already very difficult!