Kang Changning did not expect that the Tatars who were supposed to be heading towards the First Corps dozens of kilometers away in front of him ended up here.
Moreover, when he set up camp, the scout cavalry sent out to patrol the outer perimeter did not return the news in advance. It was not until dawn that a large number of the main Tatar cavalry were discovered, and they actually appeared in his camp.
kilometers away.
Six or seven kilometers may seem very far, but to the high-speed maneuvering cavalry, it is nothing. Give them half an hour and they will be able to get closer even if they march slowly.
If the opponent spares no effort in horse power, or if they are riding two horses, they can ride a group of ordinary horses, and then switch to war horses before and after arriving at the formation.
Unfortunately, Tatars generally ride two horses, and some elite cavalry even ride three horses. In emergencies, they can travel quickly on horses.
And this is actually the fundamental reason why the Ninth Army has never had the opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the Tatars before, even if it has a cavalry regiment. It is because these Tatars generally have two horses and are too mobile.
, the Tang army could not catch up, not even the cavalry regiment could catch up.
Because in the cavalry corps of the Tang Army, only some elite light cavalry, cuirassiers, and heavy cavalry were equipped with double horses, while ordinary light cavalry were equipped with single horses.
After all, the Tang Dynasty was short of horses, but the Tatars were not.
Anda Khan's cavalry rode over directly on horseback, leaving Kang Changning little time!
As the emergency bugle sounded, the soldiers of the cavalry regiment quickly prepared for battle. The cavalry formed tight square formations according to their respective organization numbers.
On the other hand, the cavalry artillerymen had an easier time, because they camped here last night and had originally laid down their artillery and built artillery positions.
The cavalry had to be in a bit of a hurry, but thanks to the strict military training of the Tang Army, strict discipline and clear orders, the officers quickly started to form formation with their respective cavalry.
The cuirassiers also started to put on their cuirass with the help of the auxiliary cavalry and mounted their horses. Immediately, these auxiliary cavalry also got on their horses. The auxiliary cavalry were also cavalry!
The more than 14,000 cavalrymen did not show much panic, but began to form a strict and orderly formation.
When the two independent cavalry regiments that were the first to complete preparations came forward in formation, the cavalry and artillery were already in full formation. The gunners had marked their positions in advance and were waiting to fire.
Kang Changning was actually dressed neatly, riding on horseback, found a slightly higher hilltop, and looked into the distance with a telescope.
The Tatar cavalry on the opposite side came very quickly. In a short time, their forward was already less than three kilometers away from here.
However, the main force of the Tatar cavalry on the opposite side was quite large. After a long and fast horseback march, the formation was also very scattered, and the entire queue was stretched very long.
The closest one is less than three kilometers away from the front of the cavalry corps, but the one at the rear is at least five or six kilometers away. Calculating this, their queue is at least two kilometers away.
Such a long queue is enough to tell that these Tatars are relatively unorganized!
But being lax doesn’t mean they are weak in combat!
On the contrary, they were lax and filled with murderous intent!
Anda Khan was able to rely on the 30,000 households on his right wing to cross the grassland, relying on these tens of thousands of seemingly undisciplined direct cavalry from the 30,000 households on his right wing!
The Chahar tribe, which was attacked in the early years, was forced to move eastward, and was later oppressed in an area of Hetao, forcing the Chahar tribe to reach a limited cooperation agreement with the Tang Empire and rely on the support of the Tang Empire.
Resist Ida Khan.
In the west, they defeated the 70,000 to 80,000 main cavalry of the Oara people and occupied a large pasture in the west.
If the Tang Empire had not been on the side to cause trouble, Anda Khan would have completely unified the grasslands by now, and would not have allowed the remnants of the Chahar tribe and the Oara people to survive.
No one dares to look down upon such a Tatar cavalry!
From the Holy Emperor Li Xuan to the ordinary soldiers, they all know very well that the Tatars are very difficult to deal with. Not to mention other things, their mobility alone is enough to make the Tang Army helpless.
No matter how powerful the Tang Army's guns are, it's useless if they can't catch up!
Now, Anda Khan has once again brought out the ultra-high mobility of their Tatar cavalry. Just yesterday, Kang Changning thought they were dozens of kilometers away and heading east, but
Unexpectedly, in less than a day, these main Tatar forces turned around and headed west, and then blocked his cavalry regiment.
Kang Changning naturally didn't know that An Dahan had been waiting for this day for a long time!
The reason why he led his army to march eastward was not to attack the first corps of the Ninth Army of the Tang Army, but to separate the headquarters of the Ninth Army from the cavalry corps, and then turn around and use his own two horses or even
With the advantage of the three horses, they directly made a large circle to avoid the eyes and ears of Datang's scouts. At the same time, they sent a large number of peripheral scouts to hunt and kill the scouts who appeared nearby.
At this time, the Tatar cavalry's reconnaissance cavalry also gave him the advantage of powerful individual combat capabilities. When these Tatar reconnaissance cavalry were fierce, the Tang Dynasty cavalry's reconnaissance cavalry really couldn't beat them, and sometimes they even couldn't escape.
escape.
In the small-scale cavalry battle on the steppe, the Tatars' advantage was too great.
Taking advantage of the above advantages, Anda Khan led nearly 40,000 cavalry in a detour to the north, then to the west, and then to the south, which was equivalent to a semicircle, and finally appeared from the north of Kang Changning's cavalry corps!
After such a long circle, Anda Khan's troops were not even too tired, because they had two or even three horses, and they traveled very fast during the day yesterday, allowing the soldiers to rest at night.
In the early hours of this morning, I rode on the auxiliary horse and rushed towards the headquarters of Kang Ning.
When they arrived in front of Kang Changning's formation, the sun had just risen. The early winter sun was shining on people, but it could not make Kang Changning feel warm. Instead, he felt a chill.
Because the roaring Tatar cavalry brought bursts of chill!
"Let the Sixth Cuirassier Regiment complete preparations quickly. Their role in this battle is crucial!" Kang Changning glanced at the Sixth Cuirassier Regiment in the rear. The soldiers of this unit were still preparing for the battle. The knights
Many of them have not yet put on their breastplates.
"Let the 5th Cavalry Division move another five hundred meters east to prevent enemy cavalry from flanking!"
"The cavalry artillery regiment is ready to fire at any time. Let them use howitzer shells. Don't be afraid of using up all the howitzer shells!" There was something he hadn't said yet. If he didn't use it now, he probably wouldn't have the chance to use it later.
Because when the fight breaks out, both sides are cavalry, and they must be changing their formations at high speeds. Our cavalry has no time to cover the artillery of the cavalry artillery regiment.
However, in this kind of battle involving 14,000 cavalry, he couldn't take care of the artillery of a mere thousand cavalry artillery regiment!
As Kang Changning's orders were passed down one after another, the cavalry regiment was soon divided into three!
The northernmost one is the First Cavalry Division. This is the earliest cavalry division established in the Tang Empire. It was born out of the cavalry troops of the former Ming Dynasty. However, all the cavalry troops of the former Ming Dynasty were decommissioned long ago. Those who are now in service are those who have been in recent years.
The cavalry newly recruited and trained in the year, the four thousand cavalry of the cavalry division, were arrayed in the far north.
The cavalry artillery regiment's more than 30 five-pound cavalry cannons are lightweight versions of ordinary five-pound field guns. The barrels are slightly thinner, and the gun mounts also adopt a lightweight design. This certainly reduces the service life.
Weakened, but it succeeded in reducing the weight while ensuring the range, thus becoming the exclusive artillery of the cavalry cannon.
At present, all the cavalry units in the Tang Dynasty are equipped with long-barreled artillery, which are five-pound cavalry cannons.
Now, these more than 30 cavalry guns are deployed on the only small mountain nearby, which is the rear left side of the 1st Cavalry Division.
Behind the First Cavalry Division, on the right wing, that is, to the east, is the Fifth Cavalry Division, which also has four thousand cavalry.
Directly behind the 1st Cavalry Division was a cavalry phalanx composed of two independent cavalry regiments. Kang Changning personally commanded the cavalry. There were approximately 3,000 cavalry in this unit.
On the left wing, there is a square formation composed of multiple independent cavalry regiments, about three thousand cavalry.
Among them, the two independent cavalry regiments commanded by Kang Changning are quite special. Among them is the Sixth Cuirassier Regiment. This cuirassier regiment has 1,200 cuirassiers, and about the same number of auxiliary cavalry.
.
The other one is the Third Musketeer Regiment. This cavalry regiment is quite special. It has a small number of troops, only more than 900 cavalry. However, this regiment is different from other cavalry units of the Tang Army. They are not good at fighting with sabers, but
Good at using muskets in combat.
The Third Musketeers Regiment, they like and are very good at fighting with long-handed lances at medium and long distances. This combat mode is very different from cavalry directly dismounting and fighting on foot.
This combat mode is actually an improved version of the current Tang Dynasty cavalry's pistol charge tactic, which is to always maintain a distance of more than fifty meters from the enemy, and directly use the cavalry's pistol to attack the enemy on horseback.
.
The Suifa pistol charge tactics used by other cavalrymen of the Tang Army are very similar to the traditional mounted shooting of the Tatars and former Ming cavalry. They all rush to a distance of tens of meters to shoot, then leave and charge again after reloading.
Come back and do this again and again.
This pistol combat mode is very useful against some of the enemy's heavily armored cavalry and heavy armored infantry.
But in the face of the enemy's volley, it failed to fire. When a wave of arrows covered it, it was over!
So later, some people thought of simply using the Suifa cavalry lance. The long musket has a far enough range and is more powerful than the Suifa pistol. It can ensure considerable damage within fifty meters. The fifty meters refers to armor-clad soldiers.
If the enemy is an unarmored unit, one shot will make a hole within 100 meters!