Chapter 1239: The Crisis of the Sixth Cuirassier Regiment
The 10,000 Tatar elite cavalry had no time to get back to their positions, so they hurriedly changed direction and rushed towards the formation of Tang Dynasty cavalry.
Although they had not yet returned to their position at this time, and the direct attack was not in the right direction to truly stop them, Anda Khan had already given them an order to launch an attack immediately. Naturally, they did not dare to do anything. of delay.
Because if we wait any longer, our Chinese army will probably be doomed!
Although they were far away and could not see the details in the middle of the battlefield, and they could not understand why their Chinese army could not stop the attack of the Nantang barbarians, they could see that the formation of their own Chinese army seemed to be similar to that of the barbarians of the Southern Tang Dynasty. It was like cloth, and it shredded as soon as it was torn. It was almost stabbed through by the barbarian cavalry of the Southern Tang Dynasty on the opposite side.
Many generals of the Tatar Central Army also saw that something was wrong. They rushed to mobilize more troops and tried to rush up and block the Tang cavalry. However, they found that no matter how hard they tried, they could not get through. More troops were mobilized on the front line of the battle.
The impact of the classical cavalry's too loose formation was almost magnified countless times at this moment.
After the Tatars' loose formation was broken through by the 6th Cuirassier Regiment, which acted as the spearhead, a large number of cavalry with the core of the 1st Cavalry Division and the 5th Cavalry Division rushed in, attacking the Tatars one after another. A huge formation of people.
At the same time, wave after wave of Tatar cavalry also rushed forward to fight.
This is not to say that they are ready to die and want to block some gap, but the battle between the two sides is a hedging battle. Both sides are charging in a straight line, and it is a charge of tens of thousands of people. Do you want to turn around and avoid it?
Impossible!
Regardless of whether the front is tofu or solid rock, they can only hit it head-on, because only by rushing over can they survive.
Otherwise, he would either be killed by the enemy's sword or trampled to death by the horses charging from both sides.
In fact, many cavalrymen did not die under the enemy's swords, but under the hoofs of the horses on both sides, because when they or their horses were injured and fell off their horses, both the enemy cavalry in front and their comrades would be killed. No, there is no way to avoid these injured people on the ground, so they often choose to trample them directly.
Because under a collective charge, there was not much room for avoidance. There was no way to go except moving forward. This was true for the Tang cavalry, and it was also true for the Tatar cavalry.
Therefore, the fate of those cavalrymen who fell off their horses would not be any better than those who were killed on horseback, and it might even be worse!
Of course, not everyone will be trampled to death by the horses of both sides. Even if a few elite cavalry fall off their horses, they can still avoid it, even kill the enemy, drag the enemy off the horse, or even simply snatch the enemy's horse to fight again. .
On the battlefield, various situations may occur.
Therefore, if you get close to the front line of the battle between the two sides, you will find that the fighting knights on both sides are very chaotic. In the chaos, countless people were killed and injured!
Kang Changning, who was directing his troops to charge forward, also saw ten thousand enemy cavalry rushing towards them from one side.
He immediately gave the order to adjust the direction of the troops' attack, instead of going straight forward, they should attack in the northwest direction to avoid the attack of the enemy's ten thousand cavalry.
Even though he was confident in the combat effectiveness of his own troops, he was not confident enough to be able to pit the enemy from the front and at the same time resist the enemy's attack from the side.
After all, the enemies are several times their number!
When the cavalry charges, it is naturally impossible for a single cavalry or a small group of cavalry to break away from most of the turns, but if the troops turn in a unified direction, then it is naturally feasible.
As the sound of the horn changed, hundreds of cavalrymen wearing heavy cuirass from the 6th Cuirassier Regiment, who were rushing at the front, also slightly changed the direction of the attack, and instead rushed towards the northwest!
Here, I have to say that in fact, the battles between the two sides did not happen all the time. There were tens of thousands of cavalry fighting on both sides. Whether it was the Tang cavalry or the Tatar cavalry, their charges were actually divided into multiple parts.
of waves, and multiple waves are combined into one large wave, forming a super large arrow.
The cavalry of the Tang Dynasty generally used the cavalry regiment as a large square formation, and the cavalry team as small waves within, to implement a continuous charge.
The Tatars on the opposite side are different, but on the whole they are similar. With such a large number of troops, it is simply impossible for them all to rush forward in a swarm, otherwise they will be in chaos without fighting.
At that time, there will be no tactics at all, and both sides can only fight a super large-scale melee.
The Sixth Cuirassier Regiment, as the only heavy cavalry in the cavalry regiment, shoulders the important task of opening the way for the entire army. In the past short minute, they have defeated at least two thousand Tatar cavalry in a row.
Well, it's just that the defeat does not mean that so many Tatar cavalry were killed and wounded, but in such a large battlefield, the defeated Tatar cavalry would not survive long, and they would soon be caught up by the 1st Cavalry Division and the 5th Cavalry Division from behind.
The cavalrymen of the cavalry division strangled.
So far, the losses of the Sixth Cuirassiers Regiment are not small, they have lost nearly two hundred cavalry!
But even so, after they heard the change in the horn sound, the leading officers of the 6th Cuirassier Regiment, who were wearing full body armor, still raised their command swords high and changed direction directly to kill towards the northwest.
In front, there was a Tatar cavalry target that had just formed up and was ready to intercept. There were as many as two thousand in number.
The officers stepped forward, and the soldiers who accompanied the officers in the battle also followed up, holding military flags representing their numbers. The military flags raised high and fluttering in the wind guided the cavalry in the rear, so that they would not get lost in the chaotic battlefield.
Disoriented.
Soon, the cavalrymen of the 6th Cuirassiers Regiment followed the regiment's officer's flag and changed their direction to kill them. The cavalrymen of the 1st Cavalry Division following behind them also changed their direction slightly and followed them.
In this way, the huge charging array began to change direction!
In this process, the military flag plays its full role!
If at the beginning of the battle, when there is no formal contact between the two sides, the sound of the horn plays the most important role, then when the battle breaks out, the sound of the horn can actually only be used to convey some of the simplest orders, and
The trumpet sound can only be used to communicate orders between senior officers. Ordinary soldiers are busy fighting and have no time to listen to the trumpet sound.
When ordinary soldiers are fighting, they will only follow the flag of their own army based on instinct.
At this time, the military flag of the commander-in-chief of the first army is very important.
According to the Army regulations of the Tang Dynasty, the military flag cannot fall down on the battlefield under any circumstances. Take the Sixth Cuirassier Regiment as an example.
Now the entire regiment follows the command flag of the commander of the 6th Cuirassier Regiment. If the commander of the regiment is killed or injured in battle and is unable to perform the duties of the commander, the deputy commander will immediately take over the command. At the same time,
In order to prevent the death of the chief officer from shaking the morale of the army, even if the chief officer really dies in battle, his soldiers cannot lower the chief officer's command flag. Instead, they find the deputy commander as quickly as possible and let the deputy commander take over the command.
flag.
If the deputy commander dies in battle, then the regiment chief of staff will take over. If he still dies in battle, then he will be the team officer with the highest military rank. If the military ranks are the same, he will be the team officer with the highest rank. For example, the first team officer will take over.
command.
During this process, the regiment's command flag must always be held high to lead the entire regiment in combat.
Otherwise, a large number of soldiers will not be able to obtain the guidance of the command flag and will be completely lost in the chaotic battlefield.
The command flag of the 6th Cuirassier Regiment has always been standing at the front of the regiment from the moment the charge was launched. An extremely strong knight wearing half of light plate armor holds a saber in one hand and a rein in the other.
, as for the command flag, it is not held by him or carried on his back, but there is a special socket on the saddle where the command flag can be inserted.
From the beginning of the battle, this command flag bearer had been following his immediate commander, Army Colonel Liao Qiangbin, commander of the 6th Cuirassier Regiment, never more than two meters behind him.
The people around Colonel Liao Qiangbin naturally had more than one flag bearer. In fact, he had two flag bearers, one on the left and one on the right. One of them held the flag of the 6th Cuirassier Regiment. This military flag was also responsible for the 6th Cuirassier Regiment.
The function of the command flag.
This flag is a blue background red dragon holding a sword flag commonly used by the army and navy of the Tang Dynasty, with the words of the Sixth Cuirassier Regiment embroidered on it.
The other person is the backup flag bearer. He also has the same command flag, but he can only take over the task and raise the command flag after the chief flag bearer is killed or injured or some other accident occurs.
In addition to the first and backup flag bearers, there are two adjutants, four messengers, and more than 20 guards on the periphery.
The role of these guards is to protect Liao Qiangbin and the flag bearer.
But the bullets and arrows were blind on the battlefield. Not to mention the mere twenty of them, even if the entire Sixth Cuirassier Regiment went into battle together, they might not be able to ensure the safety of Liao Qiangbin and the military flag.
No, as the Tatars sent out another wave of arrows, one of the arrows strangely hit Liao Qiangbin. Logically speaking, Liao Qiangbin, as the leader of the entire regiment, wanted to go to the front line for command and personal safety.
, that is directly attached to the full body armor.
Although this kind of full-body armor is a light full-body armor with average protection against muskets, it is definitely no problem for bows and arrows.
But even full-body armor has its weaknesses, such as the mask!
Unfortunately, Liao Qiangbin was hit by a Tatar arrow in his mask. To be more precise, it was the eye socket part of the mask. In order to gain sight, this part was not blocked, and the arrow passed through this small
The gap shot directly into his right eye,
Liao Qiangbin, who was hit in the right eye by a sharp arrow, immediately let out a shrill scream!!