The cavalry company trotted forward, then broke into a canter.
As the speed increased, they left the right side of the werewolf camping site as quickly as possible and stopped on the hills almost 800 meters away.
This was a provocation, and most of the werewolves soon moved forward to attack, but the cavalry turned around and ran away. In fact, the only cavalry company of the Civil Defense Force was limited in strength, and Sean prohibited them from launching a desperate charge.
Although the werewolves ran very fast, they were not real wolves after all and could not easily catch up. Once a small number of werewolves approached, the cavalry would turn around and attack the advancing werewolves with more than one strike.
Wolf saw that his men were being restrained by this cavalry, which was scattered all over the field. He quickly ordered his men to gather towards him. Because he realized that the other party just wanted to hold him back, and then the main force came to fight with him.
His suspicion was soon confirmed.
A red battle flag appeared on the southern horizon, followed by an army rolling in. Another cavalry group of about 100 people in mixed clothing appeared behind him, echoing the cavalry just now.
Sean led 10 infantry companies, 1 artillery company, and 1 model company in reserve to rush to the battlefield.
The open and flat wilderness is the best battlefield, and it is also the default battlefield that Sean has been planning for a long time.
For the Civil Defense Force, this battlefield can maximize the advantages of horizontal formation tactics.
However, Wolf did not give the Civil Defense Forces time to assemble and prepare. Taking advantage of the Civil Defense Forces' unstable foothold, the werewolves immediately launched an attack.
For ordinary werewolves, strict tactics do not exist. They worship personal force, and the only tactic is to pounce fiercely, no matter whether the opponent is a wild boar or a human soldier.
The 1st Company, which served as the vanguard, was personally commanded by Chief of Staff Perosa, and they bravely faced it.
The Bess 1831 rifled gun, combined with the cone-headed cylindrical Bess bullets, can achieve accurate shooting at a distance of 350 meters from the target. It can also effectively kill the target with a salvo at a distance of 700 meters. In horizontal formation tactics, accurate shooting is of course important.
, but the salvo is more important.
The werewolves ran extremely fast, but the soldiers of the 1st Company, under the command of Perosa, still fired four waves of volleys, with the two horizontal lines firing twice each.
Their performance had exceeded the expectations of Sean who was watching the battle. In his expectation, they could only shoot once at most, because they had to take into account the running speed of werewolves that far exceeded humans.
Amidst the smoke, a werewolf fell, but more werewolves rushed over through the smoke. The soldiers of the 1st company had no chance to fire a third shot, and they fell into hand-to-hand combat.
If we talk about one-on-one, they are almost no match for the werewolves. But when they line up in a tight line and raise their bayonets like a forest, the werewolves must pay a heavy price.
Wolf ordered the werewolves behind to set off grenades. This time the tactics were used extremely well. The 1st Company suffered heavy losses, and even Perosa was injured.
At the same time, the cavalry company of the Civil Defense Force began to launch a counterattack. They raised their sabers, lined up in a tight formation, knees to knees, began to accelerate, and then passed by the right rear of the werewolves, distracting the werewolves.
attention.
On the other side, a motley crew of Vichy militiamen and patrols led by Arthur Young were riding horses on the edge of the battlefield. These people were extremely skilled in shooting and started shooting freely, constantly causing casualties to the werewolves.
The sacrifice of the 1st Company bought Sean time.
He rode his horse and stood on a high ground. Seeing that the 2nd company was ready, he immediately asked the bugler to issue an order for the 1st company to retreat and get out of the way of firing.
To the left and rear of the 2nd company are the 3rd, 4th, and 5th companies, to the right and rear are the 6th, 7th, and 8th companies, and directly behind are the 9th and 10th companies. Each company completes the horizontal formation.
"Commander, the artillery battery is ready!" Lieutenant Frank said loudly.
As a liaison officer, he has always been with Sean and witnessed the implementation of Sean's plan step by step, almost exactly according to Sean's original vision. The success or failure will depend on the next hour or even half an hour.
At this time he was in a very excited mood.
This artillery battery is newly established and has 12 guns, 6 of which are cannons and the other 6 are howitzers. The former has a straight firing range and is mainly used to fire solid projectiles, while the latter has a curved firing range and is mainly used to fire blasting blasts.
shot or shotgun.
The artillery company took advantage of the 1st company and the cavalry company to hold off the werewolves and set up artillery positions forward.
At this time, the 1st company had retreated, and the 2nd company took advantage of the gap left by them to launch shooting in waves. At the same time, Sean ordered the 5th company and the 8th company to attack the werewolves from the left and right respectively.
Side attack.
"Ready, fire!" One of the six howitzers of the artillery company fired first. The shot was extremely accurate. The blasting shells fired rolled among the wolves with their fuses, and then exploded.
The remaining five howitzers then opened fire.
Amidst the roar of the artillery, the werewolves continued to fall, and they involuntarily moved closer to the center. At this time, the six cannons also fired at the same time, and the 12-pound solid bullets plowed passages among the werewolves. Flesh and flesh could not stop this human technology.
of crystallization.
The werewolf Arthur roared angrily, leading his companions and sprinting forward despite the rain of lead.
The 2nd Company suddenly stepped aside, revealing the 3rd and 4th Companies and the 6th and 7th Companies.
From the perspective of horizontal team tactics, these are two sub-battalions. The "battalion" in this era is not a permanent organizational unit in the military, but a tactical unit. Especially when it is necessary to strengthen firepower, the commander will combine the two companies together.
Become a branch camp.
The firepower of four hundred men, shot in waves, caused Arthur's companions to fall continuously.
The undead werewolf fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
The cannons were still roaring, and those annoying cavalry were constantly harassing and driving away from the rear.
The werewolves tried their best to get close to the opponent's line and tried their best to throw the grenades in their hands, but they often fell down before they could throw them out. The long effective shooting distance of the Bess rifle played a great role. The ignited grenades were in
Explosion among werewolves.
Especially the artillery, which caused the werewolves to suffer a lot. Every time the cannon roared, their hearts would tremble. The cannon finally stopped because the barrel had to cool down.
Looking through the military drills of this era or the memoirs of generals, the artillery regulations only stipulate the operation, maintenance and shooting issues related to individual artillery, but rarely cover how to maneuver the artillery battery as a unit.
Sean attaches great importance to the construction and training of artillery, equipping each cannon and ammunition cart with enough draft horses, and even allowing all members of the artillery company to have their own mounts to enhance their mobility and enable them to keep up with the deployment of the entire army.
The entire artillery company became a veritable cavalry artillery company.
When a mounted artillery battery marches, its movement and momentum are absolutely spectacular.
A group of werewolves took advantage of the artillery pause to cool down and suddenly rushed towards the artillery position. In order to achieve maximum attack effect, the artillery soldiers were too close to the front.
Upon seeing this, Sean immediately ordered the reserve team around him to rush over. His position was closest to the artillery.
It is a good habit for a commander to never risk everything until the end of the road. In those tense and fierce battles, it is often a new force that changes the final outcome.
This reserve team was the best performer in training and exercises, and the attacking werewolves were left on the flat ground two hundred meters away from the artillery position.
Wolf had to order his men to retreat.
Everything was within Sean's tactical design, although the cooperation between the various companies in formation changes was still a bit slow and hectic.
"Order the cavalry and Arthur Young to save their horsepower and stay away from the battlefield, but don't let every werewolf go!" Sean ordered. Passed
The soldier Daniel immediately rode his horse to deliver the order.
"Commander, can we advance across the board?" Wells asked at this time. In his opinion, Commander Sean fought the battle very steadily - step by step, and the werewolf was cooperating almost all the way.
Of course, he also knew that this was the result of careful planning and detailed deductions, and there were no surprises.
Never fight an unprepared battle, this is Sean's mantra.
"Werewolves are nothing special." Frank said.
"No, Lieutenant, if we don't have cannons and rifles, then we will only be massacred. We can maintain an undefeated situation with at least ten to one troops. This is the most direct manifestation of the role of natural science." Sean said.
, "This is also the value of civilization."
However, Sean had just gotten out of a tense mental state, and no one would be more nervous than him.
The black horse seemed to feel the owner's agitated mood and kept pawing the grass with its hooves.
This is not only the real first battle of the Genoa Civil Defense Force, but also Sean's first battle as commander.
Sean was very satisfied with the performance of each company under his command, from being nervous and panicked at first to being calm and motivated to fight now.
"Everyone, move forward!"
Amidst the extremely rhythmic drumbeats, the Civil Defense Force moved forward as a whole. They lined up in a tight line, marched forward with firm steps, and stepped on the drumbeats.
Wolf looked at the green grass from a distance, and the dark blue uniforms of his opponents were almost black, and a feeling of powerlessness came to his heart.
He knew that the number of his clansmen was limited, but this feeling of powerlessness frightened him even more. In less than twenty minutes, he had lost three hundred clansmen, and only two hundred were left, all with fear on their faces.
"King, what should we do?" Arthur shouted loudly. He tried hard to move forward every time. Except for rushing into the line of the Civil Defense Force at the beginning, after that, he never got close again.
"Withdraw!" Wolf said decisively.
The werewolves retreated.
The Civil Defense Force also accelerated their pace, but they could not keep up with the fleeing werewolves. Only the cavalry company and Arthur Young's motley army on horseback continued to cause casualties to the werewolves on the left and right.
Sean was also following behind the large group of people. A werewolf corpse on the ground suddenly jumped up. He raised a giant ax and rushed towards Sean.
With a bang, Nelson shot decisively across Daniel in the small space between Daniel and Sean. The injured werewolf fell to the ground, and the guards who reacted immediately opened fire and shot him.
This werewolf's head was shot to pieces.
Sean looked back and continued to move forward, while his subordinates rushed to clean the passage ahead and stabbed every werewolf corpse they encountered.
At this time, the military medical team arrived on the battlefield with the baggage company, and they began to set up a field hospital to treat the unfortunately injured soldiers.
"Where did the werewolf escape to?" Half an hour later, Sean asked Arthur to send a cavalry.
"As you wish, the werewolves are fleeing to the mouth of the Nairn." the cavalryman replied.
"Very good, let them drive the werewolves to the mouth of the Nairn River as much as possible. Even werewolves, their physical strength is limited and they cannot be allowed to have time to breathe." Sean ordered.