Iron Powder and Spellcaster

[Outside River Valley Village]

Captain Lauzon had been out in the sun for some time, and so had his horse. The horse kept tapping the ground with its front hooves and snorting impatiently.

Except for a small number of light cavalry responsible for covering the battlefield, the main cavalry force of the three-county coalition has been on standby at the threshing ground west of Hehe Village since the beginning of the battle.

The village and the high ground on which it stood protected them from enemy artillery. But the terrain and buildings also limited their field of vision, leaving them unable to see anything.

Therefore, for the cavalry in Leiqun County and Bianjiang County, the fierce battles on the two battlefields in the south and north were nothing more than the low sound of gunfire in the wind. It made them anxious and helpless.

As the battle became more intense, a cavalry squadron from Leiqun County was sent to assist the defense of Hehe Village, and three cavalry squadrons from Bianjiang County also entered the battle.

However, the other three cavalry squadrons in Leiqun County-especially the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Squadrons, which were regarded as the trump cards, never received permission to attack.

Captain Lauzon no longer knew how long he had been waiting. Finally, when the coalition's left wing pushed the enemy back to the north bank, a green flag stretched out of the window on the top floor of the clock tower and fluttered in the wind.

Captain Lauzon patted his beloved horse's neck, pulled out his saber and raised it high.

The short melody of the march sounded immediately, and the officers and non-commissioned officers passed orders one after another. The cavalrymen who were resting on the spot returned to their horses, and each company formed a large column according to the charging order.

The squadron that had gone to support the defenders of Hehe Valley had also returned and was assigned to the last row of the large column.

The orders passed down one after another were fed back again and again. The Leiqun County cavalry was ready, like an arrow on a string, just waiting for the archer to throw it at the enemy.

Captain Lozon's saber swung down from mid-air. Lieutenant Petofi beside him silently raised his hand to salute the senior, then stabbed the horse's ribs hard and galloped out of the threshing floor first.

Captain Luo Song watched nearly half of the Leiqun County cavalry follow Lieutenant Petofi and leave the attack position one after another.

The sound of hooves rumbled, sending up clouds of smoke and dust. Lieutenant Petofi did not lead the Leiqun County cavalry to rush directly to the east bank, but moved towards the north.

To the north of Hehe Village are large wheat fields, which are not suitable for galloping war horses. Because the wheat straw that has not yet been completely dehydrated still retains a considerable degree of toughness, it will not only exert great resistance on the running horse, but may also trip the horse.

Therefore, the light cavalry of the two armies that had been fighting before unanimously chose not to enter the wheat fields and stayed as much as possible outside the farms to roam and fight.

Only the light cavalry who panicked and chose their way would step into the wheat fields and escape into the gap between the two armies' formations.

For the same reason, Lieutenant Petofi's cavalry also had to take a long detour. The first batch of Leiqun County cavalry to attack first moved northwest along the road, avoiding the messy wheat fields strewn with corpses, and then galloped from the wilderness between the hills and farms towards the lower reaches of the unknown creek.

On both sides of the river valley, the wilderness is open. The movements of the Leiqun County cavalry could not escape the eyes of Lieutenant Colonel Varley, the artillery commander of the Parliamentary Army.

Although the smoke and dust in the sky obscured the cavalry, from the smoke itself, Lieutenant Colonel Varley had already deduced that a large group of "rebel" cavalry was making a circuitous move towards the north of the battlefield.

After quickly assessing the status of the heavy artillery at hand, Lieutenant Colonel Vallee gave an order that surprised the gunners: "Don't avoid refueling to cool down. Load double gunpowder, round bullets, and shotgun shells, one each!"

The gunners who had just completed a round of shooting and severely dampened the momentum of the "rebels" counterattack were stunned, and they all turned their attention to the gunner commander Sergeant Suter who was running between the gun emplacements - compared to this arrogant and ignorant gunner. The gunners obviously trusted the old sergeant who had been leading them.

"What are you doing standing there stupidly?" The gray-haired Sergeant Suter shouted loudly: "Can't you understand? Double gunpowder! Round bullets, shotguns! Load one round each!"

The puppet-like gunners came to life and immediately resumed their work.

Although Sergeant Suter obeyed the order faithfully, his heart was as full of uneasiness and doubt as the gunners.

The old gunner quickly came to Lieutenant Colonel Varley, wanting to make a final struggle. He suppressed his voice and said humbly to the lieutenant colonel: "Sir, these cannons..."

"No need to say more, sergeant." Lieutenant Colonel Varley politely but coldly suppressed his subordinates' doubts: "These cannons were cast under the personal supervision of Marshal Ned. Although they are old, they are reliable."

All the words that came to Sergeant Suter's mouth were blocked. He raised his hands in bitter salute, turned around and left.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley stopped the old gunner. The thundering of horse hooves on the other side made the gunners tremble in fear. No matter how dull they were, they would realize that the "rebel" cavalry had been dispatched. However, Lieutenant Colonel Varley did not look panicked.

Warley asked the old gunner with great interest: "You have always been in charge of these heavy artillery?"

"Yes." Suter didn't understand why the young officer in front of him - compared to Suter - asked these questions: "Heavy artillery, as well as some long guns and city wall guns."

"You have taken good care of them, and you will be richly rewarded at the end of this battle." Valley did not realize that his words became more numerous: "How long have you been in charge of these cannons?"

Suter stiffly twitched the corner of his mouth. The generous reward promised by the commander himself did not make the veteran feel any joy.

He was silent for a moment and said in a hoarse voice: "I have been serving them since the day they were cast."

After saying that, the veteran straightened his body, raised his hands in salute respectfully, and turned around to walk towards the gun emplacement.

This time, it was Lieutenant Colonel Varley's turn to be stunned. It took a while for the Lieutenant Colonel to realize that he was lucky enough to meet a true veteran of the past era.

However, it was too late for Lieutenant Colonel Varley to call back the veteran and inquire in detail, and he did not even have time to express his emotions.

Because the "rebel" cavalry had already bypassed the fighting area to the north of Hehe Valley Village, crossed the unknown creek from the lower reaches, and fought to the east bank.

Looking north from the artillery position, the rebel cavalry was like an unstoppable torrent, cutting off the river.

They ran echelon after echelon in an orderly manner, and the broken terrain on both sides of the river could not disrupt their formation.

The light cavalry deployed on the periphery of the parliamentary army's line could not even delay the rebel cavalry a little, let alone defeat the spearhead of the rebel cavalry.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley saw clearly: short leather boots, bright knee-length coats, hats and helmets decorated with huge feathers, superb riding skills and fearlessness...

There is no mistake, those herdsmen and farmers are by no means recruited temporarily. Lieutenant Colonel Varley was convinced that the new force that the enemy commander had just thrown into the battlefield was the real Palatine cavalry, which was famous among the republics.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley couldn't help but turn around and look at the River Valley Church. The personal flag symbolizing the enemy commander still stood proudly on the bell tower.

"Command Lieutenant Verezy's brigade to return to defense! Order the reserve team to dispatch!" Lieutenant Colonel Varley suppressed the admiration and regret in his heart, and sternly ordered: "Fight according to the formation of the previous drill. Those who leave without authorization and those who are timid in battle. , executed on the spot!”

The parliamentary infantry brigade waiting in front of the artillery position received the order and immediately turned around and moved closer to the position of the artillery.

In the previous battle, even if the right-wing front was pushed back to the east bank, the infantry group sitting in the rear showed no sign of intending to enter the battle. However, as soon as they received Lieutenant Colonel Varley's order, they took action immediately.

Rapid drumbeats also sounded from behind the hillock where the Parliamentary Army's artillery position was located. A brigade army flag and six centurion army flags rose precariously from the ridge. Another Parliamentary Army infantry brigade deployed on the reverse slope of the hillock was no longer there. Hide your tracks and enter the battlefield with great fanfare.

At this moment, the battlefield to the north of Hehe Valley Village was invisibly divided into two.

On the hillock, nearly a thousand infantrymen from two brigades of the Parliamentary Army stumbled into formations and formed formations at the artillery positions.

Below the mound, the parliamentary army troops that had retreated to the east bank were fighting fiercely with the "rebel" left-wing troops that launched a counterattack.

The rebel left wing troops, which originally took advantage of the victory, encountered a head-on attack from the parliamentary army's heavy artillery.

A round of shotshells from a distance of 500 meters beat the rebel troops in dense formations to pieces, especially the phalanx guarding the silver-bordered military flag. Lieutenant Colonel Varley specially assigned them four cannons in the best condition. .

The old cannons in the hands of the Parliamentary Army had many shortcomings, but their power was definitely not among them. Loaded with tailor-made shotgun shells, these heavy artillery can rain death from half a kilometer away. They are forged to crush city walls, but if given the chance, they can also unleash devastating power in the field.

However, the rebel left wing held on tenaciously. Although the bombardment dampened the momentum of their counterattack, they quickly regrouped and swooped toward the east bank while the artillery was reloading.

The bottom of the mound was once again shrouded in smoke like morning mist. The smoke was not thick, but it made everything in it shadowy.

Flakes of red flames burst out from the gray-white mist, like lightning striking through the clouds, briefly lighting up the mist.

The drums of marching came from behind the smoke wall, and a new round of phalanx battle was about to begin.

Colonel Sarnell had noticed signs of collapse of the parliamentary army's right wing - the two infantry brigades in front of the valley village had separated from the central army and were rapidly approaching the friendly forces under the hillock.

And all the "rebel" cavalry that had detoured from the lower reaches had crossed the nameless river.

Lieutenant Petofi drew his saber and pointed it directly at the artillery position on the hillock. Without any hesitation, the billowing stream of iron rushed towards the artillery position where figures were flashing in the distance.

On the hillock, Lieutenant Colonel Warley looked at the heroic charge of the Plato cavalry with half admiration and half regret:

Through different footwork, the dense columns spread out their layers as they marched, instead of clumsily waiting for the first group to set off before the next one like their counterparts in the United Provinces and Veneta.

This made them arrive much faster than Lieutenant Colonel Varley expected. By the time Lieutenant Colonel Varley could clearly see the saber in the opponent's hand, the two infantry brigades of the Parliamentary Army defending the artillery position had not yet completed their formation changes.

At present, at the top of the hillock where the artillery position is located, two "phalanxes" that are much larger than the infantry phalanxes of the brigade have begun to take shape.

The parliamentary infantry defending the artillery position was not arrayed outside the position, but inside the artillery position.

Artillery and infantry were integrated into one, with eight heavy cannons embedded in the four corners of the two phalanxes, and the gunners and ammunition were wrapped in the center of the phalanxes.

The soldiers of the two parliamentary brigades defending the artillery positions were not familiar with this new square formation tactic improved by the federal provincial army.

Forced by the situation and limited time, they only practiced formation changes a few times under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Varley.

This new phalanx should not be used with heavy artillery, but with light artillery.

Because heavy artillery is too large, the distance between gun positions is much greater than that of light artillery to facilitate the gunner's operation.

In order to leave space for the gunners and ammunition carriages, and to incorporate the scattered heavy artillery into the phalanx, the originally compact phalanx had to be further hollowed out, increasing the area of ​​the phalanx and diluting the depth of each side of the phalanx.

At this moment, the "rebel" cavalry was already close at hand, while many parliamentary infantrymen defending the artillery positions were still looking for their positions in a panic.

Listening to the deafening sound of horse hooves and the roars of his officers and sergeants, Lieutenant Colonel Varrey had no reason to think of the old gunner named Suter.

A strange thought came to the lieutenant colonel's mind: "Phalanx versus cavalry, the sovereignty war is happening again. Are the soldiers of the old marshal like this now, fearing the arrival of the imperial cavalry and looking forward to the arrival of the imperial cavalry at the same time?"

"The Palatine cavalry is indeed the best in the inner sea." Varei stared at the galloping rebel cavalry and whispered in a voice that only he could hear: "But what we have studied over the years... is the infantry countering the cavalry. Tactics."

The "rebel" cavalry came from the north, so the musketeers of the two brigades were concentrated inside the phalanx on the north side. They had set up their muskets and aimed at the enemy through the gaps between the spearmen in the front row.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley dismounted, walked among the soldiers, and personally took the ignition stick of the northwest corner cannon.

His roar was as loud as a bell, even faintly overpowering the sound of horse hooves: "No one is allowed to fire without an order! Those who leave their posts without authorization and those who are timid in battle! Execute justice on the spot!"

The Leiqunjun cavalry of the first charging echelon had already entered the charging distance, but the scene in front of them made the Leiqunjun second lieutenant who led the team at a loss.

The lieutenant never expected his men to overwhelm the enemy's formation—that was not something a saber-wielding light cavalry could do.

His mission is to destroy the cannon. His mission is to force the enemy artillery to abandon the cannon and retreat into the phalanx. His cavalry are equipped with spikes and mallets. He is ready to desperately destroy the enemy's cannon.

The enemy's unprecedented formation incorporated the artillery into the phalanx and protected it among a forest of spears.

The second lieutenant didn't know where to start, but he had no time to think. The second charge echelon was right behind him, either charging or turning to get out of the battlefield.

The young second lieutenant gritted his teeth and raised his saber - even if he could not break through the enemy's line, he still had to attract enemy firepower for his comrades in the subsequent charging echelon.

The trumpeter next to the second lieutenant immediately blew the charge horn, and the Lei Qun County cavalry in the first charge echelon rushed forward towards the waiting artillery position.

At this moment, the heavy artillery of the Grand Council Army roared.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley felt as if his chest had been hit hard by a lead-filled iron pipe. The deafening bang made the lieutenant colonel and all the soldiers next to the artillery dizzy. More than one soldier was so frightened that he dropped his weapon.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley felt heat flowing out of one of his ear canals. Regardless of checking the extent of the injury, he roared an order: "Artillery! Fire! Musketeers remain on standby!"

Another artillery piece at the northeast corner of the square opened fire.

Following Lieutenant Colonel Varley's orders, the Parliamentarian gunners loaded both solid shells and shotgun shells into the barrel.

When the double gunpowder was ignited, the solid iron balls wrapped with dozens of lead pieces swept across from the east and west ends of the phalanx towards the charging "rebel" cavalry.

Flesh and blood splashed with the cannonballs, and a dozen people disappeared from the horse in an instant.

A poor war horse that was hit directly by a solid bullet was split in two from the side of the chest by a thirty-two-pound iron ball. Other horses without their riders were pushed by inertia to run a few steps, and fell to the ground one after another, with blood gushing out from the horrific holes in their bodies.

The first charging echelon of the Leiqun County Cavalry suffered heavy losses, and the second lieutenant leading the team was killed on the spot.

The cavalry who were lucky enough to survive no longer had the willpower to rush into the square formation. They were like a river diverted by a boulder, flowing around to both sides of the position to make room for the second echelon.

However, their misfortune was not over yet. When they passed by both sides of the artillery position, the other six artillery pieces deployed by the enemy on the sides of the position also opened fire.

More than a dozen cavalrymen in the first echelon were shot and fell off their horses. The remaining cavalrymen completely lost their organization and gave up the outflanking of the enemy's position. They turned around and retreated to the previous crossing position.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley had just used artillery fire to repel the first wave of "rebel" cavalry charges, and the second wave of charges had followed closely.

This time, Lieutenant Colonel Varrey ordered the musketeers to open fire, and used volleys of guns to repel the second wave of "rebel" charges.

However, when the second wave of "rebel" charging cavalry moved around both sides of the phalanx, the rebel cavalry of the third charging echelon was already close at hand.

The cannons were being loaded, and the meager musketeers assigned to the two brigades defending the artillery positions had all fired a round.

"Hold your position!" Lieutenant Colonel Varley's shout was now the strongest voice on the battlefield. At this moment, he could only hope that the thinned walls of the phalanx could withstand the next round of rebel cavalry attacks: "Long live the Alliance. !”

The third charge echelon of the Leiqun County Cavalry was personally led by Lieutenant Petofi. Seeing his men killed by shotgun fire made him furious, but his rage did not take away the lieutenant's sanity.

"Follow me! Attack the northwest corner of the puppet army's formation!" The lieutenant turned and shouted at the messenger behind him: "Tell Second Lieutenant Covizar of the fourth echelon to attack the northeast corner!"

On the battlefield in Hehe Village at this moment, the officers from both sides of the war knew each other's tactics very well.

But Lieutenant Petofi was convinced that he had seen in books the strange formation that the other side had put up at the moment, with a hollow, thin skin, and artillery deployed at the four corners.

However, having never seen it in a book did not hinder the lieutenant's judgment on the spot. The lieutenant was keenly aware that: the enemy's formation was too large, and the number of spearmen's columns was far inferior to that of a conventional square formation; the four corners of the enemy's formation had the strongest firepower. , but it is also the weakest position.

Petofi, who led his troops to the northwest corner of the artillery position, saw Lieutenant Colonel Varley in the uniform of a colonel among the spearmen in brown coats.

Realizing that the color of the school officer's uniform was different from that of Plato's military uniform, Petofi figured everything out in an instant, and his eyes suddenly turned blood red.

"Young man from the province!" Petofi roared like thunder, facing the forest of spears, and rushed towards the figure wearing the uniform of a school officer without hesitation: "Suffer death!"

The cannon took up too much space, leaving gaps for the spearmen's placement. Petofi waved his saber left and right, hitting away the scattered spear points in front of him, and jumped up on his horse.

The war horse flew over the head of the gunner who was lying on the ground in fright, and crashed fiercely into the phalanx. When it landed, it trampled the shins and chests of several parliamentary soldiers who were unable to dodge.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley never expected that someone would actually dare to rush into the square formation - and that the other party would actually rush in.

The lieutenant colonel threw himself to the side in embarrassment, narrowly avoiding the saber in the opponent's hand, and crawled towards the inside of the phalanx using his hands and feet.

With this coming and going, Petofi no longer had the chance to kill the enemy commander.

The halberd bearers and sword and shield bearers who stayed inside the phalanx quickly moved up and surrounded the "rebels" who broke into the phalanx.

Lieutenant Colonel Warley, who fled to the other end of the phalanx, turned to look at the lieutenant who almost chopped off his head with a knife. Before he knew it, the clothes on his back were soaked with cold sweat. He climbed onto the cannon and looked at the young junior with half annoyance. Half-frightened, he shouted: "Asshole! Aren't you afraid of death?!"

However, Petofi could no longer hear what the lieutenant colonel was shouting. He cursed loudly and swung his saber to kill like crazy. Petofi's cavalry also took advantage of the chaos caused by the lieutenant to rush into the square one after another.

At the same time, the Leiqun County Cavalry of the fourth charging echelon had already rushed to the high ground.

"Lieutenant Petofi has broken the formation!" Second Lieutenant Kvizar saw the senior students who were surrounded and fighting in a bloody battle. He suddenly became anxious. He took the lead and rushed towards the northeast corner of the enemy's formation: "Kill! Kill!"

The encouraged cavalry of the Thunder Army roared and followed Lieutenant Covizar into the sparse spear forest in the northeast corner of the phalanx.

The hand-to-hand combat began, with the cavalry slashing the infantry and the infantry assassinating the cavalry. No one cared whether the opponent was a Platuan or not. Everyone just wanted to use all means to kill the opponent.

The ramrod turned into a hammer, and the saber could cut off half of the shoulder in one slash from top to bottom. The cavalry who were dragged off their horses would be killed immediately, and the infantry who fell to the ground would also be trampled by horses and their own people and scream in agony.

Someone's intestines were stepped out, but no one cared what they stepped on.

The brutal fighting made Colonel Varley's face turn livid and his lips turn purple - this was the first time he had seen such a scene.

The situation at this moment is like two cotton yarns desperately trying to tear each other apart. No one knows which side will be broken first, and no one knows which side will be defeated.

Next to the lieutenant colonel, a small drummer from the Grand Council Army held the drumstick tightly with his fingers and stood with stiff limbs. His lips were bitten unconsciously and bled, but he still stared blankly at the tragic scene in front of him.

"What are you standing for?" Lieutenant Colonel Varley shouted: "Drumming!"

The little drummer woke up from a dream and immediately started playing the drums. He had forgotten all the keys and melodies, and was just beating the snare drum loudly.

"Go! Go to Lieutenant Verezy! Let him bring his halberdiers to support us!" Varley picked up another messenger who was lying on the ground and pushed the latter who was still stunned: "go!"

The ordering soldier saluted, hurriedly squeezed out of the human wall, and ran towards the large phalanx at the other end of the artillery position.

"Sergeant Suter! Sergeant Cornoy!" Lieutenant Colonel Varley couldn't care whether the sergeant whose name was called was still alive. He would call out the name of anyone he could think of: "Surround and kill the rebel leader quickly." !”

Warley, who had regained his composure, immediately discovered that the rebel cavalry was more than capable, but lacked stamina.

"Kill one, two, three...he's dead." Valery pursed his lips and observed, counting in his mind: "Kill one, two...he's dead."

The thinking mode of an artillery officer made Varley accustomed to quantifying everything he saw. There are nearly a thousand soldiers in the Grand Council Army defending the artillery positions. According to the current exchange ratio, the balance of victory will definitely lead to them.

As long as you can keep at it.

As long as you can hold on...

Valei suddenly felt something was wrong. He couldn't tell what was wrong, but he just felt like a light on his back.

But he didn't need to rack his brains to think about it, because he quickly knew what was "wrong".

Suddenly, the deafening sound of horse hooves resounded across the battlefield again - the fifth wave of Plato cavalry charges came.

"How is it possible that there are only four charges?" Lieutenant Colonel Varley thought mockingly: "The number of cavalry in front of us alone is not enough."

But the lieutenant colonel did not panic. If he could withstand the first four charges, he was confident that he could withstand the fifth charge.

However, what he saw next when he turned around made Artillery Lieutenant Colonel Chris Varley's face turn pale:

A heavy cavalry team climbed onto the east bank from the side of the burning broken bridge, crossed the chaotic battlefield, and rushed straight towards the artillery position.

The silver armor shines brightly, and the red feathers flutter in the wind.

The fifth charge came not from the north but from the west. Those heavy cavalry were not good at detouring over long distances, so they took the shortest charge route.

And each of them is carrying a long lance that has never been seen before.

[Orz]

[Sorry, Orz]

[Return to normal update frequency next]

[Additional note: The tactics used by Lieutenant Colonel Varrey are not the [Hollow Phalanx] of later generations. An important prerequisite for the Hollow Phalanx tactic is that the line infantry is both a spearman and a musketeer. Infantrymen in the PikeShot era did not yet have such capabilities]

[But just like an airplane does not have two wings from the beginning, an aircraft carrier does not have an angled deck from the beginning. The improvement of tactics requires a process of exploration]

[Lieutenant Colonel Varrey's "New Phalanx" was also a process of exploration. During the development of phalanx tactics, some people actually tried to place artillery at the four corners of the phalanx, within the protection range of the spearmen, to prevent The artillery was destroyed or captured by the enemy cavalry][But in the oil paintings and prints we saw in later generations that recorded battles, most military commanders still chose to place the artillery outside the phalanx. Why? ]

[Firstly, the range of fire is limited; secondly, it affects the defensive ability of the phalanx; thirdly, the smoke from artillery fire hinders soldiers from fighting (a great impact); fourthly, heavy artillery cannot follow the infantry maneuver; and fifthly, this Book friends will know in the next chapter] [Despite all the inconveniences, this tactic can also be useful under certain conditions]

[Last week, things at work were not as busy as before, but some personal matters (reviews) took up time. Last weekend I wanted to start writing again, but I ended up sitting there all day deleting, deleting, rewriting and rewriting over a thousand words. Another week has passed, until today]

[I'm such a loser, I can't help you guys. Apologies again, Orz]