The Sun and the Lion

As more of the main force led by Muhammad Agha joined the battle, the archers originally deployed on the edge of the camp could no longer massacre the enemy troops unilaterally. Arrows and lead bullets flying from the opposite direction killed many Georgian soldiers. Fences and trenches could Blocking anyone trying to cross the obstacle, but blocking stray bullets is a little awkward.

With their own fire cover, groups of Ottoman soldiers rushed to the fortifications with shields raised high. However, under the desperate obstruction of the Georgian soldiers, they could only look at the trenches and fences in front of them and sigh, unable to demolish these obstacles.

In order to deal with the Ottoman shooters who were already on top, the Georgian gunners deployed all the firearms that had been withdrawn from the camp. Since no forts were built in the camp in advance, it was difficult for the Falcon cannon to fire at this time, but the light and flexible breech-mounted swivel cannon and wall gun had more firepower. At full blast, I wish I could use up all the gunpowder reserves in the general camp.

Seeing that the battle situation was tense and the infantry of both sides had already been engaged in the battle and could not get out, Heraclius made a prompt decision and ordered: "Give me the order to have all the cavalry on standby dispatched to outflank the enemy's rear as planned."

"My venerable patron saint, Saint George, please protect your worshippers!" A Georgian knight at the forefront of the team prayed in front of the formation, clutching the cross pendant with his left hand, and other Christians also prayed in their hearts to their patrons. Saint, Christ or God pray.

Accompanied by the sound of drums and trumpets giving orders to attack, the hard-lined Georgian cavalry quickly came out of camp from the rear and entered the battlefield. The Ottoman cavalry deployed on the flanks of the infantry bore the brunt of their lance attacks.

Muhammad Agha's weakness was exposed at this moment. The cavalry under his command were basically Tatar and Ajinki cavalry, lacking Sipaxi and his entourage. These troops, which were generally lightly armored and unarmored and mainly relied on mounted archery to carry out various missions, were unable to cope with the cavalry impact of the chainmail riders at the front of the group.

Except for the unlucky guy who was picked off his horse because of his slow reaction, all the Ottoman riders instinctively retreated at the right time and fired arrows sharply at the Georgians, hoping to hinder the enemy's cavalry advancement.

There were also quite a few unarmored light cavalry among the Georgian cavalry participating in the attack. Tatar arrows could kill these targets even if they could not penetrate the chain mail. Fortunately, these sporadic casualties can be ignored by the officers.

Seeing how easily the enemy cavalry retreated in haste and lost contact with the infantry, David and other cavalry commanders were overjoyed and immediately turned their horses to attack the exposed Ottoman infantry on the rear. The cavalry following them followed the commander's flag and turned. Attack new targets.

"These infidels who are going to Hell, damn!" Muhammad Agha, who was keenly aware of the changes in the battle situation, cursed in his heart, and then adjusted in time: "If the order is passed, all the bows, crossbows, guns and cannons will change their targets and shoot at the enemy. The cavalry will kill the horses even if they can’t kill the men.”

Since Heraclius put all his cavalry into the battlefield to outflank the enemy, since the Safavid army was actually more dominant in size and quality than the enemy in front of them, the battle situation quickly developed in an unfavorable direction for the Ottomans.

The Ottoman infantry, which was almost entirely composed of irregular troops, quickly fell into a disadvantage when it was attacked from the front and flanks at the same time. A chain collapse occurred from the edge of the line to the center. Thousands of infantrymen forgot about the order to fight the enemy and rushed toward them. Escape to the safety of the city behind.

At this moment, Mohammad Agha no longer thought unrealistically about how to win. He immediately led the personal guards and Yenicheri as reserves, as well as those who had recovered from the enemy's attack. The first attack was blocked and successfully surrounded. Your own light cavalry blocking the enemy's cavalry acts as a fire brigade to make up for the situation.

He first arranged for the archers and musketeers who were standing behind to retreat first. He needed to allow as many soldiers as possible to escape back within the city walls, at least the city could not fall.

"Hold it to me, no retreat this time!" With the supervision of Janichery and Aga, the irregular cavalry could only use scimitars and small shields to stop the attack of the Georgian cavalry, and the two sides immediately started fighting.

The Tatar horsemen who were the first to stop the enemy were rich in combat experience. Although they were at a disadvantage, they still fought back and forth with the invading enemies. Especially those horsemen who were recruited from the local area and were not well equipped were difficult to deal with. If it were not for the elite horsemen directly under Heraclius, To support the scene, this battle is just a fight between rookies.

Seeing that the Ottoman army that was attacking out of the city collapsed quickly after being rushed to the flanks, Heraclius was surprised that the battle developed so smoothly, which was in sharp contrast to the previous battle against Selim. He couldn't believe it: "The Roma army collapsed so easily. Could it be a scam?"

"Your Majesty the Governor, we have the obvious advantage at the moment. Just send all the troops and horses to pursue us." The deputy general on the side felt that the time to completely annihilate the enemy was right in front of him. Why did he hesitate?

The hesitation of the Georgians saved the Ottoman army in the field, and Muhammad Agha successfully used the fire brigade in his hands to buy time for retreat.

"Hey, attack and kill all the Roma without leaving a trace!"

The gate of the military camp is wide open, look for Shuyuan www. zhaoshuyuan.com The infantry rushed out in groups to join the battle between the cavalry of the two armies. Seeing that something was not going well, the Ottoman officers completely lost their confidence in fighting at this moment: "Dear Aga, the war situation is now irreversible. If our army continues to hold on now In a field battle, the whole army is likely to be annihilated! Please consider the lives of the soldiers and the overall situation, and order a retreat."

The fact that the Ottomans lost over a thousand horses and infantry cannot be concealed. In particular, the Tatar light cavalry, which was responsible for the delay, were surrounded and killed by the Georgian cavalry, which had a numerical advantage. There were very few survivors who could break through the encirclement.

"The overall situation... why should we consider the overall situation now?" Muhammad Agha, who failed to take this opportunity to complete Selim's strategy and perform extraordinary feats to express himself, instead humiliated himself, sneered with some disappointment, and then suppressed his anger. He did not vent to his subordinates and calmly accepted their suggestions.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

To the ears of all the Ottomans, the sound of drums and trumpets at this moment no longer sounded as high-spirited as it did during the first battle.

Seeing the Ottoman army quickly retreating from the battlefield into the city, Heraclius waved his hand and said: "No need to chase, let them all go back. We will just waste it here. When the King of Kings wins, these die-hards will naturally be eliminated." ”

The city gates were closed tightly, and outside the wall became the world of the Safavid army. The work of cleaning the battlefield and statistics continued until sunset. Heraclius listened to the clerk's report and summarized the data in the chapter.

Thanks to adequate preparations for this battle, our side suffered only a few hundred casualties, beheaded thousands, and captured hundreds of enemy prisoners. The defeated Ottoman garrison probably lost less than a fifth of its combatants, but almost all its horses, unless the Crimean Tatars were willing to replenish Trabzon with enough horses.

The Ottoman army, which failed to lift the siege, was naturally unable to execute the next battle plan. After much trouble, the secondary battlefield was still insignificant.