What is the best way for infantry to deal with cavalry? Formation!
Throughout the ages, how many generals and soldiers have summed up their experience with blood.
Facing the cavalry charge led by Werner, the Nancy Army did not have enough cavalry to respond and could only rely on infantry to form a formation.
Unfortunately, the command of soldiers from different nobles was not smooth at all. Even if there were knights among them shouting for command, the phalanxes were still quite chaotic.
When the overwhelming sound of horse hooves came, the soldiers became more and more panicked. Some hurriedly shot arrows, some hurriedly threw spears, and some began to run around. No one wanted to face the cavalry charge head-on.
The more panicked they are, the easier it is to be dispersed by a wave of cavalry.
When Otto saw Werner leading the way and rushing into the enemy's formation, but the enemy's infantry had not yet completed their formation, he knew that the battle was over, and he couldn't help but slow down his horse.
We have won, so why are we working so hard? If we were accidentally hit by a stray arrow, we would be in big trouble.
On March 6, Count Werner and Otto led two thousand troops, defeated the Count of Nancy's six thousand troops, captured the Count of Nancy, and the Nancy area was peaceful.
On the 7th, Werner attacked Colma and won a great victory.
On the same day, Otto enjoyed a sumptuous dinner at a castle in Neuchatto.
On the 11th, Vilna, supplemented by 3,000 troops, advanced towards Vaucouleurs and encountered fierce resistance from the Lotharingian army.
On the 12th, Otto crossed into the Upper Burgundy region, and a large number of nobles in Upper Burgundy surrendered to the East Frankish Kingdom.
On the 17th, Salburg fell. The Duke of Franconia and Werner joined forces to attack Vaucouleurs. By this time, the Duke of Franconia had increased his strength to 40,000 men.
On the 19th, the West Frankish army finally launched an attack on the Kingdom of Lotharingia, and the Battle of Bar broke out. After two days of fighting, the Duke of Holland and his young king retreated to Luxembourg.
On the 22nd, Otto's Qingqi arrived near Lyon, only to learn that the entire Lotharingian nobles south of Lyon had basically surrendered to the West Frankish Kingdom.
In order to avoid conflict with the Kingdom of West Francia, Otto chose to give in and attack the Count of Sundegaard.
At the end of the month, the Duke of Franconia captured Vaucouleurs, and the garrison of Bar, which had been besieged for many days, surrendered to King Charles II of West Francia.
In early April, the Duke of Bavaria and the Duke of the Netherlands, the real commanders of the East Frankish Kingdom's army, fought in Luxembourg.
The Duke of the Netherlands initially gained a certain advantage on the battlefield. However, when the West Frankish Kingdom successively captured Hainaut, Cambrai and other places and forced into Liège, the Duke of the Netherlands once again chose to retreat in order to avoid being cut off. This time Withdrew to the Principality of the Netherlands in one fell swoop.
At this time, Otto brought more than a thousand cavalry to the Sundegao area where there was no main guard.
Many of these more than a thousand cavalry were sent by surrendered nobles to show their sincerity to the East Frankish Kingdom.
Count Sundegau was fighting with the Duke of Holland at this time. His successor, the acting lord of Sundegau, surrendered to Otto and expressed his willingness to submit to the Kingdom of East Francia.
It was at this moment that Otto heard the news.
That is, Count Bresgau led an army of 3,000 men to attack Basel and was easily defeated by Baron Dillon. With less than 200 casualties, he annihilated more than 500 soldiers of Bresgau and captured more than a thousand prisoners. Count Bresgau was also slightly injured. , and fled back to Bresgau in despair with the remaining defeated soldiers.
The specific battle process is nothing worth talking about. It is just that Baron Dillon was waiting for work, using the reinforced Basel city defense to consume the enemy's army, and then unexpectedly used cavalry to attack Count Bresgau's camp, and won the victory.
Otto was dumbfounded. He really didn't expect Count Bresgau to be such a novice in terms of military skills. Fortunately, he didn't marry into the other party's family, otherwise he wouldn't be a pig teammate.
Although Count Bresgau attacked Basle, since everyone is now a vassal of the East Frankish Kingdom, and the kingdom is also at war at this time, Otto cannot attack the opponent.
Of course, not hitting the other party does not mean that Otto cannot disgust the other party. Since the other party has already hit him, it is appropriate to charge some interest.
After learning the latest battle situation, Otto chose to take a detour from Bresgau to the front line to join the army of the East Frankish Kingdom. By the way, a wave of "forced supplies" came to the Bresgau collar, which made Count Bresgau He was angry and angry, but he never dared to do anything irrational.
When Otto arrived in Luxembourg, it happened to be the day after Luxembourg was occupied.
"Well done!" Duke Karl of Swabia met Otto in person and gave him his praise.
"I've heard all about it. You won all the way to Lyon, and almost penetrated the southern part of the Kingdom of Lotharingia. This record will make many nobles feel ashamed."
Otto knew very well how much his so-called brilliant achievements were worth, but the main force of the nobles in the southern part of the Kingdom of Lotharingia had gone to fight with the Duke of Holland. The territory was empty and could not withstand Otto's attack, so they all bowed their heads.
During the entire march, there were only a handful of large-scale battles that were truly experienced. Of course, Otto won in the end. After all, the elite cavalry in Otto's hands are still very effective in combat.
"Your Majesty the Duke, you are honored. It's just good luck that you didn't encounter the enemy's main force. These achievements are not worth mentioning. I wonder how the war in the kingdom is going now. Is everything going well?"
Hearing Otto mention the war, the Duke of Swabia looked a little unhappy.
It turned out that although the East Frankish Kingdom was advancing smoothly during this period, it was much slower than the West Frankish Kingdom next door. There were also some minor frictions between the two sides due to the competition for territory.
Today, although the Kingdom of East Francia has captured Luxembourg, Liège has been captured by the Kingdom of West Francia, and is now attacking Brabant and Antwerp. It can be said that the essence of the Kingdom of Lotharingia has fallen to the Kingdom of West Francia. in hands.
If the army of the East Frankish Kingdom wants to penetrate directly into the Principality of the Netherlands, it must capture Aachen, otherwise it will have to take a detour.
At the mention of this, the Duke of Swabia became very angry.
"Lotalingia's army was basically defeated by us, but the benefits were taken away by the people from the west. I really can't bear it.
However, my brother has already prepared for me to lead the army to take a detour and attack from the direction of East Friesland. If I am fast enough, I should be able to attack the Dutch Principality from both sides before the next door.
After that, there should be a war with the west, and I don’t know how long this war will last.
You have a good rest for two days. I will set off the day after tomorrow. Then you will come with me. "
Otto smiled bitterly. Hey, this is no chance to show his face in front of the large army. They are all regarded as partial troops.
If you want to deviate from the enemy, just deviate from the enemy. It is safer to follow the Duke of Swabia, your direct lord, than to follow the Duke of Franconia.
It just so happens that I can take this opportunity to connect with each other more emotionally and prepare for the future.
