Early morning on March 30, 1675 AD.
Under the dark sky in the early morning, the two camps that were brightly lit all night were noisy. Soldiers from the Ottoman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire were seizing the time to have breakfast. The Janissary Legion of the Ottoman Empire is known as the "Foodie Legion" and has always been particularly particular about eating and drinking. The pattern on the military flag is a soup pot, and ranks in the military are linked to cooking... If you meet a "chef" in this army, you have to be respectful, because he is a high official!
The "last meal" of the foodie army before the war was of course very sumptuous. They ate Turkish dumplings (beef filling and yogurt sauce) with red lentil soup. The officers and cavalry also got an extra sausage omelette. Whether it's turkey dumplings, red lentil soup or sausage omelettes, they're all delicious. Even the four powerful figures Zhu Henry, Hu Zhongyong, Zhu Lundun and Shi Baolu ate with gusto... I have to admit that the cooking level of the Yenicherry Corps must be world-class, Even the Guards of the Ming Dynasty and the New Army of France could not compare with them.
The four of them gathered in a tent and finished their breakfast in silence. Then the assembly bugle sounded. Although they followed Ahmed Koprulu as "observers", they also brought troops - how good the Ottoman phalanx is, you have to use it to know! Therefore, Hu Zhongyong also used Goan soldiers (some of whom were from Macau and Portugal) to form a four-battalion long rifle regiment, plus 1,000 "Mongolian cavalry" for show, and brought them to the front line together.
Most of the 1,000 Mongolian cavalry will not go into battle, but the "Goa Regiment" will go out to compete with the Holy Roman Empire's army.
Therefore, there are a total of 54 "Long Rifle Battalions" that will participate in today's battle, each belonging to the 14th Long Rifle Regiment. Each regiment is assigned an artillery half company.
In addition, there are 20 squadrons of Yenicheri heavy cavalry, 1,000 Mongolian cavalry (not all Mongolians) and 15,000 Tatar cavalry from the Crimean Khanate (there are also 5,000 on guard outside), Will also appear on the battlefield of Djerburg on March 30, 1675.
...
When Henry Zhu, Zhu Lundun, Hu Zhongyong, Shi Baoliao and others finished breakfast, the originally noisy military camp suddenly became particularly quiet. The four men who had been in the Ottoman army for a while knew that it was time for the Janissary and Tatar warriors to perform the morning prayers of the Tianfang Church.
After the morning ceremony, it's time for these Tianfang Sect soldiers to go to the battlefield!
Not long after, the sky was dimming, trumpets and drums sounded again, and groups of Yenicheri warriors wearing red robes, exaggerated white "Bok" turbans, and big beards poured out from various camps. Thousands of soldiers gathered into a dense marching formation according to the flags of their respective battalions. They will go to the front under the guidance of regimental and battalion flags with various cooking utensils as patterns. The skirmishers belonging to each battalion had already set off in advance. Under the cover of a small number of Tatar light cavalry, they rushed to the front to seize the starting position.
At the same time, the chasseurs, dragoons and light cavalry of the Holy Roman Empire also came to the front and also started to seize the starting position.
The skirmishers (chassers) and light cavalry (dragoons) on both sides touched each other at the front, and the firefight began immediately!
Skirmishers and hunters using rifled guns actually appeared on the battlefield earlier than line infantry using flintlock muskets. As early as the early 17th century, Denmark was the first to equip skirmishers with rifled guns (snipers). , Chasseur). By the 1770s, as more excellent rifled guns were manufactured, all countries began to equip skirmishers with rifled guns to cover infantry phalanxes.
...
At dawn, King Leopold I, wearing a suit of beautifully made black plate armor, stood on horseback about 200 yards outside the outermost moat of the Djerburg Fortress. In front of him was the open plain, which is today's battlefield.
This plain was originally a wheat field, but it was abandoned because of the war. Several farms were burned down, leaving only ruins. There were two small woods on the edge of the battlefield, which didn't look too intrusive.
When Leopold I appeared on the edge of the battlefield under the escort of the Royal Guards, the 55,000 Imperial troops under his command were marching out of the camp and heading towards the battlefield - this army included about four of the entire New Army. Thousands of people, as well as some older regiments and heavy cavalry units, about fifteen thousand people. The latter all came from some German states loyal to the Habsburg dynasty, and there were even three cavalry regiments from neighboring Poland.
In the center of the predetermined battlefield, a small-scale contact battle has been going on for a while. The contact battle was fought between skirmishers (chassers) and light cavalry (dragoons) on both sides.
Leopold, who was going into battle for the first time, just watched the excitement. He listened to the crackling gunshots and watched the cavalry from both sides running on the battlefield. He seemed very excited. However, Count Montecuccoli and Charles of Lorraine, who were fighting with him, frowned.
"Generalissimo, the gunfire seems to be too dense!" Charlie whispered to Count Montecuccoli, "How many skirmishers did the enemy send up?"
Count Montecuccoli frowned. The gunfire on the front line was not sporadic, but continuous, as if several musket battalions were shooting at each other.
But the skirmishers and hunters on both sides were equipped with rifled guns with very slow firing rates. How could they produce such dense gunfire?
Just when I was confused, the sound of gunfire on the battlefield gradually became sparse!
It turned out that large groups of infantry from both sides had entered the field, so the skirmishers, chasseurs, light cavalry, and dragoons each retreated to protect their own large troops.
Count Montecuccoli and Charles Lorraine also began to concentrate on observing the enemy's formation. They both raised their telescopes and began to observe.
"This... looks a bit like the phalanx from 10 years ago!" Charlie Lorraine took a few glances before showing a confident smile, "There are a lot of spears, almost half of them. .... Such an infantry phalanx has very weak firepower and is no match for us!"
Count Montecuccoli also laughed, "None of their musketeers have bayonets and cannot withstand our cavalry attack. They can only rely on pikemen for protection... It seems that the pace of military reform of the Turks is still slow." I can’t keep up with the situation at all!”
The discussion between the two was heard by Leopold I. The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire seemed very excited and asked the two: "General Marshal, can Charles win?"
"Of course!" Charles Lorraine replied with a laugh, "The Ottomans will definitely lose... God is standing behind His Majesty today!"
Count Montecuccoli also nodded and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, God bless the Holy Roman Empire, victory will definitely belong to us!"
King Leopold I nodded and loudly issued the order to start the war: "The empire will rise and fall today. All soldiers, march forward bravely!"
...
The vast battlefield south of Djerburg was already covered with soldiers and banners covering the sky. Two well-trained armies were spreading out in an orderly manner on the north and south sides of the battlefield under the guidance of their respective military flags.
The formations of both sides are actually similar. They are all composed of two formations, with cavalry on the wings and artillery in front of the formation. From the era of square formations to the era of line infantry queuing up to be shot, these are the basic formations used in field battles. . Of course, the specific placement depends on the terrain.
However, the formations of the battalion and company levels on both sides are quite different.
The main force of the Holy Roman Empire was modeled after the French New Army, which was very close to the historical line infantry. Among the most basic infantry companies, fusiliers accounted for three-quarters and pikemen only accounted for one-quarter, and all fusiliers were equipped with sleeved bayonets.
Their basic formation is no longer a square formation, but five horizontal lines, three dense lines of fusiliers, and two sparse lines of pikemen. As long as the enemy's cavalry does not attack, the pikemen will always stand behind the fusiliers.
In addition, the infantry of the Holy Roman Empire also used a horse-proof fence called "Spanish Cavalry" (something similar to a horse-repelling gun), which could be placed in front of the formation or on both sides to prevent the impact of enemy cavalry.
Unlike the "advanced" infantry formations of the Holy Roman Empire, the battalion-level infantry phalanx of the Ottoman Empire looks much backward...
