The basic combat unit of the Ottoman Empire's infantry was not a company, but a battalion. Therefore, what was deployed on the battlefield was not a single company line, but a much "thicker" battalion square formation.
Of course, these battalion phalanxes are not the same thing as the early Spanish phalanxes. Ahmed Koprulu's "Ottoman Phalanx" was designed like this: a company of long riflemen formed two slender rows of dense rows, located at the forefront of the array. An arquebus company formed a sparse four-column formation behind the long rifle company. Two companies of pikemen were placed behind the arquebus company. One company was also placed in four lines, for a total of eight lines. It was also a sparse formation.
In other words, the Ottomans' battalion-level phalanx had a total of fourteen rows, including six musket rows, which seemed very unfavorable for the development of firepower.
In addition to being detrimental to the display of firepower, the Ottoman phalanx was too thick, so the front to the enemy was relatively narrow. The two sides invested almost the same amount of troops on the battlefield of Djerburg, so the Holy Roman Empire army's front line was nearly twice as long as that of its opponent.
This meant that the Holy Roman Empire's forces could easily outflank the Ottoman Empire's forces.
As soon as Count Montecuccoli, who was watching the battle at the front, saw the "backward" phalanx of the Ottomans, he very keenly discovered the weaknesses of his opponents and also guessed the direction of their main attack.
“Your Majesty,” he suggested to Emperor Leopold, the titular commander of the Holy Roman Empire forces participating in the battle, “we should concentrate more than half of our artillery in the center of the battle line—I expect that the Ottomans will soon attack me. Launch a fierce attack in the center of the front line. At the same time, the teams on both sides of the front line must be prepared to outflank the enemy!"
Charles Lorraine on the side was the chief of staff of the Holy Roman Empire army assembled in Gerburg. When he saw the emperor nodding, he immediately called in the messengers to translate Count Montecuccoli's words into orders. It was conveyed.
...
March 30, 1675, 8 a.m. Henry Zhu has followed his "Goa Regiment" to the front position. The "Goa Regiment" is located in the second column of the formation near the center. Behind him was Ahmed Koprulu's central army, and the Grand Vizier's three-horse-tailed military flag was flying high not too far behind Henry Zhu.
Henry Zhu himself does not also serve as the regiment leader, so he can move back and forth on the battlefield. However, Ahmed Koprulu was afraid that he would be in danger, so he was not allowed to get too close to the front line, and he was only allowed to move behind the second line.
At this time, both sides on the battlefield were busy setting up formations and there was no exchange of fire. So there is no smoke blocking the view, and the visibility is very good. Henry Zhu, standing in the stirrups, held up a telescope and carefully observed the deployment of the two armies on the battlefield.
Although he is not a professional soldier, he has taken many military courses (at Laoshan Middle School and Taixue School), and he is not a complete layman on military affairs. When he saw the artillery of the Holy Roman Empire Army moving towards the center, he knew There will be a bloody battle on the center line later. And he also knew that his location was relatively vulnerable to bombardment. So before the artillery battle on the front line officially started, he turned his horse around, took a few Mongolian cavalry to protect him, and flew to the flag of Three Horsetails.
Before he could rein in his horse, the drums of war drums were already ringing!
Henry Zhu quickly stabilized his horse, then stood up on the stirrups again, raised his telescope and began to observe the situation on the front line.
It turned out that the ten battalions of the Ottoman army began to launch the first wave of attacks!
…
"They actually attacked!" Count Montecuccoli muttered in a low voice, "They didn't even conduct a bombardment...are these guys crazy?"
"Count, the enemy's tactics are really too backward!" Leopold I said cheerfully, as if victory was in sight, "Let our artillery fire and blast them all to pieces!"
Count Montecuccoli nodded, and then Charles Lorraine said loudly: "As you command, my Majesty!"
The six-pound cannon placed in front of the array by the Holy Roman Empire army soon started firing!
Today, the artillery brought to the Djerburg battlefield by the artillery of the Holy Roman Empire is the six-pound cannon and the twelve-pound cannon. The former is a direct-aiming artillery, deployed in front of the array, which can shoot directly at the Ottoman phalanx with solid bullets, and can also fire shot shells.
The latter is a direct-fire artillery, deployed in the open space between the first line and the second line, and is not placed in a centralized manner - the reason why it is deployed in this way is mainly to prevent being killed by explosions. If the curved artillery positions are gathered together and placed at the front of the battle line, and if the opponent's curved artillery fires a round with explosive shells, the battle will be over!
However, after the cannons are dispersed on the front line, the shooting accuracy and power are greatly reduced. Unable to shoot at moving targets, it can only bombard the enemy's stationary arrays and artillery positions, and it is difficult to concentrate firepower.
So what is being fired now is the more than 20 6-pound cannons concentrated at the front of the middle section of the first line, and they are also firing less powerful solid bullets.
At the same time as the Holy Roman Empire's artillery started, the Ottoman formation also changed. The first two columns of long riflemen in the advancing 10 square formations suddenly accelerated their pace and moved forward at a brisk pace. In front of them, a group of skirmishers running forward appeared at some point, and the main body of the phalanx, composed of arquebusiers and pikemen, was still advancing at a walking speed.
The artillery of the Holy Roman Empire did not realize how dangerous those fast-walking and running musketeers were, and they still aimed their guns at the slowly advancing infantry phalanx as always - they were walking slowly, and they were a large group. People are easy to hit. Some highly skilled HRE artillerymen could even make the shells fly over the heads of two rows of fast-moving musketeers, then fall to the ground and then bounce up, sweeping across the large Ottoman phalanx at a lower altitude... A cannonball can knock over a row of people, how satisfying it is!
"Ula! Ula! Ula..."
The infantry of the Holy Roman Empire let out an earth-shattering cheer, which could almost cover the rumbling sound of the cannon.
The Shinra infantry commanders commanding at the front did not relax their vigilance because of the performance of the artillery. They all saw the fast-running Ottoman skirmishers - they could not let them get close to their artillery positions!
A large number of Shinra hunters were quickly dispatched, and the direct exchange of fire between skirmishers and hunters soon began. Intense gunshots, which seemed a bit out of place, once again rang out across the front line. However, the frontline commanders on Shinra's side didn't pay much attention because there was no time for them to pay attention to this matter. The "life-threatening" Ottoman musketeers actually lined up in two horizontal lines and rushed towards the artillery position in the middle of the Shinra front.
Is this a suicide charge?
Are these Turks anxious to see their God?
The officers and soldiers of Shinra were all stunned by this mindless suicidal charge!
But it didn't last long as the artillery and infantry made adjustments under the command of the officers. The artillery stopped bombarding the slowly moving phalanxes and began loading cannonballs, waiting for the Ottoman infantry to enter shooting range.
The Shinra infantry were also ready to charge, waiting for the artillery to blast away the Ottoman infantry, and then rushed forward to reap the lives.
But just as the soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire were waiting for a complete victory, the Ottomans on the opposite side suddenly stopped advancing... They stopped 220 yards away from the HRE artillery position and began to form a team!
What does it mean?
Is this distance a bit far?
Are they all riflemen?
The questions in the minds of the Shinra warriors were quickly answered. More than a thousand Ottoman musketeers fired the first round of volley!
220 yards away, use a rifled gun to fire a volley... This method of attack is really unexpected, and the effect is of course surprisingly good. The first round of volley knocked down dozens of Holy Roman Empire soldiers. artillery.
However, the frontline commanders of the Holy Roman Empire were not vegetarians. They all knew the shortcomings of rifled guns-slow loading!
So immediately the commanders of several infantry regiments ordered their musketeers to advance, hoping to fight their opponents in line and shoot them...
