The French infantry was equipped with tanks, but the troops of the Holy Roman Empire were not.
The French infantry also had mortar fire support, and neither did the Holy Roman Empire troops.
The French infantry wore thickened breastplates and carried a large number of grenades, while the Holy Roman Empire troops did not.
The one hundred and twenty heavy artillery pieces that the imperial infantry could rely on were completely unable to exert their due lethality in close combat.
This is not a big problem with the heavy artillery itself. It's just that the rate of fire is relatively slow. The same is true for French heavy artillery of the same model.
The key lies in the close-range shooting. Almost all the artillerymen were killed and wounded by grenades and bullets, and almost no one could hold on to the gun position anymore.
Ten artillery companies were almost half destroyed by Bourbon's troops, and the imperial troops relied entirely on muskets and bullets to withstand the onslaught of 30,000 French troops.
The combination of tanks, thick armor, grenades, and mortars showed extremely powerful lethality at this time, which even Bourbon himself found unbelievable.
According to the commander's estimation through the telescope, his troops have probably defeated sixteen to twenty enemy formations, and there should be more than ten in the process of collapse.
Although it is far from being severely damaged or even completely annihilated, these grid-like phalanxes that were once there are now gone.
In previous formation battles with the enemy, in order to achieve this kind of killing effect, our troops would have lost at least eight to ten square formations.
But Bourbon reviewed the battlefield situation behind a mound and believed that his troops should still have 27,000 out of 25,000 men who could continue to fight.
There are still at least 300 tanks. As long as half of the tanks are left, we can still implement infantry-tank coordination tactics to keep our troops at the forefront of the entire army.
Bourbon was very pleased to be able to achieve such initial results, and became more determined to adopt this tactic.
With the help of new weapons and new tactics obtained from the Ming Empire, the French army's combat effectiveness rose to a whole new level.
What made Bourbon even more delighted was that the enemy on the opposite side actually knew nothing about it and was still using the same old tactics.
Obviously, judging from the battle process during this period, the new tactics can completely defeat the old tactics.
However, the old enemy's general was not a complete loser. He still sent a large number of cavalry in an attempt to outflank and penetrate.
Through previous battles with the Spanish army, Bourbon's troops already had practical experience in anti-cavalry.
Facing the murderous enemy cavalry, the French infantry just felt a little sudden.
Because of the coordination of tanks, the fear was not too great. Under the command of the officer, the defensive formation was quickly completed.
There are two so-called defensive formations. One is the semi-defensive formation, which shrinks the tanks on both sides to form an n-shape.
The other is a fully defensive formation, which becomes a completely airtight square.
Since a large number of tanks were used to defend the flanks, the attack power from the front was greatly reduced.
But in order to protect themselves, Bourbon had to do this, and his own troops had begun to shoot at the enemy. The tanks must protect the safety of the infantry.
The equipment of chicken helmets and thick armor allows the French infantry to significantly reduce the number of casualties without the protection of tanks.
Ninety percent of the infantry can fire more than thirty times at a distance of one hundred to three hundred feet.
The imperial soldiers on the opposite side didn't know what was going on, but they heard gunshots fired continuously from the French army, and fire spots appeared frequently and continuously in the smoke.
Coupled with the grenades falling one after another, this is a natural disaster that they are unable to withstand!
Since a large number of musketeers are unarmored units, even if they are killed by a small iron ball, they may lose their combat effectiveness.
Under the fierce firepower of the French army, the phalanxes were beaten to pieces one after another.
The troops who formed a skirmishing formation to attack were also beaten to death by dense rain of bullets and fierce artillery fire.
The infantry attack is not to rush forward like a swarm, but to first form company-level combat units.
Under the order of the company commander, the soldiers of the whole company advanced while loading ammunition.
However, this tactic has lost its due power when facing the French army with a large number of heavy weapons.
Since the French army had an absolute advantage in firepower, the imperial infantry lines one after another were as vulnerable as a huge phalanx.
Before the distance of a hundred feet is covered, a company of soldiers may only have half or even one-third left, and the spearmen will not even have a chance to use their weapons.
After Mercy ordered the dispatch of cavalry in an effort to reverse the battlefield, Boudes also ordered the French cavalry to attack.
The target is not the enemy infantry, but the enemy cavalry!
The purpose of this order is very simple, that is to first defeat the enemy's cavalry, force them to flee, and then cooperate with our own infantry to slowly eat these hundreds of thousands of infantry!
Perhaps Emperor Ferdinand III could still muster hundreds of thousands of troops, but that would come later.
What Boudes has to do is to prevent the locusts that invaded France from returning to their hometown!
Another point is that Prime Minister Mazarin warned before the war that some German mercenaries must be captured.
Because France spent a lot of silver coins purchasing airships and other weapons and equipment, the goods it could trade with the Ming Empire were very limited.
With this in mind, Viscount Turenne suggested using German mercenaries as trading goods.
One is worth a hundred silver coins, and capturing ten thousand people is one million silver coins.
Mazarin also privately promised that as long as Budes can do this, he will give him a generous commission!
There is no general who does not love money. Although Boudes is fiercely loyal, he will fight to the end for France and King Louis XIV.
But you won't have to deal with boxes of silver coins. You can protect France and make a lot of money at the same time. Why not give it a try?
The enemy troops have penetrated deep into the hinterland of the country, and cavalry is the mobile force they rely on most.
Budes decided to kill these cavalry first. Even if the remaining infantry used both hands and feet, they would not be able to escape the fate of becoming prisoners!
As a result, 20,000 French cavalry and 30,000 Imperial cavalry fought together, and the situation was so chaotic that it was completely impossible to fire artillery cover from the rear.
On the contrary, the infantry unit under the command of Bourbon, who had previously had the aura of blind fighting, fought in a precise and orderly manner.
The Imperial cavalry was clueless in attacking Bourbon's tanks, and was even more helpless in the face of the continuous bombardment from rapid-fire cannons.
They could only find opportunities to break through the open space between the tanks and massacre the French infantry.
Bourbon and a group of his men were well prepared for this, because this unit was famous for taking the initiative to go up and get beaten...
In the temporary position, there were people responsible for shooting with the enemy, and there were also people waiting for the enemy cavalry to come.
The latter does not need to continuously reload ammunition and fire, it just needs to wait for the enemy to ride.
Wherever there is danger, they appear there, equivalent to a battlefield fire brigade.
Each company has at least ten people in charge of this matter, and it is not a problem to eliminate two or three cavalry.
In fact, after being bombarded by cannons, the corpses of the Imperial Cavalry were the best obstacles.
This made it almost impossible for the horses that followed up to move forward. They tripped frequently and could no longer get up.
The Imperial cavalry who lost their horses were either killed or blown up, or had to abandon their horses and engage in foot combat.
Under the constant impact of a large number of imperial cavalry, Bourbon's troops also suffered heavy losses.
It is estimated that between 5,000 and 8,000 people were injured or incapacitated, and it is temporarily difficult to count the dead.
But Bourbon and his men could only choose to fight to the end, because there were enemy infantry in front and enemy cavalry behind and on the left and right flanks.
In other words, they were completely surrounded, and there was no possibility of them withdrawing from the battlefield immediately.
The only good thing is that the enemy cavalry can't do anything to our own tanks.
This kind of car fort called a tank seems to be the natural enemy of the cavalry. With several spears stuck on the outside, it looks like a huge hedgehog.
Enemy cavalry were either killed by cannons or pierced by spears, and the rest were killed or wounded by grenades or bullets.
After only half an hour of fighting, everyone in the imperial cavalry realized that the French infantry with car forts in front of them was a tough nut to crack.
It was so hard that they had more than 5,000 or 6,000 casualties and were difficult to eliminate. Since the French army also dispatched a large number of cavalry, they were already being attacked from the front and back.
Hundreds of car forts have almost become an insurmountable line of defense. To destroy a car fort with ten infantrymen, it will almost cost thirty to forty or more cavalry.
This is a battle-loss ratio that is completely unjustifiable, and it is a standard that our own side simply cannot afford.
In the end, with nearly half of the casualties, they were forced to retreat, otherwise the entire army might be annihilated in the end.
airship!
Our airship is here!
Long live!
France must win!
With loud shouts, Bourbon's officers and soldiers looked up to the sky.
I saw six airships painted with giant shark mouths finally flying into the blue sky, and the morale of the French army was greatly boosted.
Mercy and Waite had no idea what kind of weapon it was, but it must have been made by the French to hit themselves.
In a state of fear, the morale of the imperial troops was greatly damaged when they saw this flying behemoth, and they soon lost their will to fight.
As our own cavalry withdrew from the battle, several big flying guys appeared on the enemy side, and the troops fighting on the front line collapsed one after another within a quarter of an hour.
The infantry phalanx behind was also affected by this. Unable to give orders from the two top commanders Mercy and Waite, they directly chose to run west.
The battle lasted until dark, before Boudes ordered a ceasefire, but not a withdrawal of troops. The French army could continue to pursue them until the enemy troops completely left French soil.
After counting the results of the battle, it was found that as many as 12,000 enemy soldiers were killed by the French army on the battlefield alone.
In the next half month, the French army captured more than 50,000 people.
This was worth five million silver coins, and Prime Minister Mazarin was naturally ecstatic about it...
Although the French army also suffered considerable losses, the number of casualties reached 10,000.
But compared to this victory, it is completely negligible.
Bourbon once again became a hero throughout France and even in the anti-Habsburg alliance.
Boudes also made a fortune by capturing a large number of prisoners, and the enemy's threat to Paris was completely eliminated.
Moreover, the battle also severely damaged the main forces of Ferdinand III and Maximilian I, which can be said to be a victory in one fell swoop.
In view of the fact that the enemy is completely unadapted to our new tactics and has a fear of airships.
Budes suggested pursuing the victory, and Mazarin nodded in agreement after considering it comprehensively.
The tactical goal of this active attack is very simple, which is to force the two old enemies to have another decisive battle with our side.
Because France has mastered the dual advantages of weapons and tactics, coupled with the effective cooperation of the brave and capable Swedish army.
Furthermore, the morale of the French army was high after the second victory, so the chance of victory was extremely high.
Mazarin's strategic goal was also very clear, which was to get the emperor to sign the contract.
Cede all the area west of the Rhine to France, or there is another option, which is to give away Baden-Württemberg, which is adjacent to Switzerland.
If you do not agree to cede the land, you must compensate France for the loss of 10 million silver coins!
Otherwise, the French army and its ally Swedish army will reach the city of Vienna!
If they lose again, there will be nothing left to talk about.
France will annex the central and western parts of the Holy Roman Empire without hesitation!
If Ferdinand III was not a fool, he would probably see this.
After reaching an agreement with the emperor, Mazarin's next target was the Spanish Netherlands.
This is a Spanish enclave north of France. After France defeated the defenders here, there was no reason to give up.
Mazarin wanted to use new weapons and new tactics to seize three pieces of land, the other one being the northern part of the Apennine Peninsula.
In this way, the territory of the Kingdom of France will expand to the largest area after the demise of the Frank Empire.
On this basis, it would be better if we were in Catalonia, which can win Spain.
Apart from anything else, at least the money spent on purchasing weapons must be recovered with interest.
As long as the French army can win repeated battles, it can capture more prisoners.
These prisoners can be exchanged for more weapons and goods from the Ming Empire, thus forming a virtuous cycle.
Viscount Turenne mentioned in his letter that the crown prince of the Ming Empire wanted to revive the Ming Empire. Mazarin felt that he could also use this to revive France.
Richelieu can make France strong, and on this basis, Mazarin will make France great!
Although in a short period of time, the French navy was no match for the Netherlands, Spain, or even the United Kingdom.
But the French Army wants to become the most powerful army in the entire Europa region.
This is a prerequisite for dominating Europa!
To this end, Mazarin also consulted Budes.
The latter believes that to achieve this ultimate goal, the size of the French Army must reach at least 300,000!
If all were regular armies, then the military expenditure alone would increase the financial pressure dramatically.
It is impossible to use taxes and fees to cover the expenses of an army of 300,000, so maritime trade is an important source of finance.
In order to ensure this stable income channel, Mazarin believes that it is necessary to maintain good relations with the Netherlands in the near future.
Use its powerful maritime power to make its due contribution to France.
In Europa waters, the French navy is naturally not afraid of its Spanish counterparts.
But in the Indian Ocean and even eastern waters, France had to ask for help from the Netherlands.
For example, only the Netherlands and Spain can do such a big business as transporting 50,000 prisoners.
This is the reason why a certain new emperor obtained a large number of German mercenaries...
The first batch of mercenaries resurrected from the Battle of Paris arrived in Tianjin in the spring and summer of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen.
A certain new emperor was naturally very happy when he heard that Mazarin had more than 50,000 prisoners in his hands, and that they were all willing to be sent in exchange for goods and weapons, as well as to pay off previous debts.
Although the Ming Dynasty had a large population, it did not have many troops capable of fighting, especially those capable of fighting tough battles.
German mercenaries are tall and strong, and have no fear of braids. They are very suitable for being cannon fodder!
