Armand completely reduced most of the five most elite cavalry brigades, abandoned their horses, and used them as elite infantry.
A small number of rangers and decoys are left as reconnaissance, and whether the opponent can take the bait depends entirely on luck.
The use of cavalry in this way was not because Armand was afraid of the Qing cavalry group, but because he received instructions from Marshal Turenne.
All French cavalry members are issued revolvers. In the case of a conflict between the cavalry of the two armies, the killing effect of this weapon is the lowest.
It is better to use cavalry units as infantry in positional battles or encounters.
Not only can it reduce its own casualties, but it can also maximize the lethality of the revolver.
If the French cavalry had a head-on confrontation with the Qing cavalry, it would definitely have to be outside the range of its own tanks and artillery, otherwise it would be accidentally injured by artillery fire.
In that case, the strength of the Qing cavalry was likely to be more than ten times that of the French cavalry.
Even if the French cavalry is equipped with revolvers, it will be offset by the opponent's huge military advantage.
It was impossible to reload ammunition leisurely on horseback, but this was not the case for infantry on makeshift lines.
He can shoot, throw grenades, and even use a spear to kill enemy cavalry...
No joke, only 50,000 French infantrymen were equipped with revolvers, and the rest were still flintlocks and spring guns.
After giving the decommissioned and stocked matchlocks to Leopold at a reduced price, Louis XIV suddenly found that it was impossible to equip each of his infantry with double guns.
Especially after revolvers became popular, producing flintlock guns no longer seemed cost-effective.
In order to arm the army infantry, Louis XIV had ordered all arsenals to produce revolvers and long and short guns in three shifts, 24 hours a day.
However, Dingtian can achieve a production rate of about 100,000 units per year.
It will take at least three years before all French soldiers can be equipped with new light weapons.
Faced with the shortage of hot weapons, Turena relied on his past experience and allowed all soldiers to carry their own cold weapons.
In addition to the standard flintlock musket, there are all kinds of swords, axes, and bows and arrows.
All tanks also carry a large number of additional spears to help the infantry resist the charge of enemy cavalry.
Compared with the Ming army equipped with magazine-type rifles, the French infantry seemed much shabby.
There is no way, their European emperor spent a lot of money on purchasing ironclad ships for the navy...
To make up for the lack of firepower, Turenne also requested that each of his soldiers be given ten grenades.
He wanted to turn all infantry into grenadiers to check the Qing army's millions of cavalry troops in the field.
Of course Louis XIV would satisfy this request.
It is much easier to have an arsenal produce grenades than to make revolvers. Even women can make such throwing objects.
Such was the situation with Armand's troops now, severely lacking in flintlock muskets, but making up for it with grenades.
The French infantry who followed the Ming army also changed from their previous zero defense state and all became cuirassiers.
From head to knees, there is iron armor protection.
Unless the opponent shoots you in the calf, you can keep fighting.
After Dorobelcany saw the enemy's situation in the distance, he had not yet made up his mind whether to take down this enemy force in one go.
Previously, Estai had been asked to lead 50,000 men to contain another enemy force, but he was worried that the two enemy forces would merge into one and cause greater trouble to his troops.
The strength of this enemy force was no less than 100,000, which made Chani somewhat fearful.
Fighting is not the problem, the problem is how to achieve a quick victory when the enemy is arrayed for defense.
The opponent sent a small number of light cavalry to lure its artillery into firing, but none of them were hit, indicating that the opponent was well-trained.
This enemy force may be the main force of the barbarian, or it may be the newly recruited reinforcements of the barbarian. In short, its strength cannot be underestimated.
Chani still had the idea of withdrawing his troops and retreating, but then he thought about it, it would be a bit embarrassing if his troops were ridiculed by Mu Zhan and Zhangtai when they returned.
Before the Western Expedition, the Holy Sage told Master Wang that if he wanted to defend himself against a stubborn enemy, he could bypass them without engaging in battle.
Even so, he still has to bear the reputation of being "fearful of enemies and timid to fight". This is a good thing to say but not a good one!
According to the reconnaissance report, the total number of the opponent's two groups of troops may be as large as 200,000.
Although there were tens of thousands of cavalry, they did not come out easily and were cautious when facing their own troops.
There was no exploratory operation involving thousands of people, and the main force was used to confront him directly.
This move made Chaney confused. In the past, the enemy would either take the initiative to attack or retreat while fighting.
Chani suddenly remembered the instructions his late master Duduo had given him. This seemed to be similar to the tactics of the Ming Dynasty.
Strike later and wait for an opportunity to counterattack!
There are indeed such signs...
Chani's army did not carry red cannons, only small French cannons and iron barrel cannons, which could not bombard the enemy's positions from a long distance.
If you get closer, you will be violently bombarded by the opponent, which is not worth the gain.
At this time, the rumble of artillery was heard in the distance. About thirty miles away from the main battlefield, Estai had already led his troops to fight.
Even though it is a feint attack, you still have to fight it like it is, and you cannot do it perfunctorily, otherwise the opponent will see through it.
Both Estei and Chani came from Xiangbaiqi, so he will naturally not harm the coach.
The only thing is that his opponent is Turena who has extremely rich actual combat experience and masters a variety of tactics.
Before the fight started, Turena basically guessed the Qing army's intentions when he saw the opponent's incoming troops.
He believed in Armand's commanding ability, even if the Qing army surrounding the department had a strength advantage.
As long as there are no command errors, especially if the French army is ordered to switch from defense to offense, our side will basically be in an invincible position.
The most important thing is that this is the first battle with the Qing army.
If you win, His Majesty the Emperor will have a very good impression of the commander, and vice versa.
So Turenne believes that Armand also understands this, will not be anxious and impatient, and will definitely act steadily.
As for the 50,000 to 60,000 people who came to attack, Turenne only had one cavalry brigade in hand and did not intend to let them go out to die.
They all shrink into their own temporary defense line. When the opponent attacks, our infantry still walks past...
"Your Excellency, Marshal, the Qing generals did not launch a forceful attack on our army, but only sent thousands of people to circle around and shoot arrows!"
"They are kidding me. I have seen this tactic before in the Eastern world!"
"Then let's..."
"Order the artillery units to fire ten times per gun to repel the incoming enemy! If the enemy does not enter the rifle range, all infantry must not fire. Release the fighter jets and let those Tatar cavalry have a taste of our power!"
"yes!"
Turenne decided to take advantage of the situation. Aren't you kidding me?
That's just right, I'll tease you too!
You tease me with cavalry, I tease you with airplanes, see who can't stand it first!
Estai has long seen something that can move quickly in the sky, comparable to an eagle.
But since arriving in southern Germany, this was the first time he saw so many giant falcons.
Turena asked all the fighters to take off for combat, so as to take this opportunity to train the fighter force.
The fastest place to grow is on the battlefield. The more experience you accumulate, the faster you grow.
The four wings of the French fighter plane are all sky blue, with a golden bee painted in the middle.
That is the symbol of the French royal family. The full name of the French Air Force is the "Royal Air Force of the French Empire"!
The pilots have received strict training in the Ming Empire and can handle most situations without any problem.
When the enemy had no anti-aircraft guns and was just here to deal with the cavalry, everyone looked elated.
All "Albatross" fighters took off carrying four bombs, and the rear seat gunner was equipped with forty bombs.
Not long after it took off, the pilot dropped the bomb in order to reduce the flight weight and increase the endurance time.
The machine gunner saw the densely packed Qing cavalry below and happily fired at them wildly.
The Qing cavalry who were still firing arrows on the ground were completely stunned. They didn't know that there was such an arrogant flying evil thing in the world.
Shooting arrows into the sky has no effect at all. The evil things seem not to be afraid of bows and arrows and are still flying freely in the sky.
The gunfire from the sky made the Qing cavalry realize that the opponent was much more powerful than the falcon.
Soon, hundreds of cavalrymen were shot and screamed, falling from their horses and falling to the ground. The rest were also scared away by the evil things.
Turenne didn't let the pilot run too far because he was worried that the plane would malfunction, causing the plane to make an emergency landing or be captured by the opponent.
The cavalry brigade has made preparations to rescue pilots who have crash-landed nearby. If they do not disobey military orders, the rescue operation is likely to be successful.
"Damn it!"
Esitai watched helplessly as dozens of flying evil creatures beat the five thousand cavalry he sent until they were running away. The scene could be described as a complete defeat.
He scolded him, but he had no way to deal with these things.
If you want to lure the enemy deeper, you are afraid that the opponent will chase you and fight.
"Master, should we still attack?"
"... I will think twice!"
Estai didn't know whether to attack or retreat at this time, and he hesitated on his horse.
If you insist on withdrawing your troops for such a short period of time, I'm afraid Chani's side hasn't solved it yet, right?
However, at this moment, Leopold's cavalry troops arrived on the battlefield!
Previously, Leopold had been leading his troops to conduct mobile defenses on the line from Nuremberg to Stuttgart.
On the one hand, the method of fighting and retreating was used to delay the Qing army's attack, and on the other hand, it was also convenient to obtain news from France.
Louis XIV's agreement to send troops made Leopold very happy, which was tantamount to ushering in a turning point in the war in advance.
After learning that Turenne had led his troops to deploy defenses in southern Germany and northwest Austria, Leopold hurriedly led his 50,000 vanguard troops southward.
In fact, the distance between the two sides is not that far. Stuttgart is located in the northwest of the Swabian Mountains, while Biberach is located in the southeast of the mountains.
Leopold brought all cavalry, and the infantry was still gathering behind and moving slowly towards the battlefield.
Turena was very happy to be supported by the allied cavalry units at critical moments.
This new force seems to be a ragtag group of people, but if used properly, it can become an important force that can change the situation between the enemy and ourselves on the battlefield.
Seeing that the powerful French allies finally arrived, the morale and spirit of the cavalry of the Holy Roman Empire, even the nobles who were temporarily drawn to participate in the battle, were boosted.
They also saw things flying in the sky. After hearing that they were all allies, they all prayed in their chests...
Leopold wanted to meet with Turenne first so that the two could discuss in person what tactics to use to fend off the enemy.
It can be seen that after the Qing army retreated frequently under the attack of flying weapons, it changed its mind and decided to lead its troops to defeat the enemy first.
"Knights! It's time for us to take revenge! Follow me and destroy the heretics in the name of God!"
"Swear to follow His Majesty to the death!"
Fifty thousand cavalrymen of the Holy Roman Empire followed Leopold directly into the battlefield and went straight to Estai's command.
Estei really wanted to fight to the death with the opponent here, but thinking of Chani's previous instructions, he could only order the entire army to retreat, and at the same time sent flying cavalry to report the unexpected situation here to Chani.
Estai's mind is very confused now. He doesn't know if he was ambushed or if he was really unlucky and met two groups of Western barbarians one after another!
"..."
In front of his subordinates, Turena couldn't say anything.
But in fact, Leopold's behavior was simply doing a disservice.
The cavalry of the Holy Roman Empire appeared on the battlefield and began to hunt down the enemy on a large scale.
This means that forming a formation of one's own troops is meaningless, and pilots must return early to avoid accidentally injuring friendly forces.
Of course, Leopold's decision is not without its own benefits, that is, it is possible to reunite with Armand's department as soon as possible.
"this……"
The hesitant Chani received the report from Estai, and now he quickly made a decision to retreat immediately.
If three groups of enemy troops are discovered nearby, a fourth group might jump out later.
Doesn't that mean that our troops may be surrounded by barbarians?
If the opponent has few cavalry and many infantry, that's okay.
But if there are a lot of evil things in the world, and the Qing Dynasty cavalry can't do anything about them, it will be troublesome.
It would be better to retreat hundreds of miles in advance before making a decision. In short, we cannot be severely damaged by the damn barbarians here.
After seeing the signal flares rising into the sky, more than 300,000 Qing cavalry galloped eastwards like a tide...
The bloody battle that Armand expected did not happen at all, but was replaced by the opponent's sudden retreat.
This may seem unreasonable, but there may be something you don't know.
The actual situation was what he had imagined. When Leopold's cavalry appeared nearby, Armand understood it instantly.
The good news is that you can join forces with your bosses and allies!
The bad news is that the main force of the enemy army was directly scared away!
Before dark, the cavalry troops of the Holy Roman Empire turned back one after another.
According to reports from various ministries, about five thousand enemies were probably killed.
For Turena, this gain was nothing at all.
But Leopold was very happy, at least this was a good start.
Although the results of this battle are small, they are of great significance. In the future, there will definitely be more and more results.
France's direct participation in the war marked a milestone, and the final victory must belong to the Divine Law Alliance.
Will we fight next in Germany or into Austria?
Leopold was undecided, but Turenne's method was simple.
Before the Qing army and the Austrian army merged, wherever the Qing army went, it was convenient for them to pursue them!
With aircraft and tanks, the coalition forces no longer need to fear the Qing army's cavalry groups.
Including the transfer of the two armies commanded by Gigot and Créqui, the Allied forces had 390,000 troops.
The cavalry force numbered nearly 100,000 men, and Turenne commanded ten cavalry brigades of the French army.
To a certain extent, the Allies already have mobile combat capabilities...
