"Send the order: Resume crossing the river!" Zhao Kuo had already ordered the moment he saw the Qin army's cavalry.
After receiving the order, Zhao Jun quickly took action. Arrow towers and ramming vehicles were slowly pushed through Danshui, and heavy trebuchets were also dragged by horses and people, and slowly arrived at Danshui. west coast. (Only the recovery part, there are still hundreds of thousands of troops still on the east coast.)
At this time, the offensive and defensive battle of the Qin army's west bank barrier had also begun.
Among the Zhao army's attack lines, the cavalry were still at the forefront! It's just that compared to the cavalry that was just armed to the teeth, this cavalry seemed a bit shabby - except for the long sword on the waist, there were almost no other weapons.
That's right, in this era when cavalry used bows and arrows as their main output, Zhao Jun's cavalry didn't even carry bows and arrows!
Obviously, they were not going for the kill.
Compared with their slightly crude offensive weapons, their defensive weapons were fully loaded. Not only did the cavalry have thicker armor, but even the key positions of the horses had special armor protection. In order to prevent the war horse from being disturbed by the stray arrows, even the eyes of the war horse were blindfolded.
Everything is just for them to rush under the barrier smoothly and complete their mission - to build a ladder from the ground!
Facing a flat area, the cavalry formation could rely on the speed of its horses to quickly pass through the Death Plain and avoid the attacks of the Qin Army's archers. In the face of barriers, there are really not many ways for the cavalry to do it - the earth-building method is already considered the best of them.
Since they had to build up soil, each cavalryman carried a large bag of soil, which was not light. Moreover, due to the enhanced protection, the war horses were almost overwhelmed.
In order to reduce the burden on the horses as much as possible and speed up the galloping speed of the horses, they had no choice but to reduce the offensive weapons on the cavalry. Therefore, except for a long knife at the waist, the cavalry had no other weapons.
Several rows of cavalry bags, plus the corpses of cavalry and horses lying under the barrier, were enough to pave a slope in front of the barrier, providing favorable terrain for subsequent cavalry charges.
Yes, the corpses of cavalry and war horses are also one of the necessary items to pave this "ladder to heaven". Even one horse corpse can be worth the earth and rocks carried by several cavalry.
The following cavalrymen would not hesitate at all, and would hit the horse and human corpses mercilessly with bags of earth and rocks. Even every fallen cavalryman tried hard to crawl in the direction of the barrier, hoping that he could be a corpse at the bottom instead of being exposed in the wilderness.
It can be said that almost half of these steep slopes are paved with horse corpses and human corpses.
On the sides and rear of the cavalry carrying the soil are the cavalry with bows and arrows as weapons. They must provide a certain amount of bow and arrow firepower suppression for the front army to reduce the pressure. At the same time, they need to use their own charges to clear the soil paved by the front army. The slope should be pressed firmly to ensure the smooth entry of subsequent cavalry into the channel.
The cavalry at the rear are the cavalry armed with spears and machetes on their waists. They are the real main force of the cavalry, responsible for breaking into the barrier and killing the enemy.
Of course, the huge Danshui Barrier defense line has few places where cavalry can quickly attack, and more of them are hilly areas that are not suitable for cavalry assaults.
In areas with undulating hills, Zhao Jun deployed infantry formations one after another. If the cavalry used speed to avoid bows and arrows, the infantry could only rely on the undulating terrain to avoid some arrow strikes.
What uses vegetation and tree trunks to hide?
Plants with more than half a person, no matter trees or shrubs, had been cut down by the Qin army in three years of confrontation.
Flexible snakeskin movement is the only way for Zhao Jun's infantry. After all, although bows and arrows can be regarded as curved shots, they are not easy to shoot against Zhao Jun's reverse inclined plane.
Of course, if you are in an area with few reverse slopes, speed is still king.
In any case, Zhao Kuo's order to his subordinates was: Get under the barrier as soon as possible at all costs!
In the attacking Zhao army's infantry formation, the two rows of shield soldiers were undoubtedly at the forefront, both holding long shields in one hand and standard sabers in the other.
The shield is made of a wooden bottom core, covered with a layer of oil-soaked cowhide, and is fixed with iron sheets around it, and reinforced with rivets in the middle. The design of the iron sheet and rivets makes it difficult for arrows to be nailed to the shield surface, and even more difficult to penetrate. It is transparent, and the large and thick style gives the shield soldiers the greatest protection.
Of course, with increased protection, the attack power is bound to be weakened.
Such a thick shield almost restricted the movement of the soldiers. A long knife was enough for them to defend themselves. Even at a critical moment, the shield soldiers would abandon the blade to protect the shield.
Fortunately, the role of shield soldiers is to protect subsequent units.
After defense, there must be pawns for offense.
Behind the shield soldiers were two rows of light infantry, which was also the most dangerous and powerful type of soldier. They were not burly in stature, and had no armor or helmets. Only the long swords with a cold light in their hands showed their bravery. They are the gods of death on the battlefield - jumping soldiers. He hides behind the shield while moving, and once he comes into contact, he jumps out to kill the enemy.
In order to be flexible enough, he gave up all defenses and held the sharpest long knife, which was designed to harvest the enemy and break the gap.
After the Dancing Soldiers, they were divided into two schools.
One of them is strong and strong, wearing fine iron armor, or holding a small shield in one hand, a steel knife in the other, or holding blades in both hands, wearing a small crossbow and short blade on his waist, almost like an elite cavalry, armed to the teeth. These are the few elite heavy infantry in the Zhao army.
His existence is to continuously attack the enemy, expand the gap, and hold on to the gap.
Not only does it have an attack power that is incomparable to that of a jumping soldier, but it also has a defensive power that is not inferior to that of a shield soldier. It is truly the best of the best among infantry. Even after the commander of the phalanx died, the heavy infantry commander was responsible for the command of the entire phalanx. This also illustrates the importance of heavy infantry from one side.
Of course, no matter whether it was the Zhao army or the Qin army, almost half of the square formations did not have such an elite heavy infantry. After all, whether it was iron armor or sharp blades, they were all luxury goods and could not be fully armed.
Behind more jumping soldiers (heavy infantry) were regular infantry wearing armor and holding spears, knives and other weapons.
The infantry holding long knives are the supplement and replacement of the heavy infantry, coordinating the attack (defense) of the jumping soldiers and heavy infantry in the front;
Those holding long weapons such as spears and spears can extend the spear from the gap above the shield to kill the enemy. At the same time, it can also resist the enemy's shield to isolate the battlefield, providing space for one's own jumping soldiers and the bows behind. Soldiers free up combat space. Even if the cavalry attacks, the spear can pose a certain threat to the cavalry. Inch long and inch strong, spearmen have always been the backbone of the infantry on the battlefield.
Behind the infantry formation are archers and other siege machinery units, which together provide the necessary "firepower" suppression for the bloody soldiers in front.
The battle formation has been arranged amidst the cavalry bombardment between the two armies.
