April 15, 1445, Second Age.
Lana led a small group of cavalry and ran up the low hill by the roadside and looked around. It is located on the north bank of the river, overlooking the Verona Avenue that runs from east to west. It is the only place to go to the old town. There is a flat area on the top of the slope where troops can be deployed and camps established.
It's half a day's journey from the nearest town, and the surrounding wilderness is dotted with birch forests. Due to the devastation of the continuous war, the surrounding fields were empty, residents had already fled, and the villages and farmland had been abandoned, leaving everything in a state of depression.
At the end of the road to the west, there were clouds of smoke and dust, and under the rising dust, the dark rebel columns were faintly visible.
The rebels dispatched earlier than Griffith's battle group, but the vanguard led by Lana arrived in front of them in only two days of march.
News of wanton looting and chaos spread like a tidal wave throughout Verona. The rebels were losing prestige at an alarming rate. The locals who originally supported them hid like bandits when they saw them, no longer giving them food or caring for the wounded; others fought on the side of Beyelan.
Disorderly looting and stops also hindered the march. The shuffling team stopped from time to time to attack targets of no strategic value, and even turned a blind eye to the Beyeland scout cavalry wandering nearby.
This formidable force, which once defeated the main army of Bijeran under a wise commander, has been corrupted and weakened.
On the other side of the low hill and river, the infantry and cavalry formed by Count Charon were rolling with iron hooves and were about to arrive. Rana inspected it carefully and found that although this low hill was not tall and precipitous, it occupied a favorable position beside the road and backed by the river. If the main force of the rebels wants to pass here, it must pass through the fire attack of Rana's entire battalion; if they launch an attack, the terrain will minimize the rebels' impact and numerical advantage.
It was just such a position that Rana was looking for. With less than a thousand troops and no artillery, it was impossible to face tens of thousands of rebels on the open plains.
I have to be nailed here to attract the rebels. Before Griffith arrives, it will be a hard battle... Lana thought for a moment, made up his mind, and then asked the adjutant:
"The terrain here is good. Our troops have not experienced a major war and are inexperienced; however, the situation of the rebels is not much better. Since we can catch up, we will definitely defeat them. The entire army was ordered to stop advancing and turn to cross the river. Let's defeat the rebel forward first, and then establish a position here!
"Contact the Chinese Army. Our unit has entered a combat position. Who can tell me where this place is?"
The adjutant immediately determined the location and came over to report:
"Borodino, sir!"
…
About an hour later, the rebels' heavy military formation finally arrived. There were about two thousand people at the front, most of them infantry armed with spears. They all looked sluggish and rarely had armor. They were all holding a three-meter-long spear, young and old, and formed a sparse queue.
There were five hundred men in this force. The rebels holding the battle were obviously the main force, equipped with muskets, crossbows, spears, and many armors.
This is the new tactic of the rebels - every town they capture is razed to the ground and all supplies confiscated. The bankrupt locals had no livelihood, so they were forced to follow the army, forming a sea of people who came one after another.
Lana observed and ordered to his adjutant: "The infantry opens the front line and attacks frontally. The cavalry will follow me."
When the order was given, the soldiers immediately lined up to the sound of bugles and drums, forming a horizontal line and spreading out on the left and right. They were wearing helmets and armed with armor-piercing spears and muskets. Amidst the sound of neat footsteps, they were like a steel wave rushing towards the enemy's position.
The rebels also noticed the movement here, and in a series of curses and shouts, they opened the battle line towards the two wings in a chaotic manner.
Lannes's battalion consisted of three squadrons, each with half musketeers and half pikemen. They were soldiers trained by Count Charon. Even if they didn't have much actual combat experience, they could step on the drums and move forward indifferently under the constraints of discipline.
When they approached a hundred yards in front of the rebel formation, many archers emerged from the rebel team, bending their bows and nocking arrows, preparing to shoot at each other.
These are not elite soldiers of the rebels, they are just used for consumption and delay. The adjutant commanding the infantry looked at the position of Lannes and the dragoons, and then gave an order:
"Stop!"
"Musketeers prepare!"
Officers and sergeants shouted orders one after another. The pikemen formed three rows and stood still, while the musketeers on both sides formed a small square formation of five rows.
"Raise the gun!"
"aim!"
The musketeers on the entire front were divided into five rows, and the pikemen lined up in three rows formed a continuous line. Arrows rained down one after another, and the rebel archers had already shot several rounds of arrows. However, this distance caused most of the arrows to fall in the open space between the two armies, and only a few sparsely hit the soldiers' iron helmets and breastplates.
Such a shot has no power at all, let alone capable of penetrating fine armor.
Amidst the roar, the musketeers in the front row turned down their muskets and pointed them at the rebels in front. The arrow rain suddenly stopped, and the world became quiet, leaving only the rustling of dust on the ground in the cold wind. The soldiers in the first row holding muskets put the handles of the guns on their shoulders, with burning match ropes clamped on the barrels with metal hooks, and the crosshairs pointed at the rebel archers and the infantry behind them.
"Fire!"
The dense muskets exploded, creating a dazzling fire and smoke. Before the rebels in the front row could react, they saw streaks of blood mist erupting from the people around them, flying backwards, while others screamed and rolled to the ground.
The first row of musketeers immediately retreated after shooting, retreated to the back row of the line, quickly pulled out their gun barrels, cleaned the barrels, and reloaded. At the same time, they couldn't help but look up to see the results of their previous battle.
"shooting!"
The first row of musketeers retreated, and the second row of musketeers stepped forward. Amidst the rapid drumbeats, neat and dense roars were about to break out, and small lead bullets flew out from the firelight and thick smoke.
The rebel archers were splashed with blood mist and were knocked to the ground one by one. They shouted wildly, turned and ran towards the pikemen behind them.
In the blink of an eye, the third row of musketeers fired another round of intensive fire.
With the deafening sound of volleys of gunfire and the spraying out of large amounts of gunpowder smoke, the rebels on the opposite side fell to the ground like felled wheat. Many people had their stomachs broken, holding the large and small intestines in their hands and wailing, trying to stuff them back.
Rows of thin musketeers fired methodical volleys, retreated, then used an iron bar to stick a medicine bag into their weapons, and fired again.
The dazzling firelight and choking smoke lingered on the battlefield, obscuring the tragic scene. Later, no one could see clearly what was ahead. The soldiers just kept firing and reloading in accordance with the orders and drumbeats. There was no bloodshed in front of me, only the screams of the dying people could be heard.
The entire rebel front trembled, until another uniform shout came from the opposite side, and another volley was approaching. They suddenly shouted, threw down their weapons, hugged their heads and ran away.
The rest of the rebels were already terrified. When they saw the people around them starting to run away, they started shouting too, lest others wouldn't hear them.
The entire rebel formation immediately exploded, disintegrating amidst the roaring noise, and fled back like a tide.
Our own side was suddenly defeated, and the hundreds of people holding the formation were unable to react. However, they were very clever and immediately prepared to retreat. Suddenly, there was a thunder of rolling iron hooves on the battlefield.
Lana led the soldiers of the "Black Wolf" dragoon squadron, raising their sabers high, outflanking them, chasing the retreating rebels and killing them. It was not until they were all disintegrated that they took back the cavalry and gave the order again:
"Return to the slope and establish a position."
He saw clearly. Occupying that commanding height will give you a broad view on three sides, which is convenient for large armies to fight. It is close to the river, the river bank is steep, and the river is deep. Not only is it convenient to drink water, but it also saves troops on one side.
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