readytorunbook Chapter 13 Autumn Campaign (3)
Chapter 13 Autumn Campaign (3)
It seemed that the reconnaissance operation was too successful, because it wasn't until the afternoon that Alice saw the vanguard of the Kurt army—the Javelin had been reporting their movements, and Alice and Smedley had been estimating the arrival time of the Kurt—but each time it was wrong, because the Javelin couldn't help but fire a couple of shots, each time delaying the time by twenty to thirty minutes.
In short, when the third batch of supplies from Trian arrived at the fortress position, and all the soldiers had been waiting in ambush for a long time, Alicia finally stood on the fortress-like earthen embankment and saw the vast army in the distance.
"They are setting up camp."
That's how wars were at that time. When both sides arrived at the battlefield, the first thing they did was set up camp, and then they would engage in gentlemanly fighting, which was an idealized view.
"First Regiment! Follow me!"
Alicia wouldn't let them get away with it so easily. As the empress, she knew her army had been waiting for a long time, and she had trained with them and knew how to use this army.
Sickles and Western-style clothing crossed the earthen embankment, or fence, which served as the first obstacle, alongside muskets and bayonets. Such an obstacle could cause the corpses of armies in the era of cold weapons to pile up like mountains.
If they wanted to cross this chest-high barrier, they would have to bear the consequences of being hit by muskets and unable to fight back.
Ta da da - da da da -
To the beat of the drums of "Departure" and the rapid marching, a line of people moved forward. After more than half a year of training and production, the discipline and courage of the First Division were already perfect—now they only needed the enemy's blood to prove themselves.
The drumbeats, the music, the steps, the comrades in formation—their calm movements couldn't conceal the passion in their hearts, but the soldiers of the First Regiment all understood that modern warfare needed to change.
"What kind of formation is that?"
"Three thin lines of people?"
"Look down on us? Charge! Let those peasants go first!"
"Lord Kokut hasn't arrived yet... Lord Orpheus has ordered us to set up camp and prepare for defense."
"Take out the enemy's blood first!"
"But sir..."
Are you scared?
The demon centurion drew his longsword, pointed it forward, and roared, "Charge!"
Knights and soldiers clad in leather or chainmail raised their weapons and ordered the farmers to charge forward. Although they lacked suitable weapons, these cannon fodder were clearly created to make way for the elite soldiers behind them.
Alicia smiled as she looked at the farmers charging forward nearly a kilometer away. She raised her sickle and shouted, "Stand still—move!"
As the sounds of the military drums and flutes changed, the soldiers stopped, but their footwork continued unabated. The honor guards in the front row, holding red military flags and tricolor flags, remained expressionless, just like the other soldiers.
"Halt! First row, squat down!"
The methodical movements and the strange short spears in their hands attracted the attention of some people, but the distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer. At this moment, Alicia saw red flags being raised on the left and right sides behind them—a sign that the cannons were ready.
Before they set off, Alice told her that the artillery would bombard the enemy before and after they opened fire. The exploding shells were expensive and efficient. She had tried using grenades—terrifying shells that were made of a hollow iron ball loaded with a large amount of black powder, using a complex shell called a "powder-column circular fuse." The entire 1st Division only had 180 grenades.
Alicia stood on the side of the group. Before they set off, Alice told her that the field artillery's range was in front of them and would fire from their left and right sides. Unless the artillerymen did it intentionally, they would not be hit.
"aim--"
Alicia gave the order that the muskets' accurate hitting range was within 100 meters, and within that range, they were the perfect firepower providers.
"kill!"
"Kill one enemy soldier! Reward: a piece of beast meat!"
Boom!
The first to speak was the God of War. The M1857 12-pounder guns of the First Division's Field Artillery Battalion fired the first salvo of howitzers. In order to suppress the enemy's morale, the first salvo of 12-pounder guns was howitzers.
Boom!
The grenade flew through the air and exploded at an almost straight angle among the charging Kut troops. Before many people could even understand what was happening, the devastating explosion and shrapnel swept over them.
"Ahhh! My hand!"
Unlike solid shot, grenades kill by explosion and fragmentation. After a loud bang, the charging farmers' hands and feet were torn apart. Regardless of whether they were armored or not, grenades killed every target within the blast radius equally.
"What is that...?"
"Magic... Magic!"
"Ahhhh!"
After the grenade bombardment came riots. Some people preferred to kill the supervising soldiers rather than face those terrifying explosions. People of this era did not yet understand what the horror of gunpowder really was.
"First rank, volley fire—fire!"
Immediately afterwards, like a torrential downpour hitting leaves, a continuous barrage of gunfire erupted. Alicia directed her troops to open fire, and the firepower of thousands of men created a vast metallic storm.
"what!"
As if they had run into an invisible wall, many who were still charging forward or hesitating in place were often hit by a bullet. After the second volley, no one dared to move forward or stay in place anymore.
"Reload!"
The second and third regiments, providing flank cover, also crossed the fortifications. Kut's army finally appeared on the battlefield, and the first news he received was that his vanguard had overconfidently attacked the Queen's forces, resulting in a crushing defeat. That was an entire thousand-man regiment!
"what happened?"
"My lord, the enemy's tactics are terrifying..."
"I'm asking you why you didn't obey my orders! Damn it, I told you to set up camp, not to attack!"
Kurt roared, looking at the centurion who had managed to escape and return, kneeling on the ground. He turned around and drew his sword.
Blood splattered, and Kurt impatiently flicked his jeweled sword, then waved for his men to drag him out. Orpheus glanced at the officer, then walked out of the barracks and looked toward the enemy's camp.
"They knew we would attack here."
"How do you know, sir?"
"How do you know? Are you blind? Didn't you see those earthen embankments?"
Orpheus knew this would be a protracted battle. He surmised that the Queen's forces were far smaller than theirs, but their defenses were more complete, and they would suffer at least several times the casualties.
"Take three regiments of a thousand men each and launch the first attack!"
Orpheus saw the long, thin formation below the earthen embankment. He couldn't understand the purpose of such a formation. On both sides were small squares and the same horizontal lines. No army had ever fought like this before.
The First Field Artillery Battalion positioned its artillery forward. For Alice, the Second Regiment she led was responsible for the flank, and the First Dragoon Regiment was also fighting alongside them.