In the age of cold weapons, no unit can generate as much momentum as the cavalry charge and at the same time cause a devastating blow to the enemy's morale.
Especially the knights, whose men and horses are all heavily armored, look exactly like heavy tanks in modern warfare.
Unless trenches are dug in advance, even the dense phalanx of spears, which is most effective against cavalry, will be difficult to withstand the terrifying impact of the howling.
Because soldiers are humans, not machines, any normal person would instinctively feel fear when faced with a head-on collision with a behemoth weighing more than half a ton, including man and horse.
When you see your comrades around you being stabbed to death by lances, hit by horses, or trampled to death, you will easily be driven by the desire to survive and run away.
Therefore, many times, by organizing the knights and retinues and charging in one round, the enemy can be defeated and win.
Just look at the large-scale commotion among the soldiers at the front of the army formation when they faced the attack of the noble coalition cavalry, and you will know how effective this simple and crude tactic is.
You must know that these people are not undisciplined mercenaries, nor are they militiamen recruited temporarily, but the main regular army that Zuo Si spent a lot of effort to build.
Although it may be lacking in training and combat experience due to its relatively short formation time, there is absolutely no doubt about its discipline and loyalty.
There are even many people who are not afraid of death in order to fight for a better future, and have been extremely brave in previous battles.
But now, facing the stormy mass charge of the heavy cavalry, I still can't help but feel frightened.
The only thing worthy of praise is that they did not collapse or escape. Instead, amid the hoarse shouts of the officers, they set up a dense forest of guns that was mind-numbing just by looking at them, preparing for the coming impact.
Just as the distance between the two sides continued to close and were about to collide, the cavalry rushing out from the flanks finally raised dust and attracted the opponent's attention.
"Look! It's the enemy's cavalry!"
A noble knight's eyes instantly shone.
Because in his opinion, there is no sense of honor in attacking a group of infantry composed of tenant farmers, mercenaries and serfs, even if they win. Only cavalry fighting against cavalry is what a real man should do.
What's more, if these cavalry are allowed to attack their flanks, they will be attacked by both infantry and cavalry at the same time.
No matter which aspect you consider, you should be the first to defeat the opponent's cavalry.
"Turn around! Everyone, turn around!"
Accompanied by the shouts of the noble knights, the flag-bearer raised the flag high and waved it vigorously, guiding the following companions to turn.
If you stand at a high place, you can clearly see thousands of heavily armored cavalry suddenly turning sharply less than 60 meters away from the infantry square, directly leaving the latter who were waiting for them at a loss.
But fortunately, the infantry phalanx of the aristocratic coalition that followed the knights in attacking immediately appeared in the field of vision.
The officers had no time to think about it and immediately shouted to the crossbowmen behind them: "Everyone prepare! Three volleys!"
Accompanied by the creaking sound of the bowstring being pulled apart, thousands of arrows immediately flew into the air and drew a beautiful parabola, before falling like raindrops on the enemy's head.
As we all know, war in the Cold Weapon Age was all about organization, so nothing was more important to the infantry than maintaining formation, so the soldiers of the noble coalition did not advance very fast.
It would be better if those of them had shields in their hands, at least they could hold them up to withstand rounds of arrows, but those without shields and holding spears and spears would be in a worse situation.
Although the body is basically covered with chain mail, so it is impossible to kill him with one hit due to the power of the arrow, but injuries are inevitable when he sees red.
In particular, wounds torn by arrows will cause severe pain and continuous bleeding.
Their wailing sound as they fall to the ground will continue to take a toll on morale.
Even some infantry phalanxes whose discipline and training were seriously insufficient began to retreat.
Because they had seen the catapults and ballistas erected behind them, they understood that the shields in their hands were completely useless against such large-scale murderers. Basically, they would die if they were touched or rubbed.
fortunately!
After all, Duke Bram was not an idiot. He immediately waved his hand to push his long-range army forward, trying to suppress Zuo Si's military formation through arrows, ballistae and catapults.
In this way, the infantry of both sides started a battle in the traditional sense.
The only difference is that Zuo Si's side is an integrated army that has been reorganized, so when he gives an order, his officers will execute it without hesitation.
The coordination between the noble coalition forces is relatively slow, and there are often problems with the connection between the front and back.
After all, they were not under the same chain of command to begin with.
In addition, nobles always subconsciously have the habit of conserving their strength, and their internal relationships are even more complex, and there may be conflicts between them. Therefore, although they are large in number, their combat effectiveness is not very strong.
When the infantry phalanx began to engage in close combat, many noble private armies showed signs of collapsing and fleeing.
On the contrary, the soldiers on Zuo Si's side began to realize that the infantry of the noble coalition was just a bunch of show-offs and soft persimmons. Therefore, Yuezhan Yueyong advanced and retreated freely under the command of grassroots officers, often giving way to the phalanx in the center to retreat slowly, and then retreated slowly.
Order the two wings to rush forward to form a concave semi-encirclement net.
Inflict more damage by continuously squeezing the opponent's range of activities.
With stricter discipline, cooperation and excellent battle formation, the frontal battlefield is almost overwhelming the opponent.
If it weren't for the numerical disadvantage, this rabble could be defeated in a few dozen minutes at most.
In comparison, the cavalry duel that had already unfolded on the Great Plains outside the main battlefield seemed particularly strange.
Because the lightly-armed cavalrymen under Zuo Si had no intention of confronting their opponents head-on. Instead, after a provocation, they immediately turned around and ran away. As they ran, they cut open the sacks hanging on both sides, letting the sharp triangle nails hit them during the run.
Rolled down the gap and fell to the ground.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Once all the triangular iron nails are thrown away, the cavalry in the last row will speed up to the front of the team.
The cavalrymen in the last row will then repeat the actions they did before.
Moreover, this kind of kite flying is not in a straight line, but uses the advantage of speed to constantly change horses and circle.
It didn't take long for the noble knights and their retinue to find that they had not only exhausted their horses' energy in pursuit, but were also trapped in the middle of a man-made field that was not suitable for cavalry combat.
"Damn it! These cowards without courage and honor! They actually used such despicable methods!"
A noble knight who had just fallen off his horse got up and looked at his horse, only to find a sharp triangular iron nail stuck in the horse's hoof.
Although the insertion was not too deep due to the barriers of the horseshoe and the thick cuticle, it had already destroyed the horse's running ability.
The most important thing is that this great plain is covered with weeds half as tall as a man, blocking the view, making it impossible for people to see where these insidious triangular iron nails are hidden.
Not only him, but also nearly two to three hundred knights and retinues were all thrown into pieces because their horses' hoofs were stabbed.
A few of the more unlucky ones even fell headfirst and broke their necks, killing them on the spot.
"What now? We seem to be trapped here!"
The knight holding the command flag opened his visor and asked his companions with a pale face.
"What are you afraid of? They are like a group of rats in the sewer, they don't dare to fight us head-on. Order everyone to dismount and gather, and we will clear the weeds and clear a path bit by bit."
Another noble knight with a higher status showed a mocking expression of contempt and disdain.
Obviously, the arrogance and arrogance engraved in their bones prevented them from realizing how dangerous their current situation was, and they thought it was just a ploy by the other party to move the cavalry away from the battlefield.
Little did they know that a massacre that could subvert the status of heavy armored cavalry in the cold weapon age was about to begin.
In order to clear away the triangular iron nails hidden in the grass as much as possible, the noble knights and their retinues gathered together to form a tight horizontal row, and moved forward slowly while waving their swords.
Once he found a nail on the ground, he would pick it up and throw it to both sides, cursing.
"Your Majesty, you are so good at predicting things. You actually predicted all the possible moves of these stupid nobles a few days in advance."
A mercenary captain who had followed Zuo Si in attacking the noble castle from the very beginning expressed his admiration and admiration and excitedly complimented him.
Because knights and retinues are the most powerful force in the hands of the aristocracy, a symbol of invincibility, and the foundation on which they rely to maintain their rule.
As long as this cavalry force, which has gathered almost all the knights in the entire kingdom, is wiped out, the next thing to do is to attack one castle after another, and completely sweep the guy who has ruled this land for more than three hundred years into the garbage of history.
heap.
When they think that they can plunder the wealth accumulated by those families for hundreds of years, enjoy the ladies, young ladies, and young masters that they could only look up to before, and listen to their screams and moans in pain, humiliation, and despair, all the mercenaries are excited.
I feel like there is a fire burning in my heart.
After all, before this, although the mercenary profession could earn quite generous rewards, in terms of social status, it had always been hated by everyone and disliked by dogs.
The noble lords regarded them as tools and basically threw them away after use. Some of them would be silenced if they did too many shady things for their employers.
The common people regard them as robbers, bandits, vultures that feed on killing and death.
Some towns will even refuse to provide any services to mercenaries, and even merchants will not sell them supplies.
But now?
Not only did they get the coveted respect, but they could also take revenge on the nobles who looked down on them.
Therefore, in the eyes of the mercenaries, Zuo Si is simply the savior and holy king sent to them by God.
In order to avoid making him unhappy, many mercenaries even took the initiative to curb their bad habits such as kidnapping, extortion, and robbery.
To be continued...