Guo Dajing held the telescope motionless, with his back straight and his helmet tassel fluttering in the wind, like a statue.
Shen Shuoqing only felt that his heart was beating hard, hitting his chest, as if it was about to jump out.
Shen Qizhong opened his mouth wide. Even without a telescope, he could clearly see the fierce fighting between the enemy and ourselves.
Jianlu was really fierce. Even though he suffered heavy casualties, he still fought to the death and engaged in close combat with the Dongjiang Army.
Yes, the remaining twenty or so Jianlu soldiers gave up their skills in riding and shooting, rushed straight to the front of the formation, jumped off their horses, brandished their guns and knives, and started fighting with the soldiers.
There was no other way. Under the attack of double-teaming and cross-fire, they had no room for maneuver and could only fight their way out.
But this is also a desperate struggle. The soldiers in the two battle formations have joined together and have an absolute advantage in strength.
Rows of bayonets and lead bullets shot from time to time caused these prisoners to fall continuously, becoming fewer and fewer and posing less and less threat.
The group of soldiers who encountered the mortar bombardment, after re-adjusting in the chaos, were blocked by two infantry formations on the right, and a confrontation began.
The two infantry battle formations on the front quickly approached the battlefield, and together with the friendly forces, they fired fiercely at Jianlu, stabilizing the battle situation and gradually gaining the upper hand.
The second group of troops had already landed on the beach, and while marching forward, they were reorganizing their teams. Another six battle formations, with 600 soldiers, were thrown into the battlefield.
"It should be fine." Guo Dajing let out a sigh of relief.
Even though he was his most trusted man and had made the most thorough arrangements, he still felt a little uneasy during the battle.
There is still a big difference between drills and actual combat. Guo Dajing also learned, summarized, and improved the tactics of infantry against cavalry in practice.
On a warship, Kong Youde and the officers of the Right Association stood on the deck, nervously observing the battle situation. Like Guo Dajing, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"When will our Right Association have such fighting strength?" Kong Youde sighed softly and shook his head gently with emotion.
If we rely on fortifications for defensive operations, the difference in combat power may not be obvious. But when fighting cavalry on flat ground, a big difference can be seen.
Kong Youde believed that the Right Association could withstand it, but in terms of casualties and results, it would never be as easy as the Left Association.
Li Jiucheng blinked his eyes, smiled helplessly, and said: "The officers and soldiers of the Zuo Xie fought with General Guo many times and won many battles. They have no fear of Jianlu."
Psychological quality is the most important thing. Facing the oncoming cavalry, not only the pikemen must be brave and fearless, using the forest of spears to deter the enemy. The musketeers must also be calm and maintain stable loading and shooting movements.
The more intense the firepower output, the faster the enemy's momentum will be reduced. As one goes against the other, the musketeers with numerical superiority will be able to steadily suppress the cavalry.
Kong Youde pondered for a moment and said: "It is not enough to have spearmen alone. We need boxcar artillery to stabilize the position."
Li Jiucheng and others nodded in agreement, feeling that the gap in their own army's combat power could be made up through equipment adjustments.
Everyone has their own ideas, and Guo Dajing had no intention of asking others to copy them. Van artillery is crucial to the infantry, but transporting it ashore during landing is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Problems can be found in every actual battle, and adjustments and improvements must be made to facilitate the next battle. Blood cannot be shed in vain, and soldiers cannot sacrifice in vain.
At this time, the infantry landing had been basically successful, and more ships began to dock, using small boats to transport artillery and vans back and forth.
Jianlu retreated in embarrassment, leaving only about thirty people. If they continued to fight, their entire army would be wiped out.
When Jia La E Zhen Luo Gea led more than 2,000 cavalry and arrived from Zhenjiang Fort, there were already infantry equal to his strength on Mashi Island.
Moreover, there were more than 20 boxcars placed in front of the infantry battle formation. The black muzzles of the guns were exposed on the boxcars, and behind them were dense forest-like thickets of sharp guns, which was intimidating.
Ships were constantly coming and going on the river, and the number of infantrymen who landed was five to six hundred. Boxcars and Fran cannons were still being transported ashore, and 180-pound mortars were also being deployed behind the formation.
Roga was a little hesitant. The road to Ma Shi Island was blocked by the enemy, and the enemy's strength was getting stronger. He didn't know whether to launch an attack.
It seems, it's a little too late, too late.
Rogga narrowed his eyes and did not make a decision immediately. He also waited for his troops to take a short rest and adjust.
If you still want to launch an attack, just use cavalry and archery to raid, use arrows to defeat the enemy's battle formation, and then rush over and slaughter to your heart's content!
Luo Gea passed down the order, and more than a thousand horse soldiers rushed out of the formation with shouts, drew an arc, and charged diagonally towards the enemy blocking the peninsula road.
Almost at the same time that Jianlu launched his attack, the ships docked in the river roared continuously. Under the command of Guo Dajing, the mortars began to show their power.
Unlike Hongyi cannons, which are bulky, mortars can be placed on small and medium-sized ships. When firing, they will not have much impact on the ships.
Dozens of mortars that had been moved ashore were placed and adjusted behind the infantry battle formation, taking advantage of the range to fire at the Jianlu.
From all directions, cannonballs flashed with sparks, arced, crossed the river, crossed the battle formation, and smashed into Jianlu's cavalry.
The target of a hundred mounted Jianlu was too small, and the accuracy of the mortar made it difficult to hit it accurately. But the Jianlu with more than two thousand people were a large black mass, occupying a large area.
Rogga opened his eyes wide and stared up at the shells falling from the sky with his face dumbfounded. He did not expect that he would be attacked by the enemy at this distance, and his mind was confused for a moment.
Screams and exclamations rang out. The cannonballs had two functions. One was to smash, specifically to hit the unlucky ones; the other was to explode, causing damage all over and with sound and light effects.
The smoking bomb fell to the ground and rolled. Jianlu hurriedly drew his horse to avoid it. Before it exploded, he was already in chaos.
Fire burst out, black smoke rose, and then a loud noise was heard. Explosions came one after another, causing greater damage, but they also suppressed the screams and wails of the prisoners and the neighing of the war horses.
In modern warfare, war horses must undergo special training, that is, they must not be frightened by the sound of gunfire and explosions, but still be able to execute the rider's orders and control.
Obviously, Jianlu's war horses had not undergone such training. The close fire and loud noise made the war horses jump and neigh, making it difficult to control them freely.
The Jianlu cavalry who had already charged diagonally towards their opponents were also affected. They looked back involuntarily, wondering what had happened to the main force.
But they didn't have much time to adjust. Their horses had already picked up speed and they couldn't give up halfway. They could only suppress the shock and panic in their hearts, turn around and continue moving forward.
"Fire!" the officers waved their flags vigorously.
The gunfire rang out like exploding beans, clouds of white smoke rose up, and heavy lead bullets shot out and flew towards Jianlu.
The heavy muskets on both wings took the lead, giving Jianlu a head-on attack before they even entered the range of bows and arrows.
Amid the screams and neighs, the men flipped over and fell to the ground, raising smoke and dust. The attacking cavalry showed some confusion.
Three rows of heavy musketeers quickly changed positions, and another row of muskets fired a salvo, followed by the third row. The rate of fire of the flintlock muskets and paper shells meant that the three rounds of firing were only separated by a short time, and they were connected.
The first row.
The gunshots roared, round after round, seemingly endlessly, killing both men and horses.
With a loud roar, the mortars on each ship were loaded and fired shells again at the enemies on the shore.
Boom, boom, boom...
The Fran machine cannon on the van in front of the battle formation spit out flames and threw countless shotguns at the Jianlu cavalry who were still approaching tenaciously.
The artilleryman who controlled the artillery replaced the nests as quickly as possible and fired continuously, giving full play to the advantages of the Fran cannon.
If it is heavy armored infantry, or infantry with shields and carriages, the power of the Fran cannon is obviously not enough.
But the Jianlu cavalry is an exception. Even if they are heavily armored cavalry, the horses under them are weak points. Animals are not like humans. They can endure minor injuries and continue fighting.
What they saw before them was that the Jianlu cavalry who were rushing in front fell to the ground one after another under the blow of the violent lead bullets, and their injured horses jumped wildly, making their attack into chaos again.
Niulu Erzhen Babul was lying on his horse, already holding a bow and picking arrows. When the horse passed by the enemy's formation, he shot out arrows, causing damage to the enemy.
He is very confident in this. The archery skills he has practiced since childhood are also the best among the cavalry to which he belongs. Every time he hunts, no one flying in the sky or running on the ground can escape his magic arrows as long as they are within range.
.
The wind whistled by his ears. Babu narrowed his eyes and straightened up suddenly. Almost at the same time, he opened his bow, nocked the arrow, and was about to deliver a quick and violent blow.
There was a flash of fire on the opposite side, not one mass, but multiple dots, like a row of twinkling stars.
The roar of light muskets was superimposed together, and the first salvo sounded almost simultaneously. Hundreds of lead bullets shot out and rushed towards the approaching Jianlu.
Babu fell off his horse and shot the arrow, but he didn't know where it hit. He was dizzy and before he could get up, a war horse hit him heavily.
Arrows flew through the air, lead bullets screamed, and the enemy and we exchanged fire at the closest distance.
But this time, Jianlu's raiding cavalry and gunfire did not gain the upper hand. Under the attack of Fran machine cannons and light and heavy muskets, the casualties were very heavy.
With the cover of vans and heavy armored infantry, as well as the intensive bombardment of Fran machine guns, the Dongjiang Army's musketeers clearly had the advantage and suffered few casualties.
The sound of explosions resounded across the battlefield again, and more than a hundred mortars violently bombarded the Jianlu Brigade, making it difficult for them to recover from the chaos.
The thousands of cavalry dispatched to raid and shoot had no stamina, leaving hundreds of human and horse corpses, as well as wounded soldiers on the ground screaming and wailing, retreating in embarrassment.
Roga's war horse was injured by shrapnel, and he was thrown into disgrace. Under the protection of his own soldiers, he changed horses and hurriedly ordered to retreat.
Now it is no longer a question of whether we can drive the enemy down the river, but of quickly getting away from the enemy's artillery bombardment. The war horses are so frightened that they can't even organize the team, so what's the point of attacking?
What's more, the enemy has already occupied a favorable position, with infantry battle formations blocking the road, and gunboats on both sides that can provide fire support. If we attack forcefully, our own army will be attacked from three sides.
It came with a fierce momentum, and under the overwhelming blow, it retreated for more than two miles in panic. Rogge Abedi was very depressed.
The Jianlu cavalry was repulsed, and the infantry battle formation remained motionless. Although it was only a tentative attack, it also explained the problem.
At the same time, shipping to the Mashi Peninsula has been proceeding, increasing troops and artillery without pause.
More vans were arranged in front of the battle formation, and more mortars appeared behind the battle formation. After all the Zuoxie rear battalion landed, Guo Dajing finally felt relieved.
Whether it is weapons or troops, they are completely able to withstand Jianlu's attack and protect other troops from landing smoothly. Although there will still be battles in the future, the most dangerous time has passed.
"Jiannu didn't dare to launch anymore." Shen Qizhong raised his telescope and looked at the Jianlu cavalry who had withdrawn from the artillery range and patrolled in place, "Maybe they are waiting for an opportunity."
In the first confrontation, Jianlu suffered casualties, but failed to achieve their goal and could not shake the enemy who had landed and formed a strict battle formation.
But this is just the beginning. The Dongjiang Army cannot stay here and will definitely move forward, from the peninsula to the mainland, and advance towards Zhenjiang Fort.
While the infantry is marching, it is an opportunity to build up cavalry. Whether it is attacking, harassing, or making a sudden attack, the cavalry has the advantage.
Shen Shuoqing nodded repeatedly, regardless of whether his uncle could see it or not. The fierce battle shocked the young man greatly.
"The cavalry has landed." Shen Shuoqing finally spoke, but he was a little confused, "Does the Dongjiang Army still have elite cavalry that can fight against Jiannu?"
Shen Qizhong said "hmm", but it was just a subconscious response. He didn't know the situation of the flying cavalry camp.
At this time, Guo Dajing and his soldiers began to change ships and wanted to go ashore to take command. Shen Qizhong and Shen Shuoqing hurriedly followed.
"Master Shen, Brother Shen, there is no need to rush to land." Guo Dajing said with a smile: "When the battle situation becomes clear and our army is sure of victory..."
Shen Shuoqing was the first to say: "How can you not follow General Guo when you are in Zanhua?"
Shen Qizhong chuckled and said: "Since we are observing and learning, it is better to get closer so that we can see clearly."
Guo Dajing smiled and nodded, no longer trying to persuade him.
The landing site has been stabilized, and ships are coming and going calmly and quickly. As the number of cavalry increases, people on Ma Shi Island shout horse neighing, making it even more lively.
Guo Dajing and Liu Qishi landed at about the same time, but each went his own way. One rushed to the front to take command, while the other rectified the cavalry and prepared to go into battle.
In the distance, Jia La E Zhen Luo Gea frowned, guessing the purpose of the enemy's attack.
Should we just occupy Ma Shi Island, establish a base, and smash a nail? Or do we have greater ambitions and attack Zhenjiang Fort?
Looking at the huge number of ships on the river, Rogga felt that the possibility of the latter was not small. But now was not the time to launch the attack. He had to wait and wait for the enemy to reveal a flaw.