The Dongjiang Army would not make the mistake of winning chess regardless of family. Kong Youde dispatched a battalion of officers and soldiers to guard the wounded and returned to Fengcheng to garrison, so that the Jianqi did not have the possibility of sneak attacks in Liaodong.
After reuniting with the special operations battalion and the Korean army, a battalion of officers and soldiers will return to defend Lianshan Pass, forming a double insurance for the defense of Liaodong.
The Battle of Liaoyang was not only a decisive battle, but also the most important battle in Pingliao. Guo Dajing also took into account the mood of the generals and tried to give all departments the opportunity to perform in this battle.
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The possibility of a sneak attack on Liaodong is not impossible. Who knows whether Jianlu's brain will be flooded and he will engage in desperate sabotage actions.
Xihan led the remnants of his troops to flee towards Liaoyang. The two major corps in Liaodong joined forces and followed the enemy's rear, advancing towards Liaoyang, forming an encirclement of Liaoyang.
Now, what determines the fate of Liaoyang Jianlu is the only road to the north that leads to the sinking.
If Jianlu's mobile corps failed and the pontoon bridge on the Taizi River was occupied or destroyed by the Dongjiang Army, the enemy of Liaoyang would be like a turtle in a urn and unable to escape.
The turning point in the battle in Liaodong has not yet reached Liaoyang, but the Jianlu Mobile Corps is facing a difficult situation. The safety of the Liaoyang defenders is all dependent on this.
On the battlefield, there was constant sound of gunfire and shouts of killing.
More than a dozen infantry phalanxes were arranged at random, with vehicles and artillery as cover and iron pear as obstacles, and they were engaged in a fierce battle with Jianlu's cavalry.
Azigelema stood on a small hill, looking at the situation on the battlefield with a solemn face, but his heart became colder and his brows furrowed tighter.
After receiving the news that Dongjiang Navy appeared in Taizi River, he immediately led 10,000 elite cavalry to resist.
According to the slave chief's estimate, the Dongjiang Navy could carry no more than 10,000 troops, and he also deployed troops and generals based on this estimate.
However, before any confrontation with the enemy, Azig received an urgent report from Karta. The number of enemies who landed was far more than 10,000, maybe 20,000.
Azig was shocked by this. But he could not tolerate hesitation. He sent an order and mobilized another 10,000 elite cavalry under Liaoyang City, while leading his troops to resist the Dongjiang Army.
War was certain, and Azig knew that he must block the enemy's advance and protect the two pontoon bridges outside the Gaoli Gate in Liaoyang.
These two pontoon bridges are the only way to cross the Taizi River and lead directly to Shenyang. Of course, there is also an escape route that bypasses Benxi and then turns to Shenyang.
However, if you take a detour to Benxi, you are likely to be intercepted and chased by the Dongjiang Army. Azige and the Liaoyang defenders will never choose it unless it is a last resort.
More than thirty miles east of Chang'an Fort, more than ten thousand elite cavalry led by Azig collided head-on with the Dongjiang Army's advance allies.
Although they were infantry, the former Xie Xie soldiers did not flinch when facing the Jianlu cavalry. After a little reorganization, they took the initiative to launch an attack.
Dozens of mortars, coupled with hundreds of rockets, densely smashed into our own army more than two miles away while Azig and other slave chiefs were stunned.
Although they knew that the Dongjiang Army's artillery was powerful, Azige and others were still surprised to start attacking so directly.
In their view, infantry should be timid and conservative against cavalry, and formation defense is the basic way of fighting. However, the opponent did not have the slightest fear and showed a strong desire to fight.
Azig had no choice, either to retreat step by step under the enemy's constant bombardment and remain passively beaten; or to fight head-on.
Although he could lead his army back, wait for the arrival of another 10,000 troops, and then launch a massive counterattack.
But Azig also knew that there were Dongjiang Army cavalry under Liaoyang City and would not sit idly by. Whether all reinforcements could arrive quickly was uncertain.
Therefore, he must confront the enemy first, even if it is a trial. He wants to know exactly what kind of fight his army's elite cavalry can have with the enemy.
Azig had participated in the Zunhua War and was deeply impressed by the Dongjiang Army, which relied on solid defense. However, he had little practical experience in fighting against an infantry formation with simple support.
After the artillery fire stopped for a moment, the Jianlu cavalry, which had been reorganized, galloped out in groups and launched an attack on the infantry battle formations of the front association.
Azig dispatched 4,000 cavalry, in units of 1,000, to attack the Dongjiang Army's phalanx in separate routes. He led the remaining troops to retreat beyond the range of the mortars, watching and observing, preparing to increase the number of troops at any time.
The Dongjiang Army's former associates faced the enemy with plum blossom-shaped hollow square formations. Each formation had three hundred men, all armed with muskets and bayonets, and equipped with two Franco machine guns.
Actual combat has proven that this small formation of 300 people is the fastest to deploy and can adapt well to various terrains.
The larger the number of people in the battle formation, the more spectacular it looks, but it also has more restrictions. Moreover, the advantage of a small battle formation is that it can defeat several of them, and its impact on the entire system is not decisive.
The Jianlu cavalry charged straight or diagonally towards the enemy formation, preparing to use arrows to inflict casualties and confusion on the enemy, and then take the opportunity to collide and kill them.
According to the actual combat experience summarized by Jianlu, mixed fighting methods should be the most effective. That is, mounted shooting, infantry shooting, hand-to-hand melee combat, whatever fighting method is used to the extent of the fight.
To put it bluntly, it means that you are always fighting. When you are on horseback, you use horseback shooting or charging into the enemy's formation; after you fall off the horse, you use foot shooting or foot combat to enter the enemy's formation and fight with the enemy in close combat.
Such a tactical approach is to put continuous pressure on the enemy, preventing the enemy from calmly displaying its firepower, especially the advantage of long-range artillery.
In fact, the mixed fighting style is just a chaotic fighting mode under the desperation of Jianlu. Just relying on one tactic can no longer shake the Dongjiang Army's battle formation.
"Charge, kill!" The Jianlu cavalry roared like a wolf and charged forward. The horse speed became faster and faster, the sound of hooves was like thunder, and the earth was shaking.
The roar of heavy muskets was the first to sound. Regardless of whether it was a man or a horse, as long as he was hit by a bullet, he would be killed or injured. Blood splashed, people screamed and horses neighed, and the Jianlu cavalry kept turning on their backs.
"Fire!" The gunner ignited the fuse amidst the officer's roar, and the Fran machine gun sprayed out a dense rain of pellets, causing a large piece of Jianlu cavalry to fall.
The arrow missed, and Jianlu used the bow and arrow in his hand to fight back, causing casualties to the Dongjiang officers and soldiers.
The gunner replaced the musket as quickly as possible, ignited and fired. The two French guns kept roaring, knocking down the rebels one after another in front of the formation.
The corpses of men and horses blocked the impact speed of the Jianlu cavalry, and the light muskets in the battle formation also began to roar. Rows of lead bullets shot out, white smoke rose, and the entire battle formation was like a monster spitting fire and smoke.
The mortars and rockets adjusted their elevation angles, pouring dense shells on the section where the rebels were attacking. The explosions occurred one after another, and fireworks burst out, causing people to fall off their backs, creating chaos.
"Kill, kill!" Some Jianlu rushed forward and fought with the musketeers.
Guns and knives clashed, gunshots roared, and lives were lost in an instant. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, blood flowers bloomed, and the enemy and we fought fiercely and cruelly.
The soldiers of the Dongjiang Army fought tenaciously, and the Jianlu were also brave and fearless of death. The battle situation has been in a stalemate, and it seems that the Jianlu will still have the upper hand.
In fact, this is an illusion. Because the cavalry's attack is so powerful, they think they are suppressing the infantry.
If we look at the casualties, the Dongjiang Army's fierce firepower and the soldiers fought bravely. The Jianlu did not take advantage, but were actually superior to the infantry.
The three infantry formations at the front were finally unable to withstand the fierce attack of the Jianlu, and the remaining 180 people retreated. Fortunately, they still kept their principles in mind and slipped through the gaps between several infantry formations.
However, their bloody sacrifice was not meaningless. It dampened the momentum of the Jianlu cavalry's attack, leaving human and horse corpses strewn across the battlefield, hindering the cavalry's galloping.
"Fire!" With the same roar and the same order, the pursuing Jianlu was met with the same fierce blow. The dense rain of graupel... bullets were fired head-on, sweeping away all the creatures in front of him.
Mortars roared, groups of rockets flew through the air, among the Jianlu cavalry, and on the autumn land, clouds of fireworks burst out, leaving craters one after another.
It is becoming more and more difficult for the Jianlu cavalry to gallop. There are too many obstacles on the ground, the target on horseback is large, and the probability of being hit by muskets and artillery is also high.
The three infantry battle formations were defeated, but the kinetic energy of Jianlu's attack was also consumed. When facing several other infantry battle formations, Jianlu showed signs of decline, and casualties skyrocketed.
Mao Chenglu held up his telescope and observed the battlefield coldly. Jianlu went from cavalry to infantry fighting, and finally fell into a cruel war of attrition.
As time goes by, the Dongjiang Army's superiority in strength and firepower will become more prominent. Jianlu, like Mo Nu, who is "not as powerful as Chuan Luxi", increasingly loses the advantage of the cavalry.
"Report to the general, the Right Association has launched an outflank and will launch a counterattack from the flanks." The signal trooper flew on horseback to report.
Mao Chenglu put down his telescope and said in a deep voice: "Inform General Li that our army will also launch a counterattack at this time and strive to defeat the Jianlu."
The communications troops galloped away, and Mao Chenglu also passed on the order. The third battalion was ready to counterattack and cooperate with the Right Association's outflanking operation.
On the left side of the front alliance is the Taizi River, which is more than 100 meters away. The navy is on the river, and the Jianlu would never dare to make a detour from here.
On the right wing are the officers and soldiers of the Right Association who are more than a mile behind the former Association. The two associations are arranged in depth in order to respond to each other and attack the Jianlu cavalry who dare to make a circuitous pass from the right.
Jianlu may have detected this situation and did not take a detour from the flanks, but attacked the front Xie from the front. This gave the right Xie an opportunity to counterattack Jianlu from the flank.
Giving full play to the superiority of troops was a factor in the victory of the Dongjiang Army. There were only 10,000 captives in front of them, and a mixed force of 20,000 infantry and artillery was not impossible to win.
"The momentum of Jianlu's attack has been contained, and it is difficult to shake our army." Mao Chenglu observed the battlefield, came to a conclusion, and felt relieved.
The scattered infantry battle formations were arranged in depth and acted like a buffer device. Even though Jianlu could make progress at the beginning, the resistance was getting bigger and bigger, directly consuming all the kinetic energy and making it difficult to advance further.
If it is a large battle formation, not only will the deployment speed be slow, but the impact of being defeated will also be great, and a chain reaction may even occur, affecting the entire battle situation.
"Similar to the in-depth defense of multiple trench breastworks, how easy would it be for the enemy to break through them all?" A trusted officer interjected: "The key is that our former associate officers will never collapse without a fight."
Mao Chenglu nodded slightly. This statement was both pleasing to the ears and reasonable. No matter how good the battlefield layout is, whether or not we can win depends on the fighting will of the soldiers.
There are those who are afraid of the enemy. Not to mention seeing a menacing enemy, but even hearing that the enemy is coming, they will be scared to death and only know how to run away.
Although it is a relatively independent combat unit, it can still fight hard without being greatly affected when seeing friendly forces retreat. There are really not many Ming troops who can do this.
The fighting between the second-line battle formation and Jianlu continued. Jianlu, whose offensive momentum had been frustrated, seemed to have difficulty making progress under all kinds of firepower.
Although several battle formations also suffered casualties, they still fought hard and withstood the Jianlu attack.
The enemy and ourselves were entangled together and divided into several groups to fight in bloody battles. The infantry had a numerical advantage, but the bombardment of artillery and rockets made the Jianlu's charge lack the continuous power.
Azig's eyes were filled with exploding flames and rising smoke and dust, but he could not see the galloping, invincible power of the war horses when he first launched his attack.
The cavalry lost their speed and impact and were fighting with the infantry, which was obviously an outcome he did not want to see. But he had no other choice but to send two thousand more soldiers who had just abandoned their cavalry to join the battle group.
There are too many obstacles on the battlefield, and the war horse has become a burden. Not only is it difficult to gallop quickly, but it is also easier to be startled by the fire and loud noise of the explosion.
"Report to Lord Beile." A sentry rider came to report: "Lord Sobodo is leading his troops to engage in battle with the enemy cavalry, and it is difficult to come quickly."
Azige's face was as dark as water, he waved his hand feebly, and ordered the sentry to go and inquire again.
This situation was what he had expected. The enemy's cavalry was indeed dispatched and entangled Sobodo's ten thousand cavalry.
The enemy's cavalry has an advantage in strength, which means that Sobodo is likely to be in a tough battle. Not only can't he count on reinforcements, but victory or defeat is unpredictable.
The cannonballs and rockets flying in the dark sky made Azig shrink involuntarily. After a moment, the fire and black smoke appeared in his field of vision again.
Many Jianlu Jingqi were killed and injured in this way, even though they had accurate archery skills, good martial arts skills, and a fearless spirit.
Anger, fear, helplessness, but also powerlessness and despair arose in Azig's heart.
Although the Hou Jin Dynasty was already in an overall decline, and the sudden launch of the Dongjiang Army was beyond their expectations, the fact that the war had reached this point still made Azig feel sad and unbelievable.
During the Battle of Zunhua, he also witnessed the power of Dongjiang Army's intensive artillery bombardment.
But that was a defensive battle that was prepared in advance and had positions and support. Now, the enemy can also have rapid response and fierce bombardment in the field. For Azig, it is simply a nightmare.
All mobile corps and cavalry infantry were shattered by this loud roar.
At this moment, there was another shockingly intensive round of bombardment. Judging from the direction of the shells, it turned out to be on the flank. Immediately afterwards, there was the roar of muskets like exploding beans, and passionate shouts.