In the early morning of October 18, the rain finally stopped.
The quiet and pleasant fragrance surges in the air, almost making people forget that the war is only a few hours away.
The prince did not sleep for a minute. Every moment of the night was a joy to him. He invited the saints of Anjou and all the great nobles and generals to go with him to the outposts, stopping at any time and talking to him.
Scout Trooper talks.
A clump of small trees can serve as a stronghold, and a broken stone wall can become a pillar. Depressions on the plains, changes in terrain, appropriate shortcuts, woods and ravines can all support the army's position and prevent it from retreating. Whoever withdraws from the battlefield will win.
Failure. Therefore, the responsible coach must pay careful attention to every grove of trees and every slightly undulating terrain.
When Griffith deployed the squadron and returned to the headquarters again, he found the sound of a column marching in the woods ahead. The prince also heard it, and excitedly said to everyone: "This is the clan alliance preparing to retreat. I
We must capture them."
Krista, Sonia, and many other nobles were near the prince. Protected by the Praetorian cavalry and elite infantry of the Aurelius Guard, they were concentrated in the battle line with the prince and commanders.
The safest high ground in the rear.
Sonia looked up at the clearing starry sky. Due to the lack of information in the war zone, she was responsible for daily astrology and divination. She was more focused than before, her eyebrows were tightly knitted, and she seemed to have something on her mind.
"What's wrong?" Griffith came to her side.
"I'm not sure, astrology is not my specialty," Sonia said uncertainly, "I found that there was an extra star in the sky that flickered for a short period of time, but now it is gone."
"Is it the necklace of the moon god? One of the morning and evening stars that symbolize protection and hope?" Griffith asked.
A dozen days ago, when Galadia saw him off, the two of them also saw a twinkling star.
"Does it mean that the one you love is about to leave?" Sonia's eyes sparkled, "So gentle."
"After the battle begins, be safe and alert," Griffith said, then turned to Krista, "Are you staying here too?"
"I will go to the infantry brothers," Krista pointed forward. "We will see you on the battlefield, Griffith. May victory and good luck be with you."
…
As dawn fell, the bugle sounded. The infantry, led by their commanders, formed battle lines and square formations and spread out in the valley.
What is about to become a battlefield is a vast, undulating open land; the waves rise higher and higher, swinging towards the hills and forests. Along the way, there are many newly abandoned manors and walls. In the days without war, the neck
Ze is the main land road connecting Odessa to Orc territory.
More than 120,000 troops gathered together and advanced towards the other side. Both sides had powerful fortresses, but it was impossible for the fortresses to defend the entire area at the exit of the river valley. If they were to shrink within, they would be extremely passive.
Regardless of Beyelan or the Clan Alliance, both sides want to defeat the other side in the field battle.
Being on such a large battlefield, Griffith was not able to conduct a comprehensive reconnaissance in person. He and the entire cavalry unit followed the orders issued by the army and deployed on the left wing, the westernmost side of the battlefield, behind the barrier formed by the hillsides and woods.
.It is connected to the mountainous border northwest of Odessa. The dangerous and complex terrain means that everyone does not have to worry about an army suddenly appearing.
However, the east side of the battlefield is different. The Neck was once the valley of a large river, and is now divided into east and west parts by the much smaller Loire River. The terrain in the west is open and the roads are good; the east is surrounded by swamps.
Mainly, there are several mountain roads leading to the Tierne River and the Dukedom of Meyer.
A small force of orcs may emerge from the mountains there to attack. Of course, a large number of troops can't sneak up and outflank them. Duke Meyer's castle guards the west bank of the Tirne River, and his territory and army are competing with the clan.
The Alliance's Tierne Front faced off and was responsible for guarding the right flank and rear of the Teutonic Group.
Due to heavy rain last night, the wilderness is full of mud and puddles everywhere. In some places, the wheels of the baggage trains are half submerged, and the horses' girths are dripping with mud; the latest artillery and traditional ballistae are marching
It became extremely difficult. After the infantry passed, the artillery and auxiliary troops hurriedly laid sacks and wooden boards filled with soil under the advancing wheels to fill the pits.
The grain transport team was stuck in the mud puddles on the road and could not arrive early in the morning. Most of the soldiers were wet and had no breakfast. Despite these difficulties, Commodus still happily invited the generals and noble commanders to have breakfast together.
.
This is also one of the activities that Sonia must participate in. She is worried about Griffith's safety and is very nervous. The bacon and fried eggs for breakfast are too salty to eat, but the prince is still very interested.
"We have a ninety percent chance!"
While he was eating, he wrote the order by hand. Maximus looked at him gently, gave him a few reminders from time to time, and then signed his name on the order.
Sonia silently looked at the prince and general at work. If these two pairs of teachers and students had a dispute, who should I listen to? Maximus is the commander of the army, and the prince is my lord...
This question made her very nervous, and the troop commander around her seemed to have the same idea. Fortunately, everything went smoothly until the end.
At nine o'clock, Byelan's army was assembled. Although the orc army was very brave and numbered more than 60,000 people, Byelan's army was much better trained and equipped, and had sufficient supplies, so it still had the upper hand. The prince still had the upper hand.
The right wing was sent to feint to the east of Rum Fortress, threatening the orcs' left wing, pretending to cut off the road leading to the exit of the Neck Valley and cutting off the orcs' reinforcements.
They have three regular corps and three auxiliary corps, a total of 53 heavy infantry and light infantry brigades, 26 cavalry squadrons and 12 engineering and artillery squadrons, with a total strength of 36,000 armored men. Berthier's troops and some other troops because
There are various reasons for not being able to catch up with this battle.
A large part of the 20,000 Catholic civilian armed forces formed a gun formation. They crossed the not too fast river and covered the flank of the army on the relatively narrow right bank. More auxiliary troops followed behind the army to maintain roads and bridges everywhere.
.
Infantrymen wearing iron and leather armor formed a neat battle line. The soldiers of the regular legion were armed with life-size shields and long swords. The weaker auxiliary legion used sharp spears to form a forest of gleaming spears, staggered with the regular legion.
.
Elite infantry equipped with lances, halberds and half-plate armor, wearing silver helmets decorated with bright red, bright yellow and white feathers, formed small phalanxes and were scattered on the wings and rear of the legion. They were the reserve and the main force to counter the Wolf Cavalry.
Modres' 9th Army was in the center, with the 12th and 16th Army on the wings. The endless army filled the entire wilderness, extending from forests and hillsides to rivers.
Loud orders and drums sounded over and over again, and running officers galloped in the queue, issuing marching orders. Military music played, drums thundered, and horns sounded in unison.
The majestic and vast sea-like helmets, large shields and spears were majestic, and the huge battle arrays and phalanxes that stretched for miles were guided by flying eagle flags, advancing along the roads between hills and forest trees.
Before the main forces of both sides deployed, a large number of skirmishers quickly moved forward to engage in a confrontation in the open space between the two armies. Bayeran's light infantry, armed with spears and strong bows, began to shoot at the orcs' crossbowmen.
While running and shooting, he tried his best to suppress the opponent or drive the opponent from the battlefield.
The line at the forefront held up an eagle banner wrapped in a pure gold wreath. The soldiers near the eagle banner turned a blind eye to the rain of arrows flying from the sky and moved forward steadily.
Sast Ganif and Fenrir Gunter led a small team of engineers and auxiliaries to tow the heavy Serpent Cannon. This is a cannon that can fire explosive grenades, with a maximum range of more than 1,500 meters, which is better than the current
All snake cannons, eagle cannons and trebuchets. Tests have shown that the shells fired by this heavy cannon do not hit the target directly along a low and flat trajectory, but instead draw a curved arc, pass over obstacles and hit the target.
By adjusting the firing angle and charge, the Orochi Cannon theoretically has high ballistic flexibility, and can accurately send the shells over one's own infantry positions and smash the enemy's ranks into pieces.
Bernard deployed light snake cannons and eagle cannons on the flanks. The light artillery under his command could not fire across the array and had to maneuver to a position with good visibility. But even so, he felt that compared to the snake cannons and eagle cannons, they were
This heavy artillery is too difficult to carry. It is as heavy as a turtle on the beach after leaving Beyeland. Sast, who was an engineer, is used to heavy trebuchets and stone bombs, and they like to use heavy artillery shells to kill and destroy.
.However, the Orochi Cannon is several times heavier than other artillery pieces. To be able to move freely, the sun must come out to dry the ground. But the sun appears too late, and the maneuvering of the heavy artillery is like being tortured.
Finally, the heavy weapons arrived before the confrontation between the two sides.
At 11 a.m. on October 18, Beyelan began shelling.
One after another, fireballs were fired from the trebuchets and flew towards the Clan Alliance position, and the light artillery began firing under the orders of Bernard and other artillery squadron commanders.
The black cannonballs smashed into the orcs' ranks like screaming banshees. The location where they were hit was like a moldy orange being kicked, and smoke-like severed limbs and minced meat flew out. Beyeland's artillery round
Rounds of shooting, flames of death and screams made the battlefield feel like hell.
Sast looked at the smoke and fire rising one after another in front of him, and shouted anxiously:
"One shot first, one shot first!"
The Orochi Cannon roared, and the huge shells whizzed past the head, making a shrill sound like the death coming. All the soldiers along the way raised their heads and watched the dark shells fall to the ground.
This shell was too close, kicking up gravel and dust several meters high in front of the orcs' team.
After a while, the second artillery bombardment came, this time hitting the rear of the team, rolling and crushing the forest. The fuse on the artillery shell burned to the end and exploded. The huge sound caused the people near the impact point to
The orcs were shaken.
Several pieces of shrapnel flew over the soldiers' heads, knocking some orcs to the ground.
Both the front and center armies of the Clan Alliance were bombarded, and the battle line fluctuated. They couldn't bear to stand and receive the artillery fire, and they roared like thunder, beat their chests, and rolled towards Beyelan's army formation.
"It's amazing! It's as far away as my urine!" Sast exclaimed, "It would be even better if it hits the target!"
"Lower the angle of fire!" Sergeant Major Fenrir shouted anxiously. Their heavy artillery was reloading very slowly. During the gap between the two rounds of shooting, the infantry battle lines of both sides were already close to each other. Once the two sides started a hand-to-hand battle, the Orochi Cannon was useless.
Useful.
"Don't keep it down, keep bombarding the rear of the orcs' lines!" Senamon shouted, "You will kill the infantry guys."
"But the infantry are all up, so we can't see anything."
"I will go to the nearby hillside to give you guidance and adjust according to my indicator flag!" After saying this, Senamon jumped on his horse and ran towards the hillside.
"I'll go with you," Sast also jumped on the horse, "Fenrir, you command the Serpent Cannon!"