Lana led a small group of cavalry to the low hill on the roadside and looked around. This place is located on the north bank of the river, overlooking the Verona Avenue that runs from east to west. It is the only place to go to the old town. There is a flat area on the top of the hill where you can deploy.
Army, build camp.
It is half a day's journey from the nearest town, and the surrounding wilderness is dotted with dots of birch forests. Due to the ravages of continuous war,
The surrounding fields are empty, the residents have long since fled, the villages and farmland have been abandoned, and everything is in a state of depression.
At the end of the road to the west, there were clouds of smoke and dust, and under the rising dust, the dark rebel columns were faintly visible.
The rebels dispatched earlier than Griffith Battle Group, but,
The vanguard led by Rana arrived in front of them in only two days of march.
News of wanton looting and chaos spread like a tidal wave across Verona. The rebels were losing prestige at an alarming rate,
The local people who originally supported them hid like bandits, no longer giving them food or caring for the wounded; others fought on the side of Beyelan.
Disorderly looting and stops also hindered the march. The shuffling team stopped from time to time to attack targets of no strategic value, and even turned a blind eye to the Beyeland scout cavalry wandering nearby.
This terrible team, which once defeated the main army of Bijeran under the leadership of a wise commander, has been corrupted and weakened.
On the other side of the low hill and the river, the cavalry formed by Count Chalon were rolling with iron hooves and were about to arrive. Lana checked it carefully and found that although the low hill was not tall and precipitous, it occupied an advantageous position beside the road.
The terrain is backed by a river. If the main force of the rebels wants to pass here, it must pass through under the fire attack of Rana's entire battalion; if they launch an attack, the terrain will weaken the rebels' impact and numerical advantage to the greatest extent.
Rana was looking for such a position. With less than a thousand troops and no artillery, it was impossible to face tens of thousands of rebels on the open plains.
I must be nailed here to attract the rebels, before Griffith arrives,
It will be a hard battle... Rana thought for a moment, made up his mind, and then asked the adjutant:
"The terrain here is good. Our troops have not experienced a major war and are inexperienced; however, the situation of the rebels is not much better. Since we can catch up, we will definitely defeat them. We ordered the entire army to stop advancing and turn to cross the river.
Let's defeat the rebel forward first, and then establish a position here!
"Contact the Chinese Army. Our unit has entered a combat position. Who can tell me where this place is?"
The adjutant immediately determined the location and came over to report:
"Borodino, sir!"
…
About an hour later, the rebel army finally arrived. There were about 2,000 people at the front, most of them infantrymen holding spears. They all looked sluggish, and few of them had armor, no matter how young or strong they were.
The old and the weak all held a three-meter-long spear and formed a sparse queue.
There were five hundred people in this force holding the formation. The rebels holding the formation were obviously the main force, equipped with muskets, crossbows, spears, and many armors.
This is the new tactic of the rebels. Every time a town is captured, it will be razed to the ground and all supplies confiscated. The locals who have gone bankrupt have lost their livelihood.
They were coerced into moving with the army, forming a sea of people who came one after another.
Lana observed it and ordered to his adjutant: "The infantry opens the front line and attacks frontally, and the cavalry will follow me."
When the order was given, the soldiers immediately lined up to the sound of bugles and drums, forming horizontal lines on the left and right. They wore helmets and armor, holding armor-piercing spears and muskets. Amidst the sound of neat footsteps, they were like a steel wave heading towards The enemy forces are forced to retreat.
The rebels also noticed this movement, and in a flurry of curses and shouts, they opened their battle lines towards the two wings.
Lannes's battalion has three squadrons, each with half musketeers and half pikemen. They are soldiers trained by Count Chalon. Even if they don't have much actual combat experience, they can step on the drums and act indifferently under the constraints of discipline. move forward.
When they approached a hundred yards in front of the rebel formation, many archers emerged from the rebel team, bending their bows and nocking arrows, preparing to shoot at each other.
These were not elite soldiers of the rebels, but were used for consumption and delay. The adjutant commanding the infantry looked at the position of Lana and the dragoons, and then gave an order:
"Stop!"
"Musketeers prepare!"
Officers and sergeants shouted orders one after another. The pikemen formed three rows and stood still, while the musketeers on both sides formed a small square formation of five rows.
"Raise the gun!"
"aim!"
The musketeers on the entire front line were divided into five rows, and the pike soldiers were arranged in three rows to form a continuous line. Arrows rained down one after another, and the rebel archers had fired several rounds of arrows. However, this distance made it difficult to Most of the arrows landed in the open space between the two armies, and only a few sparsely hit the soldiers' iron helmets and breastplates.
Such a shot has no power at all, let alone capable of penetrating fine armor.
Amidst the roar, the musketeers in the front row turned down their muskets and pointed them at the rebels in front. The arrow rain suddenly stopped, and the world became quiet, leaving only the rustling of the dust on the ground in the cold wind. The men holding muskets The soldiers in the first row rested the handles of their guns on their shoulders, with a metal hook holding a burning match rope on the barrel, and the crosshairs pointed at the rebel archers and the infantry behind them.
"Fire!"
The dense muskets exploded, creating a dazzling fire and smoke. Before the rebels in the front row could react, they saw the people around them erupting in streams of blood mist, flying backwards, and some people screamed. Rolled to the ground.
The first row of musketeers immediately retreated after shooting, retreated to the back row of the line, quickly pulled out their gun barrels, cleaned the barrels, and reloaded. At the same time, they couldn't help but look up to see the results of their previous battle.
"shooting!"
The first row of musketeers retreated, and the second row of musketeers stepped forward. Amidst the rapid drumbeats, a neat and dense roar was about to break out, and small lead bullets flew out from the firelight and thick smoke.
The rebel archers were splashed with blood mist, and they were knocked to the ground one by one. They yelled wildly, turned around and ran towards the pikemen behind them.
In the blink of an eye, the third row of musketeers fired another intensive round of fire.
With the deafening sound of gunfire and the large puffs of gunpowder smoke, the rebels on the opposite side fell to the ground like cut wheat. Many people had their stomachs broken, holding the large intestines and small intestines in their hands, wailing and trying to stuff them back.
Rows of thin musketeers fired volleys in an orderly manner, retreated, then stuck a powder bag into their weapons with an iron bar, and fired again.
The dazzling firelight and choking smoke lingered on the battlefield, obscuring the tragic scene. In the end, no one could see clearly what was ahead, and the soldiers just kept firing and reloading in accordance with the orders and drumbeats.
There was no bloodshed in sight, but only the screams of the dying people could be heard.
The entire rebel front trembled, until another uniform shout came from the opposite side, and another volley was approaching. They suddenly shouted, threw down their weapons, held their heads and fled back.
The other rebels were already extremely frightened. When they saw the people around them starting to run away, they also started shouting for fear that others would not hear them.
The entire rebel formation immediately exploded, disintegrating amidst the roaring noise and fleeing back like a tide.
Our own side was suddenly defeated, and the hundreds of people who held the line were unable to react. However, they were very smart and immediately prepared to retreat. Suddenly, the thunder of rolling iron hooves sounded on the battlefield.
Lana led the soldiers of the "Black Wolf" dragoon squadron, raising their sabers high, outflanking them from the flanks, chasing the retreating rebels and killing them, until they were all disintegrated, they took back the cavalry and gave the order again:
"Return to the slope and establish a position."
He could see clearly. Occupying the commanding heights would provide a wide field of vision on three sides, making it easier for the army to fight. It was close to the river, with steep river banks and deep water. Not only was it convenient to drink water, but it also saved troops on one side.