Chapter 61: Confrontation between the Senate and Confederate Artillery
Harandil led the team to retreat to the entrance of the fortress. When he turned the intersection, he suddenly remembered and shouted to the still shivering dragoon squadron:
"Settled."
The horses were not retrieved, and all the gray-faced soldiers stopped mechanically, and then heard an order.
"Goose, let's go!"
The squadron raised its head and moved forward. As they passed through the main entrance of the fortress, a burst of cheerful music suddenly sounded around them, and two squadrons of tall and burly Guards grenadiers lined up on both sides.
"Long live!"
"Victory - long live!"
Countless infantry, cavalry and artillerymen waved their hats at the returning dragoons behind the grenadiers and gave out cheers that resounded through the sky - the whole army knew that they were charging towards the Senate's Eagle Flag on foot. The proudest cavalryman, without riding a horse,
Setting up a battle formation, they were like rocks in a stormy sea, standing still in the turbulence of the onrushing cavalry, rescuing their beleaguered comrades, and fighting their way out of the siege with dignity.
The officers and soldiers were prevented from rushing forward by the grenadiers, so they stretched out their hands from the crowd one by one, patted the dragoons on the shoulders, and praised them loudly:
"Well done!"
The welcoming procession stretched from the door to the ramparts of the central army. Those who could not squeeze through cheered at them from the ramparts of the bastion.
The dragoons who were lucky enough to survive put their rifles on their shoulders one by one, held their heads high, pursed their chapped lips, and took the most majestic and proud steps. The road in the fortress is not long, but it is more satisfying than the past life. Even if
At this time, let the dragoons turn back to attack Beyelan's camp and capture Xia Long, and they will do it without hesitation!
…
When Harandil returned to the headquarters, the generals and congressmen rushed to shake his hand and praised his courage unreservedly.
Beyeland's military strength gave everyone a great shock. If they were defeated in the first face-to-face confrontation, even if there were only a few squadrons, it would have a huge impact on the morale of the entire army and the Confederate Parliament.
blow.
"The cavalry's tactical manual needs to be re-issued. There is no time now. Commanders at all levels must first clarify the future combat principles to their units - the cavalry should be based on group charge, even if it sacrifices speed, it must use firm and fearless hand-to-hand combat.
To attack their enemies, pistols can only be used for melee and self-defense," Roland emphasized after everyone became quiet for a while, "The bayonet is a hero!"
Most of the people in the headquarters were nervous and excited. If they were defeated, the Senate would nail them all on the seaside road of Sebasto.
The meeting lasted for a while and then ended. Roland urged everyone to rest as soon as possible. Tomorrow will be a long day.
It took Harandil some time to find his tent. He lay on the camp bed for a while and felt that he couldn't sleep, so he moved a chair and sat at the door, staring at the soldiers patrolling the bastion wall in a daze.
…
Before daybreak, the troops were taken out of the camp.
On the ramparts of the bastion, parapets were prepared to protect the soldiers. Pockets filled with soil were placed on the roads and ramps, and they were piled up one by one to prevent the ricochet from penetrating the camp.
There are many wooden towers beside the city wall, all of which were rushed. The best skirmishers are already in place, ready to snipe.
Roland had 50,000 combat troops and 200 cannons. He deployed 20,000 troops to the bastion, the crown-shaped obtuse-angle fort and the nearby triangular fort, deployed tight defenses, and established camps to the north and east of the fortress, leaving
Reserve. Each squadron is assigned a combat position and is issued adequate ammunition and rations.
The military camp in Beyeland was also waking up. The soldiers took advantage of the last time to have breakfast, wipe their guns, and check their ammunition. The officers went back and forth to check the fortifications and soldiers' equipment.
Roland patrolled along the parapet, inspecting the condition of the artillery defenses, and chatting with the soldiers from time to time.
The infantry and cavalry all took cover, waiting for orders to enter the battle.
It was quiet all around, there were no drums or trumpets in the fortress, and there was no human noise. Except for the occasional sound of horse hooves from the messengers passing by in a hurry, there was only the fluttering of the military flags in the wind.
Suddenly, a round of intensive artillery fire tore up the silence, and the artillery shells came with a low whine. All 150 cannons of Beyeland, including 6-pounder and 12-pounder cannons and siege heavy artillery, began to prepare for fire.
The Confederate artillery was silent. All the artillery was placed in the forts, their firing ranges were marked, and their ammunition was loaded.
Roland took his staff and lieutenants back to the heavily fortified headquarters. The herald and the psychic echo connected him with all the troops.
There were bursts of gunfire in the air, followed by dozens of artillery shells. The Beyeland artillery used solid bullets to attack the walls of the bastion, and also prepared howitzers to attack the inside of the fortress. In order to destroy the walls, the artillery of the Senate suppressed the trajectory of the projectiles.
, hit the raised sharp-angle fort barrier with a bang, and knocked down a piece of soil. Most of the shelling hit the thick sloping barrier, making a continuous muffled sound. The soldiers hiding nearby felt the earth tremble slightly. Some shells were in the soil.
Confederate soldiers were struck by the rolling shells as they ricocheted off ramparts, parapets, and trenches, and despite advance partitions.
Several tents were hit and immediately burned.
Amidst the rumble of artillery, the headquarters felt a little awkwardly silent. Everyone who had been busy for several days suddenly had nothing to do and could only sit still. The brave observation post was marking the enemy's shelling position as a counterattack target.
Roland took out a small bag of cocoa-coated fried beans from his pocket, pinched a few and put them into his mouth and chewed them twice, when he suddenly heard a loud noise outside.
"One of our gun emplacements was hit," said Werner Negri. From the observation port, the adjutants saw a six-pounder gun set up on the fort's emplacement fly up, and the explosion detonated nearby ammunition, and the iron
Balls and cannon wheels flew everywhere.
Amidst the sound of artillery shelling, drums and bugles sounded, and the eagle flag appeared under the dark clouds. Beyeland's legionnaires appeared in sight. They were wearing armor and carrying siege equipment. They had no shields and were covered with siege equipment.
With a faint halo.
Xia Long's commander led the troops to assemble and waited for the artillery to prepare firepower before launching an assault.
Roland ordered: "Artillery fire!"
Each artillery team had been waiting for this order for a long time. When each position gave the order, the gun commanders stood up at the same time, grasped the match rope tightly, pulled it sideways, and launched a counterattack against Beyeland's exposed artillery position.
"Full artillery salvo!"
The dense roaring sound was like a hole being torn open in the sky, and the awakened giant let out a greedy roar, eager to drink blood.
Red artillery shells roared and flew towards the enemy at a distance of 1000-2000 meters. The Beyeland artillery fortress was hit hard, and flames suddenly burst out. The artillery shells that landed on the ground bounced up, jumped and rolled backwards.
The 12-pound cannons and 24-pound siege guns performing counter-battery missions were astonishingly loud. Every time they roared like earth-shattering roars, the cannons retreated several meters in the smoke. As soon as the artillery stopped, the artillery crew immediately moved forward to push the cannons to reset.
, inserted the gun cleaning brush into the gun barrel and stirred it vigorously a few times, hooking out the charred and unburned powder bag fragments, then dipped the gun brush in the bucket and inserted it into the gun barrel to clean it.
"The chamber is cleared!"
"Load one solid round, target distance is 1440!"
The gunner standing at the rear of the gun calculated the shooting angle and rotated the handle to adjust the gun to the correct elevation angle. Confederate gunners included former Beyeland veterans, merchants, accountants and even mathematicians. Elite troops could even use trebuchets to perform relatively accurate shooting.
The cannon designed by Roland is more accurate and faster to adjust, and has completely eliminated the old trebuchet. Not to mention the cannonballs and cotton-wrapped propellant packages are bundled together, so the gun crew can complete loading in an instant.
"Correct ammo! Load!"
"Ready!"
The preparation for a series of dazzling artillery bombardments only took a few tens of seconds. A well-trained artillery crew could even fire up to 4 rounds a minute when firing rapidly.
"put!"
The gunner pulled the match rope hard. With a loud bang and a long flash of fire, the artillery was once again enveloped in white smoke, and it shot out backwards driven by the huge recoil.
Three hundred cannons from the Confederacy and the Senate began to fire at full force, announcing the beginning of the day!
…
"The enemy artillery begins to attack."
Xia Long, surrounded by his adjutants, observed the battlefield from a safe hill on the flank.
His best generals, Kong Dai and Qiulin, had already led the two Beyelan regiments to complete preparations, and were hardly disturbed by artillery fire. The soldiers carried sufficient equipment and deployed in an orderly manner, following the eagle flags of the regiments and flowing forward like a tide.
Go. The commanders of the legion, the group and the squadron are with their soldiers, marching forward quietly and indifferently.
"Roland is about to counterattack," Xia Long pointed toward the flickering fortress, "Intensify the firepower and find the enemy's gun positions!"
The adjutant immediately sent an order for Beyeland's wizards to take action, found the location where the opponent was firing artillery fire, and then immediately notified the heavy artillery unit.
As soon as the order was issued, the first round of Confederate artillery shells hit not far in front of the fort, splashing a large amount of soil, knocking over some infantry in formation, and causing a chaos.
"The rate of fire is not fast, and such shooting cannot stop the legion's advance." Sharon saw the shells fired by the Confederate artillery dragging smoke, flying over the advancing infantry in front, and falling towards his camp!
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, the artillery shells had already passed over the fort and hit some large camps!
The artillery shell crossed the trench and exploded on the temporary and hastily built wooden fence. The wooden barrier originally used to protect the camp immediately turned into thousands of flying knives, sweeping out a rain of blood among the nearby troops.
A cannonball ricocheted through the camp and flew towards the team. It directly beat a centurion into two pieces, then jumped up bloody and knocked over the squadron behind him, leaving broken limbs on the ground.
Meat.
The Beyelan military camp without earthen forts was like a hell on earth, with blood and mutilated limbs everywhere, and the screams of the sergeants could be heard. Those injured sergeants who were hit by iron balls all had their bodies and bones broken, and they were extremely miserable.
.
The Confederate shelling was slow and unhurried, giving the impression that they were controlling the temperature of the barrels. Depending on the round, some of the fired grenades exploded and caused different red and blue smoke to rise, like a celebration.
"He's measuring distance," Xia Long reacted on the spot, "This guy Roland!"
The Confederate artillery conducted two rounds of calibration fire, found the shooting range, and immediately switched to rapid fire of four rounds per minute!
Intense artillery fire smashed down on the Senate's artillery team. The sturdy and heavy gun mounts fell apart just after being grazed by the flying cannonballs.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the Senate artillery team, and thick smoke shot straight into the sky.
A pile of ammunition was detonated, and the shock wave and debris of the explosion swept away the nearby artillery crews in an instant. The barrel was thrown high and then dropped heavily, landing on the heads of the unlucky nearby artillery crews, smashing them seven times.
Bits and pieces.
The runaway packhorses were scurrying around, mercilessly trampling on the wounded soldiers who had fallen to the ground.
"Consul, our artillery has suffered heavy losses!" General Macdonald shouted.
"I saw it, general, thank you for the reminder," Xia Long pressed his forehead and signaled to the herald, "order Kong Dai and Qiulin to advance at full speed and launch a hand-to-hand assault as soon as they get close to the enemy's fortress!"