Chapter 55 Pretending to be defeated to lure the enemy (read more)
The Nancy area would later become the territory of France. It is now at the center of the Kingdom of Lotharingia and can be regarded as the core area of the Kingdom.
Otto followed Count Werner and brought a total of two thousand soldiers to a place called Markseville in the north of Nancy.
There is a seemingly densely populated village here. The village is quite large, but now it is deserted. They must have fled their hometown to avoid the war.
The Werner Army marched very fast, with a high proportion of cavalry in the army, accounting for almost a small half, and Otto had already stayed in this village for two days.
Otto was a little confused. How could the enemy forces in the Nancy area, which had been promised to attack, turn into a sniper attack on enemy reinforcements?
Could it be that the ancestor of the Salian family was actually very timid, so he carried the family all the way to the 11th century?
Soon, Otto knew that his guess was wrong.
Count Werner summoned several barons in the army and held a simple combat meeting.
"According to intelligence, Count Walter of Nancy will lead an army of 6,000 people and will launch an attack on us soon. Everyone, be prepared for battle.
I ask that you hand over all the command of your cavalry and knights to me and let me give you unified command."
Several barons, including Otto, had no objection to Werner's request.
In this era, cavalry is the undisputed king of the battlefield, and its centralized use is the norm. There is nothing to worry about or be reluctant to part with.
These days, the private soldiers of the nobles all come from their own territories, so there is absolutely no problem with their loyalty. Even the king will find it difficult to take away the military power from the nobles.
After Count Werner's eyes swept past the hands of several barons, they landed on Otto's face.
"Baron Otto, among the few people present, you are the younger one, so please do your best to lure the other party into a decisive battle with us."
Otto nodded and agreed. Isn't it just a feint of defeat? It's not difficult. It seems that Werner is preparing to show weakness to defeat the opponent.
I just don’t know if the Count of Nancy I’m facing is so gullible.
Although the two thousand soldiers led by Werner are not large in number, they do not have the kind of peasant levies who make up the numbers. Their combat effectiveness is still very high. In addition, there are many cavalry in the team. If you are not careful, it is really possible for six thousand people to fight against you.
but.
"There's no need to worry, Baron Otto." Seeing Otto thinking silently, Werner thought Otto was worried and said with a smile.
"There are not many cavalry on the opposite side. There are six thousand soldiers. The number seems to be a lot, but in fact most of them are conscripts. It is hard to say whether they can gather weapons. The only ones who can fight are the private soldiers of various nobles.
When His Excellency the Baron goes out to attack, he will bring the most elite cavalry and knights with him to ensure safety."
Otto didn't have much worry in his heart, but he still thanked the other party for his concern.
After the simple combat meeting, according to the plan, Otto took his guards, about fifty cavalry, and the one hundred infantry given by Werner, and went south to lure the enemy.
On the way south, before seeing the opponent's vanguard, Otto had already cleared away four or five waves of scouts seeking information.
Although each of these scouts was fairly skilled, they were still far behind Otto's elite followers and were unable to withstand them at all.
After traveling more than 20 miles away from Maxwell, Otto finally encountered the opponent's vanguard, which was a force of about 500 people.
There are only about twenty or thirty cavalry among them, while the infantry are basically armored. Although most of them are just leather armor, they are obviously not conscripts.
When Otto discovered the enemy, the enemy also discovered Otto's troops, and soon formed an infantry phalanx.
"Master, these soldiers don't have many spears. Many of them seem to have armor, but their movements are a little panicked, and the formation speed is not very fast. They probably haven't cooperated a few times. They are probably troops of different nobles. Let's charge in one wave.
It can disperse the opponent."
Wade just glanced at the square formation on the opposite side and made a judgment.
Otto nodded. Wade was also experienced in battles. He naturally believed in the opponent's judgment. It seemed that this was not the opponent's elite.
It is certainly a good thing to defeat the enemy, but Otto has not forgotten his mission. He is here to lure the enemy, and he can only lose but not win.
"Forget it." Otto resisted the temptation in his heart to defeat the enemy in front of him, shook his head and said. "Knight Wade, I would like to trouble you to take command. Remember, be more careful and pretend that we tried our best to resist but were defeated.
The way it looks.”
Wade had some regret on his face. It was a pity that he had such a good opportunity to gain military merit. But since Otto had given the order, he could only do it.
In the first battle, after Otto came into contact with Count Nancy's vanguard, his "efforts" were defeated.
After that, Otto took the initiative to retreat and was supported by 300 Werner soldiers, who also increased their troops to more than 1,000 people.
Fight again, Otto is defeated again.
After two defeats, Otto led his army to retreat directly to the village near Markseville.
"Baron Otto, you did a good job!" Werner couldn't help but praise. "With your two defeats, it must be time for the Earl of Nancy to attack with all his strength."
Otto didn't have any pride in taking credit. Pretending to lose was also a defeat, so he had nothing to say. He just nodded and didn't say much.
Although the two small-scale battles were feigned defeats, Werner's side actually suffered nearly two hundred casualties.
Although most of them were soldiers who were not Otto, a guard who grew up with him was killed in battle after his horse was shot, which still made Otto feel a little bad.
Otto also knew that this kind of thing was impossible to avoid. Fortunately, Werner was more generous and used his own soldiers. Otherwise, the losses of these two false defeats would have made Otto heartbroken.
But obviously, in the upcoming decisive battle, Otto's soldiers will definitely suffer many casualties. Almost all of the soldiers Otto brought were equipped with horses, which were adequate cavalry according to ordinary standards.
The cavalry is the key to winning this battle.
Perhaps, after the First World War, many familiar faces of Otto will sleep forever.
Thinking of this, Otto's mood became heavier and he regretted even more. Is it worth paying such a high price to gain reputation?
The arrow was on the string and had to be fired, and Otto had no chance to regret it now.
Just two days later, the Count of Nancy brought all his troops to the vicinity of Maxeville and launched an attack on the Werner army.
Looking at the opponent's messy flags and relatively chaotic formation, even a layman like Otto had a word in his mind, mob.
Yes, it was a mob. Troops with more than a dozen flags were mixed together. There was me among you, and you among me. Otto didn’t know how the other side’s commander could enforce orders and prohibitions. Did he have such high command ability and reputation?
Sure enough, after seeing this scene, Werner keenly captured the opportunity of the fighter. Without waiting for the opponent to adjust their formation, he drew his weapon and shouted.