As the commander-in-chief of this force, General Treville has absolute authority, so after he makes the final decision, even if some people are reluctant, they can only obey the order.
However, most of the officers and soldiers actually agreed with the general's opinion. After all, after this attack, everyone had been marching to the inland areas for several days. This was a standard "solitary expedition", and the lesson of Emperor Napoleon's failure in Russia was that
This also made the officers and soldiers feel shadowed in their hearts - although there was still a lot of baggage and supplies brought along the way, there was really no need to move further inland.
As a result, the general's order was quickly implemented. In the next day, the entire army camped on the spot to rest and regain their strength. General Treville also specifically ordered the people below to take good care of the horses and make sure that the horses among them were taken care of.
Most are in top condition.
As a general with a cavalry background, General Treville also believed in what a famous general said: "Horses don't understand patriotism." This means that ordinary soldiers do not understand patriotism because of fear of military law, or because of the inspiration of nationalism or patriotism.
, so they can sometimes endure almost unimaginable hardship and fatigue (to put it simply, they can be driven to death), but horses are different. They don't understand this, so they need careful care to maintain their health and combat effectiveness.
Therefore, the supply of fodder to horses has always been the focus of army supply, especially when this army has a high proportion of cavalry. It must not be careless.
After a day's rest, the troops who had regained their energy began to break camp and retreat as planned, advancing towards Algiers along the old road that had been washed by blood and fire.
When the French army just started taking action, harassment and reconnaissance by tribal cavalry became more frequent. Apparently they believed that the French army was about to advance forward again, so they wanted to find out the French army's movements and then launch a long-planned ambush.
However, the French army's actions greatly exceeded the expectations of the tribal coalition, and they actually retreated. For a time, these people were obviously at a loss and did not know how to deal with the latest situation.
General Treville, regardless of what they thought, continued to retreat with his men, while constantly letting small groups of cavalry detect the movements behind him to see if the enemy was pursuing them.
Although he acted calmly in front of his subordinates, deep down in his heart, the Marquis still hoped to fight a decisive battle with his opponent, not only for his own merits, but also to defeat the tribe's coalition forces here once and for all, so that they could regain their strength.
Seriously injured, it will be difficult to organize to harass Algiers in the next one or two years - that is, to ensure absolute control of the French-occupied areas.
He was not sure whether his wishes would come true, because this required the cooperation of his opponents, and he could only try his best to do his best.
However, this time, his wish came true. Not long after setting off, he received news from the reconnaissance cavalry that several tribal armed groups were following the French army.
It seems that under the cry of "blood debt must be paid with blood", they finally decided to take revenge... However, this also shows that there were quarrels between the tribes, so they wasted time and worried about letting the French army escape.
So he no longer worried about concealing his whereabouts, but pursued him at full speed.
Just what I wanted.
General Treville quickly conveyed the news to all his subordinate units, asking them to prepare for battle. The officers and soldiers who received the news were also gearing up and waiting for the next decisive battle.
Because they have artillery, a large number of infantry, food, fodder, gunpowder and other baggage, the French army's movement speed will be much slower than that of the tribal coalition. This means that sooner or later they will be overtaken and the enemy will fight with them in front.
So there is no point even if you want to change the plan now, you have to fight.
At least this is better than rushing into an ambush.
The French army advanced while preparing for their formation, passing through villages that had been burned by them before. In the evening of that day, they learned through reconnaissance that a large number of enemy troops were gathered in front of a ruined village.
Among the villages.
We finally encountered it, and it seemed that this was the place for the decisive battle.
Although the war was imminent, he became more and more calm. After all, judging from his ups and downs in the military career, it was nothing more than a small scene now——
About a few kilometers away from the enemy, the French army also stopped. It was already evening and was not suitable for fighting, and both parties were currently in a state of exhaustion, so no one chose to start fighting directly, but stayed on the spot.
Set up camp and observe the opponent's movements.
He picked up his binoculars and carefully observed the strength and deployment of the opposing clan army. He estimated that the opposing army had about five to six thousand men, with a lot of cavalry, but most of the muskets were inferior, and there was no artillery, just as he had estimated.
Although our side only brought cavalry artillery to facilitate the march, it was enough to form a suppressive fire.
While observing the enemy's situation, General Treville urgently deployed his troops. He found a small platform slightly higher than the ground around him, and then deployed his light artillery here as the main position, and then let a large number of infantry rely on the platform.
He set up defenses to protect the artillery; then, he deployed the remaining infantry in front of the baggage camp, while the main cavalry was deployed on the flanks to cover it.
He himself took several hundred infantry and several squadrons of cavalry as reserves, deploying them between the platform and the baggage camp, taking care of several directions at the same time, and being ready to respond at any time.
After the deployment is completed, the next step is not a long wait. Presumably, after tonight, there will be a brutal fight here, and blood will water this dry land like raindrops.
So everyone was deployed to take the final rest. Some people stayed up all night waiting anxiously, and some people calmly slept in the temporary camp holding their guns.
Because it is the dry season, the weather is exceptionally clear. After dark, the sky is filled with stars that fill people's vision. They seem to be eternal and unmoved by the joys and sorrows of the world.
No matter what mentality you have, the objective world will not change with people's thoughts. As time passes quietly, the stars gradually fade, and then the sky gradually changes from gloomy dark black to dark gray, and then light gray.
, then a touch of fish belly white gradually appeared on the edge of the eastern sky, and the wilderness that was originally hidden under the night gradually revealed its true face.
A new day has arrived.
And just under the dawn light, there was a lot of commotion in the abandoned villages and surrounding places that had been silent for a long time, and this commotion also alerted the French army, which had been waiting in full formation, as if the starting gun had been fired.
The army also quickly set up their positions according to the original plan and prepared for battle.
They did not wait long. As the morning light became brighter and brighter, a group of coalition infantrymen approached the platform. Although they were called "infantry", they did not have uniforms, regular formations, and officers to maintain order.
He was wearing ordinary clothes and a headscarf on his head.
However, their courage and fanaticism were enough to make up for these shortcomings. Everyone shouted, waving the scimitars in their hands, and rushed towards the mesa. As the distance approached, the originally chaotic sounds gradually became enough to be heard clearly.
Yes, that is the slogan that the jihadists have shouted for thousands of years.
What stimulated them was not just the slogans of Allah, but also the hatred of their homeland being invaded and destroyed. At this time, their eyes were full of frightening light, and it seemed that they did not care about their own lives at all, and they must die together with the enemy.
.
In this chaotic scene, the platform where the cannons were placed became the main target, and this was completely within the French army's expectation. On the small platform, the artillery officers calculated the distance while adjusting the cannons.
Shooting angle.
When the distance was only a few hundred meters away, the artillery officers finally gave the order.
"fire!"
Amidst the low roar, the shotgun shells in the cannon were fired. Although these were only light artillery that was easy to maneuver and used three-pound shells, in the absence of suppressive firepower from the opposite side, these artillery pieces were enough to become the messengers of death.
In an instant, the shotgun shells were sent high into the sky by the cannon, and then exploded over the charging enemy troops. A large number of iron grapeshot also poured out. These tiny iron beads turned into objects with the blessing of high-speed kinetic energy.
The vicious sharp weapons fell on the wasteland like iron rain.
The projectiles scattered in the air, and then fell to the area below. They instantly covered the tribal warriors who launched an intensive charge, leaving fatal wounds on their bodies, heads and faces. Many people fell to the ground on the spot.
Either died or fell into a coma.
But even this rain of bullets did not dampen the enthusiasm and hatred of the attackers. They were still fearless and continued to charge towards the target.
The French infantry below the platform were divided into three rows. The front row was lying on the ground, the middle row was half-kneeling, and the back row stood up straight. Seeing that they were approaching, they all raised their muskets and took aim.
Kill the enemy coming from the opposite side.
After the officer ordered to fire, three rows of soldiers opened fire in order. The dense rain of bullets once again gave the attackers a head-on blow. In an instant, a large number of casualties were caused, and this painful blow made a few people begin to hesitate and want to retreat.
and fled, but the torrent of charge still carried the remaining people and continued to charge forward.
Because the French army did not have many infantry troops under the platform, the survivors were able to rush under the platform and then started a bayonet battle with the French soldiers. While the soldiers from the two sides under the platform were fighting
, the light artillery on the platform was also constantly bombarding the enemy troops in the distance.
While the two parties were fighting around the platform and artillery positions, the tribal cavalry assembled on the left flank of the French army also swept towards the junction of several French positions with an indomitable momentum, intending to attack the French army's final position.
Divide each phalanx at weak points and then defeat them one by one.
The dense horseshoes hit the ground violently, making the earth tremble. Although the Berber knights are not as prestigious as the Egyptian Mamluk cavalry in history, they are not weak in terms of bravery and strength. And the French army has been marching all the way.
The burning, killing and looting further aroused their fighting spirit. At this time, driven by hatred, the cavalry armed with swords and even spears rushed towards the French position like a rolling tide.
Compared with the charging infantry, their impact was faster and more powerful. The artillery fire and infantry bullets did not cause much damage to them, and they rushed to the front of the French position in an instant.
In order to counter the tribal cavalry whose impact and speed were extremely shocking, the French cavalry waiting on the left wing immediately launched a charge.
Because they are a coalition of various tribes, the Berber cavalry are brave but lack discipline. They have not even undergone long-term formation and tactical training, and their equipment is not neat. Some people even ride camels, and their formations are not uniform.
They are quite loose, and this inherent weakness of "lack of discipline" has seriously weakened their impact.
The French cavalry, in accordance with strict tactical regulations, wearing dazzling uniforms and horsehair helmets, first formed a neat queue, with rifles on their waists and long swords in their hands. Under the orders of the officers,
, they led their war horses forward slowly in an orderly queue, then gradually accelerated quickly, and finally, under the sunlight, they bravely rushed towards the oncoming Berbers.
The two cavalrymen collided violently like two out-of-control carriages, and then gradually lost speed. The cavalrymen at the forefront reined in their horses' heads, and then slashed at each other with any weapons in their hands.
The battle between cavalry often did not last long. After a brief confrontation, the tribal cavalry whose formation was not dense enough was repulsed. However, their brave spirit did not disappear. After the cavalry at the front retreated, they reunited with their comrades in the rear, and then
Charge forward again and attack the French army.
Wave after wave, on this small flat land, the cavalry from both sides were brutally strangled. Often, one side would immediately launch a counterattack after being repelled, determined to fight back the opponent.
Of course, because the French cavalry had stronger discipline and tactics, the relatively loosely organized Berbers suffered greater losses. The seemingly endless cavalry attacks seemed to have begun to fail.
In a short period of time, this wasteland was already a place of death and injury. There were corpses of cavalrymen who fell off their horses and corpses of horses that fell to the ground after being hit by bullets. Blood flowed everywhere, irrigating this barren land, as if
It will be turned into farmland in the future.
In just a few quarters of an hour, several focus battlefields appeared on this battlefield of only a few square kilometers. Under the platform, in the wilderness on the flanks and at the junction between the phalanxes, the fighting was particularly fierce.
The Marquis of Treville, who was directly behind the French army, looked at the shocking and tragic scene in front of him and remained unmoved at all.
Although he sympathizes with his subordinates, once on the battlefield, there is no room for sympathy. If you want to win, you must make sacrifices.
And his mission is to make this sacrifice "worth the money."
Of course, in the minds of the parents, wives and children of the dead soldiers, whether sacrificing for the empire and certain people is "worth it" is another matter.
His face was as deep as water, and he patiently observed the situation on the battlefield. From time to time, he would send his adjutants to several battlefields as messengers, while his eyes like a falcon were staring at every corner of the battlefield, looking for the enemy.
The offensive is showing signs of slowing down, and we are looking for an opportunity to deploy our reserves to make the final decision.
Although the war is still tense now, he is already convinced that victory will belong to him.