108 – Francois’ Eastern Expedition (5)
And 10 days later.
According to the plan, other units, including Captain Patton, began a rapid march to plunder the eastern regions of the Francois Republic and, if possible, near the capital.
The 12th Brigade led by me moved with the main unit, but after arriving at Hat Tin, we split up and began to fortify the area around here as much as possible.
A lot of wooden fences were laid down at the front where the enemy could attack, and a cart fort using carts was built in the shallow area of the river flowing in the rear.
For the Francois Republic, who like the knights’ assault as much as our commander, traps have been dug in some places.
“With this level of preparation, when they attack, we will be able to win without difficulty.”
Although it has the disadvantage of having only about 40% of the enemy’s troops.
Hatin, I, Peter Yeager, who came here first, thoroughly calculated all the possible situations and finished setting up the trap.
So, even though our unit appears to be very dangerous on the outside because of its numerical inferiority, in reality, it is fighting in an optimal environment where it has no choice but to win.
When I was about to go on a reconnaissance with some of my subordinates to familiarize myself with the geography of the surrounding area, a soldier approached me and reported loudly.
“Here’s a report! From the Château de Chavennes, 10,000 men of the Francois Republic are approaching Hattin! “It’s roughly a day’s walk away from our troops!”
When I heard good news, I followed the custom of generals giving money to messengers and scouts.
He knelt in front of me on one knee, bowed his head, and handed me 1 silver in his hand, roughly enough to support a serf family for a month.
“Assemble all commanders and officers. “I’m holding a strategy meeting.”
**
When we entered the operation meeting, the mood among the officers in our unit was not very good.
Except for the officers who had been following me for a long time, like Laura, they seemed nervous due to the fact that they had to deal with 2.5 Times as many enemies.
Unusually, one of them, Major Anya, was looking at me as if he was secretly anticipating what kind of strategy I would perform.
“Okay, then, I’ve already explained it several times. Lastly, I will explain the troop deployment and future operations before confronting the enemy.”
With that said, I signaled Charlotte to bring me a map depicting Hattin’s terrain, enemy entry routes, and our troops’ deployment.
“First of all, the Francois Republic will charge in from the front with their proud knights and try to crush the infantry.”
Because that is the sure-win strategy of the Francois Republic, which loved knights more than any other country on this continent and operated it effectively.
This is because it is the most effective tactic among the tactics they can use to achieve victory in this terrain.
“On the other hand, we deploy two infantry battalions, one crossbow battalion, and one wizard battalion in the center, left wing, and right wing, respectively, as shown on the map here, and wait for the enemy to arrive.”
Because right now, I don’t know which unit in front they are going to target.
In this case, it would be more effective to distribute the forces as evenly as possible and have the units next to the side where the attack is concentrated support.
When I didn’t mention the knights, Lieutenant Colonel Werner asked in a regretful voice.
“Then what role should our knights play? Also, where are Major Kergit’s archers stationed?”
“That’s a good question, Lieutenant Colonel Werner. “The 200 knight troops, of which you are the highest battalion commander, will stand by behind the central army led by me, and as soon as the archer cavalry finds the direction from which the knights are charging, shoot arrows from both sides and rear to weaken their momentum.”
If this happens, François and his knights will be embarrassed and lose the momentum to charge, as they have never experienced archer cavalry, or will be greatly weakened.
If you charge in that state, you will not be able to inflict significant damage on our infantry protected by fences and long spear squares.
If they get excited and chase after the archers, the crossbowmen and wizards will be able to expose their flanks in front of our infantry and pour tremendous firepower into the moving things.
However, it would not happen that Francois, who was well versed in handling knights, would be blinded by the horse archers and ignore their charge and pursue them.
They are said to be the best on this continent when it comes to handling knights, but there is no way they don’t know that heavy cavalry can never catch a light cavalry unit.
“When Franco and his knights, whether left, center, or right, try to receive it, I will give them a signal. At that time, Lieutenant Colonel Werner, lead his knights and strike them from the side as they lose their momentum. Additionally, wizards and crossbowmen will attack the knights from the opposite direction you are attacking.”
A knight’s biggest weakness is being attacked from the side when he loses momentum.
If our knights apply lance charging to the left or right in such a situation, they will simply melt.
If you get hit with a crossbow and magic, you’ll be very excited.
“If the charge is successful, don’t hesitate and return to the camp, take the lance again, and wait in the center. I’m preparing to deliver the killing blow until new orders come. When the enemy knights are distracted, the archers should go to where the enemy infantry is and circle around to shoot arrows. “Charging into infantry is not permitted.”
François’ infantry had never experienced archery cavalry before, so they would have no choice but to suffer a one-sided defeat while shedding tears of blood.
By the time you organize your formation and try to respond with long-range weapons, Major Anya and the archers will be running far away.
How dirty and despicable is this, but is it a useful combat method when used by our allies?
“After we inflict damage on the enemy with only archers and knights, the enemy will surely think that this cannot continue. Then, I will lead all my troops and try to fight head-on.”
At this time, the enemy will no longer be able to break through our defenses without mobilizing knights, so they will try to fight using only infantry and infantry.
“The infantry on the left, right, and center hold long spears behind the wooden fence to block the enemy, while the crossbowmen and wizards from behind provide as much cover as possible. Then, when the battle became a complete melee. Divide the knight corps and arch cavalry in half.”
After saying that, I struck the map with my baton and then spoke.
“So, the archer cavalry shakes up the crossbowmen and wizards who would have been deployed on the enemy’s left and right wings with arrow fire, and the knights follow behind to deal with the enemy troops capable of long-distance attacks. Then, the two units work together to attack the rear of the enemy infantry.”
If this happens, the enemy infantry will fight the infantry under my command in front.
You will be crushed to death by the archers who fire arrows and run away from behind, and by the iron armor that weighs 0.5 Tons and tramples everything in front of you.
To put it simply, it becomes a sandwich.
“As the enemy’s infantry units decrease little by little, the siege net will gradually shrink inward, completely trapping Francois’ infantry.”
At this point, we have completely won the battle.
The battle that follows is nothing more than a series of massacres to kill more enemy soldiers, but there is a reason for doing this.
First, to reduce as much as possible the number of troops that can fight against us on the Clécy Plain.
And then, in the full-scale war that will come after this battle, the purpose is to lower the enemy’s morale and, at best, drive it to the bottom.
Think about it, if Francois’ 10,000 men and our brigade’s 4,000 men fought, but they were almost massacred without even using their hands or feet, and the rumor spread that they lost the war…?
In Francois’ situation, our Reich Imperial Army would look as scary as the Grim Reaper.
“Although we have a small number of soldiers, the whole situation is very favorable to us. So my soldiers, do not be afraid or hesitate and fight as ordered. Then, as I always have, I will give you the greatest victory this time too.”