219 – Osby Plain Grand Battle (4)
Until entering close combat, sending archers, crossbowmen, and wizards capable of long-distance attacks to the front line is a basic rule that applies throughout the continent of Europa. It is a combat doctrine.
Because if you attack from a distance from behind infantry, you will suffer losses of at least 100 meters from the range due to the soldiers blocking your path when shooting crossbows and bows.
If you shoot from the front, you do not lose range and can fire at least one more shot at the enemy, reducing the number of enemies.
However, due to the nature of the weapons they are holding, ranged classes are very weak in close combat, so it is standard practice to step back just before a close combat begins…
The soldiers and officers of the Kingdom of Stockholm were confused by the enemy’s strange tactics.
“Peter Yeager, has that son of a b*tch finally developed dementia? “He’s not even 30 years old and he’s already acting like he’s going to hit a wall.”
“Even though I am a stupid serf, damn it. “I can only say that’s crazy.”
“When we fight in hand-to-hand combat, it’s much better because we don’t have to fight while getting hit by arrows, right?”
The soldiers laughed at Peter Yeager for not hiding his archers and other long-ranged units behind his spearmen even when the distance between the two armies was getting closer, calling him a fool who went against the rules of battle.
When the officers saw Lieutenant General Peter Yeager, who was not another general, doing such strange things, they must have thought that he had another scheming…
Normally, he would have been quick to criticize the enemy’s actions that seemed like mistakes and spout harsh words to raise the soldiers’ morale, but he did not say anything.
Because if I told them to approach cautiously, their morale might drop, and if I told them to just charge in, they would fall into Jaeger’s trap again.
“March straight ahead! “Don’t be afraid and march forward!”
“Long live the great Kingdom of Stockholm, long live Your Majesty the King! Move forward!”
As the soldiers and officers were preparing for hand-to-hand combat with different thoughts, Lieutenant General Yeager gave an order.
“Archers, crossbowmen, and wizards move according to the strategy instructed in advance. Crossbowmen and wizards combine their units into one unit and divide the ranks from 1st to 6th row! “We are moving according to plan!”
The order to move the ranks according to the designated formation was delivered to the entire army not by messengers but by flags and trumpets.
The archers moved behind the crossbowmen and wizard units, and the crossbowmen and wizard units lined up at the front, dividing their units into six rows.
After that, the battalion commanders, company commanders, and platoon commanders of each unit quickly moved and shouted.
“Fire the first row! The second row is ready! “Check whether the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th rows are properly loaded!”
“After the first row fires, the second row fires immediately! Next, rows 3 and 4!! “We must fire at least one more shot as quickly as possible in this order!”
“The soldier who has finished firing should jump to the back as quickly as possible and hasten to reload! “Anyone who moves late will be seen separately by the battalion commander.”
The tactic that Lieutenant General Jaeger introduced to the crossbowmen and wizards was a tactic that translates into ‘counter march’ in English and continuous shooting in Korean.
In fact, it was a tactic created to compensate for the horribly slow firing speed of matchlock guns, which was one round per minute.
The crossbow’s reloading speed and magic casting speed were similarly slow, allowing a maximum of one shot per 40 seconds, so it was fully applicable.
The soldiers had already learned how to fight according to these tactics before coming here, so they were ready to fight without much error.
“He told me to fire one shot and bounce. “Those who walk slowly will just die.”
“Don’t think that it’s over after the battalion commander asks to see you separately. “The head of the operations department (captain or major) will ask to see you again next time.”
“We have two options. Will you be praised for moving well as trained, or will you be scolded and disciplined by the battalion commander for not moving as well as trained? “Do whatever you want!”
Every word of the non-commissioned officers completely removed the fear and tension the soldiers were feeling in actual combat.
Instead, it filled the place with the fear that if you make a mistake, something very terrible could happen.
“Shoot from the first row!”
As soon as the order to fire was given, the soldiers in the first row immediately fired crossbows and magic and started running for dear life.
At the same time, the 2nd row fired, and the soldiers in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th rows stepped back about 10 meters as soon as they confirmed loading.
As they continued to fire arrows and magic while retreating little by little in this way, Stockholm’s infantry had no choice but to be left helpless.
“f*ck, why are you getting further and further away? Why? “Why are the bastards who were there just a moment ago gone so far away?”
“How do I know that, Sergeant?”
“Dense formation, f*ck, f*ck! “They’re moving backwards faster than we’re moving forward, so what are you officers doing?”
If the Stockholm infantry is advancing at about 60 meters per minute, the soldiers belonging to the ranged division of the Reich Imperial Army are retreating at about 50 meters per minute.
So, in reality, the distance gap between them was narrowing very little, but the opponent was constantly exposed to arrows and magic.
Unlike the knights wearing full-body plate armor, the infantrymen wearing armor that covered only part of their bodies were, to put it slightly exaggerated, dying in the hundreds for every meter they advanced.
If we advance 10 meters, nearly 1,000 soldiers will die.
In a situation like this, they would have had to quickly break up the crowd and spread out even for a second to make the soldiers run, but the officers couldn’t even give orders like that.
If you break up the formation and make them run, the imperial infantry behind the enemy archers will appear at any time and massacre the friendly infantry that has formed a tight formation.
So in the end, they had no choice but to order them to form a tight formation and move towards the enemy like turtles, unable to do either this or that.
“f*ck you, officers you bastards…”
“Allez, Sergeant Allez! “You cowardly bastards of the empire!”
“You cowardly bastards who are worse than dogs, you stand back and fight and fall to your feet!”
The soldiers of the Kingdom of Stockholm had no choice but to march as ordered, receiving a barrage of arrows and magic.
Also, as he was retreating and attacking, Lieutenant General Jaeger was next to the knights and archers who were already in ambush.
In addition, the infantry division to be ambushed was ordered to break out of formation and move to a designated location.
“The enemies will be completely distracted by being hit by arrows right now. The 16th, 19th, 20th, and 34th Divisions were to ambush deep in the forest on the left. Then, when an hour has passed, tell them to attack the enemy’s flank.”
Messengers moved quickly to deliver the order, and the distance between the infantry of the Kingdom of Stockholm and the soldiers belonging to the ranged units of the Reich Empire was about 40 meters.
In the Imperial camp, huge trumpets and drums sounded as a signal for archers, wizards, crossbowmen, and infantry to change ranks.
“The archers, wizards, and crossbowmen fire all at once and fall back! Reduce the number of enemy forces as much as possible!”
The soldiers belonging to the Reich Empire’s ranged units fell back while attacking the enemy all at once, while the spearmen remained silent.
No, the infantry of the Reich Empire prepared for battle, laughing at the Stockholm Kingdom army, which was ruined as if it were a rag.
“Stockholm bastards, they are almost twice as many as us, but they are so sharp that they will break if you hit them, right?”
“It looks like they put a lot of effort into keeping it in shape, but look at how crooked it is.”
“If I were a member of the Stockholm Kingdom Army, I would have deserted right away. If you get robbed like that and stand in the vanguard, five or six out of ten will die. In that case, it is better to jump out and save your one and only life.”
The Stockholm soldiers, who were one-sided victims of arrows for nearly 10 minutes, gritted their teeth, grabbed their spears, and advanced towards the enemy.
The first formation of them was not in good condition as they were constantly hit by arrows, but they still held on and gritted their teeth in anger at the hope that they could survive and repay the enemy.
Therefore, their gait showed anger toward the enemy rather than fear of the enemy.
“f*ck, I’m going to catch those Reich Empire bastards and tear their limbs off!”
“I heard that there was a nomad child who followed a chief called Ishtaven. “You put prisoners on top of a cart and kill anyone bigger than the wheel?”
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“Good, f*ck. “Even barbarian bastards have that cute side, right?”
The soldiers of the Reich Empire who faced them did not laugh at them, nor were they afraid, but were ready to fight.