174 – Eastern Franchi Expedition (9)
Around the time Count Elias and Count Isra were robbing the enemy’s headquarters and supplies, I was ordering troop support to prevent the central army from collapsing.
“Take the soldiers of the 5th Battalion back to their headquarters and reorganize them, and send Colonel Olive’s regiment to the vanguard gap of the Central Army to support them. Also, right now the left wing of the Central Army is being attacked by knights under the command of Count Aquitel. Send two battalions of musketeers to assist the spearmen so that their spearmen do not get wiped out!”
“What? Now Count Laurent is aiming for the rear of our reserve army with 2,000 knights? Even though there are only 10,000 of us, the French will not be able to recklessly attack our corps with guns unless our allies are cornered. So, even if you combine spearmen and musketeers to form a tercio square in the rear, they will retreat!”
“Currently, the soldiers in the 1st row of our corps will consume a lot of stamina. So, take them to the rear where I am and let them rest. You can’t give them food, so make them drink the salted water you brought beforehand. Then, the number of soldiers dying or collapsing due to exhaustion will be greatly reduced.”
“The body of the deceased does not have to be recovered. However, the seriously injured should be immediately transported to the main base using a cart or stretcher. no… Order Baron Frost behind him to take all the seriously wounded and the lightly wounded to the empty cart! Let’s do our best to save even one more person.”
Although it is in an emergency situation where it is being intensively attacked by 70,000 troops including the Central Army, where the fiercest battle in this war is already taking place, and the enemy right wing Count Iris’ army, which is now attacking the left wing Count Elias.
With only 40,000 troops, they are able to withstand all attacks and slowly break down the enemy’s momentum.
And we were in charge of the rear and dispatched reinforcements to the right place to fight.
Also, due to my proper instructions, the allies did not suffer much damage while making a major attack.
But pushing in like this, and holding out without directly engaging the enemy army in the center… After all, there is a difference in the number of soldiers, so this situation cannot continue forever.
No, on the contrary, the longer it is, the stronger the momentum of the enemies will be, and the damage to our Kreutel Corps can be expanded that much.
If Count Elias and Count Isra’s surprise attack was successful, the signal should come soon…
“Recon squad!
I called the scouts, and soon a soldier from the headquarters, riding a horse without armor, approached me.
As he approached, he quickly dismounted, got down on one knee, and answered me.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Immediately, go to Count Isra or Count Elias and find out what their situation is.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“However, if you see a signal that seems to have been sent by them in the middle, come back and report immediately. The signal… If three smokes rise, it’s a success, if four smokes rise, it’s a failure.”
“I will follow your orders.”
After saying that, the scout got on his horse and hurried off with five scouts under his command.
And soon after, a messenger from the Duke of Orléans came running towards me.
Seeing that the messenger’s clothes are torn and there is a lot of dust on his face, it means that he is definitely the messenger of the unit fighting at the front, not the soldier of the main base where the duke is located…
Read at noblemtl.com
Judging from the fact that such a place came to contact me via the duke…
It looks like my front row 1 won’t be able to hold on, so he must be asking for cover so he can switch with the 2nd row.
“This is an order from His Highness the Duke. You said that you urgently ask for cover when shifting between the 1st and 2nd rows. If left as it is, the soldiers in the first row of the central army as well as other soldiers will suffer great losses. Please hurry.”
The shift between the soldiers in the first row and those in the second row is not a simple shift.
This is because when taking turns, the first row turns backwards, exposing the rear, which is a weak point, for a considerable amount of time, and during that time, the soldiers belonging to the first row suffer enormous damage.
In the current situation, if the first row is damaged too badly, the aftermath may extend to allies.
And in order to maximize damage to the enemy… It would be better for me to go out on my own to lower the morale of the enemy.
“Okay. In order to overcome the current situation, we will need full-fledged support… I will go personally with 4,000 musketeers to cover the retreat of the first line and kill the enemy’s momentum. So tell His Highness the Duke.”
When I said that I was going out myself, the messenger who was sitting on one knee in front of me answered with a voice full of emotion.
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
**
Sloppy squares and spears, quilted armor made from old clothes sewn together, and troops without helmets to protect their heads or gloves to protect their hands.
It was very gruesome to see the soldiers of such an army fighting each other.
No, some of the conscripted serfs were afraid of being stabbed by the enemy in front of their eyes, so I could see them stabbing them with their eyes closed.
In addition, it is not uncommon for some soldiers to be executed by single-handed soldiers assigned to each unit while running away with their spears.
You bravely persevered in this situation…
Putting aside that sentiment for a while, I ordered the commanders of the matchlocks I had brought with me.
“Battalion commanders, from now on, divide all platoons under your command into two, and go in between the second ranks of the Duke of Orléans’ long spear square. And from there, 6 people form 2 groups in one group. In each group, 3 shooters, 3 reloaders. And the group deployed in the front must sit in a kneeling position when firing, and signal the soldiers behind them with a small flag in their hand! If you don’t do that, your unit will become a unit of idiots who shoot and kill their allies. Got it?”
At my threatening words, the commanders nodded in agreement, and immediately issued the operation to the battalion members under their command.
“Gather in each platoon! And the platoon commanders and deputy platoon commanders come out!!”
“Two squads under the platoon commander, two squads under the deputy platoon commander! Each squad is in one group, where 3 people load and 3 people shoot!!”
“When firing, the group placed in front must fire while in a kneeling position! Also, before firing, use a flag to signal to the group behind you and fire at the same time!!”
And soon after, I and the soldiers under my command entered the gap in the square of the infantry led by the Duke of Orléans.
Then the commander of a square in the second row I entered looked at me with astonished eyes and greeted me.
“Meet your Excellency, Marquis Ciel von Kreuttel! I am Rael Minster, who directs this square… ”
There was no time to accept such a greeting, so I ignored the greeting and immediately aimed my gun at the enemy.
After a while, flags and trumpets rang out ordering the soldiers of the first column of the Central Army to retreat.
“Our Brandon unit is now retreating! Before everyone retreats, the soldiers in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th columns stab the long spear at once to confuse the enemy and retreat!!”
“Through the empty space to the left of the unit, retreat from the soldiers on the left!! Everyone can come back alive!!”
“Follow the controls if you don’t want to die! Otherwise, my sword will not forgive you!”
The serfs followed the instructions and started retreating, perhaps because of the hope that they could live by hearing the instructions.
Thanks to the sudden turn and retreat, the enemy did not properly pursue them, but suffered some casualties.
After the entire first line of infantry under the Duke of Orléans retreated, my soldiers and I continued to fire at the enemy spearmen from the vanguard.
Those who were not properly equipped with even the poorest armor, sometimes two or three people died from a single bullet.
Blood covered the ground, and the enemy soldiers were so terrified that most could not even speak properly.
“fat… live..”
“mom!! mom… ”
However, the second row of conscripted foot soldiers began stabbing even those guys to death with their long spears…
Also, when the loaders in the back loaded and handed over their guns, we fired the loaded guns at them.
The enemy died as if a hole had been punched through the paper.
Driven by that momentum, by the time the central army was leading the battle between infantry and infantry to their advantage, three smokes rose from beyond.
Read more novels at noblemtl.com
Means that the operation was successful.
As soon as you successfully lead an infantry battle in the Central Army, you are informed that the rear has been robbed…
The timing was amazing, so I sighed.
“Fire about 5 shots, then retreat to regroup. Also, order the knights under my command to stab the retreating enemy infantry in the flanks.”