223 – All-Out War in Alas (6)
Generally, all battlefields start with either a geographically disadvantageous side or an advantaged side.
So, all military scholars claim that ‘fight where you have an advantage, and drive the opponent to where you have a disadvantage’, and suggest thousands or tens of thousands of ways to do so.
Those who are usually referred to as great generals followed this teaching thoroughly and concentrated on cutting down the opponent’s troops to achieve victory.
However, as mentioned earlier, Brightenfield, where this battle will take place, is a flat plain with no protrusions or depressions anywhere. It is an unusual place for a battle-weary place where no one can have a topographical advantage.
Like the army of the Kingdom of Creutel and the army of the Elaine Empire where many battles are now facing in Brightenfield… There are cases where they fight under almost similar conditions.
Because in order for a battle to begin, the premise is that the opponent and I have the same thought, “If I fight here, I will win.”
Of course, there are wars where the powerful side starts a unilateral war and the powerless side is forced into it.
In the case of this war, it can be said that it is the former case.
The King of Creutel and the Emperor of the Elain Empire stopped swearing at each other and returned to their respective camps, giving orders.
“Soldiers of the great Eline Empire! Form a horizontal run!”
“Fight against the evil emperor who seeks your wealth, food, and the lives of your wife and children! Form an formation in an oblique line!”
The formation built by the emperor was a long, horizontal line that was commonly used when fighting in large numbers like this.
On the other hand, if Ciel von Kreutel’s command is successful, it will exert overwhelming power, but if it is not, it is difficult to command from the point of view of a commander who can be dangerous.
Creutel’s army formed a formation with the left side inward and the right side protruding outward.
Seeing the formation, the emperor looked at the regent, the Duke of Brussels, and said.
“If you look at that damn formation, the cannons must be concentrated on the left side, not on the protruding right side. If that’s the case, I think the right wing without cannons will be more comfortable to attack… What do you think?”
The Duke of Brussels heard that and thought.
A normal lord or general would try to place his soldiers a little further back in order to fire even one more powerful cannon before we approach.
Because starting by reducing the forces of our allies even a little like that is the shortcut to leading the battle to an advantage.
So, it would be less costly to use that goal in reverse and attack the right wing where the enemy is stationed…
“It’s a messenger! According to His Excellency Count Jacques, who is in charge of our right wing, the flag of King Creutel is now visible on the enemy left wing!”
Unlike in the Eastern world, such as the Joseon Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, in this place, the king or emperor leads the war by directing the main forces.
In other words, even with the exception of cannons, from a common sense point of view, it is highly likely that the main attack of the Kingdom of Creutel will be on the left wing.
So the Duke of Brussels stopped doubting and spoke with conviction.
“Your Majesty, the enemy will focus their attacks on the left wing and aim for our right wing. So, how about splitting the reserve into three, with one on the right and two on the left to attack the enemy’s right?”
The Emperor said with a smile that the Duke of Brussels was very pleased with the words.
“Let’s do that right away. And now order the soldiers to march. I will go and I will crush the traitor.”
On the other hand, Ciel von Kreuttel, the head of the Kreutel kingdom army, laughed at the sight.
That’s also true, because he concentrated cannons on the left wing to deceive the emperor and the regent, and brought in the king’s flag symbolizing the king and a double wearing his ceremonial armor to deceive the enemy.
Thanks to that, on the left wing, all soldiers, officers, and knights except for Count Biermann, the commander of the left wing, have the illusion that King Creutel is participating in the battle in the same place as them.
From the King’s point of view, while preparing for it, he worried a lot about the plan going wrong if it didn’t work…
That worry is unfounded, and the enemies as well as the allies are fooled, and everything is going according to plan, because the war will go a little easier.
‘Since we have cannons and bodyguards on our left wing, we can hold out to some extent even if the enemy’s attack is concentrated… We have to take advantage of that gap.’
And King Kroytel, wearing armor not much different from any other knight, took out his baton from his horse and gave orders.
“We must take advantage of the gap where the enemy’s eyes and attacks are concentrated on the left wing, and we on the right wing must destroy their left wing! All arquebusiers, make sure your arquebusier is loaded with ammo, and that the arquebusier is on fire! Spearmen and battle sappers, fasten the straps of your armor!”
After a while, the orders were repeated to the entire right wing in the order of nobles, knights, commanders, and noncommissioned officers.
Not long after, the soldiers on the right wing and the soldiers on the enemy left wing came within range of each other’s cannons.
And the Croytel Kingdom Army ignited the cannon a little faster than the Elaine Empire Army.
Shortly after, the Elaine Empire’s cannons were lit and fired at the enemy.
And not long after, screams came from both sides.
“My arm, my leg!!”
“Does this make sense… “
“aaah!”
Is it because the Kingdom of Creutel, who has handled cannons a lot, have never been directly targeted by cannons?
Among the soldiers of the Kingdom of Croytel, who had been hardened through hard training and were inspired with the pride of being invincible soldiers of the Kingdom of Croytel, there were several soldiers who fell into panic.
“Corporal Remy! You said you’d buy me a drink if you got promoted to sergeant this time! But why are all my limbs gone and lost!”
“Foul son of a b*tch… Ahh!”
However, such soldiers soon forced sergeants and sergeants assigned to each platoon and company to come to their senses.
The patriotism that the soldiers were instilled during training, what happens when they desert, and so on, are instilled with verbal abuse and shouting.
If they continued to run away, they flicked their halberds, a symbol of authority given to them, several times.
The soldiers returned to their positions, knowing that the halberd had the authority to promptly dispose of soldiers who deserted from the war.
On the other hand, the soldiers of the Elain Empire… As the cannons came flying, soldiers who wanted to desert began to slowly form.
The commanders of the left wing weren’t surprised at all because desertion from the enemy battle was always possible for them, but…
“Damn it! There is a crack in the 1st gun on the left! In this state, the next time the cannon is fired, it looks like it will explode while firing!”
“I have only 20 gates, so I have to save it, but what kind of bullsh*t is this!”
“According to the words of the artillerymen who operate the No. 2 And No. 17 Cannons, the cannon will break if it is not repaired by cooling it down after firing the next shot!”
I can’t stand the news that one cannon is half-destroyed by just one shot, and that two cannons will soon be destroyed…
Count Jacques, who was in charge of the left wing of the Imperial Army, took off his helmet and threw it to the ground.
“The artisans of our estate are only half as good as the Creutels! Making something like that while using that expensive bronze like water!? When I go back, I’ll pick one and hang it up!! aaagh!”
Through such problems, the two armies continued to cut each other’s forces only with cannons, gradually closing the distance.
Just like that, the distance between the two armies was reduced to about 500 meters.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Prepare to load the Kreutel matchlock! The target is enemy artillery. We have to kill at least one more to increase our chances of victory!”
1,000 People deployed on the right wing operating Creutel-style matchlocks fired bullets at the cannons of the Elaine Empire.
Of the 1,000 bullets, 200 flew near the cannon, and only about 100 of them hit the artillerymen…
Just getting rid of some of the troops capable of operating cannons made loading very slow.
The enemy artillerymen realized that they were the targets of the Creutel matchlock, and they resented themselves for being artillerymen. They had to reload the shells with their hands shaking in fear of death that was approaching in front of their eyes, so they had no choice but to slow down even more.
Until now, 10 people had been operating as a team, but the fact that 6 or 7 people had to work as a team was also the reason that the movement of the soldiers was completely twisted.
Of course, the right wing artillery of the Kingdom of Creutel did not miss this opportunity and fired as many bullets as possible towards the enemy.
As a result, by the time the Kingdom Army and the Emperor’s Army entered each other’s matchlock range…
The right wing of the Kingdom of Creutel faced the enemy with almost no damage to the formation, and the emperor’s army was in an all-out battle with the formation disorganized and the soldiers wandering around.
Looking at this aspect, it seems that the Kingdom of Creutel will easily capture the left wing of the Imperial Army…
Because the Emperor concentrated his troops on the left wing, the Imperial Army’s troops are still 1.4 Times more than the right wing on the Creutel side.
The army with matchlocks was overwhelmingly in the Kingdom of Creutel, but there were many.
Soon the commanders of the two armies took their positions, drew their swords, pointed at the enemy, and gave orders.
“Shoot and kill the bastard who has nothing to do with the loyalty of the Eline Empire!”
“Smash and kill the army of the traitor Kreutel!”
After a while, the left wing of the Imperial Army and the right wing of the Kingdom Army fired matchlocks at each other.
In that situation, Ciel von Kreutel gave the order with a smile.
“Place a designated Kreutel matchlock shooter in each company in the front line! And focus on those who appear to be enemy commanders or noncommissioned officers!”