226 – All-out Battle of Alas (9)
As soon as the Duke of Brussels arrived on the battlefield, he immediately gave orders to his soldiers.
“At this rate, the left wing might break through. So to regroup, retreat 100 paces and regroup his men. Retreat, starting with the cannons!”
The duke didn’t want to issue such an order, but the current situation on the left wing of the Elain Empire is very bad.
First of all, aside from the fact that it is impossible to check both sides using cannons due to the close proximity of the Croitel Kingdom Army and the Elaine Empire Army.
The Kingdom of Croitel is advancing at random, repelling attacks from matchlocks to some extent because they have coated all troops with Cuirassier Armor.
As a result, the first and second columns of each square have already been almost wiped out, and the soldiers are looking for an opportunity to desert, only paying attention to the monopoly.
It was judged that ignoring the situation and applying for support would not have much effect.
“The damn Creutel traitor used a double this time? Cannons, matchlocks, doubles, and I think only he knows how to use them… There’s no way. Put up 10 flags with the Golden Lion crest symbolizing me at the vanguard, and 10 doubles to put on the prepared armor. As soon as the reorganization is completed, I will directly encourage and lead the soldiers in the vanguard!”
Hearing that, the adjutant and the baron tried to dissuade the duke, but the duke pretended not to see and did not hear, and hastened the command given to them.
And not long after, drums and trumpets were heard giving orders to retreat 100 paces towards the soldiers on the left wing.
“Retreat 100 steps! Just before retreating as we were training, fire a matchlock gun all at once!”
“Soldiers with spears run back after a full charge!”
“Behind us is His Highness, the Duke of Brussels, the regent. Fear not!”
Soon after, the soldiers with matchlocks fired a volley in line with the slogans, and then the soldiers with long spears charged in unison.
They were blinded by the black smoke that came from the aftermath of the volley fire, so some of them tripped over the corpses of their allies and fell…
As the Duke of Brussels calculated, the Elaine Imperial army was able to buy some distance and time needed to reorganize.
Of course, Kreutel wasn’t one to just sit and watch…
“Damn the Regent! Even after handing over the title of Count of Nantes, he did dirty things to block people’s way! Are you still holding on to the battles on the left wing that you’ve already won? Report to all troops! Fire a volley at the fleeing ones, and stab them with your spear! At least one more must be killed.”
Don’t miss the gap that has been defenseless for a while for reorganization, and order to stab those who show a gap in order to consume as many troops as possible.
“If there are deserters, just let them go! We cannot afford to hold on to those who have no will to fight.”
Following that order, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Creutel reloaded their firearms at 1.2 Times the speed of normal, in the spirit of venting their anger.
“Damn them! Major Dalgo stood at the forefront and pierced almost all of them, so why are you rearranging again! Aagh!! The 18th Battalion kill all those cowards!!”
“Light the tail on fire!!”
“Make it burn!!”
Then, countless soldiers of the Imperial Army fell victim to the matchlocks and long spears of the Kingdom Army, but none of the commanders responded to the provocation.
Instead, I just hurried the soldiers in the hope that this damn reorganization would be over even by a second.
Otherwise, some soldiers judged that they would not be able to win the battle, and took advantage of this opportunity to throw away their weapons and rush towards the kingdom’s camp.
Many of them died after being swept away by attacks flying towards the enemy, but it was a gamble worth trying because even deserters could receive minimal protection once they left the front line.
After 10 to 20 minutes of reorganization of the left wing of the Imperial Army, 10 doubles and 10 flags of the Duke of Brussels were deployed at the vanguard of the left wing, respectively.
At the same time, the troops with flags and doubles were told that ‘Creutel used a long-flying matchlock to snipe His Highness, so he mixed the doubles and real regents.’
Seeing this scene at the same time, Kreutel threw his baton in his hand to the ground as if his real irritation was welling up and said,
“If only the left wing breaks through, the war will end easily, but why is that filthy bastard coming out and making a fuss about saving lives again! Does he know he’s a firefighter on a battlefield? One fire puts out filthy well.”
It was the highest compliment one could give to an enemy. Even in Creutel’s opinion, the Duke of Brussels deserved such praise.
But then he gave an evil smile and ordered the soldiers.
“Our right wing is rearranging for a while more! Soldiers drink water from the canteen carried on their waists, and artillerymen move their cannons to the center as much as possible! Concentrate forces on a single point in the center!”
His order was given to the soldiers, and the Royal Army’s artillery moved to the center of the left army with a cannon and gunpowder weighing over 500 kilos.
And when it was time for the cannons to be moved, the Duke of Brussels decided he couldn’t wait any longer and gave the order.
“Assault! Charge!! Capture the Creutel traitor here! Whoever kills him, regardless of his rank, His Majesty will bestow titles and territories!”
As soon as the order was given, 50,000 soldiers of the left army all started running toward the Kingdom of Creutel.
The soldiers of the Kingdom of Croytel looked at them and complained as they were determined to fight again.
“Bastards, no, cockroaches. I thought I killed them all, but how can I survive like that?”
“Thanks to that, didn’t we have more opportunities to make achievements?”
“That’s the story of four guys who went beyond being noncommissioned officers and second lieutenants after serving for a long time… I’m just thinking of getting discharged from sergeant.”
And when the distance between them was around 100 meters, the soldiers holding the matchlocks fired sequentially at once.
Both armies suffered significant casualties, but the number of matchlocks was smaller than that of Kreutel, and the left wing of the imperial army, who did not even wear cuirassier armor to block the matchlock bullets, suffered much greater damage.
Still, the commanders and soldiers like the 50th leader continued to encourage the soldiers around them with the feeling that if they retreated, they would only lose.
“There must be a damn traitor bastard out there! Cheer up a little!”
“Kill the son of a b*tch!”
Around the time when the distance between each other was about 50 meters.
The Kingdom of Croytel loaded and fired grapeshot into the cannon concentrated in the center.
Huge lead beads resembling grapes embedded in the shells ground the enemies in front.
The blood flowing from the flesh and skin of the enemy soldiers dyed the surrounding ground red, and the soldiers who suffered direct or indirect damage struggled in pain.
When fighting a war, if you can afford it, you kill these seriously injured soldiers to relieve their pain…
Since no one can afford it now, the soldiers who are dying from being hit by grapeshot are left unattended, waiting anxiously for their death.
The commanders in the center were shocked to see that 10% of the soldiers in their unit disappeared in an instant.
I was afraid that the moment I expressed myself, my morale would drop, so I barely endured it and ordered it.
“No more reorganization! Fire the matchlocks in unison, then charge with the pikemen in the lead!”
“If you are pushed out of here, think that there is no turning back! Kill!”
Kreutel watched them and smiled evilly, as if the opportunity had finally returned.
That’s also the case, since a grapeshot blew a hole in the center of the left wing, it should be relatively easy to break through there.
If you succeed in breaking through, the left wing is already half way through and it’s the same as starting.
From Noble mtl dot com
“I will support you from the rear, so respond all at once to their charge with spearmen, halberds, and two-handed swordsmen as the main axis. We have to fight here!”
And Kroitel took his own bodyguards of about 300 and started fighting with his soldiers in the center of the left wing of the kingdom army.
Of course, I wasn’t exposing myself to bullets in the vanguard with a flag like Napoleon did.
Still, the effect was very clear.
“His Highness the King fights with us!”
“Everybody, don’t show rudeness! No, if you show rudeness, I’ll kill you with my own hands! Promotion depends!”
“If you are recognized by Her Highness, even a special promotion to the 3rd class is not a dream! Charge!!”
Soldiers rushed towards the enemy with the determination to fight and die, and while some were stabbed to death by matchlocks or spears, they dragged the enemy soldiers into the underworld as companions.
In this way, the soldiers defeated the enemies with strong momentum, as if they were consumables.
The Imperial Army began to slowly fall behind them.
And soon after, a small unit of the Kingdom of Creutel raised a flag announcing a ‘break through the square’.
It could be dismissed as a very small step, but it was a step that clearly raised the chances of victory for the Kingdom of Creutel.
Kreutel witnessed the scene and ordered his soldiers.
“All right. Everyone stick with that unit! You’re making a mess of the Duke of Brussels!”