The battle on the highlands continued for nearly half an hour. Senior officers like Schroeder, Claude, and Tirpitz led their troops in hand-to-hand combat, finally reclaiming the artillery positions.
No matter how seasoned the rcenaries were in warfare, they couldn’t withstand the tight cooperation of over 600 Alda soldiers. Especially since most of the rcenaries on the highlands were longbown, who weren’t adept at close combat. They were inevitably defeated.
The regular soldiers assigned to protect the longbown lost their nerve after witnessing the formidable volleys of the muskets.
In Paul’s military strategy, his army didn’t focus on being elite forces; instead, they relied on discipline and organization. The soldiers were expected to follow orders unconditionally, even if the commands weren’t the best or had flaws.
They didn’t need to be experts in every skill, but they had to master their specific roles. Like ants or bees, they worked collectively with excellent organization and division of labor, along with a spirit of self-sacrifice.
Due to the limitations of the era, what was considered an “elite” soldier wasn’t particularly outstanding. However, the literacy rate of the individual Alda soldiers was enough to outclass most other military units.
Overall, the Duke’s army on the highlands faced a formidable enemy, perhaps half or a full generation ahead of them.
Leaving behind a pile of injured n groaning on the ground, the Duke’s army retreated back into the forest in the opposite direction of the Alda forces.
Schroeder ordered a quick cleanup of the battlefield, with priority given to assessing the damage to the cannons.
Fortunately, although there were signs of attempted relocation, not a single cannon was taken away. They were all left at their positions, though more than half of the cannon carriages were damaged.
“Why didn’t you move the cannons away earlier?” Schroeder asked, puzzled, interrogating the wounded prisoners left at the site.
The prisoners explained that the southern rcenaries (hired soldiers), who prided themselves on being familiar with all kinds of weapons in the world, wanted to use these “thunder hamrs” to attack the Alda forces. However, when the Alda troops began their counterattack, the rcenaries couldn’t move the cannons in ti and ended up damaging the carriages.
Schroeder chuckled at the response. Cannons were a novel weapon in history, and even though the rcenaries were experienced, they couldn’t have figured out how to use them, especially since the gunners had taken the gunpowder with them when they retreated.
“Imdiately use the intact cannons to bombard the enemy, and organize the artilleryn to repair the damaged carriages,” Schroeder swiftly ordered.
…
Fergus and Erson were still anxiously awaiting news.
They had previously sent a detachnt to flank and attack the Alda cannon position. Upon seeing their signal flag indicating success, they were ecstatic. The plan was for the highland troops to join the frontal assault forces in a pincer attack against the Alda.
When Fergus saw a group of enemy soldiers heading towards the highlands, he promptly ordered the freshly regrouped troops to launch a second assault. The goal was either to annihilate the Alda forces left at the original position or to force the troops attacking the highlands to return for support.
However, the developnts disappointed both Fergus and Erson. The Alda forces at the original position remained unshakable, and their cavalry and infantry continued to suffer losses in the frontal assault. Worse still, the flag of their side that had been raised on the highlands had fallen.
“They’re back!” An attendant rushed in to report.
Then a group of disheartened, sha-faced n appeared before Fergus and Erson.
Without them saying a word, it was clear what had happened. Fergus, with a stern face, asked, “What about the thunder hamrs?”
The leading squad captain didn’t dare to lift his head, just shook it sadly.
Fergus was stunned, “Not even one cannon was brought back?”
A long silence followed.
“Useless!” The rcenary captain, in a rage, lashed out at his subordinates with his whip.
“You spent so much ti up there, and you couldn’t even manage to bring back a few cannons?” he berated them.
The squad leader, in discomfort from the beating, tried to explain, “Lord Fergus, although the carriages carrying the thunder hamrs had wheels, the Alda soldiers took away all the horses from the highlands during their retreat. Those cunning fellows even locked the wheels. We couldn’t get far by dragging or carrying them, so we tried to figure out how to use them against the Alda soldiers on the spot.”
Fergus stopped whipping and, with a grim face, asked, “Did you gain anything from it?” He had seen that after the rcenaries seized the highlands, there was no activity from the thunder hamrs, indicating his n had no clue how to use them.
“Uh… Due to the enemy’s quick counterattack, we couldn’t figure out how to use them. However, we noticed braziers near them, which clearly have sothing to do with fire.”
Fergus glared, “Do you think I’m blind? With such big smoke clouds during firing, that’s obvious!”
The squad leader then hurriedly said, “There’s another important piece of information. There was a strong, strange sll perating the highlands, like… like…” He scratched his head, trying to recall the sll, then suddenly slapped his forehead, exclaiming, “Right! It was sulfur. That strange sll must have been from burning sulfur.”
“Sulfur?” Fergus and Erson both questioned, exchanging glances. Sulfur was a common fire-starter, but its combustion couldn’t be linked to the thunderous blasts of the thunder hamrs. There must be sothing else.
Erson leaned down from his horse and asked, “Did you get a good look at the specific structure of the thunder hamrs?”
The squad leader scratched the back of his head, “The structure is quite simple, just a big tal tube, so made of bronze, so of iron.”
“Draw a detailed diagram when we return to camp.”
“Yes, sir.”
While Erson and his n were discussing the thunder hamrs, the Alda army began their offensive, with the remaining cannons bombarding their position. Many troops at the front, without any orders, started moving backward to avoid the incoming cannonballs.
Fergus and Erson could see that after the failure of the flanking attack and repeated frontal assaults, the morale of their troops had plumted to an all-ti low.
“Damn it, it’s my first ti encountering such a tough nut with so few numbers,” Fergus cursed internally. In his previous military career, he had faced tough opponents, but those were when the forces were evenly matched. Today, even after the enemy received reinforcents, his own forces outnumbered them three to one.
Yet, the result was utterly humiliating…
Fergus looked northward, where the Alda soldiers were advancing in a solid line formation. From a distance, it didn’t look like individual soldiers, but a moving wall, exerting an overwhelming pressure.
“Lord Erson?” The rcenary captain’s tone lacked its earlier arrogance.
Erson, reluctant to admit defeat, nodded, “Sigh… let’s retreat.”
Thus, the battle at the border of the Duke’s territory finally ca to a close.
Liked it? Extra chapters at /premium/ via Patreon!
Reviews
All reviews (0)