Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 443 The Great Alliance Marches Forward (Sixteen)

[Outside River Valley Village]
Captain Loson had been out in the sun for some time, as had his warhorse. The horse kept pounding the ground with its hooves and snorting impatiently.

Apart from a small number of light cavalry responsible for covering the battlefield, the main force of the three-county allied cavalry had been waiting in the threshing ground west of River Valley Village since the beginning of the battle.

The village and the high ground it occupied protected them, shielding them from enemy artillery fire. However, the terrain and buildings also limited their field of vision, making it impossible for them to see anything.

Therefore, for the cavalry of Leiqun County and Bianjiang County, the fierce battles on the southern and northern fronts were nothing more than the low rumble of gunfire carried on the wind. They were anxious, yet helpless.

As the battle intensified, a cavalry squadron from Leiqun County was sent to assist in the defense of River Valley Village, and three cavalry squadrons from Bianjiang County were also deployed to the battle.

However, the other three cavalry squadrons in Redfield County—especially the First and Second Squadrons, which were considered the trump card—were never granted permission to attack.

Captain Loson had lost count of how long he had been waiting. Finally, as the Allied left flank pushed the enemy back to the north bank, a green flag emerged from a window on the top floor of the clock tower, fluttering in the wind.

Captain Loson patted his horse's neck, drew his saber, and raised it high.

The short, crisp marching melody immediately sounded, and officers and non-commissioned officers relayed orders one after another. The cavalrymen who had been resting returned to their horses, and the various companies formed large columns according to their charge order.

The company that had previously gone to support the garrison in the valley village had returned and been assigned to the last rank of the column.

The orders were passed down one by one, and then returned one by one. The Leiqun County cavalry was ready, like arrows on a bowstring, waiting for the archer to throw them at the enemy.

Captain Rosson swung his saber down from mid-air, and Lieutenant Petőfi beside him silently raised his hand to salute his senior, then spurred his horse hard in the ribs and galloped out of the threshing ground first.

Captain Loson watched as nearly half of the Reich County cavalry followed Lieutenant Petőfi, leaving the attack position in waves.

The thunderous sound of hooves kicked up clouds of dust. Lieutenant Petőfi did not lead the Thundercrow cavalry directly to the east bank, but instead moved northward.

To the north of the valley village are vast wheat fields, unsuitable for warhorses. The wheat stalks, not yet fully dehydrated, retain a considerable degree of resilience, which would not only create significant resistance for galloping warhorses but could also trip them.

Therefore, the light cavalry of both sides who had previously fought each other chose not to enter the wheat fields, but instead stayed on the outskirts of the farm to roam and fight as much as possible.

Only those light cavalrymen who panicked and fled indiscriminately would step into the wheat fields and escape into the gaps between the two armies' formations.

Similarly, Lieutenant Petőfi's cavalry had to take a longer route. The first wave of Rykjun cavalry moved northwest along the main road, avoiding the devastated wheat fields littered with corpses, and then sped downstream from the hills and farms into the wilderness.

The valley floor was wide open. The movements of the Redfield cavalry did not escape the eyes of Lieutenant Colonel Valey, the Council's artillery commander.

Although the billowing dust obscured the cavalry's figures, Lieutenant Colonel Varley deduced from the dust alone that a large group of "rebel" cavalry was flanking the battlefield to the north.

After quickly assessing the condition of the heavy artillery, Lieutenant Colonel Valé gave an order that surprised the gunners: "No need to add more oil to cool it down. Double the amount of gunpowder, one round of round shot and one round of grapeshot!"

The gunners, who had just finished a round of firing and dealt a heavy blow to the "rebels'" counterattack, were stunned. They all turned their attention to Sergeant Sut, the gunner who was running between gun positions. Compared to this arrogant and unreliable lowland bootman, the gunners obviously trusted the old sergeant who had always led them more.

"What are you standing there for?" the gray-haired Sergeant Sut shouted. "Can't you understand me? Double the powder! Round bullets and grapeshot! Load one of each!"

The puppet-like gunners regained their vitality and immediately got back to work.

Although Sergeant Sutter faithfully obeyed orders, his heart was filled with unease and doubt, just like the gunners.

The old gunner strode to Lieutenant Colonel Valery's side, still trying to make one last effort. He lowered his voice and said humbly to the colonel, "Sir, these cannons..."

"No need to say more, sergeant." Lieutenant Colonel Varley politely but coldly quelled his subordinate's doubts: "These cannons were cast under the personal supervision of Marshal Ned. Although they are old, they are reliable."

Sergeant Sutter swallowed back all the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He raised his hand in a bitter salute and turned to leave.

Lieutenant Colonel Valé called out to the old gunner. The thunderous sound of hooves from the opposite bank terrified the gunners; even the slowest of them realized that the "rebel" cavalry had moved out. However, Lieutenant Colonel Valé did not seem alarmed.

Valery asked the old gunner with great interest, "Have you been in charge of these heavy guns all this time?"

“Yes.” Sutter didn’t understand why the young officer in front of him—compared to Sutter—would ask these questions: “Heavy artillery, and some long guns and bastion guns.”

“You’ve taken good care of them. You’ll be richly rewarded after this battle.” Varley, unaware that he was becoming more talkative, asked, “How long have you been in charge of these cannons?”

Sutter gave a stiff twitch of his lips; the generous reward promised by his superior failed to bring the veteran any joy.

He paused for a moment, then said in a hoarse voice, "I have been serving them since the day they were cast."

After speaking, the veteran straightened his body, respectfully raised his hand in salute, and turned to walk towards the gun position.

This time, it was Lieutenant Colonel Varley who was stunned. It took him a moment to realize that he had the honor of meeting a true veteran from the previous era.

However, Lieutenant Colonel Varley had no time to call the veteran back for detailed questioning, nor did he have the leisure to express his feelings.

Because the "rebel" cavalry had bypassed the battle zone north of the valley village, crossed the unnamed stream downstream, and stormed onto the east bank.

Looking north from the artillery position, the rebel cavalry appeared like an unstoppable torrent, cutting the river in half.

They marched in orderly ranks, one after another, and the broken terrain on both sides of the river could not disrupt their formation.

The light cavalry deployed on the outer perimeter of the parliamentary army lines could not even slightly delay the rebel cavalry, let alone break their spearhead.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley saw it all clearly: short leather boots, a brightly colored knee-length coat, a cap and helmet adorned with large plumes, and a skilled and fearless rider…

There was no mistake; those were definitely not hastily conscripted herders and farmers. Lieutenant Colonel Varley was certain that this fresh force, just deployed by the enemy commander, was the true Platut cavalry, renowned throughout the republics.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley couldn't help but turn to look at the church in the valley village, where the personal flag symbolizing the enemy commander still stood proudly on the bell tower.

"Order Lieutenant Vereci's battalion to return to defense! Order the reserves to move out!" Lieutenant Colonel Valé suppressed his admiration and regret, and sternly ordered, "Fight according to the formation we practiced earlier. Anyone who deserts their post or is cowardly in battle will be executed on the spot!"

Upon receiving orders, the parliamentary infantry battalion, which was on high alert in front of the artillery positions, immediately turned around and moved toward the location of the artillery.

In the previous battles, even when the right flank was pushed back to the east bank, this infantry battalion stationed in the rear showed no intention of engaging in combat. However, upon receiving orders from Lieutenant Colonel Valé, they immediately sprang into action.

Rapid drumbeats also sounded behind the earthen mound where the parliamentary artillery positions were located. A battalion flag, along with six hundred-man squad flags, swayed as they rose from the ridgeline. Another parliamentary infantry battalion, deployed on the reverse slope of the earthen mound, no longer concealed its presence and marched into the battlefield in a grand manner.

At this moment, the battlefield north of River Valley Village was invisibly divided in two.

On the earthen mound, nearly a thousand infantrymen from two battalions of the Parliamentarian army stumbled and changed formations, eventually forming up in the artillery position.

Below the hill, the parliamentary troops that had retreated to the east bank were engaged in fierce fighting with the left-wing "rebel" forces that had launched a counterattack.

The rebel left wing forces, which had been advancing victoriously, were met with a head-on blow from the parliamentary army's heavy artillery.

A volley of shrapnel from 500 meters away tore through the densely packed rebel ranks, especially the square guarding the silver-edged flag, for which Lieutenant Colonel Varley had specifically assigned four of the best-condition cannons.

The Parliamentarian army's old-fashioned cannons had many flaws, but their weakness was certainly not one of them. Loaded with custom-made grapeshot, these heavy cannons could rain down death from half a kilometer away. They were built to shatter city walls, but given the chance, they could also unleash devastating firepower in open field battles.

However, the rebels' left flank held out tenaciously. Although the shelling dampened their counter-offensive momentum, they quickly regrouped and, taking advantage of the lull in the artillery reloading, launched a fierce attack on the east bank.

The area below the mound was once again shrouded in a misty haze of gunpowder smoke. The smoke wasn't thick, but it made everything within it appear indistinct and shadowy.

Flames of red burst forth from the grayish-white mist, like lightning striking through the clouds and briefly illuminating the thin fog.

The war drums of advance came from behind the smoke wall, signaling the imminent start of a new round of square battles.

Colonel Sanel had already noticed signs of collapse on the right flank of the Parliamentarian army—two infantry battalions on the front of the river valley village had broken away from the center and were rapidly converging on their allies below the hill.

Meanwhile, the "rebel" cavalry, who had circled around downstream, had all crossed the nameless stream.

Lieutenant Petőfi drew his saber and pointed it directly at the artillery position on the hill. The rolling torrent of iron armor did not hesitate for a moment, rushing towards the artillery position where figures were moving in the distance.

On the earthen mound, Lieutenant Colonel Varley gazed with a mixture of admiration and regret at the heroic figure of Palatine's cavalry charging.

By using different strides, the dense column spread out in layers as they marched, instead of clumsily waiting for the next column to set off before the previous one, as their counterparts in the United Provinces and Venetta did.

This allowed them to arrive much faster than Lieutenant Colonel Varey had anticipated. By the time Lieutenant Colonel Varey could clearly see the sabers in the enemy's hands, the two parliamentary infantry battalions defending the artillery positions had not yet completed their formation change.

At present, on the top of the earthen mound where the artillery position is located, two "squares" that are much larger than the size of a battalion-level infantry square are beginning to take shape.

The parliamentary infantry defending the artillery positions were not positioned on the outer perimeter of the positions, but rather inside the artillery positions.

Artillery and infantry were integrated into one unit, with eight heavy cannons embedded at the four corners of two square formations, and the gunners and ammunition were surrounded in the center of the square formations.

The soldiers of the two parliamentary battalions defending the artillery positions were not familiar with this new phalanx tactic modified by the United Provinces Army.

Due to the circumstances and limited time, they only practiced formation changes a few times under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Varey.

This new type of formation should not be used in conjunction with heavy artillery, but rather with light artillery.

Because heavy artillery is too large, the distance between gun positions is also much greater than that of light artillery to facilitate gunner operations.

In order to make room for gunners and ammunition wagons, and to incorporate the scattered heavy artillery into the square, the originally compact square had to be further hollowed out, increasing the area of ​​the square and thinning the depth of each side.

At this moment, the "rebel" cavalry were almost upon them, while many parliamentary infantrymen defending the artillery positions were still frantically searching for their positions.

Hearing the deafening sound of horses' hooves and the hoarse roars of his officers and soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Varley inexplicably thought of the old gunner named Sutt.

A peculiar thought popped into the lieutenant colonel's mind: "Phalanx against cavalry, the Sovereignty War is repeating itself. Are the old marshal's soldiers also like this now, both fearing and anticipating the arrival of the Imperial cavalry?" "The Palatine cavalry is indeed unparalleled in the Inland Seas." Vale stared intently at the rebel cavalry galloping across the battlefield, whispering in a voice only he could hear: "But what we've been studying all these years... is the tactics of infantry countering cavalry."

The "rebel" cavalry came from the north, so two large groups of musketeers were concentrated inside the square on the north side. They had already set up their muskets and were aiming at the enemy through the gaps between the spearmen in the front row.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley dismounted, walked among the soldiers, and personally took the ignition rod from the cannon in the northwest corner.

His roar, loud as a bell, even slightly drowned out the sound of horses' hooves: "No one is allowed to fire without orders! Anyone who deserts their post or is cowardly in battle! Execute them on the spot!"

The first wave of Leiqun County cavalry had entered charging range, but the scene before them left the Leiqun County lieutenant in charge bewildered.

The lieutenant never expected his men to directly confront the enemy's phalanx—that was not something light cavalry wielding sabers could do.

His mission was to destroy the cannons, and his task was to force the enemy artillerymen to abandon their cannons and retreat into their formation. His cavalrymen were armed with spikes and mallets, and he was prepared to fight to the death to destroy the enemy cannons.

The enemy's unprecedented formation incorporated artillery into the square, protecting it within a forest of spears.

This left the lieutenant completely bewildered, unsure of where to begin, yet he had no time to think. The second assault team was right behind him; he had to either charge or turn back and abandon the battlefield.

The young lieutenant gritted his teeth and raised his saber—even if he couldn't break through the enemy lines, he would draw enemy fire for his comrades in the subsequent assault echelon.

The bugler beside the lieutenant immediately sounded the charge, and the first wave of Leiqun County cavalry charged headlong into the artillery positions that were waiting in battle.

Just then, the heavy artillery of the Grand Council army roared.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley felt as if he had been struck heavily in the chest by a leaden iron pipe. The deafening roar made the colonel and all the soldiers next to the cannon dizzy, and more than one soldier was so startled that he dropped his weapon.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley felt a warm flow coming from one of his ear canals. Without bothering to check the extent of his injury, he roared and ordered, "Artillery! Fire! Musketeers, remain on standby!"

Another cannon in the northeast corner of the large square formation then opened fire.

Following Lieutenant Colonel Varley's orders, the parliamentary gunners loaded both solid shot and grapeshot into the breech at the same time.

When the double dose of gunpowder was ignited, the solid iron ball, carrying dozens of lead pellets, swept across the charging "rebel" cavalry from both the east and west ends of the formation.

Blood and flesh flew as cannonballs flew, and more than a dozen people disappeared from the horseback in an instant.

A poor warhorse, struck directly by a solid shot, was split in two from the side by a thirty-two-pound iron ball. Other warhorses, now without riders, were propelled a few steps by inertia before collapsing to the ground one after another, blood gushing from the horrific holes in their bodies.

The first wave of the Thundercrow County cavalry suffered heavy losses, and the lieutenant leading the charge was killed on the spot.

The surviving cavalrymen had no will to charge the square formation. Like a river splitting at a boulder, they veered to the sides of the position, making room for the second echelon.

However, their misfortune was not over. As they passed the artillery positions on both sides, the enemy opened fire from the other six artillery pieces deployed on the flanks of the positions.

More than a dozen cavalrymen in the first echelon were shot and fell from their horses. The remaining cavalrymen were completely disorganized, abandoned their attempt to flank the enemy's position from the rear, and turned their horses back to the position where they had crossed the river earlier.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley had just repelled the first wave of the "rebel" cavalry charge with artillery fire when the second wave followed closely behind.

This time, Lieutenant Colonel Varley ordered the musketeers to open fire, using volleys to repel the second wave of the "rebels'" assault.

However, as the second wave of "rebel" cavalry circled around the flanks of the square, the third wave of rebel cavalry was already within arm's reach.

The cannons were being loaded, and the meager number of musketeers assigned to the two battalions defending the artillery positions had already fired a round.

"Hold your positions!" Lieutenant Colonel Valery's shout was now the loudest sound on the battlefield. At this moment, he could only hope that the thinned-out walls of the phalanx could withstand the next wave of rebel cavalry charges: "Long live the Alliance!"

The third assault echelon of the Rykjung cavalry was personally led by Lieutenant Petőfi. He was enraged to witness his men being killed by volleys of shot, but his fury did not take away his reason.

"Follow me! Charge the northwest corner of the puppet army's formation!" The lieutenant turned and shouted to the messenger behind him, "Tell Lieutenant Kovizar of the fourth echelon to attack the northeast corner!"

At this moment, on the battlefield of River Valley Village, the officers of both sides were very familiar with each other's tactics.

However, Lieutenant Petőfi was certain that he had never seen the strange formation the enemy was currently displaying—hollow, thin-walled, with artillery deployed at the four corners—in any book.

However, not having seen it in a book did not hinder the lieutenant's on-the-spot judgment. The lieutenant keenly perceived that the enemy's square formation was too large, and the number of spearmen was far less than that of a conventional square formation; the enemy's square formation had the strongest firepower at its four corners, but these were also the weakest positions.

Petőfi, who was leading his troops toward the northwest corner of the artillery position, spotted Lieutenant Colonel Valé, dressed in a field officer's uniform, among the spearmen in brown coats.

Upon noticing that the color of the officer's uniform differed from that of Plato's uniform, Petőfi instantly understood everything, and his eyes turned bloodshot.

"You provincial bastard!" Petőfi roared like thunder, charging headlong into the forest of spears at the figure in the officer's uniform: "Die!"

The cannons took up too much space, creating gaps in the spearmen's formation. Petőfi brandished his saber left and right, knocking away the scattered spear tips blocking his way, and leaped onto the ground.

The warhorse flew over the heads of the terrified gunners who were lying on the ground, and crashed viciously into the square formation, breaking the shinbones and chests of several parliamentary soldiers who were unable to dodge in time when it landed.

Lieutenant Colonel Varley never expected that someone would actually dare to charge into the formation—and that the enemy would actually break through.

The lieutenant colonel scrambled to his side, narrowly dodging the enemy's saber, and crawled on his hands and feet toward the inner side of the formation.

With this back and forth, Petőfi had no more chances to kill the enemy commander.

The halberdiers and swordsmen who remained inside the formation quickly closed in and surrounded the "rebels" who had broken into the formation.

Lieutenant Colonel Valery, who had fled to the other end of the formation, turned to look at the lieutenant who had almost severed his head with a single blow. Unbeknownst to him, the back of his shirt was already soaked with cold sweat. He climbed onto the cannon and, half angry and half fearful, shouted at the young junior, "You bastard! Aren't you afraid of dying?!"

However, Petőfi could no longer hear what the lieutenant colonel was shouting. He cursed loudly and swung his saber wildly, hacking and slashing. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the lieutenant, Petőfi's cavalry charged into the square formation one after another.

Meanwhile, the fourth assault echelon of Leiqun County cavalry had already stormed the high ground.

"Lieutenant Petőfi has broken through the enemy lines!" Lieutenant Kovezal, seeing his senior trapped and fighting fiercely, was filled with anxiety. He charged ahead towards the northeast corner of the enemy formation, shouting, "Kill! Kill!"

Encouraged, the Lei Qun cavalry roared and followed Lieutenant Kovizar into the sparse forest of spears in the northeast corner of the square.

Melee combat began, with cavalrymen hacking and slashing infantrymen, and infantrymen stabbing cavalrymen. No one cared whether the other was a Paratist or not; everyone just wanted to kill the other by any means necessary.

The push rod had been replaced by a hammer, and a single downward slash of the saber could sever half a shoulder. Cavalrymen dragged off their horses were instantly killed, and fallen infantrymen screamed in agony as they were trampled by horses and their own men.

Some people's intestines were trampled out, but nobody cared what they were stepping on.

The brutal fighting left Lieutenant Colonel Valery with a livid face and purplish lips—it was the first time he had ever witnessed such a scene.

The current situation is like two strands of cotton yarn desperately trying to break each other. No one knows which one will break first, and no one knows which one will collapse.

Beside the lieutenant colonel, a drummer from the Grand Council Army stood stiffly, his fingers gripping the drumsticks tightly, his lips bleeding from being bitten involuntarily, yet he stared blankly at the horrific scene before him.

"What are you standing there for?" Lieutenant Colonel Valé shouted. "Beat the drums!"

The young drummer seemed to awaken from a dream and immediately began to beat the drum. He had forgotten all the tunes and melodies, and just kept pounding the snare drum until it roared.

"Go! Go find Lieutenant Verezzi! Tell him to bring his halberdiers to our aid!" Varley grabbed another messenger who had fallen to the ground and shoved the still-stunned latter: "Go!"

The messenger saluted, hurriedly squeezed out of the human wall, and ran towards the large square formation at the other end of the artillery position.

"Sergeant Sutter! Sergeant Konoy!" Lieutenant Colonel Valery didn't care whether the sergeants whose names were called were still alive or not; he just shouted out whoever's name he could remember: "Quickly surround and kill the rebel leader!"

Once Varley regained his composure, he immediately realized that the rebel cavalry had plenty of momentum, but lacked staying power.

“Killed one, two, three… dead.” Varley observed with pursed lips, counting in his mind: “Killed one, two… dead.”

The mindset of an artillery officer led Varley to quantify everything he saw. The Grand Council forces defending the artillery positions numbered nearly a thousand soldiers, and given the current exchange ratio, the scales of victory were bound to tip in his favor.

As long as you can persevere.

As long as we can persevere...

Vale suddenly sensed something was wrong. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt a nagging feeling.

However, he didn't need to rack his brains to figure it out, because he quickly realized what was "wrong".

Suddenly, the deafening sound of hooves echoed across the battlefield once again—the fifth wave of the Platonic cavalry charge had arrived.

"How could there only be four charges?" Lieutenant Colonel Valery thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile. "The number of cavalrymen in front of us doesn't even add up."

But the lieutenant colonel was not flustered. He was confident that he could withstand the fifth charge, since he had withstood the first four.

However, what he saw as he turned around left Lieutenant Colonel Chris Varley pale with fright:
A heavy cavalry force landed on the east bank from beside the burning broken bridge, crossed the chaotic battlefield, and charged straight toward the artillery position.

The silver armor gleamed, and the red feathers fluttered in the wind.

The fifth charge did not come from the north, but from the west. The heavy cavalry were not good at long-distance flanking maneuvers, so they took the shortest possible route.

Moreover, each of them carried an unprecedentedly long lance.

[Orz]
[Sorry, Orz]
[The normal update frequency will resume from here on out]
[Additional note: Lieutenant Colonel Varley's tactics were not the later hollow square formation. A crucial prerequisite for the hollow square formation tactic is that the line infantry are both spearmen and musketeers. Infantry in PikeShot's time did not possess this capability.]
[But just as airplanes didn't start out with two wings, aircraft carriers didn't start out with angled flight decks; the refinement of tactics involves a process of exploration.]
[Lieutenant Colonel Valéry's "new phalanx" was also an exploratory process. During the development of phalanx tactics, some people actually tried placing artillery at the four corners of the phalanx, within the protection range of the spearmen, to prevent the artillery from being destroyed or captured by enemy cavalry.][However, in the oil paintings and prints documenting battles that we see in later generations, most military commanders still chose to place artillery outside the phalanx. Why?]
[First, the field of fire is limited; second, it affects the defensive capabilities of the phalanx; third, the smoke and noise from artillery fire greatly hinder soldiers' combat; fourth, heavy artillery cannot follow infantry maneuvers; and fifth, which readers will learn about in the next chapter.] [Despite these inconveniences, this tactic can still be useful under certain conditions.]
[Work wasn't as busy as it had been the week before last, but some personal matters (following up on a review) took up my time. Last weekend I wanted to start writing again, but ended up sitting there all day deleting and revising, writing just over a thousand words. Another week has passed, until today.]
[I'm so useless, I'm so sorry everyone. Apologies again, Orz]
(End of this chapter)