1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 288 Royal Grenadiers

Dense dark clouds pressed heavily towards the ground, low muffled thunder sounded, a ray of light occasionally shone through the clouds, seagulls flew low, and an autumn rain was brewing.

In the dim sky and earth, the two armies stared at each other from afar. The autumn rain had not yet fallen. Through the misty fog, they could clearly see the flags and uniforms of both sides and recognized each other.

This is the Bithynia Plain. The battlefield is located between Remusopla and Nicomedia. In recent days, small groups of troops from the Ottoman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire have been fighting here repeatedly and testing each other.

The army on the east side had about five hundred people. They all wore helmets with white turbans wrapped around them, and wore light and waterproof orange-red felt coats, with close-fitting armor underneath the coats.

Their equipment is relatively sophisticated. Their long-handled weapons are mainly spears and halberds, their melee weapons are mainly scimitars and small hammers, and their long-range weapons are varied, including strong bows, powerful crossbows, matchlocks and muskets.

On the moist ground, this troop of 500 men rustled past, preparing for battle under the command of their commander, without a word of idle talk and without a single unnecessary movement.

They have a calm temperament, high morale and are well-trained.

Obviously, this is a Janissary detachment, the Sultan's personal guards of the Ottoman Empire, and their exclusive killing weapon belongs to the Sultan himself.

These are the "Old Janissaries", elite troops who have been selected and assessed through the Devshirme system and eliminated through layers of elimination. They are also considered to be one of the few ace forces of the Ottoman Empire.

When the Balkans fell, the Ottoman Empire's Kapikulu Central Army was divided into two halves. One part stayed with the Sultan and then followed Mahmud Pasha north to Bulgaria, while the other part was still in a training camp in Anatolia and had not yet completed final training.

This group of Janissaries belonged to the latter. Over the past decade, they had grown from new recruits to veteran warriors proficient in killing techniques. They had participated in the Karaman War and the Ramazan War, and still had an overwhelming advantage when facing traditional Turkic soldiers.

However, with the annual decline of the Ottoman Empire, the number of new recruits of the Janissary Army was decreasing, and the equipment had not been updated for a long time. There were not many soldiers in the Sultan's territory who met the selection criteria of Devshirme, and his pockets could not support too many overly expensive Janissary soldiers.

Later, after much persuasion from the Turkish nobles, the Sultan agreed to their suggestion, relaxed the recruitment conditions for the Sultan's personal guards, and allowed Turkish men to join the Kapikulu Corps.

The Kapikulu Corps is a general term for the central corps of the Ottoman Empire, which includes many departments, each with its own duties on the battlefield. The Janissaries are the most important and famous of them.

As a condition, these nobles would provide part of the money and food for the Sultan's army, and Mehmed II therefore expanded several new legions.

The combat effectiveness of the new legion is certainly not as good as that of the old legion. Not only does it have low morale, it also has a lot of bad habits.

After the war began, the Ottoman Empire was in a tight situation and needed a large amount of military supplies and supplies everywhere. But even so, the Sultan and officials still tried their best to ensure the supply of the Janissaries. The supplies might be less, but there was definitely no problem in filling their stomachs.

An autumn breeze blew by, and the old Janissaries had already formed up their formation. Archers and musketeers stood at the left and right front corners of the phalanx, weapons in their hands ready to fire. Other infantry and a few cavalrymen held various weapons and stood at the rear and on both wings of the ranged troops.

Between the crossbowmen and musketeers, there were some tall soldiers with strong arms. They were holding black earthenware jars with a piece of cloth soaked in kerosene at the front.

These were Ottoman grenadiers who had belonged to the Humbailashi Corps and were part of Kapikulu's Central Army.

The Humbailash Legion appeared very early in the military sequence of the Ottoman Empire. It was initially based on the Greek fire throwers of the Eastern Roman Empire. After a long period of development, the thrown objects included not only fire oil cans, but also early bombs made of black powder.

Up to now, the Kapikulu military system of the Ottoman Empire has become very chaotic. Many small corps such as engineers, water carriers, and artillery have been wiped out in the long war. His Majesty the Sultan does not have the ability to completely rebuild it, so he incorporated the few remnants into the various Janissaries, which also formed some combat effectiveness.

The Ottoman squad with a strict division of labor faced the autumn wind, looking at their opponents from afar with contempt in their eyes.

Compared to this highly qualified army, their opponents seemed very chaotic, with soldiers quarreling and trying to find their positions under the whips of their officers.

Their military uniforms were very casual, wearing only a thin leather armor, and their equipment was also rather mixed. Some people were holding heavy muskets and plank axes, while more were wielding short bows, swords, round shields, flails and even farm forks.

The most striking thing is that this army actually included a large number of West African black slaves, about two hundred people, who were stationed on the left wing.

Some soldiers in the center and on the right wing were obviously not of Greek descent, but had distinct Arab characteristics; they were white slaves from North Africa.

Among the soldiers, junior officers of Greek and Russian descent, armed with heavy muskets and plank axes, shouted and made promises to the slave soldiers around them.

"The Shooting Army. They seem to be from Bilinchi."

In the Janissary army, an officer with a weathered face narrowed his eyes.

"Is it very powerful? In my opinion, it is simply vulnerable."

Beside him, a young officer in extravagant clothes sneered.

"There are about a thousand of them. We can handle them. Although we cannot completely annihilate them, we can still disperse them."

Their enemy was the Scouting Corps from Birinci. The temporarily recruited cannon fodder consisted of West African black slaves and Berber white slaves. The grassroots officers were all veterans of the Scouting Corps, mainly of Greek and Russian descent. The supreme commander was also the tribune of Birinci, a mixed-race Christian with both Greek and Berber blood.

Above the riflemen's heads, a flag fluttered in the autumn wind. On the blue flag was a copy of the city emblem of Bilinchi:
A black slave and a white slave were kneeling on the ground, holding up a black and gold castle with their hands. On the castle was a golden and red Palaiologos cross with four betas.

"Black Castle, the former administrative center of the Greek emperor."

The old Janissary officer had a gloomy look in his eyes.

"I know their fighting capacity is not high, but that's not what worries me."

"Then what are you worried about?"

The young officer calmed the agitated horse.

"You have been staying in the city to train the new recruits, so you may not know much about them."

"Two months ago, I saw this flag on the coast of Chalcedon. At that time, they had just landed on a beach and were too eager for success. I led my men to overwhelm them. Including officers, only less than 400 people escaped and boarded the ship."

The old officer licked his cracked lips.

"In less than two months, they relied on the well-preserved officer frames to reassemble more than a thousand slave soldiers and returned to the battlefield."

The young officer was silent for a moment.

"How many of you died?"

"I led mostly conscripted cavalry at the time, not very elite troops, and suffered nearly 200 casualties."

The old officer answered truthfully.

"Bilinchi is the world's largest slave market. The slave traders there know how to train slaves. These slave soldiers are all strong and have no tactics. They can only charge forward recklessly."

"Have you ever thought about asking them to surrender? The fighting spirit of these soldiers must be very low."

the young officer asked.

"Of course I tried, but it didn't work, thanks to our Governor of Kocaeli."

The old officer said through gritted teeth.

"We did capture a group of slave soldiers and pirate sailors at first, but the governor said there was not enough food to feed them, so we killed them all."

"In order to show his merit, the dear governor even stuck the heads of slave soldiers on the coast. This caused the subsequent shooting army to completely collapse and not dare to surrender to us at all, and they all fought to the death."

The old officer smiled bitterly and looked at his comrades around him.

"You might as well guess what we are in the eyes of these slaves?"

"what?"

The young officer was confused.

"It's considered a military achievement that saved me from slavery."

The old officer curled his lips.

"When a slave successfully killed a Janissary, his fate changed. The Berber white slave automatically obtained Greek citizenship and served as an officer in the shooting army, while the West African black slave would be taken back to his homeland and serve as a lower-level official in the colony or a tribal chief."

"According to intelligence from some captives, quite a few black slaves have broken free from their bonds on the battlefield, returned to their hometowns, and were made chieftains by the Greeks."

"Look at the way they look at us, bloodthirsty and violent, as if they were looking at the sultan's treasury."

The old officer sighed.

"I admit that they are far from our opponents, but our army is having difficulty recruiting, while they seem to be endless. If we continue to consume them like this, the soldiers loyal to the Sultan will be wiped out sooner or later."

"This is still our range of activities. We are only here for reconnaissance. We didn't expect to run into them before. It seems that they are either too enthusiastic or have lost their way."

"In my opinion, there is no need for us to fight this battle. It is better to withdraw and save our manpower for the decisive battle."

Hearing this, the young officer frowned and drew his scimitar.

"No matter what, we are the Janissaries, but they are just a group of archers mixed with a large number of conscripted slaves. Our combat strength is 500 to 1,200. The advantage is mine!"

"Our soldiers are ready. If we retreat without firing a single arrow, what will our colleagues in Kocaeli think of us?"

"Lord Haller, you can't say that. You—"

The old officer's words were interrupted by Haller.

"No need to say more, I am the first commander, I have the final say!"

Haller stopped observing and nodded to the messenger beside him.

After a while, majestic military music sounded from the rear of the army. Although the small team was small in number, it was also equipped with an eight-member military band.

The Mehtel Military Band, the world's oldest professional military band, is also part of the Kapikulu Corps and has a high status in the army. The Kapikulu soldiers regard it as an honor and will defend it to the death in war.

With the encouragement of military musicians, the atmosphere became heated and every Ottoman soldier clenched his weapon tightly.

The pre-war encouragement of the Bilinchi Shooting Army was much simpler. Each team of ten people received a clay pot filled with strong liquor. Starting with the captain and the veteran, everyone took turns holding the pot and taking a few sips, which made their heads dizzy and their eyes bloodshot.

At this moment, everyone is equal.

All kinds of strange war cries resounded through the sky, the barbarians of the Archery Army waved their arms, and the noise was so loud that it even drowned out the elegant music of the Ottoman military musicians.

The two armies began to move, getting closer and closer until they were within firing range of each other.

The bows and crossbows were drawn and the muskets were loaded. In the first round of shooting, the casualties on both sides were almost the same.

In order to save the cost of war, the temporarily recruited slave soldiers were not equipped with enough Mushkot heavy matchlock rifles. Among the 1,200-man shooting army, only more than 200 veterans were fully equipped.

For the same reason, some of their matchlock guns have also undergone some modifications, with lower production costs, lighter weight, shorter range, and they do not use the standard lead bullets of the Mushkot heavy musket. Instead, they are loaded with some small projectiles. The maximum effective killing range is only a few dozen meters, which is not much different from ordinary bows and arrows. It mainly enhances the close-range killing capability and has a higher burst rate.

Anyway, they are just defensive cannon fodder and can only serve as consumption targets.

On the battlefield, a slave's life was no more valuable than a musket.

In the long-range shooting, the Bilinchi shooting army gradually fell into a disadvantage. Their modified matchlock guns were no match for the Ottomans' fine bows and muskets at medium and long distances. However, the bows and arrows in the hands of the slaves played a certain role.

Of course, despite the Ottomans' advantage, they were unwilling to continue the shootout. It was about to rain, and their muskets would be greatly restricted. Their numbers were smaller but their quality was higher, so they could exert their greatest advantage in close combat.

The drums and bugles of the Mehter military band suddenly became louder, the Janissaries quickly dispersed and charged, and the archers and musketeers changed to scimitars and followed behind them.

"Holy Father, it's time to charge, Lamb of Jesus Christ! Follow me!"

In the shooting corps, the priest who served as an adjutant saw the Ottomans start to charge and immediately shouted wildly.

He was a military priest who graduated from the Constanta Seminary. He was assigned to the Bilinchi Shooting Corps as a military chaplain and was also responsible for on-site command.

"The holy war is coming, all sinners will be saved, and all lowly people will be blessed!"

“Holy!”

The archers roared, picked up the axes, muskets or any weapons they could use, and rushed forward in a black mass.

The tall and strong priest picked up a loaded modified matchlock rifle and rushed to the front. Boom! Boom!
The Ottoman grenadiers threw the clay pots in their hands, which exploded in the crowd. The flames licked the bodies of the soldiers. Howls rang out on the battlefield, and the momentum of the shooting army was slowed down.

"Don't be afraid! The dead souls will go to heaven, and the Holy Father is with us!"

the priest yelled.

Another round of bombs, another burst of fire.

The two armies were getting closer and closer, and the long-range shooting officially stopped. The priest jumped high and knocked a Janissary to the ground with his body weight. He raised his musket, touched the fuse to the medicine pool, and shot the Janissary in the head, smashing his cheek to pieces.

However, the Janissary's scimitar also hit his shoulder, splitting half of his armor and even leaving a bloody mark on his neck.

The priest felt a handful of blood, his eyes full of anger. He had no time to reload his rifle, so he used the rifle as a sledgehammer and continued fighting.

In the initial period, the Archers were able to fight the Janissaries on equal terms with their bravery and numerical advantage, but as time passed, the Janissaries' strong military qualities soon emerged. They gathered in groups of three or five, relying on their rich war experience to shuttle between various battle circles, reaping lives.

After half an hour of fighting, the shooting troops gradually became exhausted. Faced with the Janissaries' skilled art of killing, some soldiers began to hesitate, while others were completely drunk by alcohol and rushed forward roaring to fight for their lives.

Finally, a small number of Ottoman cavalrymen who had been lingering around the battlefield saw the opportunity, galloped on their horses, and charged straight into the soft belly of the shooting army.

After several rounds of charges, the shooting army finally began to retreat. The slaves had no loyalty to the country and the emperor. In the face of life and death, heaven and wealth had to be put aside.

The shooting troops in the rear fled in all directions, and the soldiers trapped in the battle circle knew that they were hopeless, and they shouted loudly and fought desperately with the Ottomans.

clatter--

A raindrop fell on the armor, and then more and more raindrops fell to the ground. The rainy season came.

This heavy rain also announced the end of the battle. The Janissaries naturally won a great victory, completely defeating the Bilinchi Shooting Army, killing or wounding more than 300 people and capturing more than 100 people.

The rain fell on the filthy battlefield, mixing the mud and blood into a reddish-brown turbid stream.

Haller walked on the devastated land, casually stabbing the still groaning enemies.

"How many people did we lose?"

He walked towards the old officer.

"More than 80 people were killed or seriously injured, and the rest were mostly slightly injured. Hebrew doctors are treating them."

"Their fighting spirit was indeed weak, and the battle did not last long."

The old officer closed his eyes for the priest who died with his eyes open and looked at Haller silently.

"This guy is like a bull. I've seen Greek military priests before, but I've never seen one as fierce as this one."

The old officer smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"He killed two Janissaries by himself, and before he died he chopped off the hoof of a cavalryman's horse, causing him to be thrown out and fall unconscious."

"Did you see the family crest? The Notaras family, their family looks like this."

Haller was also a little tired, and no longer cared about his manners, and sat down on the ground.

"Our grenadiers fought well. The shooting troops had never seen this thing before. We can suggest that the Sultan prepare more in the future."

The old officer nodded and sat down next to Haller.

"I didn't send the cavalry after them."

Harrell said.

"You are right. It is raining and the ground is not suitable for cavalry to run."

The old officer nodded.

"Besides, the Greek Rangers are in range ahead. Although the Bloody Cavalry are not very strong in combat, they have a large number of people."

There was another silence, and the two of them quietly felt the heavy rain, in which their moans and screams were faintly heard.

"What about the prisoners? What should we do?"

Harrell looked at the old officer.

"What else can we do? It's raining. The mountain is completely bare. We have to go back immediately."

The old officer smiled bitterly.

"I don't know if our Pasha and Governor will lead the troops to fight in the heavy rain."

Haller stared up at the sky and forced a smile.

"In any case, we won this battle, and we won it big."

"Hehe, maybe."

The old officer also raised his head and let the heavy rain wash away the blood on his face.

"If we win a few more games like this, we will lose."

The old officer murmured.

……

Remusburg, the northwestern cape of Anatolia.

During the half-month siege, the armies of the Eastern Roman Empire took turns to launch rounds of charges against the weak east wall of Remusburg. Small groups of elite troops were mixed among the large number of cannon fodder, which often caught the defenders off guard and made them pay a huge price.

On a high platform, Isaac looked out at the dark Remusburg, stretched out his hand, and felt the coolness of the rain.

"Your Majesty, it's raining. Our artillery can't be used for the time being."

Ibrahim came over and whispered.

"It doesn't matter. Fort Remus is built on a cliff, and our campsite was chosen at a high place in advance."

Isaac nodded slightly.

"The woods have been burned, and heavy rains will cause mud and even floods. Nicomedia is a coastal port with flat terrain. It will definitely be much more difficult for them to bring a large army here."

"Withdraw the outer soldiers. It seems that the Ottomans will not be able to reach here before we capture Fort Remus."

Ibrahim nodded and handed an earthen jar to Isaac.

"These are Ottoman bombs, some filled with black powder, others with kerosene."

"During the siege that lasted for more than half a month, these things caused us considerable difficulties."

Ibrahim grinned.

"You said before that the Ottomans cannot be regarded as a simple Saracen regime. Now I finally understand."

"It had just rained, and the bomb got wet and fell into the mud, so it didn't explode."

Isaac took the wet bomb and weighed it.

"This kind of thing is quite useful sometimes. The Ottomans seem to have a unit that is specifically responsible for dropping bombs."

Ibrahim continued explaining.

"The Humbailashi Corps, I know."

Isaac stroked the rough clay pot.

Since the birth of mankind, we have been thinking about how to more efficiently eliminate our own kind, and technological advances in the military field are becoming more and more numerous and faster.

Grenadiers, a long and ancient type of soldier.

The earliest grenadiers in the world may have come from the Eastern Roman Empire. They used kerosene cans as projectiles, which, if handled properly, could often cause serious morale damage to the enemy.

Of course, the first civilization to try to use black powder as an explosive naturally came from the inventors of black powder, the wise Orientals.

At present, explosives using black powder as explosives have long appeared. There is also a special engineering team in the Kapikulu Legion, which is responsible for digging tunnels and trenches, placing explosives under the city walls, and destroying the city walls.

During the Battle of Constantinople, the Eastern Roman defenders had already felt this power.

In recent times, the German mining industry has begun to rise, mining efficiency has been greatly improved, more and more minerals have been mined, and some miners have begun to notice the important use of black powder explosives in the mining industry.

"From an organizational perspective, the Ottoman Kapikulu Central Army is indeed the most advanced and efficient in the entire Islamic world and even the entire Mediterranean world. In this regard, they are ahead of us."

Isaac put down the jar and looked at Ibrahim.

"We are incompetent. We can't even capture a small city like Remusburg."

Ibrahim bowed his head.

"It's not your fault. I also wanted to train the troops."

Isaac smiled and patted Ibrahim on the shoulder.

"Moreover, according to our original plan, Fort Remus was a bait. We had to surround the point and attack the reinforcements, and try to destroy the main force of the Ottomans in a field battle."

"The weather changes too quickly, with heavy rains coming one after another. They probably won't come out, and there's nothing we can do."

Isaac pursed his lips.

"The battlefield is the best testing ground. We must discover our shortcomings and make up for them as much as possible."

"I'm going to form a Royal Grenadiers Regiment modeled after the Ottomans. What do you think?"

"That's a good idea, Your Majesty. In my opinion, with the advancement of technology, this type of soldier will not become outdated, but will become stronger and stronger."

Ibrahim nodded repeatedly.

"It's still early. Let's conduct experiments first. When the war is over, I will study with the members of the Royal Academy of Sciences to see if we can create better projectiles."

Isaac said noncommittally.

According to official history, the real Grenadiers Regiment did not appear until two hundred years later.

"Now that it's raining, both sides' firearms are restricted, and the pulling and testing should end."

"From now on, you can mobilize the elite troops at your disposal. You have one week to capture Remusburg!"

Isaac stared at Ibrahim.

"Okay, I'll go and form a death squad right now. They don't have many people left. Even if it means sacrificing human lives, I will pave a path to victory for you!"

Ibrahim said loudly, saluted and left.

(End of this chapter)