Black Powder Mercenary Leader - Chapter 584
Only Ranovel
53-6. Battle of Mikladorf
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Now the Grunwald infantry, braving the artillery fire, arrived just below Mikla Hill.
And what greeted them was a group of Elankian infantry waiting on the other side of the hill.
Leaving an awkward distance that a healthy man could run in a month, the Elancia army quickly formed a battle line.
To be exact, it would be closer to waiting in battle formation on the other side of the hill and then rushing over the hill to form a disorganized formation.
It must not have been comfortable to wait anxiously while feeling the constant sound of gunfire coming from over the hill and the occasional vibration.
But no matter how bad it was, it was still better than having to witness enemy fire directly.
Quack! Tooung!
The Grunwald army’s iron cannonball, which fell about one-third of the way up the hill, spins in place for a moment and bounces gray, coarse-grained dirt in all directions.
Then, it bounces off in the same direction it came from due to the bombardment.
The Elankian spearman who was watching this scene from the front opened his eyes wide when he saw this.
But it was too short a time to avoid or react.
The spearman, who must have been a non-commissioned officer skilled enough to lead the line, tried to shout in fear or warning, but the sound became a sound and could not come out of his mouth.
This is because the shell that bounced and kicked up a cloud of dust pierced his ribcage.
The piece of iron containing the blood of the first victim is not satisfied with this and continues to spread.
The shell, without losing any momentum, hits the second victim. It was the part where the torso and arms were connected.
Even an excellent breastplate that could deflect ordinary spear thrusts, sword cuts, or, depending on the angle, even pistol bullets fired at close range, could not protect the wearer from direct hits from artillery shells.
When an impact beyond imagination is inflicted all at once, the armor splits into several pieces, and blood, flesh, and bone fragments splatter in all directions along with the armor fragments.
Even though it leaves two people with terrible wounds, the shell still does not lose its momentum.
After four more people are defeated, the cannonball, which flew through the air, rolls down a gentle slope and stops. Leaving sticky blood stains on the dirt.
Only after the shell passes, the ejected victims fall onto the hill with a dull sound.
The moment the shell hit, it tore or crushed the victims, causing terrible wounds, but the remaining kinetic energy sent their bodies floating into the air.
A soldier with serious wounds dies before he even hits the ground, but a soldier without such wounds groans and struggles in pain.
There was only one person who suffered ‘light’ damage, enough to stand up on his own and return to the ranks.
The eyes and footsteps of the Elankia infantrymen who saw this scene right next to them waver slightly.
All of them have undergone intensive training, and although not all of them are veterans, they have gained sufficient experience during the Battle of Polms.
In addition, they are low-class nobles or free people from Elancia who are proud of their place of origin and status. This means that they are professional soldiers, not mercenaries or conscripts.
As such, they are well aware of their roles and what kind of dangerous situations they may face.
Perhaps even when faced with a charge by enemy heavy cavalry, he would not be afraid even while standing straight and walking in front of the enemy’s gun.
However, when a cannonball from afar tore apart a colleague standing right next to him in a terrible way, the fear that he had suppressed with his strong discipline began to creep up.
“Get your ranks in order! “The enemy is just around the corner!”
“Everyone, come to your senses!”
However, the ranks, which had been chaotic for a while, quickly regained order when the officers urged them on.
Luckily for them, there were no more lucky hits.
If several similarly dangerous lucky shots had been dropped on the same company, even the most proud elite unit would not have been shaken.
It was not because the Grunwald Army artillery was incompetent.
This was simply because the distance between the two sides was too far, and because the artillery of the Grunwald Army had just begun its anti-artillery fire, fire control was not good enough to allow for concentrated artillery fire.
Also, the Grunwald infantry was already closing in.
If we made a mistake, we could have put a shell in the back of our infantry regiment.
Friendly fire by friendly artillery occurs more often than you might think. This not only greatly reduces the morale of our troops, but also calls into question the commander’s ability to control.
So, no matter how much they did according to orders, their superiors did not protect them, and they were often lynched by angry friendly infantrymen.
In the end, instead of taking risks, the Grunwald artillerymen, most of whom were mercenaries, responded by raising their aim to a dangerous level.
Instead of lowering the risk of hitting an ally, it also increases the possibility of hitting an enemy’s head in vain.
Thanks to this, the Elancia infantry was able to complete the battle formation on the slopes of Mikla Hill without any further difficulties.
pop! Quang! Puff!
Because the slope was not wide, the width of the Elancian infantry ranks was not very deep. The remaining reserve forces were to wait behind the ridge.
Instead, the artillery, which had rested for a while as the infantry passed, began to fire again.
It was a close-range support bombardment that took advantage of the hillside terrain. It was for this purpose that the place was carefully prepared.
While both sides were struggling to pour as much of their firepower into the enemy lines as possible, the leader of the Grunwald infantry finally arrived at the bottom of the hill.
Now the distance between the two sides is less than 100 meters.
Now it’s a distance you can hit by shooting, but neither side is shooting yet, as if they see an opportunity.
“Get in line!”
“Don’t go out alone!”
The dense ranks of spearmen slowly move towards each other, as if they are hesitating.
Since we need to find the most advantageous combat entry angle, we move slowly and change direction little by little.
An angle that is advantageous to only one side can never be tolerated by the opposing side, so in the end, the battle lines naturally move in a way that allows as many battle lines as possible to engage each other.
Men with their entire bodies covered in armor, holding long poles, move slowly but continuously, half a step at a time.
The distance between the two sides is such that no matter how heavily armed they are, it can be narrowed in a month.
Why do something like this if a third party who doesn’t know the situation is watching? Can’t you just grab a weapon and rush in? You might think:
But it was clearly an act of suicide.
This is a method discovered by tacticians who have learned from experience that without sufficient support, no matter how hard you try, you will only become a hedgehog caught in the wall.
This frustrating yet seemingly uneven fighting style is.
Depending on the direction you look at it, it may appear that you are practicing your dance moves with your partner rather than in the middle of a battle.
It was unusual that the form that experts in warfare arrived at while searching for the most efficient method was similar to the form that experts in choreography arrived at in their search for the most beautiful method.
“Roll down the window!”
“Ha!”
When the commander finally decided that they were ready, the spearmen at the forefront lowered their spears horizontally.
Just before encountering the enemy, the soldiers’ faces are wet with sweat from tension and fear.
Even though the sweat dripping from my forehead is beading on the tip of my nose, my eyes are focused solely on the opponent and I aim the tip of the spear at the enemy using the skills and stamina I have developed during training.
“from now on!”
“Come forward!”
“ha! ha! ha!”
Now preparations are complete. Shouting in unison, they advance towards the enemy half a step at a time.
Artillery fire and gunshots were still raging around, and the vibration of the flying bullets shaking the air was clearly felt.
However, the spearmen who have already faced the enemy and are approaching them step by step ignore this with their terrifying concentration.
Quang! Ta-ta-tat, ta-ta-tang!
Ta-ta-tang! Cough! pop!
“Ugh!”
“evil!”
Suddenly, the bullets flew in and knocked down the soldiers forming the outskirts of the line.
It was not a proper salvo as the bullets were supposed to have been aimed at other targets.
Maybe it was a mistake on our part.
However, the empty space is filled by soldiers from the back row as if it had never happened. The dense wall of spear blades does not shake at all.
In a battlefield where spearmen and musketeers are mixed, it may vary depending on the unit’s position or the commander’s judgment, but when the spearmen assisting each other enter the engagement, the musketeers often target the opposing musketeers first.
This could be said to be an act of protecting the friendly window wall by reducing the enemy’s firepower.
In the end, the true meaning of infantry dense formation was defense, not attack.
However, if the damage to the spearmen accumulates and they are reduced to a level where it is dangerous to maintain the ranks, the musketeers alone will not be able to survive on the battlefield.
Therefore, while friendly musketeers protect or greet instead, the spearmen can focus on the enemy spearmen they are facing.
Snap, tap!
The tips of each other’s spears brush against each other.
Tap, tap! Ta-da-da-dak, ta-da-dak!
And as we take a step forward, the end of each person’s window wall overlaps with the end of the other person’s window wall.
When the window sills, which are made by carefully drying sturdy but elastic wood over a long period of time, collide with each other, they make a distinctive loud sound.
Ta-dad-dad! Kakak, kagakak!
“Hwaap!”
“Yaaaa!”
“Get rid of it!”
And in the next moment, the leading soldiers stand so close that their spear tips can stab each other.
To the loud sound of the spear striking, the terrifying sound of a sharp, leaf-shaped spear blade grazing the opponent’s breastplate is added.
“Ugh, you bastard!”
“Huh, huh!”
“Hiyaap!”
Impatient spearmen try to stab the enemy by holding the tip of the spear as much as possible, but as always, it is difficult to inflict a fatal wound on a man who is armed and ready to fight.
The moment I stab the opponent, my upper body is also exposed to the opponent.
Thus, the spearmen clash with each other with great force, but begin a tedious battle with no progress.
While the musketeers guarding the flanks were targeting each other.
This is why most infantry regiments consisted only of spearmen and musketeers.
Even if you mix other tertiary types and auxiliary roles, other problems will arise before you can achieve the synergy they provide.
If you don’t have enough spearmen, you may be pushed by the mass of your opponent’s denser spear wall, or crushed by the wider ranks.
If there are not enough riflemen, it may be a problem at first, but eventually, as time passes, casualties will accumulate and the gap will widen.
Of course, on the battlefield, there are very few cases where there are completely equal numbers fighting.
However, because of this, the leadership has a strong desire to secure at least one spare person.
Therefore, when looking at the infantry regiments of any country on the continent, the core is the spearmen and riflemen, even if the ratios are somewhat different.
“Kuhuhuhuh!”
Finally, the first casualty occurs.
The tip of the Grunwald spearman’s spear pierced the exposed chin under a gap not protected by armor.
Thick blood oozes out from the tip of the spear that went in about two finger lengths deep, and one of the Elankia spearmen coughs up blood with a distorted expression.
He, who did not let go of the pole until the end even while kneeling, falls forward, spouting blood foam.
However, the Grunwald soldier who stabbed him also could not boast of his expertise.
This is because while holding the spear briefly and leaning his upper body forward for a moment to stab the enemy, multiple spear blades grazed his carotid artery.
A large amount of blood spurted out like a fountain to the surprise of his colleagues and even the person who stabbed him, and the soldier with a dazed expression fell to his knees.
The empty seats on both sides are quickly filled by colleagues in the back row.
In the end, neither side advanced nor retreated an inch.
There were only two corpses and several soldiers splashed with blood and becoming dirty, but the situation of the war did not change.
When these small events come together, there will eventually be a side that increases momentum and a side that decreases, and one day, a small variable can become a big variable.
However, the situation is still in a state where neither side can guarantee an advantage.
In fact, that was the strength of the infantry dense formation, and it was also the reason why the window walls were made with cumbersome long spears, so there was nothing we could do.
It seems that neither the Elancia Army nor the Grunwald Army commands have any intention of just watching.
Both sides had cards to play, and now that the leading lines were engaged and engaged, both sides were about to play them.