Chapter 86: Northern Conquest War (4)
Even after about 30 minutes had passed, we had yet to make contact with the enemy infantry.
The wicked barbarian infantry pretended to advance towards us, and then, just as they were within range of our arrows, they pulled back using the same tactic they had employed during the previous battle.
The vile barbarian archers rained down arrows like hail, and our soldiers, though not falling like leaves in the wind, were still taking casualties.
With the distance to the enemy infantry not closing, the number of our fallen comrades continued to rise.
Of course, our own northern army was not foolish; we responded to their ranged attacks with our own magic and arrows, maintaining an evenly matched fight thus far.
“Damn it, those barbarians are worse than dogs! It’s despicable how they only shoot arrows and then run. Ah, like damned flies!”
“Seize that bastard trying to break out! If our formation crumbles because of him, we won’t know when the enemy’s cavalry will charge through!”
“Cowardly infantry bastards, come forward. Let’s fight it out. Why do you only keep backing away? Damn it all.”
While pushing back their infantry, the enemy continued to weaken us with concentrated attacks from their bow cavalry and archers, incurring higher casualties than we had anticipated due to their stratagem.
When comparing the situations of these two forces, it seemed that the scale of victory, albeit slightly, was tipped towards the barbarians so far.
Meanwhile, amidst concentrated attacks by the barbarian bow cavalry, our knights somehow managed to attack and halt the enemy center army infantry’s retreat, finally succeeding in slowing them down.
From a certain moment on, the distance between the barbarians and us began to close, and our non-commissioned officers and junior officers screamed their guts out, trying to maintain morale.
“Just a bit more, and we’ll be in close combat with them! Don’t be scared. Their infantry is just trash, even worse than our new recruits!”
“Endure with grit and vigor! Then we can win.”
“Let’s take revenge for our fallen comrades!”
Ordinarily, common soldiers would respond by hanging in there and gritting their teeth, but now they didn’t have the physical or mental strength to do so.
No one answered their cries.
Moreover, looking at the other units around our battalion, it was evident that even commanders like regimental and battalion leaders were being supported by soldiers or carried out on carts.
Although it was common in a war for injured soldiers or commanders to be transported to safety, who could have guessed that a person of the rank of Regiment Commander would be hit by an arrow and carried to the rear?
Damn it, the situation was worse than I had thought.
When the hell could I get permission for independent action from the Division Commander?
“Regiment Commander! Regiment Commander!”
Turning my head towards the voice calling me, I saw a soldier riding hard towards me and saying,
“As you ordered, the Division Commander has granted permission for the 24th Regiment to operate independently, aside from leaving two infantry battalions behind.”
“Is that true?”
“Look here, the Division Commander’s seal is affixed.”
Hearing this, I snatched the dispatch from the messenger’s hand to confirm it, then gave my orders.
“I’ll leave the Secondary Battalion Commander’s and the 2nd Battalion here. The rest of the units follow me. We’ll make our way out left, dispersing in formation as planned. And make it seem like our unit is taking severe damage and retreating by hanging a white flag and departing.”
However, there was a possibility that the barbarians might not recognize the white flag, indicating our surrender or reduced combat capability.
At least any soldier or officer serving in the imperial army would guess the condition of a battalion displaying a white flag and falling back.
If the imperial army was losing, they might have pursued us when we were trying to break away.
But at the moment, both sides were fighting evenly, so they would not have the leeway to chase us as we seemingly fled from the battlefield.
“Hang the white flag, and except for the Secondary Battalion Commander’s unit and the 2nd Battalion, quickly break away from this location! Hurry up!”
And so, I began to slowly retreat with three infantry battalions, one mage battalion, and two knight battalions by breaking away from the left.
Because we even held up the white flag during our exit, such talk started to circulate among the soldiers and officers.
“Did the Battalion Commander get hurt? Surely, he hasn’t passed away?”
“Shut up, dammit. If the Commander passes away, there goes our chance for a promotion, for God’s sake. I gave up a chance to work in the center because I heard we could serve under Colonel Yaeger.”
“The war isn’t going to be over in a day or two. Surely, he will recover soon and return.”
And since I was supposedly injured, I had to appear in a cart for transporting the wounded.
To anyone looking, I would seem seriously injured.
But in fact, I hadn’t even received a scratch thanks to my armor, let alone being hit by an arrow.
When we had moved sufficiently away from the northern army’s left flank, I naturally got up from the cart and gave my orders.
“Each squad of the infantry battalions, change your formation to six ranks, with the spearmen in front and the halberdiers in the rear. Mages, provide fire support amid the infantry, and crossbowmen, get your arrows ready.”
As soon as I gave the command, although just moments ago there were rumors of my injury, I got up and ordered.
Other officers and soldiers looked dumbfounded instead of reacting to my order, tilting their heads quizzically as they looked at each other’s faces.
So when I gave the order again, the officers repeated it and set up the formation as instructed.
“This is precisely the time we’ve borrowed the division flag for. From now on, don’t think of me as the Regiment Commander but as the Division Commander, and prepare to act boldly, thinking of our unit as a division, not a regiment. We will be the ones to decide the outcome of this war.”
After giving the order, I looked over the troops while still mounted on my horse.
Perhaps because our formation was stretched thinner than a normal infantry unit, the horizontal width visible to the enemy soldiers’ naked eye was such that, if I were to exaggerate a bit, it seemed almost believable that it could be an entire division.
“From my position in the center, have the battalion on the far left advance 30 steps forward, and have the battalion on the far right fall back 30 steps to create a diagonal line, and we will advance, maintaining this formation.”
When King Friedrich of Prussia arranged his troops obliquely to attack an enemy force aligned in a rectangle, there were records that the opposing army wavered like waves and suffered maximized casualties.
Although we did not use guns as he did, we could hope to achieve similar military exploits by employing the most effective tactic that existed before the advent of machine guns and modern cannons.
“The attack sequence is as follows: Knights will rush out 300 meters ahead to pierce through the enemy infantry’s gaps and then break away. After that, the infantry will follow, charging with spears and weapons in hand.”
We call it in technical terms the ‘just charge’ or ‘hurrah charge,’ and indeed, before modern warfare, accurately calculated charges were a very effective means for a smaller army to defeat a larger one.
The soldiers of our regiment were strong elites, having served in the North for at least one to four years, and having been through several battles. The enemy infantry, excluding the few standing upfront, must be at the same level as we had seen before when we faced the T?ner Tribe.
Therefore, they wouldn’t be able to form a proper battle formation, and they would be unable to resist properly, and be ripped apart in the face of a desperate charge.
Because of the oblique charge, the impact would spread across the entire enemy central army, and they would be utterly bound by our regiment.
In addition, the morale of our allies would soar to the heavens as they would witness a division-sized force suddenly emerging at their flank, delivering a fatal blow and immobilizing the enemy’s central army.
No doubt, this would be acknowledged as an immense feat of valor.
“Then, gentlemen, from now on, advance slowly, and when the signal drops, run with all your might, your weapons pointed forward.”
Upon saying this, the soldiers nodded.
I slowly changed the route of the march so we could target the enemy’s left wing.
Having arrived, it appeared that Ludwig’s army and the imperial forces had just begun a melee with spears and swords.
Engaged in a fierce battle, pushing and shoving, they didn’t seem to care too much about our presence.
Observing this, I first signaled the two cavalry battalions.
Immediately, about 100 knights kicked up a cloud of dust as they charged towards the enemy’s left wing.
“Infantry, follow the knights and charge towards the enemy! Shout out, ‘Long live the Empire! Long live Deus!’”
With this shout, it felt as if we were making a romantic charge from the Renaissance era.
“Long live the great Reich Empire!”
“Glory to Deus! Long live the Reich Empire!”
“Receive God’s judgment!!
And with those cries, I and the soldiers surged forth to completely crush the barbarians.
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