February 24th, 1656
Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, Gangapuri State, The Northern Frontier City of Digha
Guns and artillery were raining down death from above the city wall. The Mughal soldiers experienced an unprecedented decline in morale, despite outnumbering the enemy many times over.
As for the Bharatiya soldiers, they had smiles on their faces, eyes bursting with defiance and unparalleled confidence. They did not know how, but they were winning, and that was all that mattered.
In this jubilant atmosphere filled with high morale, Major General Lokesh Kutra Pani stood out as an outlier. Unlike the soldiers, he wore a worried expression and a deep frown. He could see that despite inflicting massive casualties, the enemy was still advancing steadily. Even though the enemy’s artillery had been heavily damaged, there were simply too many to stop.
The momentum of the Mughal army did not falter; even though the vanguard was hesitant, the soldiers behind them relentlessly pushed forward, ruthlessly pushing them into the meat grinder. As cruel as it was, the strategy worked, the enemy drew closer to the wall, and the Mughal artillery finally reached a range where they could be effective.
"Boom" "Boom" "Boom" "Boom" "Boom" "Boom"
Lokeshes worries came true as the enemy’s artillery started operations. Thousands of Projectiles, all 15 kilograms or above, flew through the air in a beautiful arc before crashing into the artillery on top of the city wall.
"Ah!"
Screams of pain and loss soon were heard on the battlements. Lokesh, who saw a soldier being blasted apart like a watermelon, couldn’t help but clench his fist with anger. However, there was only so much he could do when facing so many opponents.
But he had done enough. He and his army had already managed to take down at least 15,000 to 18,000 Mughal enemies. That was enough.
"Lieutenant, prepare to retreat," he commanded, causing surprise to Lieutenant General Malhotra, who thought they were supposed to die on the battlefield.
Looking at the Lieutenant who was standing still and staring at him like he was some sort of ghost, Lokesh couldn’t help but scold in annoyance, "What? Should I adorn you with Bindu and do pooja? Is that what you are waiting for?"
*phat*
"Quickly, do as I say!"
Malhotra woke up from the shock when he felt the slap to his neck. Although he felt very wrong because it was the Major General who gave such a big speech and boosted everyone’s morale, making everyone prepared to die, now this big guy was suddenly ordering a retreat. It was simply incomprehensible.
Despite his doubts and grievances, the order quickly passed through the ranks. In the meantime, the enemy had advanced further, and with the coverage of crossfire now forming loopholes because of the soldiers taking hits, the morale of the Mughals seemed to have increased as their pace of advancing suddenly doubled.
However, it did not matter anymore to Lokesh Kutra Pani. He had done his job. He quickly got on the horse right next to the city wall on the other side and was preparing to leave. But looking back, he was dumbfounded because no soldier actually withdrew from their position.
What was happening?
Did he not order a retreat? Why did these bastards still stay back? Do they have a death wish or something?
"Hey bastards, didn’t I order you to retreat? Why are you staying behind? Quickly, retreat, it’s a direct order!"
His face grew more livid as time passed. He could see the blood mist on top of the city wall getting thicker.
"Your Excellency, I did inform them, but they refused to leave their posts. They seem to be very motivated," Malhotra shivered as he was stared at by Major General Lokesh Kutra Pani.
"God damn it! Idiots, all of them idiots! What the fuck are they thinking? God damn it!"
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"Hey Malhotra, quickly inform them that retreating is also part of the strategy from the higher-ups." hearing this, Malhotra felt surprised as his eyes widened. What kind of strategy was this? *Phat* He woke up again, this time with a slap to the face. "Quickly move! What are you staring at?" Lokesh urged with a hint of desperation on his face.
Sensing the urgency on his boss’s face, Malhotra finally moved. The news spread quickly throughout the fortress. Finally, with this, the Major General saw the movement of people.
They quickly retreated away from the fortress.
The Major General had a smile on his face after looking at the retreating soldiers, but seeing the group of 200 or so artillerymen who were continuing to stick to their positions, Lokesh knew they had made their decision, and he was very saddened.
*Sigh*
He quickly retreated with the cover provided by these few heroes along with Malhotra.
On the Mughal side...
The decline in combat effectiveness from the enemy was immediately noticed. The soldiers forming the vanguard, who had not been shot at for a long time, finally looked up on top of the city wall. They noticed many empty positions and screamed in joy, feeling like they had saved their lives. "Yess!"
General Salim Khan, who was commanding the operation, saw the scene and had a smile on his face. "So, you bastards ran away, huh?"
"Aim all artillery at their positions where the counterfire is still visible. Ignore the rest."
According to his orders, the aim quickly changed, and the remaining Bharatiya artillerymen who stayed to provide distraction soon succumbed to the artillery shells of the Mughals. They died as heroes because, thanks to them, the majority of the troops stationed on the frontier were able to escape.
With the last resistance falling, the wall was quickly sieged. There was nothing to stop the Mughals now.
The army of 375,065 people immediately rushed into the fortress like a horde of zombies dashing into a building filled with delicious humans.
Salim Khan, who looked all over the fortress, was disappointed because he could not find even a single kafir in such a large military base.
"General, there isn’t even proper grass and feed stored in this lousy fortress."
Salim Khan, who heard the report from his lieutenant, was taken aback. "Was the retreat already planned then?"
Thinking about this, he continued to ask, "What about the artillery? Are they functional?" There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes because he wholeheartedly accepted the fact that these kafirs’ weapons were far better than their own, and if he could get a few of them, this mission would be far easier.
The lieutenant, who heard the question, had a disappointed expression on his face since he also understood the power of Bharatiya artillery.
"Regrettably, Your Excellency, those kafirs did not even leave a single rifle behind, much less artillery. All the artillery on the city wall had been destroyed and they could no longer be used."
Hearing the disappointing reply, Salim let out a deep sigh as he shook his head in dismay and left to take some rest after the battle.
The Mughal army waited for a few hours until the logistics supply carrying all the necessary grain and feed arrived.
Afterwards, the army moved again, this time inland in the direction of Cuttack.
Salim, who was commanding the army and travelling with them, felt like he had entered another world entirely. Everything seemed different. He saw large towers being constructed all over the place, with some sort of device used to communicate. He tried many times to decipher the language, but unfortunately, he had no idea how to do it. Additionally, no clues were left behind in these towers.
They were currently walking on a neat cement road, making their journey quicker. Due to this, the army reached Balasore quickly.
Salim was even more shocked after witnessing the development of Balasore. There were tall buildings all around, wide roads, ample drainage, and there were even many bathrooms on every corner of the street. Although he did not know why these bathrooms were constructed, he felt impressed nonetheless.
These were facilities that could only be seen in the noble areas of the capital, and now seeing such features in a medium-sized town left him speechless.
As for the town being empty, it did not surprise him, as he had already guessed some of the enemy’s plans: to drag them deep inland, cut off their supply channels, and flank them from behind.
Fortunately, although the chances of their defeat were quite high, Salim was happy to play into the hands of the enemy anyway. The strategy chosen by the enemy, left them open for a counterattack at another point of the defence line, and Salim, who knew that the whole Mughal Empire was now arming up, was not worried.
*Bang* "Ahhh"
Suddenly, gunshots rang out in various alleys of the town. There were actually enemies lurking, which was quite surprising.
Salim ordered his army to immediately form a defensive formation, Fearing that it was an army that was laying an ambush.
However, they soon discovered that the enemy was only fighting in small numbers and did not seem to have many troops with them.
Quickly noticing this, Salim was relieved. He ordered his troops to disperse and hunt down these enemies.
Unfortunately, this operation caused a lot of casualties to the Mughal army, as the enemies they were fighting were Bharatiya soldiers trained in guerrilla tactics who knew how to utilize the environment to their advantage.
"Ahhhh!"
Screams of Mughal soldiers soon rang out through the town as hundreds of them died at a time.
Salim had a frown on his face and ordered, "Everyone, work together! Form platoon blocks on each street and only move in groups."
With this order, the Mughal attack pattern immediately changed, and the Bharatiya soldiers also realized this. They did not waste any more time and quickly retreated, knowing there was still some chance to escape If they left immediately.
Although the majority of people escaped, there were still a few who could not and unfortunately died.
With the enemy subdued, the Mughal army spent the night in Balasore, their ranks diminished by a few thousand soldiers compared to when they had arrived.
P.S. I am not reading the comments until the war arc ends, because I am scared. also all these days only a single chap per day because I was lazy.