Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Cavalry Clash
"Come on, you Austrian fools. Let's see if your horse swords are as sharp as ours," faced with the fierce Hungarian hussars, these French soldiers felt no fear in their hearts, but rather a burning passion.
"Don't panic, everyone. Stick to the planned formation," Pearson ordered promptly upon seeing the advancing Austrians.
The French moved quickly; at the first command, they formed their lines, ready to face the Austrian cavalry.
"General, the French cavalry is deploying defensive lines! It seems they intend to hold their ground?" a junior officer reported to General Anjou with a puzzled expression.
"Hold their ground? What are those French thinking? Do they not understand war? In cavalry battles, they should either face us like men or flee. But they're holding fast, which is rather strange," Anjou frowned, unable to grasp the French cavalry's strategy.
"The French are masters of deceit; perhaps they have some trick up their sleeve," a colonel beside Anjou speculated.
"A trick? Maybe those Frenchmen have been scared witless. Remember how badly we beat them in Tournai," another Austrian officer dismissed with disdain. In his view, the French were just big fools who could only run on two legs, knowing nothing about handling horses, let alone cavalry warfare.
"General Anjou, let's charge. Let's teach these Frenchmen how to fight cavalry!" a laughing Austrian officer exclaimed.
"Very well! Warriors, charge! Let's defeat those Frenchmen," Anjou shouted, swinging his sword.
"The enemy is attacking! Everyone, get ready!" At the same time, the French cavalry, sensing the Austrians preparing to attack, also tensed up. Roland commanded the rest of the soldiers.
"Everyone dismount and form ranks. Ready your muskets," Roland ordered. In theory, musket fire was difficult to use to stop a large-scale cavalry charge, because muskets took a long time to reload. Even veteran soldiers with extensive military experience needed time complete
However, Roland believed that his Type 01 rifle was different. During the design phase, Roland focused on improving the ammunition loading process. He reduced the ammunition loading time to forty seconds, but don't underestimate the fact that this has been reduced to twenty seconds. If one reload can shorten the time by 20 seconds, two times would be 40 seconds, and so on, the time will become longer and longer. And these times will help them win the war.
When General Aniga appeared on the battlefield and saw the defense line of the French 1st Cavalry Brigade, his eyes became even more disdainful.
The French cavalry, strictly speaking, is more appropriate to call them mounted infantry. There are about a battalion of forces on the French cavalry defense line, and their war horses have already been sent to a safe area behind. The cavalry were all crouched down, holding their guns.
Where is the cavalry's tactics? This is clearly infantry tactics.
"Haha! Is this the French cavalry? The heroic cavalry actually took the initiative to abandon their horses. Are they still cavalry? This is really funny. I must catch the commander of this French army later and ask him how he thinks." Seeing the French defense line, General Aniga couldn't help laughing.
"General Aniga, it seems that the French are planning to attack us with rifles," one of the Austrian officers reminded with a smile.
"Rifles? So what? The great Austrian cavalry comes and goes like the wind. After we charge, we can reach their positions in at most three minutes. And during this time, how much damage can their rifles cause us? As long as we break through their positions, the cavalry sabers in the hands of the Austrian cavalry can make those Frenchmen pay a heavy price." General Aniga was extremely arrogant and arrogant.
"Warriors of Austria, those damn Frenchmen have now been scared from cavalry to infantry. Look how pathetic they are! We believe that as soon as we launch an attack later, we can easily eliminate them. Warriors, follow me and crush them." General Aniga smiled and waved his saber to give the order.
"Haha, warriors, the time to build a career and make achievements has come. Charge." After General Aniga shouted, a group of Austrian officers and generals around him also shouted.
"Begin the attack! Concentrate all forces and crush them head-on," Lieutenant Colonel Aniga ordered.
In order to break through the defenses of the French 1st Cavalry Brigade and annihilate them, and to create the greatest possible shock to the French, Aniga focused directly on the French center as the main target of the attack.
He planned to defeat the French decisively from the front, not only to ensure a spectacular victory but also to inflict maximum damage to French morale.
Although reckless, Aniga had the necessary military talent to be promoted to lieutenant colonel.
The Austrian cavalrymen shouted slogans and whipped their horses, causing them to transition from a trot to a gallop, increasing their speed as they began a high-speed charge.
"Artillery, open fire! Break their formations!" Roland shouted loudly as he saw the enemy charging. He didn't hesitate, despite the absence of Pierson, and immediately began issuing orders.
Pierson had no objections either; he knew Roland's identity, and before going into battle, Mura had specifically instructed him to ensure Roland's safety at all costs.
As such a figure, Pierson certainly didn't want to tempt fate, especially since Roland's orders were correct. Even if Roland's status was high, Pierson wouldn't allow him to command blindly.
After receiving the command, the captain of the artillery company attached to the 1st Cavalry Brigade immediately ordered the opening of fire. The 20 captured 10-pound Austrian howitzers began roaring, pouring shells at maximum speed towards the Austrian cavalry.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
One by one, the shells streaked across the sky, landing on the grassy plain and exploding. Fire erupted, and shrapnel flew in all directions, knocking Austrian cavalrymen off their horses. These were Roland's latest development from his arsenal: scatter-shells, different from solid shots as they exploded upon impact, relying on their fragments to cause extensive damage to the enemy. Although still unstable due to technical issues, wartime didn't allow for much concern about stability.
"Excellent! Well done! This is how you break their formations!" Roland shouted excitedly, watching the Austrian cavalrymen knocked down by artillery fire. The power of this new type of shell was formidable; it looked like they could produce more in the future.
However, the Austrian cavalry charge was too fast, quickly passing beyond the effective range of the howitzers.
This made Aniga breathe a sigh of relief, and then he responded by taunting the French:
"Hmph! Amateurs will always be amateurs. Why would cavalry carry so many heavy cannons? How can they maneuver quickly? Those Frenchmen don't know how to use cavalry at all! Now that we've broken through, let's see what you can do!"
Although Austrian cavalrymen were continuously being thrown off their horses on the battlefield, Aniga didn't care at all. Compared to the rapid advance of the Austrian cavalry group, the number killed or thrown by shells was minimal, and their deaths would not affect the overall battle.
Furthermore, they were now close to the French, and it was time to let them feel the power of the Austrian cavalry sabers.
"Faster, faster! Charge towards the French immediately! Once we break their defenses, their artillery won't be able to stop us! They're using Austrian-made cannons; I know very well the power of these cannons," Aniga said fiercely. He was furious now, never expecting that the Austrian weapons would be captured by the French and used against them. It was all Vasily's fault, that fool.
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