บท 54: Chapter 54: Overwhelmed
"Artillery! Take cover!" Hearing the artillery fire, Egyptian officers shouted loudly and were the first to drop to the ground, clutching their heads tightly with both hands.
Seeing the actions of their officers, the remaining Egyptian gunners finally reacted. The same thought struck them all simultaneously: "Run!"
They wanted to flee, but the French artillery was faster. Soon, violent explosions erupted over the Egyptian artillery positions, and Murad's few remaining cannons were destroyed in the barrage.
"How can our cannons be so inferior to the French?" Seeing his artillery being destroyed in an instant, Murad was in disbelief. The Mamluk force was primarily cavalry-focused, and most of them, including Murad, had limited understanding of artillery.
He had thought the cannons he had obtained from Turkey would allow him to match the firepower of the French army.
"Pasha Murad! The French artillery fire is too intense, and their gunnery skills are superb. We are no match for them," said a Turkish artillery officer, approaching Murad with a grim expression.
As previously mentioned, the Mamluk group was not adept at handling artillery, and Murad's urgent demand for gunners meant that all his artillerymen were supported by Turks. Now, under the relentless French bombardment, they were clearly unwilling to continue serving Murad.
Hearing the Turkish artillery officer's words, Murad's face turned very ugly. He had initially thought that with the advantage of artillery, he could firmly hold the city. However, the battle had barely started, and his artillery squadron had been destroyed, casting a dark shadow over the upcoming fight.
"Damn it, we can't worry about that now. Even without cannons, we must strike. Otherwise, it's just waiting to die," Murad muttered through clenched teeth, having realized that the artillery was now useless.
But waiting quietly for death was not in his character. Murad decided to make a final stand, leading the remaining Mamluk cavalry in a charge.
"All cavalry, charge! Attack the French flanks," Murad commanded. He had thought it through: he believed that the French had positioned all their cannons in the center of their line, so their flanks must be vulnerable. If he attacked with all his might, perhaps he could break through an opening.
Unfortunately, Murad had not considered that Napoleon's military genius far surpassed his own, and what Murad could think of, Napoleon had naturally anticipated.
Thus, when Murad led the Mamluk cavalry head-on into Marshal Marmont's flank defenses, his troops had not even managed to charge before they were met with a fierce counterattack from Marmont. In an instant, amidst intense firepower, over five hundred of his men were lost, and the remaining forces were pinned down on the battlefield, unable to advance or retreat.
Seeing the situation before him, Murad's face turned as dark as if it could drip water. "Impossible, how can this be? The French front is strong, but how are their flanks also so robust? How many soldiers did Napoleon bring?" Murad was filled with disbelief.
Before the attack, he knew he would be facing 10,000 French troops, but he believed that with the speed advantage of his cavalry, he could at least break through and escape. However, what was happening on the battlefield was a harsh slap in his face. The cavalry attack was a disastrous failure, with losses now exceeding two thousand men—two-thirds of his entire force.
"Boom! Boom! Bang! Bang!"
However, Napoleon did not care what Murad thought. While gaining an advantage in the war, he also continually urged his soldiers to accelerate their attack.
On the battlefield, the roar of cannons and the gunfire of rifles intermingled, playing a macabre symphony of death. Murad suffered tremendously under the intense French firepower.
Yet, under the relentless assault, the Egyptians erupted with a fierce will to survive. They were not willing to die here. Even though they were suppressed by the superior French firepower, they did not give up.
Many Egyptians chose to crawl forward to avoid the French fire.
"See that, Roland? When engaging the Egyptians, we must fully leverage our firepower advantage and minimize direct exchanges. Use the cannons to bombard them. This way, we can defeat them with minimal casualties," Napoleon observed the situation through his binoculars, instructing Roland as he watched.
After successfully predicting the Battle of Alexandria and Turkey's declaration of war, Roland's status in the military had risen significantly, and Napoleon had confidently chosen him as his successor. In recent conflicts, Napoleon had been teaching Roland, trying to pass on all his military experience to him in this manner.
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