บท 184: Chapter 185: Roland's New Tactics
"Distance reached! Fire!" Seeing the two sides closing in, the British soldiers, having reloaded their ammunition, opened fire under the command of their officers.
"Bam!" Almost simultaneously, the British soldiers fired, and suddenly countless bullets flew towards the French troops.
"Pew pew~" Along with the British bullets, blood splattered from the soldiers in the first row of the French army, and immediately over a hundred soldiers fell. Subsequently, it was visible that the first row of soldiers became sparse.
"Don't panic, everyone! Rear ranks, fill in the gaps in the front ranks and continue advancing," commanded the French officer.
Following the officer's command, the second line of French soldiers immediately moved forward to fill the gaps left by the first line, and then the French troops began to advance towards the British position.
"It's strange, why isn't the French army firing back? What are they waiting for?" The British frontline officer puzzled as he watched the approaching French soldiers.
He couldn't understand why the French weren't retaliating. He certainly didn't think it was because the French commander had forgotten, considering the vast experience of the French army in battle, far more than the British.
So, there must be a conspiracy.
"At a hundred meters!"
"Fire."
As the French scout reported the distance between the two sides to the French officer, he immediately ordered to open fire.
"Bam!" There was a loud bang. This time, the sound of the French riflemen firing was louder than ever before. With the fierce eruption of gunfire, countless bullets flew towards the British soldiers in front of them, causing countless casualties among the British soldiers in an instant.
As the name suggests, a line formation consists of soldiers arranged in lines, shooting at the enemy in formation. All the attacking force comes from the soldiers in the front line, but just now, the French's wave of attacks almost wiped out all the soldiers in the first line of the British.
A line of two to three hundred people was reduced to almost nothing, with just a dozen or so scattered survivors. The British commander's guess was not wrong. In this battle, Roland's French army used a new tactic.
At this moment, all the firearms used in Europe were muzzle-loading guns, where gunpowder and bullets were loaded from the muzzle before firing. Unlike breech-loading guns, the amount of gunpowder loaded into muzzle-loading guns was not limited.
Roland keenly observed this and ordered his soldiers to load double the amount of gunpowder and two bullets into the firearms, in order to cause greater damage. Today, the effect achieved on the battlefield was also satisfactory to Roland. With just one round of shooting, over two hundred British soldiers were killed.
Of course, this approach also had its drawbacks. Because the firearms remained unchanged, loading double the ammunition increased the consumption of firearms, naturally reducing both accuracy and range.
This was also the reason why the French waited until they were within 100 meters before returning fire against the British. The British suffered heavy losses unexpectedly.
"What... what is happening?"
"Oh my God, what is going on? How can this be?"
Seeing the dire state of his own troops, the British commander's mouth hung open in disbelief. He couldn't fathom how the French had managed, in an instant, to inflict such massive casualties on the British soldiers.
"Don't panic, everyone! Hold formation! The French attack won't last long. They've finished their assault, it's our turn to strike back," the British commander quickly regained his composure after a brief moment of confusion. He stabilized the morale of his troops while giving orders.
The British commander did indeed have some skill. As he had guessed, while the French tactic increased destructive power, it also increased reload time.
But how could Roland not anticipate what the British were thinking? In Roland's plan, the French infantry's attack was meant to be a one-time event.
Roland's intention was to use this attack to throw the British formation into disarray. Then, he could order the cavalry to charge and completely scatter the British forces.
"Fire back! Fire back!" The British commander urged continuously.
"Boom, boom, boom!" Just as the British commander issued his orders, the sound of thunder rumbled from the distance.
"What's going on? Is it thunder? Didn't it just rain? Is it going to rain again?" The British soldiers were puzzled upon hearing the sound. They looked up blankly at the sky, which was cloudy but without any lightning.
"Oh no, it's the French cavalry." Suddenly, a British soldier realized too late, his face filled with anxiety.
Unfortunately, they had noticed too late. While the British and French infantry had been challenging each other, the French cavalry had already hidden on both sides of the battlefield. By the time the British noticed, the French cavalry had already begun to charge.
"Charge! Break the British formation!" In the center of the French cavalry, Muira wielded his saber and shouted. This battle was crucial, as it determined whether the French government could take the initiative in negotiations with the British. To motivate the entire army, Muira personally donned his armor, waving his saber on the battlefield.
"Kill them!"
"Kill!"
With Muira at the forefront, leading the charge towards the British position, the French cavalrymen behind him swiftly followed.
Although France's cavalry forces were not numerous—only about two divisions—they were elite units, meticulously selected and trained.
They are very skilled in the control of war horses. The mud on the battlefield did not hinder them at all, but within minutes the galloping horses brought the cavalry to the British.
"Die, you English dogs!" The foremost French cavalryman shouted, swinging his saber viciously at the British soldiers in front of him.
*Splurt!* Blood sprayed as the iron blade cleaved through flesh and bone, instantly felling the British soldier like a farmer harvesting wheat.
This scene repeated itself continuously. Due to the earlier assault by the French infantry, the formation of the British soldiers was already in disarray, and the French cavalry seized this opportunity to charge at the British infantry.
The results were exceedingly satisfactory; with just one charge, the French cavalry had killed at least eight or nine hundred British soldiers and completely disrupted their formation.
"Reform the line! Immediately, reform the line! Watch out for the French cavalry!" The British commander shouted angrily amidst the chaos in the British ranks. He attempted to reorganize the troops, seeing that the French cavalry's charge had just ended. It was a good opportunity to regroup.
But would the French give him that chance?
"Ready everyone!"
"Fire!"
Just as the French cavalry charged toward the British formation, the French infantry were not idle. They took advantage of the opportunity to reload their ammunition. By the time the French cavalry attack was over, they had completed reloading and were ready to open fire.
"Fire!"
*Bang! Bang!*
With the command given, the French soldiers who had finished reloading immediately began to shoot, countless bullets raining down on the British soldiers.
In an instant, countless British soldiers fell to the ground, disrupting the fortifications that the British had so painstakingly built. Once the British formation was disrupted, they could no longer organize.
Infantry fire followed by cavalry charge, followed by infantry fire again—this alternating cycle relentlessly pounded the British army, causing them to falter like floating leaves in a storm.
"Roland, it looks like your tactics are working very well! Look, the English army can no longer form up, I believe they will soon be scattered," said one of the French generals gathered not far from the battlefield, observing the situation.
In this battle, Roland had employed a new tactic to strike at the British army. Now, it was proving highly effective.
"Notify General Muira to attack again. After this next attack, I estimate the English army will be on the brink of collapse," Roland said with a smile.
Originally, Roland had not been sure if these tactics would be effective. If they failed, it would undoubtedly be a significant blow to his personal prestige. Fortunately, they had succeeded.
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