Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 62 The Great Veneta

  Although it has been calibrated twice, in the eyes of Winters and Andre, several heavy artillery guns in the direction of the bay are still shooting thirty-two-pound iron **** at the dock without any precision.

   Rather than providing fire support for the sailors of the navy, it is more about cheering with artillery. The main thing is to let everyone listen to it, and by the way, inform all parties that the artillery base has changed hands.

   After a period of silence, when the artillery of the duckbill fort was roaring again, the naval officer who was directing the sailors to attack the dock was keenly aware that the battle situation seemed to have changed.

The    duckbill fort was originally firing at the surface cannons, but now it turned and started firing at the naval dock.

  Although the shells hit both the attackers and the sailors indiscriminately, one can't help but wonder if the attackers' poor artillery skills were the only reason. But there was another possibility—reinforcements came and the artillery fort was recaptured.

   The morale of the more than 400 sailors temporarily organized was on the verge of collapse. If the naval officers had not retained more than 30 boarding crew members as supervisors, this group of rabble would have threw away their weapons and ran away.

   Naval officers are very clear that this group of rabble can only fight against the wind. Now that they have decided that they cannot win, they will turn their heads and run if they encounter any resistance.

  A sailor is not a soldier, a sailor is a sailor first and a navy second. Usually the work on the ship is extremely heavy, and the sailors have no time or energy to receive land combat training. Therefore, the battleship will deliberately set up a boarding fleet to fight hand to hand.

  Similarly, the naval officer is a captain in his own right, and he was able to assemble sailors to counterattack in a chaotic situation.

   So the navy sailors hit the dock several times, and they all collapsed at the touch of a button. One person turned and ran away, and everyone ran back. The naval officer looked anxious from behind, but was helpless.

   The naval officer was overjoyed to discover that the fort may have been taken back by reinforcements. Leaving a captain with the overseer to look after the demoralized sailors, the naval officer and a few guards bypassed the dock and headed straight for Duckbill Point.

  ——

   Above the high wall, the officers on the night watch found a rider approaching the gate of the cannon in the dark, and the sound of horse hooves was particularly clear at night.

  A nervous officer, without saying a word, pulled out the red-hot iron rod from the carbon basin and stuffed it into the firing slot of the artillery.

  A cannonball roared out of its chamber and flew into the darkness, not knowing where it went.

   Before the sound of the cannon fell, the gunner slapped him firmly in the face.

   "Who [expletive] told you to shoot? Can't you hear the sound of hooves? It's just one person! What are you shooting?"

  Winters and Andre, who came to hear the sound, were silent, for fear of getting burned.

The   rider was not frightened by the cannonball, and soon reached the gate, but did not announce his identity, but only shouted to see the person in charge of the cannon.

   The other party didn't look like a messenger from Dongdaying no matter what. Several Night Watch officers exchanged glances, grabbed the musket and began to reload, and Winters also took out the steel cone.

   "We are the Veneta Army, let me know your identity!" The star officer replied to the other party.

   Unexpectedly, the rider outside the wall heard this, turned his horse's head and ran away without saying a word. Leaving a few army officers on the wall who felt inexplicable.

   A few minutes later, the escaping rider took the naval officer to the outside of the fort.

   It turned out that just now, seeing the outline of the artillery fort become clearer and clearer, the naval officer became more and more uneasy. In the end, I decided to keep an eye on it and send a guard over to investigate the situation first. After knowing that it was the army who recaptured the artillery base, they hurried over to ask for help.

   But the delighted naval officer did not even enter the gate of the fort.

The   star officer refused to open the door for him without an order from a senior officer. When Colonel Kara got the report and came to the wall, he said to the naval officer bluntly: "If you have something to do, just talk outside."

In desperation, the naval officer raised his neck to explain his intention, but Colonel Kara refused: "The order given to me by Admiral Zio is to retake the fort, and we must stick to this place until further orders are given, sorry I can't. Dispatch manpower to support your Excellency."

"The pirates won't come back to the duckbill, their ships have all run away. This is a rock, a dead rock!" the navy captain shouted angrily: "Do you want to watch the pirates take our battle Has the ship burned down?"

   Winters, who was standing behind Colonel Kara, caught a few key words: pirate, run away. Winters had some doubts about his ears: "How can a pirate dare to attack the home port of the Veneta Navy? Or did I hear it wrong? Or does 'pirate' refer to the kind of pirate I thought?"

   But Colonel Kara was unmoved. He pointed to the lonely big ship on the sea and said to the navy: "The sailors on your ship, plus the current people, it is enough to take back the dock."

"That's not our ship! It's the ship of the Oathbreakers! They won't help us." The naval officer pushed back angrily, and begged in a low voice: "Help us, the pirates have taken our four ships. Big ships, if they let them burn all the ships in the dock, the fleet won't be able to recover for a few years."

His words were so pathetic that even the hard-hearted Colonel Kara could no longer treat him with indifference: "My cavalry is too small to be of any use. Two battalions of infantry are advancing here. , will be there soon, and they will help you defeat the enemy."

   "It's too late when they arrive!"

   "It's too late! Whatever is in your dock has been burned to charcoal now, I won't let the officers die for the charcoal, please come back."

   After saying that, Colonel Kara turned his head mercilessly and left.

  The naval officer stood outside the fort for a while, and then rode away in despair.

   Watching the back of this dutiful naval officer gradually fade away, the officers on the fort felt a little uncomfortable. The joy of winning a battle was also diluted, and everyone turned and left in silence.

   "Look what's over there?" Andrei suddenly shouted.

  The officers heard the sound and turned to look. On the continent connecting Hailan City and Haidong Port, black bushes are moving—a marching army. With the sound of drums, the soldiers marched in eight columns in a uniform pace. Looking from a distance, the super long spears are like a forest, moving in an orderly manner.

   Major General Antonio Serbia, arrived with the Third Army - "Vinetta"!

   A black spot separated from the queue, bypassed the dock, and approached the cannon. The cavalry officer drove the horse hard and galloped to the gate of the fort.

  The horse was foaming, and the herald shouted, "Where is Colonel Kara?!"

   "I am!" Colonel Kara strode back to the tower.

   "Pass the password of Major General Serbia Ti: Order your department to cooperate with our department to attack the enemy entrenched in the dock!" After saying this, the herald pulled the reins and galloped away without stopping.

   There is no explanation or description, only commands. The officers on the fort were a little dazed, and involuntarily focused their attention on Colonel Kara.

Colonel   Kara was stunned for a moment, but quickly regained his sternness. He glanced around: "Didn't hear the order? Wake up everyone! The lightly wounded stay here, and the rest attack!"

  The naval shipyard is connected to the sea to the north, and the land part is separated from other port buildings by a circle of stone walls. It was with this stone wall that the attackers stopped the naval sailors from attacking several times.

  The attackers placed a large number of musketeers along the parapet, and also dragged several short cannons from the ship being refurbished.

  The navy sailors will be beaten by arquebuses within fifty paces, and the timid ones will turn around and run away after the first person is knocked down.

   The behavior of individual people escaping from battle cannot be stopped, and it drives more people to escape. One more round of bombardment by the attackers with the shotgun-loaded short-barreled artillery, and the morale of the attackers would collapse completely.

   In the end, the sailors of the navy only dared to stand sixty paces away and conduct a painless musket fire with the attackers from a distance.

   But this time, the people who came were not sailors, but the most elite Standing Legion of Veneta.

The configuration and tactics of the Union Army have not undergone any major changes since the end of the Sovereign War. Marshal Ned improved the phalanx tactics of the Duke of Arlean and retained some sword and shield players to restrain the phalanx of the Duke of Arlean. Replaced crossbowmen and archers with musketeers.

   In the Battle of the Butchers, Marshal Ned used this improved pike phalanx to defeat the troops of the Duke of Arleans in the field battle.

   However, the phalanx is obviously not necessary to deal with the enemy in front of you. In the sound of drums, the infantry of the two battalions smoothly unfolded into rows. The spearmen put their spears on the ground, drew their swords, and lined up behind the sword and shield.

  The musketeer stood at the front of the line at two-step intervals, pulled out the push rod, and began to reload the arquebus.

  The enemy in the dock felt unprecedented pressure. This time, it was no longer the rabble waving sailor knives and shouting for courage.

  The infantry of the 3rd Corps stood a hundred meters away, the queue was as neat as a knife, but it was as quiet as hell. In addition to the wind on the battlefield, only the sound of lead bullets being pushed into the barrel can be heard.

  The musketeers loaded the gunpowder, pushed in the buckshot, and inserted the ramrod back into the empty slot under the barrel. Pour gunpowder into the fire pit and snap the lid. Finally, he clipped the smoldering match rope, and under the watchful eyes of the enemy, he calmly completed the entire loading process.

  The officer in charge of commanding the musketeers swept past the line to confirm that all the musketeers were loaded. He stood up in his stirrups and waved three times the battle flag hanging from his spear.

  Antonio, who was behind the array, saw the flag waving, and nodded to his flag officer.

  The caster officer stepped forward and shouted under the blessing of amplifying: "Great Veneta!"

   Soldiers also shouted in response: "kazar! [Long live]"

   "Great Veneta!"

   "Kazar!"

   "Great Veneta!"

   "KAZAR!"

  Three times of battle cries, each time more powerful. Not only were the enemies in the shipyard terrified, but even the navy sailors behind them were trembling with fear.

  A musketeer behind the stone wall was startled and pulled the shooting rod, the gunshots rang out, and the lead bullet made a hole in the ground. It was followed by more than a dozen gunshots, and the others subconsciously opened fire.

  The officers who were lining up outside the fortress heard these three battle cries and understood that the Third Army was about to attack.

   Time did not wait for anyone, Colonel Kara drew out his saber and ordered loudly: "Arrow formation, the colonel is in the front, the young people go to the back, I will stand first."

   "What beautiful things are you thinking about?" Colonel Bozukhov slapped his horse, slapped Colonel Kara's back with the back of his knife, and scolded with a smile, "Why are you standing at the front alone."

After    three battle cries, Antonio turned his head to the adjutant beside him and said softly, "Let's start."

   is accompanied by a command to "forward". The drums sounded, the musketeers were at the forefront, and the Third Army began to advance.

The soldiers of the    Third Corps approached the shipyard step by step like an unstoppable tsunami. When they were more than 60 paces away, another musketeer inside the fence couldn't bear the psychological pressure and shot at the army soldiers who were getting closer.

   This time, not only a dozen people followed suit, but all the musketeers with gunpowder in their chambers pulled their shooting rods. The sound of gunfire was like a burst of beans, and even the short-barreled cannons fired.

   Dozens of grape-sized shells shot out from the muzzle, forming a barrage.

   In the bullets and artillery shells, more than two dozen musketeers were instantly knocked down, and there were four or five more blood holes in their bodies.

   Being directly beaten to death is a kind of mercy, and most deaths are accompanied by cruel pain. A musketeer was shot through the lungs, blood poured back into the airway, and the alveoli were squeezed out of his mouth. But he didn't catch his breath, laying on the ground helplessly whimpering.

   But the soldiers of the Third Legion still marched forward firmly, the musketeers looked ahead, not even looking at the downed comrades. Not only the musketeers, but also the swordsmen and spearmen behind them.

  The soldiers turned a blind eye to the corpses and dying people on the ground, walking past them like a fallen log.

   advanced to about fifty steps, and with a "stop" command, the human wall stopped moving.

   "The gun is on the shelf!"

  The musketeer inserted the support rod into the ground and set up the arquebus.

   And at this time their enemy was scrambling to reload.

"Prepare!"

  The musketeers blew lightly at the arquebus and opened the lid of the gunpowder tank.

   "Aim!"

  The gun is on the shoulder, and the door is aimed at the enemy.

   "Fire!"

   Pulled the shooting rod, and the smoldering rope tip crossed an arc, igniting the gunpowder in the slot. The flames flickered, the gunshots rang out, and a row of lead bullets flew towards the stone wall in the smoke, and screams came from behind the smoke wall.

   "Charge!"

   The lieutenants who led the subordinates behind the musketeer line stabbed the horse's ribs and charged ahead. The sword and shield soldiers followed behind them, shouting and rushing towards the Haidonggang Shipyard.

   On the other side of Haidong Port, the officers and cavalry have finished their formation, and they are running towards the dock at the speed of a "quick walk".

   The four colonels were at the front of the entire charging queue, leading the charge. Behind the four colonels, the width of the queue gradually increased.

The    charge formation is arrow-shaped as a whole, and this formation is called the arrow formation or the arrow front formation. Just like the red horns won't be faster, the arrow formation won't increase the penetration of the charge.

The real role of the arrow formation is: as long as each cavalry behind follows the cavalry in front, the cavalry at the front can guide the direction of the entire charging queue, and on this premise, the formation is as large as possible. width.

   When he was less than 100 meters away from the wall of the shipyard, Colonel Kara shouted and issued an order to charge. All the officers drew their sabers, leaned down, and accelerated with all their might.

   It was originally expected that this distance would require officers to break through in a hail of bullets, but no gunshots were heard in the stone wall.

The    cavalry did not encounter any resistance, and rushed to the stone wall in a flash. Colonel Kara jumped without hesitation and gracefully crossed the parapet.

  Kara leaped past the other officers dumbfounded. Winters, for example, has never trained to run the hurdles. The warrant officer's heart stopped for a beat when he saw Colonel Kara's prancing horse over the parapet.

   He didn't know if the strong player would suddenly stop by the stone wall and throw himself out and break his neck. But if the seniors in front all jumped over, he would have to bite the bullet.

   Fortunately, the others were not as reckless as Colonel Kara, and Colonel Bozukhov stopped by the wall to rein in. The rest also stopped.

   Bozukhov cursed and led the other two officers over the parapet and opened the gate.

The    cavalry team rushed into the shipyard, but were stunned. There were no enemies in the shipyard, just people running away.

   "[Vulgar language]?!" Colonel Bozukhov scolded: "The Third Army has done all the work! Leave us some leftovers."

   "What then?"

   "What should I do?" Bozukhov gave the person who asked the question a vicious look: "Don't eat the leftovers? Kill all those who don't wear military uniforms!"

   After saying that, the colonel slapped the horse's **** with the side of his saber and rushed towards the enemies who were fleeing by the sea.

   Winters, seeing Andrei following Colonel Bozukhov, happily went after the fleeing enemy.

   The bonus to the cavalry arrow formation in the whole station series has always been to increase the penetration power. In fact, this formation really exists, but the main reason is that it is easy to turn, and the front rider can control the direction of the charge alone. Thanks to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation before, thank the book friends Yan Yunsan for their recommendation votes, thank the book friends for the recommendation votes that they don’t know what they are called, thank the book friends writersblock for the recommendation votes, thank you all.

   (end of this chapter)