Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 762 The camp is so quiet, there aren't any Mongols here.
The classic Mongol cavalry tactic known as "Mangudai" involved sending out light cavalry to lure and harass the enemy. Through repeated skirmishes, the enemy's strength, stamina, and fighting spirit were weakened, their organization disrupted, and their army thrown into disarray. When the enemy could no longer endure the harassment, the Mongol would proactively encircle them or lure them into their own encirclement, then concentrate their elite heavy cavalry to wait in ambush and crush the enemy in one fell swoop.

Of course, this is just talk. In practice, this tactic is anything but simple.

Genghis Khan said that infantry were best suited to cluster together in dense formations, while cavalry, on the other hand, were better suited to disperse into smaller units of three, five, or four, allowing them to easily assemble and disassemble as needed based on the battlefield situation. This resulted in a highly dispersed cavalry formation, described as "a hundred riders encircling a force of ten thousand, a thousand riders spreading out, covering a hundred li." The sheer scale of this formation was astounding.

However, the cost of doing so is that command becomes extremely inconvenient.

Even when infantry formations are clustered together, commanding them is difficult. Several sophisticated communication systems need to be designed, and soldiers and officers need to undergo rigorous training to ensure proper operation. Any general or army that can command with the ease of directing its troops can be considered a renowned commander and a powerful force.

The Mongol-style cavalry were far more disorganized than these infantrymen. They were scattered over a much larger area, constantly advancing and retreating, moving haphazardly according to the enemy situation. Forget commanding them; even just finding them all would have taken considerable effort. Furthermore, the cavalry's fast pace and frequent changes in position made accurate command even more difficult.

Therefore, in actual combat, this tactic is extremely demanding on the qualities of junior officers and soldiers.

Spreading out the troops increases mobility but also disperses one's own forces. While it may seem to cover the entire battlefield and encircle and restrict the enemy, it actually magnifies one's weaknesses and exposes them to the enemy. The slightest carelessness, mistake, or failure in coordination or communication makes it easy for the enemy to defeat them one by one.

Cavalry is inherently fast-paced, and clashes between light cavalry are even more of a "thrilling game for the brave." When these junior officers are making decisions, there's certainly no time to wait for orders.

Therefore, to unleash the power of this tactic, each squad needs to fully understand the operational intent and adapt accordingly, making the most advantageous choices for the battle. Failure to do so can lead to anything from disjointed coordination and disorganized advances and retreats, giving the enemy a chance to regroup and counterattack, resulting in the failure of the mission to squeeze the enemy; to something more serious, it could allow the enemy to seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack, causing losses to one's own side, or even causing the entire encirclement formation to collapse.

Therefore, this tactic has a very low margin for error.

The herders on the grasslands regularly ride horses in formation to hunt wild animals and drive livestock. Therefore, these actions are an integral part of their daily lives, making them quite familiar with them and relatively reducing the need for rigorous training.

However, once the number of our own people increases and the enemy is no longer sheep or Slavic tribes, then this tactic will place a much higher demand on the quality of our soldiers and junior officers.

Although many nomads knew this tactic, very few could execute it well. Sometimes the coordination between the light cavalry used for luring and harassing the enemy was poor, and sometimes the heavy cavalry used for the decisive blow lacked impact. In short, it was difficult to achieve the ideal result, and it even left many who had fought with nomadic cavalry with the impression that they were loose, cowardly, difficult to capture, and fragile.

Even for highly skilled cavalry, using the Mangudai tactic against a more conventional enemy would significantly increase the risk and reduce its efficiency.

The solution to this tactic is quite simple. If you have an elite army that can ignore the harassment and avoid being quickly wiped out by the enemy's heavy forces, then you can simply charge in.

Light cavalry are generally more mobile than heavy cavalry, but unless they are the kind of fully armored "canned" cavalry too heavy to run fast, the speed difference between the two is usually not significant. Moreover, in reality, the quality of horses varies greatly. Even powerful nomadic empires with no shortage of horses would reserve their best warhorses for heavy cavalry that needed to carry heavy loads. Light cavalry would likely use horses of slightly lower quality. This further narrows the gap between the two groups.

Moreover, light cavalry attacked as a whole unit. Their formations couldn't possibly be like those in later games, where they could instantly turn in unison and advance or retreat in unison. While light cavalry pulled heavy cavalry along, the heavy cavalry's charge would also pull the light cavalry along. If the charge was resolute enough, the "net" formed by the light cavalry would be forced to move and deform, eventually disintegrating after exceeding its capacity to maintain its shape.

As a result, even the Mongols themselves began to change their approach when faced with tough opponents.

In their early years, this tactic proved highly effective against enemies in the west. However, it proved problematic in their later conflicts with the Jin dynasty.

At Dachangyuan, the Mongols spread out their formation with great momentum. Wanyan Chenheshang led the Zhongxiao Army straight into the enemy formation. As a result, four hundred men broke through eight thousand Mongol cavalry, becoming the first victory in twenty years of fighting between the Mongols and the Jin.
A year later, the Mongols besieged Weizhou. The Jin army went to its rescue, using soldiers from various tribal commanderies to hold back the armies of Han Shihou, while concentrating elite cavalry to specifically attack the Mongol cavalry. As a result, the Mongol cavalry were routed and fled, leading to the encirclement of Han Shihou's army by the Jin army. Shi Tianze broke through the encirclement and escaped, while Yan Shi was captured alive by the Jin, and the siege completely failed.
Another year passed, and Ögedei Khan personally led a large army into Guanzhong. He then dispatched Subutai, one of the "Four Hounds" and a general in the western expedition, with tens of thousands of troops heading east out of the Xiaoshan Mountains in an attempt to break through the Jin dynasty's Guanhe defense line. The Jin army did not have time to mobilize, so they sent 1,000 loyal and filial soldiers to put out the fire, followed by 10,000 captains to provide support.

The Zhongxiao Army repeated its old trick, blocking the Mongol vanguard at the entrance to Daohui Valley. Subutai quickly dispatched his main heavy infantry to intercept and encircle them. However, the Zhongxiao Army was too powerful, and the battle could not be resolved quickly. Later, Jin troops followed up and surrounded the Mongol army in the ensuing melee. Subutai suffered a crushing defeat, losing tens of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses.

Ögedei Khan was furious and reprimanded him. This series of defeats also made the Mongols realize that their invincible tactics in the westward campaigns were no longer sufficient for the new environment. From then on, their battle tactics began to change.

The Hungarians were probably unaware of these battles, but after fighting nomads a few times, they would have some idea of ​​how to deal with them. Everyone had various methods specifically targeting the weaknesses of nomadic tactics—even the Slavs knew some.

The core of "Mangudai" is to harass the enemy with light cavalry, ideally exhausting the soldiers and breaking their formation. Conversely, if these problems can be avoided, then this tactic is less of a threat.

For example, the simplest point is to be unafraid of being shot. In the Battle of the Blue River, Lithuania deployed a large number of spearmen wielding tower shields and recruited a large number of crossbowmen. In the exchange of fire, the Tatar horse archers found themselves no match for these infantry crossbowmen. Furthermore, as the Lithuanian infantry advanced, they themselves were forced to gradually retreat. And when the retreat began, the Lithuanian cavalry immediately charged out, turning the retreat into a rout, and the battle was lost. This shows that as long as one is unafraid of being shot and can hold their ground, one can gain a significant advantage.

Even if they couldn't win in battle or outgun the enemy, as long as they remained closely united and avoided being divided and defeated, it would still be manageable. A few years later, Grand Duke Dmitry of Moscow led his army to Kulikovo near the Don River to confront Mamai, the de facto ruler of the Golden Horde. Mamai's army was far more elite than the unknown prince the Lithuanians faced, but Dmitry had a countermeasure—he had gathered even more men to form a cohesive unit.

Rus' chronicles claim that he packed 150,000 to 200,000 infantrymen into his formation. Later scholars generally consider this number to be exaggerated, but historians of late Tsarist Russia still believe that there should have been 100,000 to 150,000; while Soviet military experts believe that there were at least 50,000 to 60,000.

This massive infantry formation completely blocked the already narrow Kulikovo battlefield, preventing Mamai from fully utilizing his mobility.

Because the Rus' were so numerous, the Golden Horde army was unable to effectively lure and divide them. Furthermore, the Rus' forces, following their tradition, were divided into numerous battle formations. If one formation fell, the survivors would flee, but the next formation would immediately take their place. The fleeing soldiers often managed to calm down and rejoin the battle after a period of time. This practice quickly turned the fighting into a simple and bloody meat grinder.

The Rus' soldiers were not elite, and despite their numerical advantage, they suffered heavy losses. Dmitry divided his army into 23 "banners" and placed them under the command of the Boyars, a third of whom perished in battle. In the critical moment, Dmitry personally went to hold the line, but his own guard was also wiped out, and he himself was knocked unconscious by the Mongols and later rescued by his men.

However, the Rus' people could withstand attrition, but the Mongols could not. Finally, Dmitry's reserve forces launched a flanking attack, completely crushing the exhausted enemy. The puppet Khan, Burek, was killed in battle, and Mamai was killed while fleeing, marking the decline of the main branch of the Golden Horde.

These examples are not too far removed from the present day; any Hungarian who has had dealings with the East should be familiar with them. After all, they were far more capable fighters than these Slavs. Along the way, the Mongols used various schemes and tricks against them, but weren't they all seen through and countered?

According to sources in Bernhard, these Mongols were not an organized regular army, nor were they the kind of troops they feared most, directly supported by the Purple Horde. Instead, they were simply slaves who had escaped from the mining area during the previous uprising.

The core of nomadic tactics actually lies in its elite heavy cavalry. However, even in the hands of the steppe Khans, these are their most prized possessions; how could they possibly appear here so casually? Without the support of heavy troops, the Mongols, as they have demonstrated in recent days, are severely lacking in the ability to fight tough battles and are almost incapable of defeating any prepared regular army. Therefore, as long as they remain vigilant, careful of potential ambush locations, and maintain formation without overly reckless charges, there shouldn't be any major problems.

As expected, under their pursuit, the Mongol cavalry could only flee, utterly unable to mount a counterattack. Soon, the Hungarian cavalry caught up with them and left the battlefield.

After running for some distance, they surprisingly found a large cluster of tents at an intersection. It seemed that the Mongols had gathered along several newly built paths and then set off from there to the battlefield.

Seeing that the men at the front were running back, and the Mongols in their tents were also mounting their horses and fleeing for their lives, the Hungarians, realizing they had lost all will to fight, did not pursue them. Instead, they rushed into the camp and began searching for spoils of war.

They had encountered similar situations several times before. At first, some people were worried that it was a trap, but later, everyone gradually realized that the Mongols seemed to be genuinely fleeing in disarray, without any ability or intention to set up an ambush.

These Hungarian exiles were not exactly in a good financial situation either. After losing their territories, their income decreased significantly, but they could not cut back on the various extravagant expenses of the nobility. In fact, because they were living in a foreign land, they had to increase their spending in order to maintain relations with the local nobles.

That's why they were so eager to get money from Bernhard and agreed to join the war. On the one hand, they desperately needed the commission advanced by Duke Albrecht; on the other hand, they were hoping to plunder some things, as that might be the main source of income.

So they quickly started rummaging through things.

At the same moment, in Bologna, the situation suddenly changed.

Bernhard's army took over the task of attacking the city and, just like the previous two days, began operating various siege machines to rush towards the city gate.

This time, however, several city gates opened simultaneously. Large numbers of soldiers rushed out of the city.

They quickly drove away the enemies near the city gate and began to form ranks. Some nobles who had fought alongside the Habsburgs were surprised to find Swiss flags among them. They were greatly shocked and immediately asked what was going on, wondering if the previous intelligence had been wrong.

While they were in disarray, more soldiers continued to march out of the city in formation. The nobles didn't recognize most of the flags, but they certainly looked like more than just local citizens and militia. Moreover, after the infantry came out, a large contingent of cavalry also trotted out of the city gates.

They no longer used the crudely made bows and arrows they had before, but instead brought various ranged weapons. Some even took a steel crossbow, mounted their horses, and rode off while simultaneously cranking the winch.

Bernhard immediately ordered his soldiers to form ranks to prevent a surprise attack and sent cavalry to drive them away. However, this time, the Mongols circled around and then led a large number of infantry to attack them.

The cavalrymen on both sides passed each other, and in an instant, many were knocked off their mounts. The remaining men were quickly drawn into a melee.

The infantry lagged slightly behind, but made no attempt to slow their advance. The leader, carrying a large banner with the character "Ming" on it, charged towards the cavalry. The others, wielding spears, axes, flails, and clubs, surged forward in a rather disorganized formation, unable to regroup in time.

Before long, the Holy Roman Empire cavalry could not withstand the pincer attack and turned to flee, before Bernhard and his men could even organize reinforcements. The Mongol cavalry followed closely behind.

By this time, the faster mercenaries had already formed ranks. The Mongol cavalry charged straight at them, seemingly intent on taking everyone down with them. However, a few steps in front of the lines, the leader suddenly turned and pulled out a musket.

This weapon was quite crude; to use it, one had to hold it with one hand and light it with a matchlock with the other. Even on the ground, it was inconvenient to use and required prior preparation. Yet this man, still on horseback, steadily gripped the matchlock and plunged it into the medicine pool. With a bang, he shot down the standard-bearer a few steps away.

"Adil! Warrior! Adil! Warrior!" the other Mongols roared.

They formed a column, quickly turning and cutting across the front lines, tossing bullets, crossbow bolts, and even gunpowder canisters and axes into the infantry ranks. The infantry immediately returned fire, shooting down several men with their own muskets and crossbows, but a second and third column followed, firing at the position before the infantry could reload.

The infantry in this area quickly suffered heavy losses, with many falling to the ground. The remaining men hastily retreated to the sides and rear, trying to avoid the concentrated barrage of fire.

Upon discovering the breach, the other Mongol groups, like wolves seeing their prey fall to the ground, surged into the gap like madmen, attacking any enemy they could see.

At the front of the city gate, a large number of infantrymen had already completed their formation. Their speed gradually increased, with one group carrying the Swiss cantonal flag at the core. They slowly went from walking to jogging, and finally began to advance at full speed.

Bernhard had never seen anyone carry such long spears and still maintain formation while running. Although by the end only the middle few dozen could keep their line in place, while the others had scattered considerably, some ahead, some behind, turning the formation into a series of arcs, they still tried to maintain their speed, advancing rapidly to the rhythm of the drummers.

Some nobles and their men, seeing this, tried to flee. Bernhard and his men, unaware of the situation, quickly ordered their infantry to prepare for the charge. However, just a few breaths later, the wall of men crashed into them, causing a large number of the front-line soldiers to fall to the ground.

Bernhard tried to gather more men to hold the line, but the mountain people carrying all sorts of flags began to push and shove his formation, forcing his men to retreat. Seeing this, the soldiers in the center of the position, already shaken by the fierce battle cries from the flanks, began to flee.

Just over an hour into the battle, the entire army was on the verge of collapse.

Half an hour away by bike, the Hungarians were still packing up.

Did you hear anything?

"Didn't notice. Was the siege activity a bit too loud today?"

(End of this chapter)