I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1289 The Correct Use of Indian Soldiers
Meanwhile, the American artillery had already landed a kilometer away.

The American infantrymen, looking at the thin French line of troops in front of them, were confidently preparing to rout them with several volleys when the cannons on their flanks roared like thunder.

Although the artillery in the Louisiana colony was of mediocre quality, all the gun positions were personally calibrated by Napoleon. They only needed to keep firing at the pre-determined firing angles, and the shells would accurately penetrate the densest areas of American troops.

As bits of flesh flew everywhere, the once unstoppable Americans were suddenly thrown into disarray, with some infantrymen at the very front of the line even collapsing to the ground in fear.

Encouraged, the French troops began to retaliate with volleys.

Under the dense barrage of artillery and flintlock musket fire, 3 American soldiers were forced to retreat by fewer than 1400 French and Spanish soldiers.

The scattered Native American "scatterers" regrouped and continued to whittle down the Americans by firing sniper shots from both sides.

When Wayne looked at the battle situation at the front through his binoculars, he couldn't help but utter words starting with "F".

He hadn't expected the French to have hidden so many cannons, and that their firepower was extremely fierce.

He immediately turned to the messenger and roared, "Order Arnold to deploy all the reserves to the battlefield!"

"Also, tell those artillerymen that if they can't get into firing range within ten minutes, I'll send them all to a military court!"

"Yes, General!"

With Wayne's orders carried out, the number of U.S. troops on the main battlefield had reached 5500.

When Wayne saw the densely packed soldiers surging towards the thinly defended French positions, he finally smiled with satisfaction. Even if the French artillery posed a slight threat, their defenses could not possibly withstand an attack by forces nearly three times their size.

Once these few thousand French troops are defeated, Governor Louisiana will have no choice but to surrender, and for the first time, America's sphere of influence will cross the Mississippi River, a formidable barrier, and extend into the vast central plains of North America.

With the aid promised by the British, after several years of development, the United States' national strength could even approach the level of a first-class European power!

As the architect of all this, Wayne's victory in the next presidential election is virtually a foregone conclusion.

Major Brasseau, the French deputy corps commander, reported to Napoleon: "Sir, the enemy has committed all its forces."

"In addition, there are more than 600 American cavalrymen patrolling on our left flank."

Napoleon rose from his small chair and gestured to Captain Machar, who was standing not far away: "You must immediately go to the left flank to assist in the defense. You must hold off the Americans for at least 40 minutes."

Makar strode over, stood at attention with a stern expression, and said, "Yes, Commander."

He was the commander of a French cavalry battalion with 270 French cavalrymen and more than 100 Native American soldiers under his command. It would be quite difficult for him to deal with more than 600 American cavalrymen.

Moreover, he knew that his frontal defenses would soon be overwhelmed by the swarming Americans, and that he was about to embark on a mission from which there was no return.

Napoleon seemed to sense his worry and said loudly, "I can assure you that the Americans will be defeated in 40 minutes."

He ignored the cavalry battalion commander and gestured to Brasser: "Order Captain Otto to begin the operation."

Otto is the French name for the Native American officer, Little Turtle.

As Brasser ordered the standard-bearer to signal a series of flags down the hill, the two cavalrymen who were already waiting there immediately spurred their horses and galloped into the dense forest on the east side.

The American forces made excellent use of their numerical superiority, advancing the front line by 1 kilometer in just over 20 minutes, while the French army was on the verge of being driven into the Mississippi River. Just as Arnold was preparing to order a final column charge to completely crush the French, he suddenly heard bursts of gunfire from his left.

He initially thought it was just harassment by French skirmishers, but the gunfire became increasingly intense, indicating at least a regiment's worth of troops.

He frowned in confusion. To the east lay a vast, dense forest; there was simply no way they could deploy so many troops.

Before he could figure out what was going on, he saw his left flank army in chaos. He hurriedly ordered the entire army to halt its advance and sent two battalions to reinforce the left flank.

Meanwhile, in the dense forest on the east side of the battlefield, the little turtle was standing on a tree branch five or six meters above the ground, looking at the battlefield outside the forest through binoculars and making a series of strange noises.

More than 1700 Indian soldiers around him peered out from between the trees, aiming their guns at the American soldiers outside.

In the woods, soldiers could not see each other if they were only 3 meters apart, so it was impossible to use flags for command. However, as the whistles commonly used by Native Americans spread, the soldiers maintained a constant distance and were able to act in unison within a 1.5-kilometer-wide area.

The American soldiers attacked outside the woods could barely see where the enemy was, and could only fire randomly into the dark thicket.

After dozens of men were killed by the "ghosts" in the woods, the left flank of the U.S. military began to crumble.

Fortunately, reinforcements sent by Arnold arrived in time, which managed to stabilize the situation.

The American officer commanding the reinforcements frowned as he looked at the flickering firelight in the woods. After a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and ordered his soldiers to form a line and launch an attack.

However, when the American soldiers arrived at the edge of the woods under heavy fire, they were at a loss for what to do.

This place is so awful, once you go in, forget about fighting, you'll all get separated in no time.

But standing here would only make them sitting ducks—most of their volleys hit the tree trunks.

With dozens more soldiers shot and falling to the ground, the American officers had no choice but to order a retreat.

Yes, this was the "Franco-India coordinated tactic" that Napoleon invented on the spot based on the actual situation in Louisiana.

Although these Native Americans couldn't even learn to line up or understand the purpose of legion and company flags, they possessed the ancestral ability to move and fight in the forest.

In fact, they had ambushed Americans in the woods before, but at that time they did not have the concept of modern military operations and lacked firearms, so they could only wait for the Americans to get close before rushing out of the woods to launch a surprise attack.

If the US military reacts quickly enough and organizes a line defense, they will most likely find it difficult to achieve any results and will often suffer heavy losses.

After several months of training by Napoleon, the Native Americans learned the knowledge of coordinated combat and were equipped with a large number of flintlock muskets. As a result, they were able to keep firing from the dense forest and immediately maximize their advantages.

Nearly a hundred more American soldiers were killed during the retreat outside the woods, and the retreat began to turn into a panicked escape.

Combined with the previously defeated troops, the left flank of the US forces was thrown into chaos.

Arnold had arrived in person by then. After briefly ascertaining the situation, he hurriedly told the messenger, "Order everyone to stay at least 300 feet away from this damned thicket!"

Since these Native Americans only dare to hide in the woods and fire shots from the shadows, we can simply stay away from them.

Immediately, a rapid drumbeat sounded on the left flank of the US forces, and more than two thousand soldiers hurriedly gathered towards the center.

(End of this chapter)