Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 251 Storm (Part )

"This rainy day is not very good for our cavalry!" Zhao Shuanzhu held the reins of the horse, looked up at the fine rain curtain, and muttered to himself.

Rain dripped down the brim of his helmet and soaked his shoulder armor.

The horse seemed to sense its owner's worry, shaking its mane and gently paddling its hooves on the muddy ground.

Not only would the rain and fog obscure the cavalry's vision, but the slippery ground would also reduce the horses' running speed and maneuverability, and they might slip if they were not careful.

If we defeat the Spanish army later, our cavalry will not be able to accelerate for a while when they launch a charge, and the power and effectiveness of the charge will be greatly reduced!

Haha, why should a small soldier like me worry about this?
When the time comes to charge, just follow the squadron leader with a knife in hand and charge forward.

Even if it snows or hails, as long as the superiors give the order, we will still launch a desperate charge no matter what the situation.

Zhao Shuanzhu shook his head, threw away his messy thoughts, and then looked at his entire army formation.

Over seven hundred fusiliers were arrayed in six wide lines, each line consisting of more than one hundred and twenty men.

The soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, the flintlock rifles in their hands gleaming coldly under the rain.

When facing the enemy head-on, all soldiers will quickly complete loading their ammunition, and the soldiers in the back row will move forward one by one to fill the gaps between the soldiers in the front row, and the queue will be reduced from six rows to three rows.

The first row of soldiers shoot while kneeling, and the second row shoots while standing. In this way, the first round of firepower will form an extremely dense firepower network, which will cause the greatest damage to the oncoming enemy.

If the enemy still does not collapse after suffering this heavy blow, the third row of soldiers will move forward a few steps, cross the first and second rows, and launch a second round of supplementary fire at the enemy, thereby defeating the enemy's concentrated counterattack.

Zhao Shuanzhu's gaze swept across the faces of the flintlock soldiers. Although the fine rain and mist blurred their expressions, he could feel the oppressive and tense atmosphere.

More than 320 spearmen were located behind the flintlock formation, serving as the army's reserve to deal with rapid charges launched by the enemy or cavalry raids.

In fact, the muskets held by the flintlock soldiers in the front rows of the formation were equipped with a blunderbuss (bayonet). When facing an enemy charge or a cavalry assault, they could also erect a "spear wall" like spearmen to block the enemy's attack.

However, it seems that I heard the flintlock soldiers complain privately that the musket sword was too heavy, and the weight of the musket itself made it too strenuous for the soldiers to swing and stab.

Moreover, the strength and durability of the gun sword are relatively poor. During training, if it collides or stabs with hard objects with a little force, it will be deformed or broken.

Zhao Shuanzhu's gaze shifted to the artillery positions. Xinhua's artillery consisted of ten guns, deployed between the lines, providing fire support for the entire army. The gunners were busy checking the guns and ammunition, preparing for the upcoming battle.

Their more than 130 cavalrymen (most of whom were temporarily recruited armed militia) were on the right wing of the team, responsible for cover and mobile support.

Of course, if the Spanish army was defeated, they would take advantage of the situation to attack, break up their ranks and prevent them from launching a counterattack.

The entire army advanced forward at a steady pace, like a moving military machine, approaching the enemy step by step firmly and powerfully.

After stopping and walking for nearly an hour, the troops stopped at a place about six or seven hundred meters away from the Spanish army to rest for a while and replenish food and water, making final preparations for the upcoming battle.

"Check the protective gear!" The officers' voices were particularly clear in the rain.

"Check weapons!"

"whole team!"

"Step together...go!"

The rhythmic sound of drums and trumpets rang out again, and the huge army marched in neat steps to the beat of the drums, heading towards the Spanish army.

On the right side of each row, officers blew sharp whistles and shouted commands from time to time: "One, two, one, two, one..."

"Pay attention to the queue!"

"Pace yourself!"

"One two one, one two one..."

The Spanish army on the opposite side did not move at all, obviously wanting to wait and see, forcing the Xinhua Army to cover this not-so-short distance, thereby maximizing their physical and...spiritual exhaustion.

Under the constant shouts of the officers, the soldiers advanced slowly, stepping to the beat of the drums and taking steady steps.

Although many soldiers seemed nervous when they first arrived at the battlefield, when they were in the neat military formation and were infected by the solemn military atmosphere, they tried their best to restrain their inner fear, show their bravery as much as possible, hold their heads high, and move forward firmly.

"Artillery ready!"

"Bombard the Spanish lines!"

When they were about 600 meters away from the Spanish army, Mo Tianhai loudly issued a military order.

Since you Spaniards are standing there motionless, we will use artillery to force you to move!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

The four 95mm caliber artillery pieces (imitating Napoleon's 8-pounder cannons) in the middle of the two infantry phalanxes opened fire first. As the smoke rose, the shells streaked through the air and slammed heavily into the Spanish formation.

However, the first round of artillery fire was not very effective. Three shells missed the target, grazed the right side of the Spanish formation, and landed in the muddy farmland.

Only one shell hit the Spanish army, killing and wounding several people, but the ground was too soft and it bounced only once before sinking deep into the soil.

But this round of shelling still surprised the Spaniards and caused a commotion.

The pirates' artillery has such a long range!
You should know that the 3-pound and 4-pound smoothbore cannons of this period had an effective range of only about to meters when firing spherical shells.

Of course, this refers to the direct firing distance, striking the dense array of enemy forces.

If the elevation angle is increased, it will not be a problem to hit the target at a distance of one or two kilometers, and it can even fly up to three kilometers.

But the problem is, after firing at such a long distance, you have no idea where the shell is going!

Also, at such a large elevation angle, the lethality effect will be extremely poor.

It's like throwing a piece of iron into the sky above the enemy formation, and you don't know where it will end up.

Well, even if it happens to fall into the enemy's formation, the casualties to personnel will be extremely limited.

The technical point of artillery is how to make a beautiful series of drift landings to cause the most casualties, rather than to shoot high and far.

Moreover, shooting at high angles can cause fatal damage to the gun mount.

The Xinhua Army's artillery could hit Spanish soldiers standing in formation at a distance of 600 meters. It goes without saying that this dealt a heavy blow to Spanish morale.

Because this means that if they stay still, they will be subjected to continuous artillery attacks from the enemy.

Even if our own artillery managed to fire, it would not be able to hit the enemy at all, or the damage would be limited.

Not long after the Xinhua artillery launched the second round of bombardment and smashed most of the shells into the dense formation of the Spanish army, they finally moved and slowly killed the Xinhua army in their strict formation.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

As the two armies moved towards each other, the distance between them began to close.

The Xinhua Army artillery unleashed a third round of bombardment. The nearly straight trajectory of the projectiles traversed the hundreds of meters between the two armies, slamming into the tightly packed Spanish formation. "Puff! Puff! Puff!" The sound of shells impacting bodies rang out continuously. Like plowshares, the shells carved bloody tunnels through the crowd, splattering blood and shattering flesh, inflicting horrific casualties on the Spanish.

The Spanish officers in the army were horrified by this situation, but they still did not forget their duties and military honor. They kept shouting and scolding, reorganizing the soldiers who were in chaos in the army and stabilizing the somewhat shaken morale.

They were dressed in gorgeous military uniforms, constantly moving around in the formation, comforting the frightened soldiers, and trying their best to let the soldiers under their command see their figures and feel their presence.

The continuous bombardment of artillery created gaps in the Spanish formation, but soon under the organization of the officers, the soldiers in the back row quickly stepped forward and filled the formation, showing extremely rare fighting courage.

Why didn't our artillery launch a counterattack?
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

As if to prove their existence and to boost their own morale, several 4-pound bronze cannons in the Spanish formation fired one after another.

The shells flew over the open space and crashed into the slightly wider formation of the Xinhua Army, creating several bloody tunnels.

"Each team controls the tempo!"

“Follow the drum!”

“Fill in!…Fill in!”

The officers of the Xinhua Army roared loudly. They wore a breastplate, with ammunition bags and command knives hanging around their waists, and a "Type 31-A" flintlock rifle slung across their shoulders. They stared at the situation ahead while glancing at the soldiers under their command. They kept shouting commands and straightening up the ranks.

In fact, they also knew that the breastplate on their bodies could not guarantee that they would not be injured by artillery shells, but the heavy armor still made them feel a little psychologically safe.

As the Spanish artillery fired, the soldiers became noticeably more nervous, especially the many militiamen. Their steps began to become a little stiff, and their eyes darted around, causing some of them to gradually stop marching according to the drum beats and commands. The queue became a little crooked, and the entire army formation became a little deformed.

If it weren't for the strict military discipline and the officers' reprimands and scolding, he would have retreated uncontrollably.

In the first round of artillery fire from the Spanish, two shells penetrated the left-side formation. The powerful projectiles hit three or four armed militiamen in succession before they barely stopped and fell to the mud.

Fortunately, the continuous drizzle made the ground muddy and soft, so the shells did not bounce back and cause secondary casualties.

However, the soldiers who were hit by the shells were either killed or injured, with their legs and hands broken, and the scene was extremely bloody.

The soldiers who were killed on the spot were fine, but the two wounded soldiers whose legs and arms were broken by the shells lay on the ground wailing, blood spurting out like a fountain. They tried to cover the wounds with their hands, but it was of no use at all. Large pools of blood flowed and spread in the mud.

A medical soldier ran over quickly, wrapped large rolls of bandages around the wound with some comfort, patted the wounded soldier's back, and whispered soothing words.

With such a serious injury, the artery must have been broken. Even if Hua Tuo came, he would not be able to save him. His death was already inevitable.

But as a medical soldier, he still had to try his best to rescue the wounded. Otherwise, if he let them lie on the ground wailing and bleeding, it would fill the other soldiers with endless fear.

Regardless of whether he can be cured or not, at least I didn't abandon him and watch him die indifferently.

The Xinhua Army's gunners seemed to be irritated by the Spanish artillery fire. They quickly cleaned the barrels, loaded gunpowder, stuffed in the shells, and finally compacted them with the bullet rods, demonstrating their skilled movements that they had trained in daily life to perfection.

"Ready!"

"put!"

The gunner glanced forward briefly, then swung his arms violently.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

After the bullet flew out of the muzzle, it whistled and hit the Spanish army at a speed that was unattainable to the naked eye, as if a few pebbles were thrown into the rippling waves, creating several long ripples.

However, within just a few breaths, the ripples of the splashing water quickly calmed down and continued to surge forward.

Despite showing rare resilience and being subjected to five consecutive rounds of artillery fire, the Spaniards still maintained the integrity of their phalanx and approached the Xinhua Army at their existing marching speed, neither hurried nor slow.

But the commander, Colonel Mattrett, kept complaining inwardly and looked at the Indian servants in front of the team with a worried look.

These people were obviously frightened by the pirates' fierce bombardment. Many of them hesitated to move forward with spears in hand, and even looked around, showing signs of disbanding and fleeing.

If they had not had a team of Creole musketeers behind them, holding them down tightly, and if not for the constant yelling and kicking from several officers, these Indians might have simply dropped their weapons and turned and fled.

Yes, most of these Indians had never seen the scene of artillery bombardment, let alone experienced the fear of being ravaged by artillery round after round.

Looking at their companions beside them, whose bodies were pierced by shells, their thighs were cut off, or their arms were wiped off, a large amount of blood gushed out instantly, and their limbs and arms flew everywhere. The shrill and high-pitched screams all stimulated their fragile nerves.

Damn, could it be that the pirates moved the heavy artillery from their ship here?

Compared with the pirates on the opposite side, our four cannons were completely unable to provide fire support. Instead, we were hit by their ten cannons and had almost no ability to fight back.

Not only are the number of artillery pieces far less than that of the enemy, but the frequency of firing is also lower than theirs!
In just a few minutes, the pirates fired four or five rounds of artillery, but our artillery only fired one round.

"Speed ​​up!" Colonel Mattrett raised his command knife and pointed forward.

It is necessary to rush close to the pirates and use muskets to defeat their resistance.

The pirate army was arranged in an extremely wide horizontal formation, and the front rows of soldiers were all holding "spears", hiding their few musketeers in the formation, as if they were planning to use the advantage in artillery numbers to defeat our army's formation and then launch a full-scale attack.

Humph, I will let you see the power of our Spanish Kingdom Army's volley gun shooting soon.

As long as you get within the range of the muskets, we can use our army's continuous firepower output to send all of your large number of spearmen to see God.

Oh, no, it should be sent to hell!
The armies of both sides were getting closer and closer, artillery continued to roar, and blood and lives were constantly flowing.

300 meters!
200 meters!
150 meters!
The pirates' artillery fired another round. As the breeze blew, the smoke slowly dissipated and the pirates' figures became clearly visible.

"Huh?" Colonel Matrete was surprised to see that the pirate army opposite suddenly stopped, put down the "spears" on their shoulders, and then began to tinker with them with their heads down.

What are they doing?
He raised the monocular and carefully observed the movements on the opposite side.

The pirate soldiers fumbled with the slightly short "spear" in their hands for a few times, then raised it again, pointed it at their own army formation from a distance, and advanced slowly with small steps.

Those short and thin "spears" seem a bit like muskets!

"That's a musket!" Colonel Matret's eyes widened immediately, and he looked at the pirates' formation in disbelief.

No wonder when I first observed the pirate formation, I always felt that the "spears" carried on the shoulders of the first few rows of soldiers were a bit strange.

However, due to the influence of rain and fog, I couldn't see it clearly.

100 meters!
The pirate army took a few more steps and then stopped, raising the muskets with sharp rapiers in their hands.

Suddenly, a shrill copper whistle sounded, and sparks flashed in front, followed by plumes of smoke rising.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

The sound of frying beans filled the entire wilderness.

(End of this chapter)