open sea

Chapter 1398 The Battle
On the morning of February [-]th, before the morning fog cleared, Ying Ming's troops formed a formation at the edge of the forest fifteen miles northwest of Winchester.

The terrain was not good for him, because there was a small river named Tester behind him, but this was the best place he could find.

The rolling hills and dense forests allow the newly attached three Puli battalions to carry out concealed activities, and they can also block the English cavalry trying to trample the infantry formation on the plain.

In charge of the central army is still the most elite armed force in his hands, [-] Beiyang and Ailan mixed cavalry, at the junction of fields and dense forests, the front of the front is still reliable and brave Miaoluokui warriors.

The war caused the peasants to flee in all directions. Miao Luokui dug two arc-shaped trenches in the barren fields during the farming season. In order to delay the enemy cavalry, the trenches were dug wider than usual. In fact, this thing may not be useful in the offensive .

But soldiers need them for courage, at least fortifications to hold if the offensive fails.

Originally, Mingming’s ideal state was to dig three trenches, but the main training direction of Miaoluokui soldiers was the most suitable battle formation and new weapon training rather than more detailed tactics, so the ability to dig fortifications could not meet the requirements.

What the Beiyang Army can do in two hours, they can barely finish in four hours, and the acceptance of fortifications is not so satisfactory.

When the British army appeared on the horizon, Ying Ming was a little surprised by its imposing manner.

He fought many times with the English troops in Alan, and traveled all the way from Puli County to the east. He encountered quite a few English troops, but those enemy troops gave him a feeling of being a mob, even if the armor was not enough. Poor, weapons and equipment do not lag behind the countries of Western France, but there is always no decent military formation.

Every time I watch the enemy army go into battle, I feel like I am going to fight in groups.

This time was an exception. Through the telescope, he saw the first large infantry formation consisting of ten small square formations in the distant field, with almost 2000 people.

The infantrymen with their shields still had various coats of arms printed on them, but they no longer held up the flags of each family. The bannermen of each phalanx all held patterns of the same size and color. Different roman numeral logotypes.

It seems to be a rush job, but it is undoubtedly very simple, effective and full of practical significance in Ying Ming's view.

Ying Ming believes that this simple method of command is suitable for a general with a low military level to lead soldiers with an equally low military level, such as him and his Puli Battalion; or Mr. Carrot and his carrot soldiers.

When a thick large horizontal formation stands in front of the formation, and then slowly moves forward with military music, and a large horizontal formation stands behind it, the flags are exactly the same, but the colors are different.

Supporting the two wings are two teams of cavalry with light armor and heavy armor. In addition, there are two artillery teams between the infantry and the cavalry, six bronze long cannons.

Nearly [-] soldiers appeared on the English battlefield in completely different formations.

This number has already surpassed Yingming's scouts who reported the enemy's estimated strength earlier, and was even killed by the third Muye Battalion on the way by hundreds, a huge force.

Earl Robert Dudley was also proud of this. He had no reputation under his name. As England's most promising man to let the Queen take maternity leave, he had enough pride.

These soldiers were completely reorganized and trained by him for a short time, using the latest European phalanx warfare methods to make up for the lack of nobles among registered sailors, and using short-term phalanx captains to replace the presence of nobles in battle.

He has figured out the trick.

In the past, the aristocratic conscripts had high mobilization ability, but the combat ability of ordinary soldiers was extremely low, and the aristocrats were the backbone of the battle. Basically, the aristocrats died or fled, and the troops they led were also wiped out, and it was difficult to reorganize.

But the officers are different. Although the combat ability of the officers is not high, the escape of casualties will also cause the army to collapse, but as long as another officer is promoted and appointed, the army can be gathered and reorganized.

The transformation of nobles into civilians who dominate the war will allow the great feudal lords to better bear losses, so that the entire country will not be able to recover after ten or twenty years after hundreds of nobles are captured.

Earl Robert was even considering that when the situation of the war becomes like this, it will become possible for the troops to use a large number of muskets, and the longbow, which is generally more difficult to use, harder to make, and less powerful, will be eliminated.

But right now, he had to finish this battle before he had a chance to worry about other things.

The two sides confronted each other for nearly half an hour. Yingming didn't know why the opponent didn't attack. It might be that a scout came over yesterday and saw them building fortifications, but he didn't care, it was just what he wanted.

He didn't know how the British army's food was. Anyway, his troops had dinner first before coming to the formation. Beiyang's training required that under normal circumstances, strenuous exercise was not allowed for half an hour after a meal.

Ying Ming didn't know the reason, but since the military government asked for it, it's better not to do that, so his troops were not allowed to speak, and all sat cross-legged in place to digest food.

When the time came, seeing that the enemy army had no intention of coming forward, the sound of war drums rang continuously.

With the command flag unfurled, the No. [-] Muye Battalion at the front of the battle line put wide planks on the trenches and marched out in unison; then the two Puli Battalions followed, one on the left and one on the right, and the other two Muye Battalions stepped forward with a Puli Battalion sandwiched between them. , the army array pressed up to the enemy like a mountain.

They brought some tiger squatting guns and Frang machine guns, and General Zhenshuo, who was handicapped, remained in the camp.

As soon as the Ming army moved, the carrot army on the opposite side quickly followed suit, walking slowly towards the Ming army, seemingly conserving their strength.

When the distance between the two armies was only four miles, the Ming army slowly stopped in an irregular formation, formed the formation, untied the Fran cannon from the pack horse, turned the muzzle, and continued to be pushed by the Alan soldiers after forming the formation. go ahead.

Some of the soldiers pushing the trolleys had already fixed the trolleys as rocket launchers, and the 24 Shenwei mechanism arrows were placed, and their own army waved the Xiaolong flag to the Chinese army behind the formation.

The army formation continued to advance, and England's artillery fired first. Six shells smashed into the advancing army formation with screams. A large expanse of turf and dirt was thrown up on the ground and splashed in all directions.

In the gunpowder smoke, screams sounded from behind the Ming army. 24 rockets were launched into the sky one after another, drawing arcs across the sky amidst the strange screams of fire, and crashed into the English army formation.

Almost at the same time, the tiger crouching guns put their feet on the front of the formation two miles away, ready to go, and the Fran cannons belonging to each battalion were loaded with scattered tubes and sprayed out towards the opposing army formation.

For a moment, the shotgun pierced the air and the rocket exploded, dyeing the front line of the battle red and bloody.

For the soldiers, the most difficult moment has come. Whoever can't bear the artillery fire first, whoever launches the charge first, will lose his physical advantage and further lead to weakness.

(End of this chapter)