18th century total war

Chapter 244
In the Prussian army, from the generals to the privates, they all thought that the Black Dragon Army that rushed up was a line infantry team, but they did not expect that they were also part-time grenadiers!
At this time, the distance between the two sides is only a little over 20 steps, and the infantrymen only need to rush forward a few steps, and throw their arms away. These infantrymen, which are equivalent to the existence of Hercules among humans, can pass Throw grenades into the ranks of Prussian privates!
In fact, the infantry guards did the same!

When the first batch of grenades fell into the Prussian battle line, the only sound of shooting among the Prussian soldiers stopped abruptly, and the continuous explosion smoke completely enveloped the entire Prussian army's battle line.

The Prussian general behind closed his eyes in despair, he knew that the first wave of frontal attack had completely collapsed.

"Send the reserve team up to cover our attacking team to withdraw safely, don't love to fight.

Move your guns forward, prepare your shotgun shots, and intercept the pursuing enemy infantry!

............"

Orders were issued in an orderly manner by the Prussian general in charge. After all, the Prussian army had an advantage in strength, and they were far from being defeated.

The determination of the Prussian-Austrian Allied Forces to attack this time is much higher than the first time. The disastrous defeat in the Battle of Valmy made the Prussian-Austrian Allied Forces "inspired".

In the French region where the revolutionary enthusiasm is high, you can't hold the idea of ​​​​withdrawing to the mainland after failure. No matter how well the team is maintained, they will be chased and killed by the spontaneously gathered French militia on the way to retreat!
Yes, in the Battle of Valmy, not many people died in the frontal battle of the Prussian-Austrian coalition forces, and most of the battle losses were killed by pursuit and harassment during the retreat.

This time the Prussian-Austrian Allied Forces had more troops and stronger firepower, and they entered the French mainland with the belief that they would win.

Before the smoke cleared, the attacking Prussian battle line collapsed, followed by the frenzied charge shouts of the guard infantry.

"Attach the bayonet, for Master Li Wei, charge!!!"

"Long live Lord Li Wei!
The Black Dragon Legion will win! "

The high-profile slogans one after another made the defeated Prussian soldiers feel heartbroken. They wished that their parents would give them two more legs, so that they could shake off the ghost-like enemies behind them like a cheetah.

Many Prussian privates abandoned their muskets and ammunition pouches in order to lighten their load, and even after doing so, they would be severely punished if they returned to the barracks.

In the face of life and death, everyone can't care so much anymore.

However, the physical fitness of the Guards infantry was significantly higher than that of the Prussian privates. With a single charge, even if the Prussian privates were being defeated, thousands of people were knocked down by the Guards infantry in just a few minutes!

The infantrymen of the Guards shouted "surrender without killing" in French while charging...

It's a pity that the Prussian privates can't understand French!
The language barrier became the chief culprit for the mass killing of Prussian private soldiers by the infantry guards...

Fortunately, there are also some Prussian privates who are more flexible in their minds, or have already resigned to their fate. They kneel on the ground and throw away their weapons and raise their hands to express their surrender. They keep shouting German that the infantry guards cannot understand...

Li Wei's Black Dragon Legion was brainwashed and trained by the French, so they naturally couldn't understand the German with a dialect taste in the Prussian population!
However, the infantry guards can still understand this international gesture of surrender. Many Prussian privates who raised their hands and knelt on the ground found that the ferocious Black Dragon Legion soldiers passed by them, panting like the rest of their lives gruff.

Not tired, but scared!

The chasing speed of the infantrymen once again exceeded the imagination of the Prussian generals. If one or two people had the running speed of the infantrymen, the Prussian generals might praise them and think that these two people are good soldiers. Miaozi, your physical fitness is awesome!
He would even tease the other party's wife that under such a great husband's cultivation, she would be so happy that she would burst apart...

Women are a never-ending topic among men!

However, thousands of enemy soldiers are running at this speed, which is a bit scary!

This is like in the world of Li Wei's previous life, the unemployed youth next door ran at the speed of the world sprint champion Bolt. It is surprising. What if all the neighbors around can run at this speed?
Well, maybe it's a horror movie...

For the current Prussian generals, their hearts are so turbulent that they cannot calm down.

More than [-]% of the soldiers in the Prussian battle line responsible for the attack failed to reach the battle line of their own reserves!
You must know that the speed of retreating soldiers is often faster than that of chasing soldiers. This is common sense!

Because the rout does not need to maintain the formation, it can let go of its feet and run wildly, and even throw away its weapons and equipment and other loads!
Now, this common sense is broken by the infantry guards...

Perhaps the French people are used to the abnormal collective physical fitness of the Black Dragon Legion soldiers, but this is the first time for the Prussians to see it!

Soon, the infantrymen who were chasing saw the densely packed bayonet battle line ahead. The number of Prussian reserve teams coming to rescue was no less than the first wave of offensive teams. Shooting, just stepping forward slowly in the way of a bayonet jungle, and those Prussian routs passed through the gaps between the small phalanxes of each company.

Behind the bayonet phalanx of the reserve team, there are cannons being pushed forward by the Prussian artillery shouting.

The infantry guards who were chasing saw such a dense bayonet jungle, and knew that if they rushed in with their personal bravery, they would be stabbed into a sieve if they could not show their bayonet hand-to-hand combat skills. Under the command, regroup.

After the infantry guards completed the formation, all the remaining Prussian routs had been rescued, and the battle line of the Prussian reserve team no longer moved forward, but stayed in place, staring at the enemy who was a little too close at a distance of a hundred paces. The Black Dragon Legion outside.

Just when the Prussian generals thought that the Black Dragon Legion was going to continue to attack, the infantry guards who had just completed the entire team suddenly split apart!
From the many gaps in their army formation, a field gun that had been loaded with cannonballs was pushed out, scaring the Prussian reserve soldiers into collective silence.

The officers of the Prussian reserve had no time to change their formations when they heard a series of bombardments from the opposite side, including mortars placed in the back row and firing in a parabolic pattern!
These mortars are not old-fashioned stuff. After Li Wei took over Paris, he took over all the ammunition of the original National Salvation Revolutionary Army. Those old-fashioned mortars that were not even as good as muskets were naturally eliminated, or they were refurbished or simply destroyed!
Although the range of the mortars used by the Black Dragon Legion is not comparable to that of the later mountain cannons, at least the effective range is a little bit farther than the muskets, enough to parabolicly strike the enemy outside the range of the muskets.

This is actually the mainstream mortar in Europe today!
The sprayed cannonballs fanned the line of the Prussian reserve team gathered together, blasting terrible gaps one after another, and each gap cost several or even a dozen lives!

The person who was hit by the shotgun seemed to be pierced all over his body, and even the wounded basically had no need for rescue...

This is the medical system of this era!

However, the Prussian reserve soldiers in the front row were screaming after being bombarded by the shells, and the Prussian reserve soldiers in the back row were drowned out by the explosion of flower bombs one after another...

The strength of the Prussian reserve team was no less than that of the first attack wave, and it collapsed under the close-range bombardment of hundreds of field artillery and mortars!

Not to mention the sergeants and officers responsible for supervising the battle, even God himself could not stop the frightened Prussian army from rout...

So, the infantry guards once again launched a bayonet charge!

Another hearty chase.

The commander of the Prussian general in the rear had not waited for the rout of the first wave of attacking echelons to gather, and saw that the reserve team sent up was routed across the board.

Is it more than 10 minutes from contacting the enemy to breaking up?

The Prussian general couldn't help feeling suspicious...

He couldn't even believe that these soldiers were trained by himself!

Prussia has lost all face!
As a last resort, the Prussian general could only send out the last batch of reserve troops to catch up with the slow-moving artillery team that had stopped at this time, trying to establish the last line of defense to block the impact of the Black Dragon Army.

If the last reserve team is defeated, then the Prussian army of tens of thousands of people may be completely finished, and it will be almost completely wiped out!

The Prussian generals who witnessed the pursuit speed of the soldiers of the Black Dragon Legion with their own eyes did not even dare to retreat with their troops in large strides, fearing that they would not be able to escape the feet of the Black Dragon Legion...

A Prussian assault cavalry, spears in hand, came suddenly from the flank, intending to charge into the pursuing infantry.

Although the Guards infantry were always on the road to a victorious charge, because they had been charging to pursue the remnants of the enemy, they were partially out of touch with the small troops guarding the flanks behind them. This Prussian cavalry saw exactly this, and after a Prussian Under the leadership of the general, they rushed over at full speed.

The speed of the cavalry is still terrifying, and this is an assault cavalry that specializes in restraining infantry.

The so-called assault cavalry are light cavalry equipped with spears and sabers. They not only have the advantage of speed, but also have a lot of charge ability.

Of course, this kind of charge cavalry is often used against infantry units. The most powerful duel between cavalry is cuirassiers and other heavy cavalry.

The reason is simple. Cavalry duels mainly rely on cold weapons, and heavy armor can just overcome cold weapons.

Many heavy cavalry will also be equipped with muskets for immediate use, commonly known as carbines. There are many types of carbines in the 21st century, but there is only one front-mounted type in the 18th century...

The carbine is actually a cavalry musket with a shortened barrel. Because it is inconvenient for cavalry to reload on horseback, it is necessary to shorten the barrel to facilitate reloading.

Once the heavy armored cavalry has muskets, it is basically difficult for the light cavalry to use kiting tactics to shoot them.

Everyone has long-range attack means, who is afraid of whom?

Therefore, the heavy armored cavalry in the era of queuing and shooting is the king of cavalry.

However, not to mention the high training cost of this type of heavy armored cavalry, the effect against infantry is not very good, and because the armor is too heavy, the speed of the horse is far inferior to that of ordinary cavalry, and it is easy to be targeted by artillery!

Therefore, the heavy armored cavalry of this era can only be regarded as the king of cavalry, not the king of all military branches. Compared with the status of the cold weapon era, it has dropped by more than a notch.

Prussia is not a big and rich country, and they don't have many heavy cavalry, so naturally they won't bring all their wealth with them this time.

For Prussia and Austria, this anti-French war was just a revenge and a competition for interests, and it did not harm their core national interests at all, so the real elites of the two countries were not brought out.

The infantry guards, who were close to the direction of the cavalry's charge, were the first to spot the enemy's cavalry and quickly informed his officer.

In the sound of the assembled army whistle, the infantry guards who were chasing gave up chasing and suppressing the defeated enemy, and quickly formed a team.

The timing of the Prussian cavalry raid was very good. They successfully contained the continuous assault of the infantry guards, allowing most of the defeated soldiers to escape back to their own ranks.

This is the disadvantage of not having cavalry. If a cavalry from the Black Dragon Legion rushes out to intercept the Prussian cavalry charge, the infantry guards do not need to stop and regroup to defend against the cavalry attack.

Naturally, the infantry guards will achieve the greatest results, and it is not impossible to even smash the last reserve of the Prussian army in one fell swoop.

Cavalry is still very useful in the era of queuing and shooting.

The Prussian assault cavalry, which was speeding up, saw the enemy's infantry rearranged and formed hollow squares at an incredible speed, so they had to turn their horses around and passed the hollow squares of the infantry guards.

Using cavalry to forcefully charge the enemy's infantry hollow phalanx requires paying a terrible price, and the number of Prussian cavalry is obviously smaller than that of the Black Dragon Legion's infantry guards. If you plunge in, it is not certain how many cavalry can escape... …

As an experienced Prussian cavalry general, he would naturally not make such a low-level mistake.

The flexibility and mobility of the light cavalry was also displayed to the fullest at this moment, and the infantry guards could only watch helplessly as a large group of cavalry passed by beyond the effective range of their muskets!

However, this Prussian assault cavalry was obviously unwilling to return just like that, and they focused on the hundreds of Black Dragon Legion artillery units that had just stopped not long ago!

There are not many guard infantry in the artillery unit, which is the best prey in the eyes of the Prussian assault cavalry.

The disadvantages of the bayonet-on-cannon tactic are revealed at this moment. There is a reason why European powers dare not use the bayonet-on-cannon tactic!

How will the artillery acted by the brave infantry guards deal with this crisis?
(End of this chapter)