18th century total war

Chapter 355 Taking Hannover

"Transport the cannon to a position 100 meters away from the enemy, replace it with grape bullets and blast!
Long live His Majesty the Emperor! ! ! "

The gunner who also served as the guard infantry gave an order to the guard infantry gunner under his command.

As for the original artillery, they were already scared away by the fierce battle...

The original obstacles could no longer be seen on the battlefield at this time, and the densely packed corpses engulfed the entire battlefield, and the piles were higher than sandbags!
The guard infantry had to push the heavy artillery forward on Hua Nen's body, and put the artillery in place before the Prussian army launched the next wave of attack.

They don't need to maintain the continuous firing of the artillery, they just need to spray out pieces of grape shells at the moment the enemy rushes up.

Not long after, the earth-shattering cry of killing was heard again in the distance.

Since the ground was already covered with corpses from both sides, it was impossible to fight in formation. The red-eyed Prussian officer simply ordered his soldiers to learn Russian tactics and charge forward with bayonets!

Of course, on the battlefield of one foot and one human body part, the so-called charging is actually a brisk walk. Running is purely to make yourself uncomfortable, and if you are not careful, you will be tripped by inexplicable 'objects'.

Sometimes even a pair of hands would be stretched out suddenly, and one of the "lucky ones" who was still alive would wake up and grab the ankles of passing soldiers!
"For Prussia!

For the king! "

At this moment, the Junker officers showed the biggest difference from other European countries. They brandished command knives or flintlock pistols, and took the lead in charging with their own teams.

It was the leadership of these Junker noble officers that enabled the Prussian soldiers to launch a huge offensive in the face of huge casualties.

The crowd on the opposite side has obscured the horizon, at least in the eyes of the Guards infantry on the front line.

All the guard infantry went to be helpers, pushing the heavy artillery to a place where it could be fired, and piled up simple forts with corpses, and then filled them with grape shells.

After finishing all this, the guard infantry stood in rows of guns relying on the artillery, with their heads held high, their backs carrying explosive packs, and the slow-burning fire pockets hung on their waists, and they raised their flintlock guns with both hands to aim at the opposite enemy crowd.

"Everyone, don't fire, bring the enemy within 30 yards!"

The officer of the infantry guards kept repeating the password.

These are the rules set by Napoleon, because Napoleon knew that Prussian soldiers attached great importance to loading speed and shooting speed in the training camp.

In addition, the military strength of the Kingdom of Prussia is even comparable to that of Britain and the United Kingdom of Ireland on the other side of the strait. The performance of the muskets is good, so that the reloading speed of the Prussian private soldiers is not much slower than that of the Roman Guards.

Therefore, even if the Roman Guards can have a certain advantage in a volley of guns, they will often pay a high price.

After all, this makes the lead bullets have a large caliber, and as long as they do not hit the limbs, they will basically not be saved.

Even if they were lucky enough to break into a limb, the best end would be amputation and becoming a cripple. Obviously, the brainwashing training of the Roman Guards did not allow them to become a cripple. They would rather be a self-destruct person than a cripple!
Therefore, for the soldiers of the Roman Guards, being hit means reducing the number of combat personnel!

Because of this, Napoleon felt that queuing up with the Prussian army to shoot was an inefficient way to kill the enemy, and it was not as effective as using close-range salvo, artillery salvo and self-exploding bayonet tactics.

When Napoleon's troops faced the closely-arranged Prussian soldiers, they would use close-range three-row salvo tactics to shoot a round of guns, then throw a round of explosives at a closer distance, and then charge with bayonets.

If the opponent cannot be defeated in this way, a special self-destruction person will be sent. Generally speaking, no matter how hard the Prussian army fights, it cannot withstand this series of attacks...

If facing the brainless charging Prussian soldiers (the Prussian army has an absolute superiority in strength), as it is now, the cannons approached, level with the infantry battle line, brought the enemy closer, and then threw Grenade and bayonet charge.

If this set of combined punches is done and the charge of the Prussian soldiers is still not defeated, then it is time for the self-destructive man to enter the field.

The Prussian army has too many numerical advantages. If there is a prolonged bayonet fight, the losses of the guard infantry will be unimaginably high.

On the battlefield, it doesn't mean that you can win if you don't die. After all, on the battlefield where corpses are everywhere, those who have the courage to charge will basically have a surge of adrenaline, and it is easy for the blood to go to the brain. It is not an isolated phenomenon to die.

Especially when there are a large number of people, morale can often collapse for a longer time.

Because front-line soldiers often use the simplest way to judge the battlefield situation, look at the strength of the enemy and us around, and see which side has more people!

Wuyang Wuyang's Prussian soldiers charged forward, and many of them fired while charging. The scattered gunshots knocked down a few of the infantry guards who were waiting in line from time to time.

However, the entire battle line did not waver at all, and the front row immediately followed after falling down.

Until the opponent rushed to a distance of thirty yards!

"fire!
Long live His Majesty the Emperor! ! ! "

The fanatical guard infantry officer shouted instinctively while giving the order.

A volley of grape bullets and muskets fired at the rushing crowd one after another. If you looked down from the sky at this time, you would find that the Prussian military uniforms formed the front row of the wave, falling down layer by layer!

The already slow charging speed stopped.

At this time, the officers in the line of the infantry guards shouted loudly again: "Everyone, throw grenades!
Long live His Majesty the Emperor! ! ! "

One after another, smoked grenades fell into the crowd of Prussian soldiers who were stunned by grape bullets and musket salvos. The smoke from the successive explosions quickly enveloped the entire battlefield!

Then, the surviving Prussian soldiers heard a series of French sounds from the opposite side.

"His Majesty the Emperor, long live!!!"

Every guard infantry, when charging with a bayonet, would shout this slogan crazily, with red eyes, like a bloodthirsty beast.

At this moment, they no longer have themselves, they are just a group of tools to fight for Levi.

Before the self-destruction tactics were used, this wave of offensive was completely defeated. The blood that had just been pumped up not long ago collapsed under the huge casualties and the charge of the Roman guards. The fear of death rose to the level of every survivor. The hearts of Prussian soldiers, including those Junker noble officers who survived.

The Roman Guards followed the hordes of routs, trying to expand the results as much as possible.

In fact, the nearly one-to-five casualty ratio between the Roman Guards and the Prussian army was achieved during the pursuit of the defeated soldiers. When the two sides were fighting head-on, the difference in the casualty ratio was actually not that big.

The chase did not last long, because the Prussian reserve team, which had been prepared for a long time, had already formed a strict phalanx of guns and raised their muskets to meet them.

They didn't block the routs head-on, and they would only be hit by their own routs. Under the command of the officers, the Prussian reserve team formed a giant funnel phalanx, and a huge gap was left in the center of the front for the routs to enter. .

The reserve phalanxes on both sides advanced while firing, squeezing the Roman Guards who lost their formation cover during the pursuit.

As a matter of course, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties, the Roman Guards had to give up their pursuit and instead exchanged fire with the Prussian reserves who had come from both sides.

While exchanging fire, retreat.

The Prussian reserve team did not dare to catch up, because there were still a large number of Roman guard reserve troops behind, and once they caught up, they would inevitably be counterattacked by the Roman guard.

In fact, the Prussian reserve team was able to push back the pursuers of the Roman guards mainly because the distance between the pursuers of the Roman guards and the rear reserve team was too long.

Napoleon in the rear did not dare to launch a full-scale attack due to his limited strength. Otherwise, it would not make much sense to defeat the Prussian soldiers head-on.

At that time, the full-scale attack of the Roman Guards will lose the cover of their formation, and if they chase too hard, they will be surrounded by the two wings of the Prussian fresh army. It will be a big loss.

As for sending cavalry, it is even more unrealistic. The cavalry of the Prussian soldier regiment is several times that of the guard cavalry in Napoleon's hands!
The cavalry guards in Napoleon's hands were too stretched to watch the cavalry on the opposite side make a roundabout attack, so how could they be put into the battlefield?

The troop problem Napoleon faced was not a shortage of troops on a local battlefield, but a microcosm of the entire Eastern Front battlefield.

On each front, the anti-French allied forces have an absolute superiority in strength. There are many flat areas suitable for attack, and there are nearly ten times as many allied forces confronting the Roman guards!
Of course, the Anti-French Allied Forces put so many troops on the front line, and they themselves were very uncomfortable, and there were hardly many mobile forces for attack.

Even the army that came to support Hanover was a new system of mixed veterans and recruits. The company with the shortest service life even had less than half a year!
Seeing that his army was forced to retreat again, Napoleon always had a confident smile on his face.

"After this charge is over, the Prussian army on the opposite side should have no fresh troops to use. After clearing the battlefield, tell the soldiers to take a good rest. The general attack will come soon."

…………

Nicholas dejectedly took his company back to the rear. His company was full when he set off, and there were less than 50 people left when he came back...

This is on the premise that Nicholas has combat experience with the former French Defense Forces and knows how to save his life, otherwise Nicholas would not be able to return intact.

"Even the French's self-destruction tactics were not forced out this time. I am afraid that Hannover really cannot hold on."

The soldiers Nicholas passed by were all downcast and had lost hope for victory. Even the reserve team who had just pushed back the Roman Guards often had numb faces when they retreated, showing no joy in repelling the enemy.

This is normal. Rather than saying that they repelled the enemy, it is better to say that the Roman Guards retreated on their own initiative.

Even though they clearly had a numerical advantage, the officers did not dare to give orders to pursue them, and watched as the enemy, whose numbers were far smaller than theirs, calmly left.

Everyone has seen the crazy fighting posture of the enemy army, so how can there be any expectations for victory?
The only thing supporting them is probably only their own side that still has the advantage in military strength.

However, the advantage in military strength does not mean that they can survive!
Although the soldiers and grassroots officers did not know the terrible casualty exchange ratio of [-]:[-], they knew that their side had far more dead than the enemy!
As long as you find a high point at random, look at the corpses at the front of the battlefield in the distance, and count the number of military uniforms on both sides, you can easily compare them...

Nicholas, who had just finished counting the battle damage of his troops, was about to look for the junior commander of his battalion, but a colonel was waiting for him!
After the other party confirmed the formation that Nicholas was in, he promoted Nicholas to the temporary battalion commander on the spot, and assigned the remnants of other companies to Nicholas.

The reason is that Nicholas is now the only captain in this battalion!
Of course, this promotion is only temporary, and Nicholas's military rank has not changed. After this battle is over, his temporary battalion commander may disappear due to being merged into other battalions.

However, this can be regarded as a kind of qualification. When you are promoted in the future, you will get the opportunity to be promoted first. After all, you have experience as a battalion commander, right?

However, this incident did not make Nicholas happy. He congratulated himself for stepping through the major's threshold, but instead frowned.

He encountered this kind of situation in the fourth anti-French war, and it would only happen when the military establishment was severely damaged and the officers' battle losses were too high.

Otherwise, his battalion should not promote him as a temporary battalion commander, but assign him to other battalion commanders.

Sure enough, Nicholas, who was appointed by the temporary battalion commander, received an order to retreat in less than half a day.

Evacuate from Hannover!
This indicates that they have completely failed in this Battle of Hanover!

It's not that there are insufficient troops or ammunition, but that the military's morale and morale are no longer able to withstand high-intensity battles. This unit needs to go to the rear for a period of rest before it can regain its combat effectiveness.

A few regiments with a fairly complete organizational system were left as rear troops, and Nicholas left the city where an unknown number of his comrades died.

When he came, Nicholas had dozens of close comrades in arms. When he left, he was surrounded by unfamiliar faces, and the shortest time he had known each other was less than a day!
Nicholas didn't know whether he should thank God for the gift or complain that this damn world is like hell!
As soon as the shadow of Hannover disappeared from Nicholas' vision, he heard continuous artillery fire.

Nicholas knew that the troops at the back of the palace must be in bad luck, and even surrendered in an organized system may not be sure.

The next day, Napoleon stood on the high-rise balcony of the Hanover City Hall, looked at the infantry guards lined up below, raised his right arm and shouted: "Your Majesty the Emperor, long live!"

(End of this chapter)