Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

Georgie, the head of the Yeniceri regiment, remained unwavering and continued to lead the army forward.

In addition to the compound bows of the Azab infantry, the Ottoman artillery behind them is still providing massive fire support.The walls of the Crusader fortress are covered with a layer of weedy soil. Once hit by a shell, it will be a scene of mud and grass flying around, which looks amazing.

This also gave the Ottomans an illusion: the effect of their own shelling should be pretty good.

When rushing to 100 meters away from the bastion, the keen and alert Georgie suddenly found that the ground under his feet had a sudden slope.

When he looked down, he found that the land under his feet had obvious signs of artificial transformation. The original flat land became a gentle slope that gradually rose.When reaching the highest point, it is almost level with the top of the opposite city wall.

Qiaoerjie really didn't understand the meaning of the other party's creation of such a slope.He thought for a few seconds, and when there was no result, he put the matter behind him, shouted, and ordered the whole army to charge, to rush to the bottom of the ditch as quickly as possible, and set up the siege ladder .

He might not have imagined that this section of gentle slope is actually the most inconspicuous, but also the most critical and deadly facility in the entire bastion defense system.

This is the defense slope.

Giorgi didn't know that he was leading the elite Janissaries to hell.

Chapter 470 Six Defense Slope

As we all know, artillery weapons have elevation and depression angles.Even ordinary people without military experience, as long as they have played games such as "World of Tanks", they can be very impressed with the importance of the parameter of shooting angle.

When using front-mounted artillery to defend the city, the limitation of the artillery depression angle will seriously restrict the firepower of the defender.

The space on the city wall is limited, and the distance that the artillery slides backward due to the recoil after firing must be considered. Therefore, the defenders are far less flexible than the attackers when arranging artillery.

When the enemy rushes close enough to the city wall, the artillery of the defenders will face the embarrassing problem that the depression angle is not enough to shoot down at the enemy.

The defensive slope is the solution to this problem that modern military experts have come up with after paying the price of blood and fire.

With the defensive slope designed through precise calculation, when the attacking soldiers charge, as he steps on the defensive slope, the distance from the city wall becomes shorter and shorter, and his height becomes higher and higher.In this way, it can always be within the firing range of the artillery.

From the perspective of the gunners on the city wall, the enemy on the defensive slope changed from a small black spot to a big black spot from far to near, without any change in position.One's own artillery does not even need to adjust the angle according to the distance of the enemy, it just needs to keep firing.

This has greatly improved the accuracy and firing speed of artillery fire.

The artillery in the bastion has a range no worse than those of the Ottomans' magic stone-shooting cannons.The gap between design and manufacturing process cannot be completely made up by relying on magic.It's just that since the start of the war, Ma Youfu deliberately ordered the artillery not to fight back, showing the enemy's weakness.

Anyway, the Ottoman cannons posed little threat to the bastion. What Ma Youfu was worried about was that the cold weapon army on the opposite side adopted the most primitive ants-attached siege method, using the advantage of numbers to turn this defensive battle into a cruel consumption of human lives. war.

Following him to sit in the bastion was a direct infantry battalion recruited from the Earl of Rouen, plus four infantry companies, and two new artillery pieces operated by dwarf craftsmen.

This is Ma Youfu's old foundation. Of course, he should cherish it and use it to minimize losses.

Therefore, instead of exposing one's strong firepower prematurely to destroy the enemy's artillery that is not a big threat, it is better to quietly bring the negligent enemy closer, and then let the opponent drench a steel rainstorm composed of grape bullets.

In the first wave of the enemy's offensive, only crossbowmen and counterfeit longbowmen who could shoot back from the bastion initially fought back. Such firepower can only kill a few lightly armed Azabu cannon fodder mercenaries. There is no threat.This also led to the negligence of the Ottomans. Although the experienced Yeniceri found that the slope under his feet was not right, he still did not realize that the danger had come.

"The first infantry company and the second infantry company, get ready!" Ma Youfu stood on the city wall, and when he saw that the enemy had already stepped on the gentle slope, he immediately gave an order.

The artillerymen who had to do heavy physical work didn't wear any armor. They had been hiding behind the bunkers made of wooden boards to avoid the arrow rain of the Ottomans.Upon hearing Ma Youfu's order at this time, they immediately pushed the [-]-pounder infantry gun, which had already been loaded with gunpowder and shells, and adjusted the angle in advance, to the predetermined position.

According to Ma Youfu's instructions, after the artillery wheels pressed against the specially painted yellow line on the ground, the extended line of the muzzle and the slope of the defense slope formed a pair of parallel lines.

"Fire!"

Ma Youfu gave an order, and the gunners lit the fuze.

Due to the limited length, a section of the city wall facing the mountain pass, plus two protruding triangular platforms on both sides, can only place a total of eight artillery pieces.The other two artillery companies cannot be put into battle and can only be used as backup.

Even so, the grape shells fired by the eight twelve-pound guns made the Ottomans feel for the first time what is literally "reign of terror".

Whether you were an ordinary farmer from the Germian Mountains or a handicraft family in Macedonia.

No matter you were born to believe in the true god Ankabal, or you followed the seven saints as a child, you only changed your belief after being recruited to the Sultan's court.

Whether you're clad in fine fortified chain mail, or wrapped in a cotton black robe.

These are meaningless in the face of nearly two hundred citrus-sized iron bullets with a muzzle velocity exceeding 300 meters per second.

Before the screams could be heard, a large group of Mulhollan fighters were swept to the ground by the iron rain.From a distance, it looks like hundreds of bloody blood flowers bloom instantly.

All of a sudden, corpses littered the pillow, and blood mixed with human tissue spread out, infecting the originally yellow-brown land into a mess.

After the shooting, the artillerymen pulled the artillery to the position behind the city wall and began to load the next shell.Before the smoke cleared, the musketeers stood by the wall and began to fire.

Although the destructive power is not that exaggerated, whether it is a [-]mm diameter grape iron bullet or a [-]mm diameter arquebus lead bullet, they can cause fatal damage to the human body.

This round of musket salvo took at least fifty more lives.

At this time, Ottoman had just set foot on the defensive slope.

When the firearms were reloading, the crossbowmen tried to fill the gaps in firepower as much as possible.Although the thrown arrows cannot cause decisive damage to the enemy, they can still play some hindering roles.

Ma Youfu carried out defensive operations in strict accordance with the plan formulated before the war.But he obviously overestimated the enemy's will to fight.Under such fierce firepower, the Ottomans sounded the trumpet to retreat after the initial setback.

Seeing the heavy casualties of Yenicheri, Prince Muhammad retreated immediately.

You know, there are only 4000 people in the Janissary Guards in total.This new army is not only an elite armed force, but also a ballast stone that is completely loyal to Sudan and the key to check and balance various domestic forces.

The commander in charge of the attack, Djordje Petrovich, was lucky.In the first round of shelling, he was only hit by an iron bullet that had already penetrated two human bodies.He mobilized his extraordinary power in time to strengthen his physical strength, so that the iron bullet that had consumed most of its kinetic energy left only a bruise mark on his chest.

But watching the comrades around him being swept down by the dense iron rain, like wheat in a storm, Qiaoerjie felt as if he was in hell, filled with grief and anger for a while, and lost his mental balance.

With a roar, he wanted to mobilize all his extraordinary power, jump directly onto the city wall, and die with the enemy.Who knew that when he was sprinting, he forgot to look at his feet, stepped on the mixture of blood and fat tissue, slipped and fell to the ground.

In a chaotic battlefield full of death and under extreme pressure, it is understandable to make a low-level mistake.

And because of this fall, Qiaoerjie was a blessing in disguise, and escaped the subsequent volley of muskets.

In the end, because they were covered in blood after the fall, the two Janissaries who mistakenly thought that the officer was injured, dragged George all the way back, and finally returned to Prince Muhammad safely.

Seeing the terrified general who had almost collapsed, Prince Muhammad was speechless for a while.

"Your Highness, it's just a small setback, so don't take it to heart. Blame that Serisian for being too cunning. He reserved the powerful artillery for use at the most critical moment, making us negligent." Musta General Yin comforted him.

But even though he said this, his expression was somewhat gloating.

Why is it that the Ottomans always like to brag about how strong their Imperial Guards are? All of them are powerful fighters proficient in [-] types of weapons.

The orc general didn't know what to brag about.

Isn't it so strange to use "heterogeneous" such as pagans, slaves, and foreigners who cannot integrate into the ruling class of the country to form an elite army?From the Varangji of the Byzantines, to the Gulam of the Persians, to the Mamluks themselves, they are essentially the same.

If the Ottomans made another Yenicheri, it would be nothing more than reinventing the wheel.

Compared to General Mustain, who was only a little dark, Jihangir Pasha was very happy about Yenicheri's defeat.If it wasn't in full view, he would have wanted to sing and dance to celebrate.

Prince Mohammad ignored the restless Sipasi cavalry chief.After Georgie recovered from being blinded by the firepower of the Crusaders, he inquired about the battle situation in detail.

Qiaoerjie recounted his experience, and finally added: "Your Highness, apart from the powerful firearms, the entire defense system of that fortress is also exceptional. Although I didn't see the reason for it at the moment, I always feel that that There is a big problem with the ramp..."

Officer Yeniceri's military quality is still there. Although he didn't find the problem at the time, he still realized something was wrong when he touched it afterwards.

It's just that due to the limitations of the knowledge reserve, whether it was Qiaoerjie who asked the question or the other people who listened to his explanation, they still didn't see the value of defending Poe and proposed a countermeasure.

The failure of the tentative attack made the two commanders realize that it was by no means an easy task to capture the Crusader fortress guarding the mountain pass ahead.

Any opportunistic attempt can only end in failure.

One's own side must either try its best and use all means to strive for victory in a single battle.Either withdraw to Sidi Bel Abbes as soon as possible, and then make plans.

It is definitely not a wise choice to be stuck in the mountains like this.

Just when the two commanders were hesitating between advancing or retreating, a message from the front line made them determined to continue attacking.

On the Crusader fortress, a new flag was suddenly erected, with two golden catfish painted on it, which was the symbol of the Duke of Bar.

With the help of the eagle eye spell cast by the mage, both commanders saw an oriental face wandering on the city wall.

Even if the appearance can be disguised by illusion, but the four shiny golems following the other side cannot be faked.

Ma Youfu is there!

In this way, the significance of capturing the Crusader fortress has become much greater.

Chapter 470 Seven Assassins

"That man with Siris' face is really Ma Youfu?"

"It must be. The four golems around him as guards are all genuine. And a mage has observed it with the 'magic detection technique'. The man exudes a very eye-catching magical aura. He is definitely a powerful man. The caster. Combining various factors, it is Mayouf, the Duke of Bar, that's right!"

"What is his intention to appear now? Could it be..."

"If I'm not wrong, general, our guess should be the same. The other party wants to use himself as bait to lure us to continue attacking, and consume as many troops as possible under that fortress."

The two cities they faced before, Muhammadia and Mustaganem, although their appearance is somewhat similar to the fortress in front of them, the outline of the city wall is angular, which can effectively exert crossfire.However, since they have been engaged in a sit-down war, at most a few trials have been carried out, and no serious siege has been launched, so the Mulholland army has no intuitive impression of how powerful this fortress design is.

It wasn't until Prince Muhammad sent the Yenicheri Janissaries up and was hit badly, and a volley cost more than [-] casualties, that he knew that there was a complete bastion defense system with a defensive slope and a moat. Coupled with ferocious defensive firepower, how tricky it is.

If you continue to attack, your side will definitely pay a terrible price before you can win the final victory.

Prince Muhammad couldn't help but imagine that after stepping on the pile of corpses of Ottoman and Mamluk soldiers, he climbed up to the Crusader fortress and asked himself, is it all worth it? What is the answer?

The answer is: worth it!

No matter how painful the price is, as long as this peculiar crusader fortress can be captured and Ma Youfu can be captured or killed, then the battle against the West Crusaders will definitely show a crushing trend!

In terms of specific tactical execution, Ma Youfu did not participate too much.Today may be the first time since the Crusades, the Duke of Barr has visited the front line in person.But from strategic planning to post-war management, to the logistics supply of the Crusaders and the coordination of the Crusaders of various countries, everything is inseparable from this Seres.

Without him playing a role, the Western Crusaders will become a mess!

In the game "Crusader Kings", if you capture the enemy's monarch during the battle, you can directly get 100% war score. This setting is not fabricated out of thin air, and has a fairly solid foundation in reality.

Not to mention the famous Zhu Qizhen of Mingbao Zong, in the history of Western wars, there are too many examples where the monarch was captured or killed, which led to a sudden turn for the worse in the battle, and finally lost the entire war.

By the way, "captured" is the "fine tradition" of French rulers.

Facing such an opportunity now, even if Prince Muhammad and General Mustain knew that the other party was doing this on purpose, they could not give up the temptation to seize the Supreme Commander of the Western Crusaders.

With the help of Ma Youfu to make up their minds, the two commanders completely let go of their hesitation and began to look for ways to capture the bastion ahead with all their strength.

First of all, in order to reduce the enemy's fire threat as much as possible, General Mustain proposed to schedule the next certain attack after nightfall.

Prince Muhammad added that mages should be sent to cast the fog.

In this way, if an attack is launched under the double cover of fog and night, the lethality of the enemy's artillery will be greatly reduced.

In addition, among the siege weapons of one's own side, the artillery has proved that even the giant stone-shooting cannon that has been strengthened by magic has no good effect on the walls of the Crusader fortress.

That unique design seems to have been born specifically to protect against shelling.

Those weed-covered soil layers covering the city walls have the function of absorbing the impact of shells and preventing them from bouncing randomly.Although the bombardment made the bastion splash with mud, which looked astonishingly powerful, it was actually not very lethal.So far, Ottoman's cannons have won eight or nine kills at most.

Since artillery is useless, other siege weapons should be considered.

Prince Muhammad and General Mustaine, the first "killer" that came to mind was the remaining two giant Nubian worms.

As long as this heavy-duty biological excavator can reach the city wall, within 10 minutes, several fatal gaps can be gnawed out of the fortress carefully built by Ma Youfu.