Chapter 153: Ambushing the Teutonic Order

After marching for a few days, Berengar and his Army arrived at the passage in Oberstdorf that led into Tyrol. Due to the ongoing war in Germany, specifically with the Austrian conquest of Bavaria, the Teutonic Knights were forced to take a narrow and more treacherous path on the western region of Bavaria, which was part of the proud Duchy of Swabia. As Berengar entered the mountainous path with a relatively narrow ravine, he ordered his troops to set up their artillery higher than the pass below. 

Hiding among the treeline of the mountains side Berengar's troops lay in wait, ready to ambush Lambert's forces. They had received information from their scouts that Lambert and his forces would be walking into the trap they had set within a matter of hours. As such, Berengar kept careful watch over the mountain pass where his troops had set themselves up in a position to trap Lambert and his armies.

There would be no escape from the encirclement they had set up, and Berengar could not forgive Lambert for the transgressions he had made against him. Berengar had spared Lambert's life at the behest of his mother and given him a chance to redeem himself. However, lambert did not appreciate his mercy and decided to spit in his face by marching an army into Berengar's lands. This could not be tolerated. There would be no mercy shown to the enemy today.

Before long, Berengar could hear the march of an army of Teutonic soldiers singing their Catholic Hymns. The white banners with the infamous black cross of the Teutonic Order were waving in the background as they marched through the narrow pass. Seeing the enemy before them, Berengar's troops prepared their rifles as they hid behind the tall trees, using them as cover. Only when the enemy was fully trapped in the encirclement did Berengar's troops begin to fire. The distance between Berengar's armies and Lambert's were a few hundred meters, easy enough for the thousands of rifled musketeers to rain fire down on the unsuspecting Teutonic Order. The critical targets were the knights and man at arms under Lambert's command, so the initial volley was centered on the well-armored forces who would prove more difficult to kill in melee combat.

Lambert, who was riding at the head of the army, was shocked when he heard the explosive gunfire echo into the air; instantly, thousands of musket shots were fired, causing chaos, death, and destruction upon his ranks. Lambert was completely caught in a crossfire by both sides of the mountains; the effect of the musket balls tearing through his knights and men at arms was devastating. Though Lambert was unharmed, his horse was hit by one of the minie balls and tumbled to the ground. 

By the time Lambert had recovered from his position on the ground, the second wave of musket shots had fired off, shredding his armies once more. Realizing that these were the weapons of Berengar and that he had walked right into his brother's trap, Lambert boldly declared his armies to charge to the treeline where the enemy was hiding. As soon as the Teutonic Order made their way to the tree line, they began to be battered by the dozens of cannons placed in the mountains above, firing on the foothills below with their explosive shells. Yet Lambert paid no heed to them and instead rallied his forces.

"Into the forest! They would never fire upon their own lines!"

As such, the tens of thousands of levies were pushed forward by the remaining members of the Teutonic Order, who were not slaughtered in the initial volley. Despite being well equipped with rifled muskets, 300+ meter targets were still a difficulty for many of the soldiers equipped with such technology, and many of the projectiles missed their mark. As such, there were still thousands of heavily armed Teutonic soldiers marching into the forest to engage Berengar's forces in melee combat. Berengar had yet to deploy the Cavalry. Instead, they would act as the units that would encircle Lambert's forces if they attempted to flee the ravine; as such, he calmly sat atop Erwin's saddle and waited for the battle to turn interesting. 

After suffering thousands of casualties in the initial fighting, Lambert remained undeterred, he had over 30,000 men at his back, and it became quickly apparent that Berengar had at most 10,000 men under his command, if he could close the distance, he would win by the sheer volume of numbers, or so he hoped. As such, Lambert quickly advanced towards the enemy, unafraid of the oncoming projectiles as he led his troops into battle. Whether he was simply lucky or blessed by God, Lambert arrived at the enemy lines in the forests screaming at the top of his lungs the battle cry of so many crusaders.

"God wills it!"

However, what he was met with was the battle cry of Berengar's soldiers as they rushed towards him and his armies with bayonets affixed. 

"God with us!"

The two chants of the armies perfectly contrasted their worldview as a grand melee began to unfold. Despite Lambert's overwhelming numbers, Berengar's forces had completely encircled them and began to push them back into the ravine. After all, many of Lambert's army were forcefully conscripted levies, and hundreds if not thousands of them had already broken ranks the moment they came under fire. They were simple peasants, and seeing such death and destruction, which resulted from thunderous echoes, they could not help but fear they were being punished by God's wrath and thus fled for their lives.

Despite the fleeing levies, many of them remained, and as such, Berengar's forces were still greatly outnumbered. Thus the two armies clashed against one another in a valley between the Bavarian Alps on the border of Austria. The blood and chaos that followed would prove to be an inspiration for the future artists of this world. The only men who remained calm during this sea of bloodshed were Berengar and Eckhard, who gazed upon the battle from afar, watching the Teutonic Order play right into their hands.