Chapter 290：

In the field on the border of the duchy, the Arda army commanded by Schroeder and the duke's army confronted each other from a distance.

He ordered all the troops to line up in tight formation and deploy two-thirds of the artillery on the nearby high ground. Once the enemy entered the effective range, they immediately opened fire to disrupt the opponent's deployment. The number of Arda's army was far away. Less than the opponent, you can't let the opponent get too close in an attack formation.

"The enemy doesn't move, I don't move, wait for the troops in the rear to arrive before launching an attack."

Schroeder summoned all the officers and decided on the above strategy.

Opposite them, the mercenary captain Fergus was also sizing up his opponent from a distance.

As he watched, he was amazed, "The formation was changing quickly and the army was neat, but this posture surpassed your so-called [army] in the Northwest Gulf by a large margin. No wonder you are so afraid."

Emerson next to him smiled wryly, "Captain Fergus, let's stop making sarcastic remarks and think about how to deal with the army in front of us."

Fergus grinned: "It's useless just to look good, after all, hard work has the final say on the battlefield."

He waved his hand: "Come according to the plan."

…

"Cavalry! The enemy cavalry is rushing towards us!"

An officer holding a binoculars shouted anxiously that this was the first time that the second and third battalions were engaged in a frontal battle with the Duke's army, and everyone was very nervous.

Schroeder ordered: "Don't panic, notify the artillery to shoot and delay the opponent's advance. Infantry! Form a square formation to meet the enemy!"

Following his orders, the two infantry battalions quickly formed a large hollow phalanx.

There was a rumbling sound, and the artillery on the hillside and near the phalanx opened fire, bombarding the fast-approaching cavalry with crossfire.

The cavalry of the Kent family, who had suffered a lot, learned their lesson this time. Instead of charging in a dense formation, they spread apart from each other, which reduced the hit rate of the solid shells.

However, the casualties caused by the shelling were still considerable, and many people or horses were still injured by the jumping and rolling shells.

The cavalry quickly approached the phalanx, and the soldiers facing the enemy in the phalanx immediately opened fire. All of a sudden, the sound of killing, shooting, and screams intertwined on the battlefield filled with gunpowder smoke.

"Wait until you're within 50 meters before shooting! You bastards!"

The battalion commander of Bailding Battalion, Baron Andrew, hated iron and steel, and whipped the soldiers who fired recklessly.

As soon as the enemy cavalry approached, the group of firearms rookies nervously pulled the trigger. Although the bullets were more than powerful at this distance, the hit still depended on faith.

The first shot of Bailding Battalion had limited success. Andrew turned his head to look at the second battalion on the other side. The number of enemies fallen in front of them was much more than his own, and he was very depressed.

These guys are too embarrassing to themselves, too embarrassing to Earl Garnard, and too embarrassing to Bairding.

The cavalry of the Duke's army arrived one after another. Some knights were all wearing armor and stabbing the phalanx with their spears. Many soldiers were thrown away by the spears. Although they were equipped with breastplates produced by Northwest Industries, the spears did not penetrate into the flesh. , but with such strength, even if you don't die, you will be seriously injured.

The sound of crackling muskets in the phalanx kept ringing, and cavalrymen who approached the phalanx fell to the ground, unable to get up again. The Duke's army used a loose formation to approach the Arda army. Although the probability of being hit was reduced, it also greatly reduced the power of the impact.

The cavalry charge did not achieve any commendable results. Fergus and Emerson's faces were ashen. Many officers around them were dumbfounded when they faced the Arda army for the first time. In their impression, such a number of infantrymen A single charge of the phalanx will collapse.

"Sure enough, it's not an ordinary army!"

The expression on the face of the mercenary captain became more and more dignified, arrogance belongs to arrogance, but in the bottom of his heart he never underestimated any enemy, otherwise he would have been eliminated in the cruel fighting career.

He looked towards the hillside in the distance, hoping that everything was going well there.

…

"Cannon... Where's the cannon? Why didn't it sound?"

The cavalry's attack and harassment lasted for nearly an hour before they retreated to their starting position, and the Arda army resumed its line formation.

Schroeder's tense nerves relaxed a little, but his heart immediately raised again—the artillery on the hillside had not moved for a long time, and an ominous premonition emerged in his heart.

Unfortunately, the premonition became true, and a party ran down the hillside, and he immediately ordered the troops to respond.

The matter was already obvious, Schroeder was frightened and angry, it was unreasonable, there were two platoons guarding the artillery position, with the condescending terrain and powerful firepower, what kind of enemy could attack?

"Master Schroeder, the position... the position... is lost."

An artillery officer blushed and reported to him with great shame.

"Tim! Where's Tim? Stand up for me!"

The old knight was furious, looked around and shouted the name of the commander of the artillery position, he dared to retreat without his order, there were obviously so many people who ran down~ www.novelhall.com~ Those responsible must be executed on the spot.

The point is that nearly 20 artillery pieces remained on the ground and were handed over to the enemy.

An officer dared to answer in a low voice: "Captain... the captain, he led the people to kill himself, and he has already died..."

Schroeder was silent, he was not good at getting angry with the victim. Moreover, artillery is a relatively precious technical arm, and Tim must have taken this into consideration when making such a decision.

After some inquiries, I generally understood what happened. While the artillery on the hillside was concentrating on bombarding the cavalry, another army of the enemy quietly touched the vicinity of the high ground under the cover of woods and thatch.

"It's a longbowman. It must be true. It is ruthless, accurate, and fast. Many brothers were hit by arrows, and the infantry guarding the position were suppressed at once."

"You have shotguns. Why don't you use shotguns at such a short distance?"

No one answered Schroeder's questions.

"you say!"

The old knight pointed at a lieutenant, and his powerful roar made the nearby soldiers tremble.

The lieutenant puffed out his chest reflexively, and replied loudly: "Report to the chief! We didn't expect a large number of longbowmen to come, and we didn't carry enough shotguns to the high ground according to the regulations."

Schroeder was speechless for a while. While the first battalion and the third battalion were fighting **** battles outside, the second battalion and the fourth battalion stayed in Arda and Bairding to serve as guards. The relatively comfortable life made them relax.

We must find time to clean up military discipline, but the most important thing now is to bring back more artillery positions. Firearms are the biggest reliance of Arda's army, and they cannot fall into the hands of the enemy casually.

Fortunately, when the artillerymen retreated, they brought back the horses and the gunpowder. The enemy could not immediately take the artillery away, nor could they obtain gunpowder samples for analysis.