Chapter 69: The Battle of Butuya 2
TL: Etude
Father in heaven!
Angelo and the others who stayed behind were dumbfounded. In less than half an hour after the battle began, two out of their four detachments had already scattered in disarray. Shocked, they forgot to send out archers for reinforcement.
From their distance, they couldnt clearly see what kind of weapon the enemy was using. According to the descriptions of those who came back for help, the Alda people were using a powerful fire crossbow. Just a flash of fire would send countless bullets flying towards them with tremendous force. Those militiamen who wore no armor were killed upon impact, and even a slight touch caused injuries.New novel chapters are published on
Just as the soldier finished speaking, the lords saw another group at the forefront fall, and the soldiers started fleeing in all directions. Then, the third square formation was opened with several large gaps, and they watched helplessly as the entire detachment collapsed instantly.
The most miserable at this moment was Bayldings second square formation. The units in front and behind had already dispersed, leaving them isolated in the middle. Continuing to advance could lead to the same fate, yet they had not received orders to retreat from their lord. This left everyone, from the knights in command to the soldiers below, in a state of dilemma.
The knight commanding the fourth square formation saw the hesitation in front and also stopped advancing, standing and observing from his position.
According to Pauls original plan, a volley from the musketeers followed by a charge from the pikemen was supposed to completely rout the first square formation. But now, before they could even charge, most of the enemies had already fled. The cautious Paul instructed Bryce not to pursue the fleeing soldiers, as he did not want the units to be too far apart in case they were flanked by enemy cavalry.
Thus, Paul ordered all units to advance collectively. The marching drum was sounded, and two regiments and one company marched forward slowly to the rhythm of the drum.
Aibuts face turned pale: We cant go on like this!
Angelo anxiously said, Lets gather all the knights and militiamen for a charge to break them!
The two barons were terrified and pleaded earnestly.
My lord, please consider carefully! Nearly all the labor force from our territories is here.
If they all die here, there will be no one to work our lands, and our women, children, and elderly will starve!
The Aldas terrifying weapon had already frightened them. In their minds, only the evil magic of legends could wield such cruel power.
Although this form of training could not match the group combat capabilities of regular knight orders that trained together year-round, in a rural area like the northwest, once they assembled, they were an unbeatable force.
With the remaining infantry on the battlefield as cover, Aibut led the knights in a wide arc, charging towards the rear of the Alda army from the right flank.
There was a change in the formation of the Baylding people. The commanding knight shouted, Spread out, everyone, spread out! Once you disperse, their weapons wont hit you.
The soldiers clumsily pulled away from each other, and the two square formations gradually merged into a shapeless mass, looking from afar like a loosely scattered group of people.
This also brought difficulties in command. When the knight ordered to advance, many did not hear and stood bewildered in place.
On the Alda side, the musketeer and artillery squads fired again, but the effect was not ideal. Firstly, the distance was too great, and secondly, the enemys formation had become loose, drastically reducing the hit rate. However, it still caused another wave of panic among the enemy.
Paul commanded, Its time for our pikemen to take the field. Tell the artillery to fire a couple of rounds of grapeshot, and then both regiments will charge together to break them.
Since the solid shot from the cannon was ineffective against the enemys loose formation, they switched to grapeshot to increase the area of damage.
At this moment, a soldier noticed the enemys knights attempting a flank attack from the rear and quickly sounded the alarm.
A staff officer shouted in slight panic, Count, the enemys knights have circled to our rear!
Paul was alarmed, preoccupied with the infantry in front and hadnt expected the enemys knights to sneak up from behind.
Back two rows, turn around! Prepare to resist the charge!
Fortunately, they discovered it in time. With a large number of enemy infantry still in front, he decided not to form a hollow square.
Another command was issued to the artillery: Quick! Turn the cannons around and bombard the approaching enemy knights!
As the artillery received Pauls new orders, they had just finished loading the grapeshot