Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 799 Bohemian Roller Attack
Once Tang Sai'er's attack began, the enemy in front of her quickly fell into chaos.

The previous artillery bombardment primarily served to prevent the cavalry from regrouping. The Allied forces' countermeasures, based on experience, were also grounded in this understanding.

On the battlefield, cavalry cannot charge recklessly; they must first organize themselves into groups, otherwise they become a disorganized mob. Furthermore, the distance must be carefully controlled during the charge. Horses have limited stamina; if they accelerate from a distance, their energy will quickly deplete, significantly shortening the crucial window of opportunity. Additionally, once the charge begins, even experienced elite cavalry units struggle to maintain formation for long. Over time, they scatter, greatly diminishing the effectiveness of the charge.

Therefore, cavalry commanders desired a stable position as the starting point for attacks. Ideally, this position should remain safe even after several rounds of fighting, allowing the troops to retreat and regroup.

In medieval military tradition, this starting position was located quite far forward, often only three to five hundred meters away. The knights' charge distance was even shorter; according to French experience, starting the charge from sixty paces away was sufficient. The preceding distance was covered on foot.

Even into the late Middle Ages, in their present era, the cavalry tactics employed by many nations remained largely unchanged. Conversely, the Polish-Lithuanian army, having encountered artillery earlier and possessing some steppe traditions, exhibited far greater flexibility in its formations and tactics.

Traditional cavalry can be exemplified by the French. Their armies were organized around knights. Knights from the same region shared a common lord and banner, forming "banner units" around which they were based. Several such banner units constituted a "command." An army typically consisted of two or three commanding units, each commanded by a different high-ranking nobleman, and positioned in different locations based on pre-battle analysis and planned tactics.

The cavalry ranks were thin and long. To maximize the impact, the ranks typically consisted of only two lines. The knights charged first in the front line, followed by their squires and armed sergeants in the second. According to French standards, the ranks should be as dense and orderly as possible. Lances were to be "impenetrable," and the distance between cavalrymen should be so close that "a glove, an apple, or a plum thrown at them wouldn't touch the ground." This type of formation was called a "hedge," because it resembled the dense and long hedges common in the French countryside.

The well-trained cavalry was densely packed. A one-kilometer-long column could deploy 1,500 to 2,000 knights and cavalry. Commanders would instruct their knights to maintain a flat formation, pressing down on the enemy like a wall, for the best effect.

However, most of the time, the entire army wouldn't rush in at once, lest they crowd together, creating chaos and leading to defeat. Instead, they would follow the experience of the classical era, attacking from the right flank, deploying one standard-bearer unit at a time. Well-trained knights could pierce all the armor available on the battlefield at that time with their heavy lances. Therefore, for most armies, once given the opportunity, sufficient space and time to deploy and move, to launch a "perfect" charge, the result was devastating.

The armies of other countries generally followed a similar pattern. Of course, there were also many differences due to varying local conditions. The Spanish and German cavalry were relatively weaker, so they often opted for thicker formations and adjusted them according to the situation. However, the French, who had the best record in this regard, were rather stubborn, believing that if they couldn't break through, they could only blame their own lack of skill, and thus maintained this tactic for a long time.

Often, the overconfident French would prioritize engaging enemy knights, ignoring infantry and even disobeying orders. These men were actually quite well-trained, knowing how to maintain formation in battle. However, this meant that when they launched unauthorized attacks, it wasn't just a single individual acting rashly, but often entire squads of knights charging out together…

However, the changes in European military affairs in recent years have perhaps been more significant than in the previous centuries. New tactics are emerging rapidly, and many old ideas are indeed no longer effective.

The Polish formation was far more dispersed than the French formation, with significantly longer and more fragmented ranks. When facing artillery fire, their commanders were very proactive, actively seeking ways to evade it. For example, they used terrain to hinder enemy artillery fire, or used obstacles such as woodlands, houses, and Slavic infantry to cover their movement in the rear and avoid artillery fire. Therefore, it was indeed difficult to inflict direct casualties on them. And once the fighting broke out, because everyone was mixed together, the artillery became less effective. In this way, they were able to somewhat recover from their firepower disadvantage.

This is why encountering artillery directly within the enemy ranks shocked them. They clearly understood the power of artillery, and instead of attempting a further charge, they scattered and fled, leaving a huge gap in the entire battle line.

Tang Sai'er wasn't in a hurry. She ordered the artillery to be reloaded onto the wagons while the cavalry rotated again. The Hussite cavalry replaced Liang Lao Er and his men and continued their advance.

The situation here quickly attracted the attention of the commanders at the rear. Soon, another Polish-Lithuanian cavalry force charged over to block the gap. Tang Sai'er ordered her men to repeat their previous tactics, having the front ranks put up a brief resistance before retreating, and then immediately begin bombarding the nearby enemy.

However, this time the enemy was prepared, likely having learned of the artillery presence from their defeated comrades. Therefore, although there were casualties, they did not rout. Several noble-looking men shouted and, taking advantage of the enemy's reloading time, led their men forward.

Tang Sai'er remained calm. The previous round's overly smooth sailing had surprised her somewhat. And after being hit, trying to quickly eliminate the artillery threat was an obvious course of action. Therefore, the enemy's reaction was within her expectations.

This time, she personally led her men to meet them and engaged the enemy cavalry in battle.

Both sides spurred their horses forward, the warhorses instinctively trying to avoid each other, resulting in them all huddled together. Just as they were fighting, the cannons behind them suddenly roared to life again.

Both sides' soldiers were startled. Tang Sai'er quickly turned around and saw that her artillerymen hadn't retreated; they were reloading just a dozen paces behind the battle line. Polish-Lithuanian cavalry kept firing arrows at them, many whizzing over their heads and landing around the cannons, wounding several horses. Some gunners' armor was also studded with arrows. Even so, they continued working at their unhurried pace.

As the fighting progressed, the flanks became undefended. From this position, they could see some Allied cavalrymen who had retreated from the front lines regrouping in the distance, perfectly within their line of sight and unobstructed. Seeing that they couldn't directly support their own troops at the front, the artillery took it upon themselves to switch to solid shot and fire directly at that enemy flank.

Tang Sai'er had previously heard Zhu Wenkui say that he had assigned her his most daring and skilled men. Initially, Tang Sai'er didn't quite grasp the reality of this, as she had witnessed artillery drills and several live-fire artillery exercises in Egypt. She always thought it was simply about following procedures and operating strictly according to set steps. These rules were indispensable for artillery, but they also left little room for subjective interpretation. After all, in cavalry warfare, morale was often the deciding factor. The more enthusiastic and proactive side could easily scare the enemy away and gain the upper hand, without necessarily determining the outcome of the battle. But for artillery, enthusiasm alone wouldn't significantly increase output. Therefore, Tang Sai'er subconsciously felt that these men only needed to be skilled, and couldn't be directly equated with "ability."

This time, she finally understood why Zhu Wenku was so proud of this, and why he thought these people were all highly skilled elites...

The allied cavalry, probably completely unaware that they were under artillery fire, were momentarily stunned. Although, strictly speaking, the casualties in this round were not high, the enemy still hastily retreated, regardless of the source of the artillery fire, to take cover first.

Seeing them begin to retreat, the other cavalrymen also visibly wavered. The nearby cannon fire was clearly audible, a situation obviously inconsistent with the earlier prediction that the artillery was positioned on the Ming army's left flank. Now, with everyone still engaged in melee combat and the situation in complete chaos, reconnaissance was impossible. Communication was also extremely difficult; most people neither knew who was firing the cannons nor understood the Ming army's strategic intentions.

Now, no one knows how many cannons are here, or if an even larger force is still lying in ambush. As for why the Ming army would deploy artillery in this location, that's even more incomprehensible.

One thing is certain: the artillery positions are definitely key areas of focus. Moreover, given the extensive effort they've put into battlefield deception, it's unlikely to be just a simple matter of firing a few shots. Following the artillery, there will certainly be other units cooperating with them to carry out combat missions.

Driven by this concern, the other cavalry units nearby also hastily retreated. Consequently, the enemies who had come to block Tang Sai'er and her companions also began to waver.

Although the officer in charge shouted to stop them, some people still ran away. In the end, the entire group ran away. In particular, the mercenary Slavic civilian cavalrymen in the Lithuanian army, who were not very motivated to fight, immediately began to flee when they saw this.

Tang Sai'er did not pursue. She ordered the artillery to load up and move quickly, then turned to the right flank of the battlefield to attack the enemy from behind.

The artillerymen told her that they had been too far forward in the previous battles, losing many horses and might not be able to keep up. They asked if she should abandon some artillery and concentrate on transporting another portion. Tang Sai'er thought for a moment and said no.

She summoned Liang Lao Er and asked everyone to squeeze in and spare some horses. Soon, some cavalrymen dismounted, took their weapons, and gave their horses to the artillerymen. Although some were reluctant, and others felt it was a waste to use warhorses to pull carts, under Liang Lao Er's urging, everyone immediately carried out the order.

Those who abandoned their mounts rode on the nearest horse belonging to their comrades—the smallest "group" in the formation. Even the "Orphan Army" cavalry found this odd, saying, "Why are you imitating the Knights Templar?" However, Tang Sai'er said that for short distances, a horse carrying two people was fine; the main task at hand was to keep up with the pace. She instructed everyone that if they encountered enemies blocking their path, they should dismount and charge on foot to quickly defeat them. Now, the Orphan Army continued as cavalry, while they served as infantry. If anyone tried to hold them off, the three units would take turns advancing, striving for a breakthrough as soon as possible.

Although it seemed strange, her subordinates were already used to it and quickly resumed their operations.

Many of the enemies they encountered along the way began to flee. But soon, they also encountered a more determined Polish cavalry force. As soon as the two sides met, Liang Lao Er led his men to charge.

The European soldiers present were witnessing this tactic for the first time. Their "cavalry" trotted forward to meet them. When the distance between the two sides was fifty paces, the Poles began to accelerate their charge, and those who had been "riding alongside" the horses skillfully dismounted. The riders immediately fired their lances and sped up, while those who had jumped to the ground picked up their lances and followed the cavalry, running forward at full speed.

The mounted warriors clashed with the Poles first. Their horses passed each other, and in an instant, several men were thrown into the air. Unlike other formations, this time, a rank of infantry was sandwiched between the two ranks of cavalry. They were almost directly blocking the Polish cavalry's path, only a dozen paces away, and were even still running forward, quickly closing the distance.

Many Poles were caught off guard and could only hastily retract the spears they had thrust out during the earlier exchange. But these infantrymen were too close to the cavalry line, and facing the charging enemy, they did not dodge or flinch, but instead charged towards the enemy, raising their spears to thrust.

Amidst the battle lines, screams of agony and the neighing of horses immediately rang out. The sounds of lances breaking and armor shattering echoed everywhere. Many were sent flying backward by the high-speed cavalry, but the vanguard of the Polish cavalry was actually stopped by them.

To be fair, the Seres were actually the true enthusiasts of "super-long spears." Tang Sai'er's "old brothers" within the cult almost all used standard spears exceeding 1.8 feet in length, significantly longer than those of the cavalry. And using infantry to charge and clash with the already charging cavalry was a well-known and universally accepted solution since the late Yuan dynasty. Besides, this time, cavalry had already taken some of the hits in front of them.

But this scene, just like the cannon fire from before, clearly had a great impact on the others.

(End of this chapter)