Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 800 Among all those in the world who understand warfare, only the Han and the Qin dynasties truly possess it.

The unexpected attack plunged the Polish-Lithuanian forces into chaos in their rear.

Cavalry isn't simply about rushing out and ignoring the rear. On the contrary, even in the most typical medieval warfare, often scorned by researchers of the Purple Horde and Italy, the focus cannot be solely on the knights themselves; a stable "rear" is essential. Although this cavalry tactic is now considered synonymous with clumsiness and inflexibility, even within this system, commanders must utilize infantry as much as possible to construct a stable defensive position.

However, if the enemy possesses considerable strength—for example, if they are a standard feudal army centered around knights—then it will be difficult to destroy them in one fell swoop as easily as when bullying peasants. In this case, careful organization is necessary, allowing one's own knights to attack in shifts, organized into echelons.

In the army, horses are far more "delicate" than men. Often, soldiers can endure fighting, but their horses cannot. Therefore, cavalry battles are usually short-lived, with each engagement consisting of a single "round" followed by a break to allow them to better utilize their mobility. Consequently, the retreat routes for the leading echelons of knights, as well as the care and replacement of their horses upon their return, must be planned in advance.

The destination of the retreat is like a series of "service areas" provided for riders in a race. Obviously, whoever retreats and regroups more smoothly can more effectively unleash the power of their rider. If you can outperform your opponent throughout the entire race, you've essentially secured victory.

Now, in battles with more complex troop types and tactics, the demands on the quality of commanders and soldiers are even higher. Once the rear is threatened, problems will immediately arise in both rotation and deployment.

Faced with this situation, there weren't really any good solutions. It wasn't that cavalrymen were safe just because they could run fast. As a result, with unrest breaking out in the rear, the cavalrymen engaged in close combat at the front lost their will to fight and began to flee.

Around several banners, some Polish knights were still trying to resist, but more cavalry from vassal cities had begun to flee to the rear, trying to escape Don Sair's assault force.

Meanwhile, fighting broke out on the other side of the battlefield. Facing the onslaught of Eastern European infantry, Zhu Wenkui's artillery did not withdraw but continued to fire at the enemy.

Along the way, the Slavic infantry were repelled by artillery fire several times. Initially, they probably thought that if they simply charged to the side, the artillery would retreat on its own. However, the artillery showed no intention of retreating, continuing to fire even after the infantry had reached them. As a result, the infantrymen themselves became somewhat demoralized.

Moreover, the closer to the artillery positions, the more intense the firepower. Within a hundred paces, the heavy artillery, which had been bombarding the distant cavalry assembly, began firing grapeshot. Although these cannons had a slow rate of fire, they carried far more ammunition than smaller artillery pieces. Each shot was like a broom sweeping the floor, instantly wiping out a group of people.

Zhu Wenkui, who was on the front lines, kept observing the enemy and making calculations.

He discovered that, in terms of kill efficiency, even disregarding the number of heavy artillery pieces, comparing individual cannons, heavy artillery seemed to be less effective at killing infantry than medium artillery. He estimated this was because the projectiles didn't fly in a flat plane but rather in a cone shape, thus wasting most of the projectiles. Theoretically, if the cannons could be mounted high and fired downwards, the projectile area would be maximized. However, such terrain was unavailable, and this direction was also unfavorable for loading and clearing. The actual effect might be even worse. This problem was probably not easy to solve directly.

However, in terms of sheer force, they were far more imposing than other artillery pieces. Against a poorly trained enemy, the deafening roar and terrifying effects of heavy artillery could severely damage morale and even frighten the enemy into retreat.

However, the Slavic infantry on the other side were not so easy to deal with. Although they fled several times, the allied forces had arranged a group of noble cavalry to supervise them from the rear. Driven by them, the remaining infantry were able to regroup and charge forward again.

Previously, when studying and discussing basic military theory in Dadu, everyone often talked about the impact of morale. Zhu Wenkui recalled that some people even believed that, due to the special strategic situation of the Qin state, most of the surrounding hostile forces relied on a "sea of ​​rubbish soldiers" to deal with them. Facing such an enemy, the efficiency of killing casualties was certainly important, but how to damage the enemy's morale, make them lose their will to fight and collapse, might be even more crucial.

Moreover, this demand is indeed very large: military historians employed by the Ministry of War and the Marshal's Office have been reviewing and summarizing the battle cases of recent years to provide reference for officer training and adjustments to the army's combat strategies. Some people have compiled the changes in enemy armies over the years and were surprised to find that, after so many years of war, the biggest change in these countries that have been at war for many years is actually the size of their armies, rather than their formations and military organization.

In short, faced with the impact of the new military thinking brought by the Purple Horde, most countries' most obvious reaction was not to promote military and administrative reforms, improve training systems, or upgrade weaponry. Instead, their quickest response was to intensify conscription within their territories, while simultaneously refining their mercenary systems and building more sophisticated and well-informed mercenary markets, significantly increasing the number of conscripts and inexpensive mercenaries. As a result, the size of armies in these countries has been expanding for decades—far faster than the pace at which they have implemented new tactics.

However, although it sounds darkly humorous, in reality, these surrounding countries did fight the Purple Horde for many years, and have persisted to this day. In this light, this method of artificially inflating numbers might actually be quite effective…

On the other hand, as a corresponding response, Guo Kang and others began studying relevant military theories when they went to school. Zhu Wenkui, who spent all his time with them, naturally understood this as well—in the eyes of many here, only the Han and Qin people were considered to know how to fight. Therefore, he was always present when discussing issues.

In actual combat, "junk soldiers" generally have low training and morale, and their equipment is also terrible, so there are some targeted strategies. But this kind of disregard for "morale-boosting" tactics is something he's never encountered before, and it feels a bit too outrageous...

Seeing that the artillery could not drive them away, the Ming army's front-line infantry also began to move forward to cover the artillery.

However, the enemy wasn't just making moves along this route. While they were focused on the enemy's position, other enemy forces also began their operations. Large cavalry units bypassed the infantry and artillery positions busy engaging the Slavic infantry and moved around to their rear.

Seeing this, the Ming army changed formation again. Under Jessica's command, the square formation consisting of five horizontal ranks dispersed. The last rank remained in place, while the two middle ranks of commanders turned to the sides and, as Jessica commanded, moved forward to their designated positions. The entire infantry formation thus became a discontinuous, hollow square. In the very center of the line, Jessica left all the Italian crossbowmen. He also gathered the remaining supply wagons and gave them to them, allowing them to reinforce any position. He instructed Commander Francis to watch over all corners, and then left the details to others.

As he had expected, the Polish-Lithuanian cavalry were the first to arrive behind the artillery positions. They observed the location of the cannons and saw that the battle was raging there: some Slavic infantry had already charged onto the positions, and Ming infantry were also rushing to meet them.

Both sides were clearly taken aback by this development. The Slavs hadn't expected the artillery to actually stay, and the Ming army hadn't expected the Slavs to charge the cannons despite such heavy casualties. Therefore, everyone was quite unprepared. In some places, the soldiers were already locked in combat. In other places, no one was paying attention, with only a few artillerymen chasing after a few stray Slavs with large clubs for loading ammunition…

Although one could hear distant gunfire if one listened carefully, the largest artillery position had temporarily fallen silent. The Allied forces had still achieved their basic objectives.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to confirm that they truly didn't have time to turn around and bombard them, the allied cavalry felt reassured and began to regroup. Soon, they reformed their formation and marched towards the corner where the formation extended outwards.

At the front, the allied cavalry split into two groups, spreading out to the left and right, using tactics common on the grasslands to concentrate their fire on the Ming army in the middle from two directions. Some of the bolder ones even ran a few steps to the front of the formation, and as they passed through the formation, they attacked the front-line infantry with spears and maces.

This time, however, the crossbowmen that Jessica had arranged arrived quickly. They were much closer and faster. Manager Roberto personally led a group of crossbowmen, riding in large carts to the rear of the formation, and then had the soldiers take turns standing on the carts to fire at the cavalry outside. After firing, they would get off to reload, and then the next person would take their place. Some crossbowmen ran to the gaps between the infantry units and fired at any enemy cavalry they saw.

The Italian crossbows were extremely powerful, especially at the range where mounted archers were effective; their arrows were almost always accurate, rendering even the fastest horses ineffective. Furthermore, many of the attacking soldiers were mounted on chariots, at roughly the same height as the cavalry, thus avoiding the infantry in the front ranks. Their level fire was also highly effective.

The allied forces suddenly realized that even with their concentrated assault, they were gaining little advantage and suffering heavy losses. The Italian armor was even more advanced than that of the Bohemian infantry maintaining the front line, making them completely impervious to direct fire. The enemy, clearly unprepared for this tactic, was forced to hastily retreat. Subsequently, some of the leading nobles seemed to discuss the matter briefly before changing direction and attempting the attack again.

As they moved, the crossbowmen also rode in the wagons, following their direction to provide support. The situation was exactly the same as before. Enemies attempting to break through the formation and find weaknesses discovered they were still subjected to a barrage of crossbowmen fire; any close approach resulted in heavy losses.

The nobles commanding the troops still seemed puzzled by the density of firepower everywhere and the hiding places of so many archers. Now, the cavalry dared not attempt any further attacks and could only awkwardly confront the enemy.

Seeing this, Jessica felt it was time to launch a counterattack. So he sent a messenger to order the Hussite cavalry, who had been positioned close to the right flank of the infantry formation, to come over, while also pulling some of the Tyrolean infantry out of the formation.

The Hussite cavalry were his old comrades, and they knew each other well. The Tyrolean infantry, on the other hand, were the strongest and most experienced fighting force on this front. Therefore, he felt he could seize this opportunity to launch a counter-offensive, using these two most reliable forces as the core.

After the messenger left, Jessica summoned several of the main force commanders and ordered them to prepare to lead the assault. He told them that if they could drive away or even defeat the hesitant enemy, they could immediately break through the enemy's covert encirclement and open a gap for the infantry's movement.

Then, he needed everyone to stretch the square formation into a long, serpentine line, immediately extending to both sides. The front ranks and the units on the left formed the left flank, bypassing the artillery positions and besieging the enemy infantry still on the ground; the rear ranks, the right flank, and the center of the formation, as reserves, formed the right flank, which he personally led, to advance towards the cavalry and directly attack the Poles who were engaged in combat with friendly cavalry.

He believed that the cavalry, caught in close combat, had lost their mobility. Even if they could be withdrawn for rotation, they couldn't disregard the entire formation and maneuver directly. Therefore, their speed of movement was probably not as fast as the breakthrough of the main infantry force on this side.

This would create a reverse "hammer and anvil" formation—using Tang Sai'er's cavalry and Zhu Wenku's artillery on the flanks of the main force as the anvil to draw the enemy in, while his infantry in the center would act as the hammer to crush the enemy. Currently, this method appears to be quite feasible.

However, before the explanation could be finished, the messenger rushed back and told Jessica that the "Orphan Army" cavalry had all been transferred away by Don Sai'er, and it seemed they were now following her to attack the enemy's flank and rear. Jessica then realized that they were already doing what they wanted to do, and had no choice but to change her plans again, deciding to postpone the right flank attack.

While he was struggling with this decision, the enemy cavalry behind the main force began to stir.

Everyone quickly looked over there and saw that the enemy hesitated for a moment, then immediately turned and retreated without lingering. Only after they left did everyone see that more people were rushing over from behind.

It turns out that these were the men that Jessica had sent north to try and seize the beachhead to cross the river, but they had failed. After preparing for the decisive battle here, he ordered them to secretly retreat and cross the river via this bridge to reinforce their forces.

Now, timing is everything; they appeared suddenly at the bridgehead, startling the cavalry. Perhaps fearing a pincer attack, the opposing commander immediately withdrew. The harassment of the infantry was thus eliminated.

(End of this chapter)