"fire!"
Inside the Yan army's position, hundreds of artillery vehicles, standing in a crisscross pattern, fired heavy shells without stopping. On the opposite side, the Goertek army seemed to have gone mad. In addition to the artillery fire on the front lines, troops from the rear were also coming in droves, but they were repeatedly wounded by the continuous shelling.
The artillery units at the forefront were already bracing themselves against the shells fired by the Yan army, but they were struggling to hold on and were unable to provide cover for the infantry. Their artillery was being destroyed rapidly. Under this high-intensity bombardment, the Götterd artillerymen realized that the gap between their weapons and those of the enemy was simply too great.
The accuracy, range, and destructive power of the artillery are simply not on the same level. Therefore, even if our side is well prepared, it cannot gain an advantage on the current battlefield. Continuous head-on clashes will only result in a rapid increase in casualties.
One artillery piece after another was destroyed. Although reinforcements with artillery pieces soon arrived from the rear, they could not withstand more than a few rounds before being destroyed again. Under the enemy's dense long-range bombardment, it was impossible to open a breach or even advance the position.
The cavalry on the flanks, on whom high hopes were placed, were charging recklessly, but the Yan army also deployed cavalry on the flanks to counter them. With both sides consisting of cavalry, the Yan army suffered significantly more casualties.
At this moment, Phil, who was commanding the cavalry, felt this even more deeply. He hoped to bypass the enemy's main formation on the flank and attack their weak points or the connections between their lines. If he could successfully break through the enemy's lines, he could create chaos, weaken their main offensive, and provide an advantage for his own main attacking force.
What came into view was the enemy's seemingly loose but extremely tight slanted "I" line formation. Under such a formation, our cavalry could not penetrate the enemy's flank at all. Moreover, the enemy was even actively closing the distance to launch an attack.
"Bang bang bang bang bang!"
One burst of gunfire followed another, and then waves of cavalrymen fell from their horses. Even when fighting on horseback, the enemy had a high degree of accuracy in their shooting. In fact, this was Phil's first time encountering Yan Kingdom cavalry, but it was this cavalry battle that was taking place at the moment that made him feel a strong sense of powerlessness soon after the battle began.
Although every light cavalryman in the empire was equipped with a musket, muskets were not actually the cavalrymen's primary means of killing enemies. Shooting while standing still on the ground required a high degree of concentration, and when shooting from a moving warhorse, the deviation of the bullet would greatly reduce the hit rate.
Therefore, in combat, cavalrymen relied more on their warhorses to quickly close the distance, and could only use firearms to fire within a range of tens of meters. Even so, unless they fired in a dense barrage, they could not achieve effective kills.
They can fire while charging, and their original formation can easily become chaotic, unlike infantry who can immediately stand still and aim when on the ground.
Therefore, constrained by multiple conditions, soldiers in the current cavalry units rely more on traditional sprints. After closing the distance, they rely more on using the bayonets mounted on their muskets to engage in close combat with the enemy, or on using the sabers and longswords worn on their saddles to slash, fighting like traditional cavalry.
It is precisely this awkward fighting style that has led to the decline of cavalry in the Empire's army. To some extent, they have even fallen behind the infantry, which has a mature musket combat system, and have degenerated from the main force to a battlefield support role.
Now, however, the way the enemy cavalry fought showed Phil a completely different combat style. Compared to the Imperial cavalry, they seemed to have a stronger sense of discipline. Everyone seemed to be a born battle maniac. Even when they were galloping at full speed, they could still maintain the integrity of their formation. In addition, they were obviously more familiar with firearms. They did not seem to be from traditional cavalry at all, but rather cavalrymen who had been handling guns on horseback for decades.
What's even more worrying is that even if they don't form ranks and fight individually as skirmishers, they can still inflict considerable damage on their own side.
The disparity was evident in every aspect, so when Phili saw his cavalry suffering huge casualties, he couldn't muster a strong determination to fight back. Instead, he was filled with a strong sense of powerlessness.
"At this rate, they'll kill everyone, no matter how many people they have..." Finally, Phil muttered these words, his face pale.
The next moment, he gritted his teeth and summoned a subordinate, saying, "Go find General Saski immediately. We can't break through on the flank, we... need to retreat."
Upon hearing this, the cavalry lieutenant whose name had been called looked terrified, his fear written all over his face. He stammered, "..."
"Sir, this...this won't do. General Saski has repeatedly ordered us before the battle that we must win tonight, regardless of casualties."
"Withdrawing troops... He would never agree to that."
Upon hearing this, Phil was enraged and shouted, "Are you blind?! Can't you see what's going on?"
"The Yan Kingdom's cavalry is far superior to ours in combat strength. Continuing to fight will only result in the loss of everyone here!"
In fact, even without Philip's reminder, Lieutenant Hanno understood that continuing to fight like this would indeed have a very low chance of winning, but the fear brought about by requesting a withdrawal was no less than the life-threatening threat posed by the Yan people.
"What are you all standing there for?! Go now!!" Phil raised his voice and shouted angrily.
"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Hanno, feeling helpless and fearful, could only anxiously lead a few signalmen back to report the news.
On the flanks, the intensity of the fighting did not diminish over time; on the contrary, it intensified.
The Yan army initially had a total of 40,000 cavalry on both the north and south flanks, which gradually increased to 60,000 cavalry. These newly joined cavalry charged out from the front of Pariston and then split into two routes, merging into the battlefield on both flanks. Meanwhile, the original cavalry force, after establishing an initial advantage, pushed back against the Golt cavalry line.
The Gothic cavalry were forced to fight and retreat. Under such circumstances, seeing that the light cavalry's rapid advance had been completely disrupted by the enemy, Phili could only order the light cavalry to clear the terrain and let the heavy cavalry take over.
When he issued the order, Phil was already filled with regret. If he had known from the beginning that the enemy had deployed a large number of cavalry on the flank, he should have sent the heavy cavalry as the vanguard. But because he did not expect that they had so many cavalry on the flank, he mistakenly launched a light cavalry attack. Now, not only did he fail to gain an advantage, but he also suffered heavy casualties.
As for now, he can only hope that before Saski sends new orders, he can use the heavy cavalry to form a cavalry wall to block the Yan Kingdom's cavalry offensive.
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