Chapter 1638: Battle on the Mahazan River
The sound of artillery roared and white smoke covered the banks of the Mahazan River.
The two armies in the North and the South bombarded each other for a long time.
Although the Portuguese artillery had a clear advantage in firepower and accuracy, it unfortunately lost its commander in the first round of shelling.
Fortunately, their continuous bombardment silenced the Moroccan artillery first, which was worthy of the laborers and animals who died of exhaustion in transporting them thousands of miles to the battlefield.
Seeing that the Portuguese artillery fire was extending towards his own infantry positions, Sultan Malik was forced to order a charge first.
The Andalusian infantry on the front line of the Moroccan army shouted "Allahu Akbar!" and launched a fearless charge under the fierce fire of Portuguese artillery and sharpshooters. After paying the price of thousands of people being killed, they successfully occupied the Portuguese artillery positions.
While the Moroccan infantry was attacking, their light cavalry also launched a large-scale outflanking attack on both wings. The Berbers used their muskets to continuously shoot at the Portuguese heavy cavalry deployed on both wings.
However, the latter was composed of the Portuguese knight class, who rode expensive Iberian war horses and were both covered in expensive and sophisticated armor. Only heavy muskets could threaten them.
The ordinary matchlocks in the hands of the light cavalry were obviously unable to cause damage to them at a long distance. Moreover, the knights had basically won military exploits in North Africa and had rich experience in fighting against light cavalry, so they would never rashly launch a pursuit and would just stay there.
The Portuguese sharpshooters deployed on both sides also quickly launched a counterattack behind the barrier, knocking the Berbers off their horses and supporting their own cavalry.
The Moroccan army, which was charging head-on, encountered the elite infantry of the Portuguese army after passing the artillery positions. The German mercenary pikemen and the Spanish volunteer musketeers cooperated well and were as stable as a rock. The Moroccan army paid a heavy price but failed to break their phalanx.
However, the arrogant young king was not satisfied with passively sticking to his tortoise shell.
He decisively ordered the Duke of Viseu to lead Portugal's most elite heavy cavalry to launch an assault on the enemy, so as to avoid being surrounded by twice as many enemy forces.
"We have come all the way here to defeat the enemy, not to be beaten!" The young king ordered his ace commander: "Attack forward relentlessly, break through again and again! Cut down Malik's Sultan flag and win back victory for Portugal!"
"As you wish, my Majesty!" The Duke of Viseu touched his chest and bowed with a firm expression, full of confidence.
Although the Portuguese heavy cavalry was small in number, with only 300 cavalrymen, they were all heavily armored, like tanks. Based on past experience, they could smash the scattered Moroccans into pieces with a single charge.
This time was no exception. When the Portuguese heavy cavalry, led by the Duke of Viseu, attacked the Moroccan army from both wings, the Andalusian infantry on the front line were immediately defeated.
When muskets were unable to penetrate the refined plate armor, scimitars and round shields were simply unable to stop the Portuguese cavalry's charge.
When the heavy cavalry, whose horses and equipment weighed more than 800 kilograms, charged forward, the earth shook. Any object that stood in their way would be ruthlessly smashed to pieces, let alone flesh and blood.
Amid deafening screams and wails, the light infantry at the front of the Moroccan army were knocked down hard and trampled into a pulp, and the front line was immediately riddled with holes.
After the heavy cavalry broke through, the Portuguese army's front-line mercenaries and volunteer phalanxes followed up in a timely manner. They rushed out from the passage reserved for the chariot formation, holding their spears horizontally, and launched a charge in a dense formation.
The musketeers in the phalanx continued to reload and fire as they advanced, and soon completely defeated the Moroccan first infantry line.
~~
The heavy cavalry continued to charge forward towards the Moroccan second infantry line.
What greeted them was a line of European apostates. These well-trained professional soldiers calmly aimed and fired with their muskets, many of whom used Spanish heavy muskets.
The effect of the volley was very good, and finally the heavily armored knights were knocked off their horses one after another.
But the long loading process made them unable to stop the heavy cavalry that roared towards them, shaking the earth.
After taking three volleys of fire with their faces and paying the heavy price of dozens of riders falling off their horses, the Portuguese heavy cavalry finally plunged into the center of the second line.
Although the apostates were experienced in combat and had spear formations to protect the musketeers, they lacked the will to fight. They had fled Europe to save their lives, so why would they sacrifice themselves for the Moroccans? I guess they wouldn't get to eat the 72 pairs of purple grapes...
Therefore, under the fierce attack of the Portuguese heavy cavalry, the center of the second line almost collapsed. The apostates fought and retreated, and the second line was soon broken in two.
As the elite Portuguese infantry joined the battle, the second line of the Moroccan army also collapsed...
Fortunately, these apostates had good military skills and knew to retreat to the two wings instead of turning around and running away, otherwise the third line would have been broken.
Seeing the Portuguese heavy cavalry approaching the third line, Sultan Malik's already bloodshot eyes seemed to be spitting fire.
If the third line of defense was also breached and the Sultan's flag was cut down or retreated, it would lead to a crushing defeat.
Then his back-up plan would be meaningless and would become a laughing stock of Europeans and traitors.
He ignored the doctor's advice, took the maximum dose of stimulants, had himself tied back to his horse, and prepared to go into battle himself, in order to prevent the Ottoman Janissary Guards, whose fighting power was strong but whose fighting will was also questionable, from repeating the mistakes of the traitors.
At the same time, he sent his personal guards to call on the soldiers on the third line to abandon the long front line and rush to the center for support.
However, although there were only about 200 Portuguese heavy cavalry left, they were still unstoppable. They broke through the center of the third battle line and were only a few dozen meters away from the green crescent flag.
The Ottomans fought and retreated, and the Moroccan army was on the verge of collapse at any time...
At the critical moment, Malik led his personal guards to charge forward and risked their lives to plug the gap in the third front.
The Berbers who were serving as the reserve behind the battle formation were shocked to see the Sultan personally going into battle. Led by their leader, they launched a charge with red eyes like moths to a flame, using their flesh and blood bodies as light cavalry to resist the iron charge of the Portuguese heavy cavalry!
The Moroccans, who were defending their country, finally blocked the charge of the Portuguese heavy cavalry after paying a heavy price.
The Ottomans were also encouraged and began to launch a counterattack, outflanking from both sides and surrounding the elite Portuguese infantry regiments that followed up!
To make matters worse for the Portuguese army, some heavy cavalry tried to break through, but ended up trampling their own elite infantry to death. Even worse, their phalanx was disrupted.
Seeing the situation change rapidly, the apostates quickly fought back. Even the Andalusian cannon fodder who had been routed returned...
The Moroccan army swarmed in from all directions, surrounding the Portuguese heavy cavalry and elite infantry, making it impossible for them to escape.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Sultan Malik immediately ordered someone to send a signal!
As the red firework shot up into the sky, the 20,000 most elite dragoons led by Mansur suddenly surged out from the hills and rolling valleys on the west side of the battlefield, rushing towards the center of the battlefield with a force that shook the heavens and the earth.
“We’ve fallen into a trap!”
The morale of the elite Portuguese troops who were fighting desperately in the encirclement was greatly damaged when they saw the Moroccan cavalry rushing over the mountains and plains, and a feeling of despair began to spread.
Although the fanatical religious volunteers chose to fight to the death, the knights were ready to surrender honorably.
The German mercenaries began to throw away their weapons and kneel down with their hands raised...
Seeing that the situation was settled, Sultan Malik and his guards withdrew from the encirclement and led the Berber cavalry to launch a charge. Together with Mansur's dragoons, they launched a general attack on the Portuguese main camp!
~~
Seeing the Moroccan cavalry coming like a tide, Sebastian and his nobles in the baggage wagon formation knew that the only way out was a fight to the death.
The king rode out of the camp and gave a speech to the terrified army:
"We have come from thousands of miles away, all over the country, for the future of Portugal!"
"But if we lose this battle, we will lose Portugal today! The horror of being ruled by the Moors will reappear! Our children and grandchildren will wear headscarves again, and our wives and daughters will become slaves!"
"For the present and future of the empire, for our families and descendants, you will fight to the death with me! The Lord is with us!"
At the same time, noble officers and professional sergeants were doing their best to boost morale, asking everyone to cheer up and meet the enemy's charge!
The sharpshooters fired silently, efficiently killing the charging Moroccan cavalry.
However, there are too many enemy cavalry. Unless you have a Gatling gun, you can't stop the galloping of thousands of horses...
At this life-or-death moment, Sebastian showed the courage a king should have. He decided to go all out and personally led his own guards cavalry across the square formation to launch a desperate charge towards Malik's Sultan's flag, a life-or-death charge!
The great Portuguese nobles also led their knights and followed their king closely, even the ten-year-old Duke of Braganza was no exception!
Everyone knows that only by killing Malik and cutting down the Sultan's flag can the battle be turned around!
Of course, Sebastian did not forget King Abu and his 6,000 camel soldiers, and ordered them to follow him in launching a cavalry charge!
King Abu could no longer hold back. Upon hearing the order, he drew his scimitar and shouted to his men: "Take back our country!"
The six thousand camel soldiers raised their muskets and scimitars, shouted "Allahu Akbar", and followed their Sultan to charge at the overwhelming Moroccan cavalry.
The largest cavalry battle in Africa since the Ottoman conquest of Egypt has begun!
The cavalry of both sides collided with each other with a loud bang, and the shouts of killing reached the sky!
ps. I think this battle is very necessary to write in detail, not only because it is of great significance to the development of the plot, but more importantly, it can make the story more epic and realistic... Well, I'll finish it in the next chapter.
(End of this chapter)
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