Historians and war experts, regardless of their stance, generally hold a positive view of the Royal Army's performance in the initial stages of the war on November 23, 1967. Even the notes of Belvedere's generals show that the initial use of longbowmen indeed inflicted great casualties and shocked the Belvedere military.
With Leon's command, the two armies engaged in full combat. The longbowmen and their guards did not charge with the main force, but cleverly retreated to maintain their range advantage. Despite the favorable situation, Leon did not commit all his troops, leaving behind a cavalry force of three to four thousand men and an equal number of spearmen as reserves.
Theoretically speaking, Leon's command was truly impeccable, even completely suppressing the Belvedere army's command, which was reckless due to underestimating the enemy.
But that's precisely where the problem lies. Because everything went too smoothly, the initially coordinated attacking formation quickly became distorted.
Because Leon concentrated his elite troops in the south and his weaker forces in the north, the battle line quickly changed from a straight line to a diagonal line. The most elite troops in the south advanced rapidly, while the troops in the middle were able to keep up thanks to the early attacks by longbowmen. However, the troops in the far north were in a more awkward position, unable to advance and locked in a stalemate with the Belvado army, barely making any progress.
The tilt of the battle line wasn't a major problem; we're not building structures, so a non-straight line isn't a big issue. However, for Leon's troops at this moment, it meant that their most lethal weapon—the longbowmen—was completely exposed.
At the beginning, the longbowmen were escorted by two reserve units on the left and right flanks, making their exposure less noticeable. However, as the battle lines shifted, Leon ordered his southernmost pikemen to cross the entire battlefield to support the left flank. He then sent his northern cavalry to intercept Belvado's cavalry, who were attempting to flank him.
Then, the Belvalian cavalry, who had been entangled with the elite Imperial troops on the southern front, quickly broke away from the battle line, drew an arc, and charged towards the unmasked longbowmen.
The Belvedere cavalry's breakaway greatly excited the Imperial army, who, unaware of the situation, unleashed astonishing fighting power, pushing their battle line forward by nearly a hundred meters. This increased the distance between them and the longbowmen behind them by another hundred meters.
At least for the moment the Belvedere cavalry left, Leon felt that the enemy was on the verge of collapse, and that he could win the war without even needing any reinforcements from Kurman.
But the subsequent attack by the Belvedo cavalry shattered this illusion.
By the time Leon realized what was about to happen, the azure tide had already surged into the longbowmen's formation.
Even without heavy cavalry, cavalry can still overwhelm infantry formations.
Then Leon gave one of the most regrettable orders of his life: to return to the aid of the Longbowmen.
While this order didn't completely collapse the army's formation, it did waste time. Most fatally, it gave the enemy time to regroup when reinforcements arrived.
The cavalry moved swiftly, and when they discovered that Leon's troops intended to surround them, they did not linger in battle but instead lightly withdrew from the longbowmen's position.
However, the offensive and defensive situation on the battlefield has already changed irreversibly.
The longbowmen were fortunate enough not to be completely wiped out, but the morale of Leon's army changed. The entire army lost its initial vigor and went from a determined attack to a desperate struggle to hold on.
Then, to Leon's dismay, the Kurman troops, who had been confronting Belvador in the north, did not attack as Leon had expected, but instead continued the stalemate. Meanwhile, their camp, which was not yet fully prepared, caught fire.
The morale of Leon's army plummeted once again, and their lines crumbled like paper.
Leon galloped forward, constantly rallying the troops behind their lines, which helped them regain their footing. Meanwhile, the longbowmen's renewed attack also boosted the morale of Leon's forces. The two sides clashed fiercely once more, the entire battle line filled with brutal casualties and angry shouts.
Leon had even personally killed a dozen or so enemies, but the difference in numbers and the difference in the quality of the two armies could not be made up for by a mere thousand longbowmen.
Leon understood that he could only delay the inevitable defeat.
As the sun rose higher, both sides' lines continued to move northward, changing from a diagonal line to an obtuse angle, and then to a right angle.
At this moment, Leon sensed that the enemy's offensive had also slowed down. Clearly, the continuous fighting had not only put his troops on the defensive, but had also made the enemy feel exhausted.
Leon perked up; clearly, they had reached the most grueling part of the battlefield, a test of who could hold out longer.
He shouted loudly and once again charged through the lines, boosting morale. His actions had a clear effect; the lines, which had become right angles, turned back into obtuse angles, showing a strong momentum to push them back.
Then the final straw broke the camel's back. The Kurman cavalry, who had been hesitant, sprang into action. Instead of attacking in the direction Leon had anticipated, they raised their sabers and slashed at their rear.
Confusion, shock, followed by chaos and collapse.
Leon closed his eyes. Although he had cut down two more black-armored soldiers, he knew that he had lost the war again.
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