Chapter 229 Cavalry
Under Lucien's urging, his subordinates quickly attacked. The French army, which had been in a calm state, began to advance on the battlefield and headed towards the front line of fierce battle between the British and Russian armies.
The hills everywhere make the roads rugged, blocking the army's vision and making it difficult for them to act arbitrarily. Therefore, if you want to detour to the enemy's flank, there are not many roads to choose from. For this reason, the French army's marching formations are very dense, just like the troops participating in the inspection.
The French army was mobilized so quickly that they naturally did not escape the eyes of the people on the British command post, and they couldn't help but cheer. However, the careful Marshal Lagren could naturally see that the vanguard was only the vanguard. Calculated the time, the young adjutant should not have time to pass his plan to Marshal Treville.
So, this should be the independent action of Colonel LeFreir.
After considering this, he couldn't help but feel more favorable to the French officer, because he did so, it was obvious that even to help the British army in a bad state on the front line.
The old marshal has been in a state of anxiety and excitement for almost half a day. He is almost exhausted at this time. He only feels light and can fall to the ground at any time. He finally gathers up his last energy and does not fully reveal his fatigue.
Hope everything gets better, otherwise it will be a terrible day.
As if responding to the marshal's prayer, new changes have taken place in the war on the front line.
The light cavalry brigade that bravely launched a frontal charge on the Russian position has now been completely lost. The remaining people are weakly staying in their original place, surrounded by the corpses of their companions and war horses. Blood spread a dazzling carpet on the ground. The violent smell hit everyone's brain, making them even more at a loss.
Because of the violent galloping and fighting, they had exhausted all their strength. At this time, they were exhausted and were too lazy to wave their weapons, and even too lazy to avoid the whistling bullets, and stared blankly at the surroundings.
What made them so confused was not only the exhaustion of energy, but also the scenes around them. Looking around, there were corpses of people and horses everywhere, some of which were even incomplete, revealing their internal organs. The blood-flowing ground dyed the horse's hooves and the skin of many people red. The most terrifying thing is that most of these dead people were comrades who were with them day and night.
The comrades who were so vivid just half an hour ago have now disappeared from the world. Such a blow has made these brave soldiers stunned.
For the young officer George De Dilièon, who was watching the battle from a distance, the decisive charges launched by these men were a grand performance that he would never forget in his life, and this scene would be remembered in his mind. For these cavalrymen who had experienced all this personally, this was a crazy, bloody memory that could not bear to see. These bloody scenes would turn into nightmares around them all their lives. If they had a choice, of course they would rather have never had such an experience.
Although the British cavalry had given up on combat, the Russians would not stop their attack mercilessly. A large amount of artillery fire still poured out on these poor survivors and continued to take away more victims. However, these shotguns who had been exhausted and fell into despair did not even scream, and fell to the ground in silence, as if they were relieved.
If there were no other changes, the entire light cavalry brigade would be destroyed before the Russian army's front and become a sacrifice to the god of death, and add a tragic but very bitter annotation to the British military history. However, fate has not completely abandoned these people.
After the light cavalry brigade launched an attack on the front line, the heavy cavalry units led by Count Luken himself also launched an attack on the Russian positions on the flanks. Because the light cavalry led by Count Cardigan attracted a large number of Russian troops to attack, the pressure on them was much less, and they soon dispersed the Russian army in front and swept towards the depth of the Russian army.
The unexpected attack caught the Russian army off guard, but they quickly mobilized reinforcements to block the further attack of Count Luken. The Russian soldiers who were struggling to support all understood that as long as the British cavalry in the valley were annihilated, a large number of their troops could be liberated to reinforce themselves, and this group of cavalry suffered the same fate.
But their wishful thinking was not realized, because at this time another army joined the battlefield. This army was a few, but with high spirits, they lined up into dense marching columns, and then swept along the uneven valley road in a direction parallel to the route of the light cavalry charge at an extremely fast speed.
Their target was the hill to the left of the valley, where there were a large number of Russian soldiers and a small number of Russian field artillery. As long as they were repelled, the light cavalry in the valley who were being massacred would face less pressure and could find a way to retreat under their cover.
After discovering the arrival of this army, the Russian army on the hills were obviously panicked. They did not expect that a French army would suddenly rush over to attack here. After approaching their positions, the French marching column made some adjustments. A large number of infantry rushed up the hillside in loose formations and rushed towards them bravely. On both sides of them, some fox troops covered the flanks and approached the feet of the hills with flexible steps.
The Russian soldiers who were still firing at the cavalry just now had to turn around and fire at the French soldiers who suddenly came over. However, even though they caused some casualties to the French, they could not stop their attack.
When the French army forcibly rushed to the hills in the face of artillery fire, they finally opened fire on the Russian army easily. During the fierce firefight, the Russian soldiers suffered heavy losses. Although they had some simple field fortifications, this did not bring much help to them in the face of the French army's superior number of people and guns.
Soon, these brave French soldiers rushed into the Russian position. Although the remaining Russian soldiers fought desperately, their positions were still lost. The remaining people finally had to choose to retreat and even abandoned a few field artillery.
Soon, the French army stood up its flag at the tip of the hills. This flag could not only be used to show off the merits and victory of its troops, but also to point out a direction for the British cavalry to escape.
Colonel Lucien Le Fleir, the commander of the unit, stood on the hills and observed all the movements on the front line. Although his subordinates had just won him a victory, he still looked grim, because he knew how much his allies had paid just now.
The French flag soon fell into the eyes of the remaining British light cavalry. They, who had already fallen into despair, finally saw the hope of survival again. The courage and strength of action grew in their bodies again. Under the order of the surviving commander Earl Cardigan, all the cavalry who could still move, whether on horseback or walking, immediately moved towards the French position.
At this time, the French army did not stop their pace. They continued to attack the Russian front along the hills. This was not only to cover the cavalry and attract Russian firepower, but also to take advantage of this opportunity to further recover the previously lost positions and prepare for the coalition's comprehensive counterattack.
Until the end, these remaining cavalrymen finally returned to the position that the French army had just conquered. At this time, this spectacular and terrifying military blind movement finally came to an end.
Lucien, in a complicated mood, walked down the hills to welcome the returning cavalry. These cavalry were now ragged, either blackened by artillery fire or covered with blood, so the originally bright uniform had become very dull at this time; and these people all looked dull and frown, and they had not yet recovered from the terrible blow.
In just a few dozen minutes, this cavalry unit, which was originally majestic and heroic, was now miserable. They suffered heavy losses and almost destroyed the entire army. Moreover, those who were fortunate to survived from the terrible torture also completely lost their ability to fight. What is even more speechless is that their offense did not achieve commendable results, but only nightmare that accompanied them for a lifetime.
However, even so, they are still worthy of admiration because they have done everything they can. As a soldier, Lucien admires their courage and perseverance very much.
In silence, he walked to Count Cardigan and patted him hard on the shoulder, expressing his comfort and admiration for him in this way.
Earl Cardigan just gave him a helpless and bitter smile, and then walked towards the British army's position in the rear with his only remaining subordinates. They were too tired and didn't even want to talk to others anymore. They just wanted to take a rest and calm down their already exhausted hearts.
Lucien had escort them away, and kept looking at their backs until they disappeared between the hilly valleys.
In just one day today, he had seen two tactical performances of cavalry and infantry. Although the protagonists had switched once, both Russian cavalry and British cavalry suffered huge losses in front of the infantry that were ready for battle, and in the end they could only return in vain. And the charge of the elite Russian cavalry was even just two rows of infantry.
All this may declare a sad fact. With the development of military technology, the firepower of infantry has been unprecedentedly strengthened, so the cavalry, who have always been powerful in tradition, may no longer be able to become the decisive army on the battlefield in the battle between European powers, and they can only exist as troops that harass local areas.
Lucien thought about all this in his mind. At this time, he could not see the blueprint for future wars, but he already had a premonition that in the future, artillery fire and guns on the battlefield would only be more sophisticated, and at that time the restrictions on cavalry would become greater and greater. Perhaps the existing combat art would have undergone new changes. As a French soldier, he hoped that his motherland could keep up with all these changes.
Just as Lucien tried his best to rescue the British cavalry from the Jedi, the French commander Treville, who had received the plan of Marshal Lagren, also issued an order to his subordinates, allowing the French army from afar to launch a full-scale attack.
At this time, he was full of confidence because he knew that the morale of the Russian army had become exhausted due to the strong resistance of the British army, and their troops had also suffered huge losses. As long as the French army who were invested in the current orderly manner, it would cause the Russian army to suffer the bitter fruit of defeat.
With the sound of military calls, the French troops were put into the attack. For a moment, a large number of soldiers rushed towards the direction where the Russians were like blue tides.
At the end of the left flank of the French offensive was a group of cavalry in shiny armor, a guards' chest-plated cavalry unit. They had only recently felt that they were from the Crimean front. Because they had not suffered the setbacks of the previous troops, coupled with the sense of honor and elite brought by being the guards, they were very high in morale and were determined to show their courage.
And now, of course, they are not willing to waste such opportunities.
The superior commander gave them the task of attacking the Russian army from the flanks and trying to destroy the artillery positions in the rear of the Russian army. They happily took the order and launched an attack along the road of the valley. They did not see everything the British cavalry had just encountered, because they were all very fighting spirit.
Jerome Bonaparte was one of the group of cavalry. At this time, he was wearing his military uniform, his shiny breastplate shining with his light. He followed his comrades, galloping intently.
The young man was very excited at this moment. He knew that he was embarking on a path to becoming a hero, and all his dreams were condensed in this moment.
He swore to himself that even if he could not return with heroes, he would stay on the battlefield as a brave warrior.
Because they were heavy cavalry that needed to accumulate horsepower, the cavalry were not fast and slowly approached the front positions. However, when they arrived at the edge of the Russian flank positions, their speed began to rise faster.
This group of cavalry wearing shining armor appeared in front of the enemy in a dazzling posture. As their speed accelerated, the light reflected in the breastplate began to gather together, and finally formed a dazzling cold light...
"Boom!" The shells hit the way they rushed over, but perhaps because of the small number of cannons, the artillery fire was a little sparse and could not bring much damage to these cavalry. The cavalry ignored such artillery fire and rushed forward without moving forward.
When they arrived at a position that was extremely close to the enemy, the cavalry picked up the light muskets in their hands and fired at the Russian infantry. The short gunshots turned into a tough counterattack against the Russian army, taking away many enemies' lives and making these cavalry more and more eager to fight.
After the fire opened, the cavalry tied their horses and circled a semicircle in front of the Russian army, and then started loading again to prepare for the next round of attack.
In front of the Russian positions, these cavalry repeated such tactical actions several times, gaining the upper hand in the shooting of the two troops and causing chaos in the Russian soldiers on the opposite side.
Soon, the Russian army's front began to loosen, and these cavalrymen also saw opportunities.
This time, they urged their war horses frantically and rushed directly to the Russian position. They wanted to use a saber to end the battle.
Among the charge of the cavalry, the young Jerome Bonaparte held the sabre in his hand and stared at the face of the enemy in front of him. He gritted his teeth, his eyes wide open, revealing a large piece of blood.
The hilt of his knife was already covered with sweat, but he had no idea. He only wanted to let the sword drink blood, to make the empire of his family proud of himself, and to make the goddess in his mind remember him forever.
In the wasteland in front of us, the enemy had disappeared from his eyes, everything turned into nothingness, leaving only the light of the yellow and red countryside, which was the light of glory, the fruit of victory, which was waiting for itself to pick it.
Come on! I must be a hero!
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a dull loud noise burst out in Jerome Bonaparte's ears, and the momentum almost made him deaf. A huge force rushed to him with the sound, as if a soldier who was close to him was pushing him hard. In front of this huge force, Jerome Bonaparte suddenly found himself floating in the air.
Then, it seemed like an invisible hand, which was the gravity transmitted from the earth, dragged him back to the ground. The violent impact made him hear the light sound of the fracture, but strangely, he didn't feel much pain.
Then, a heavy object fell from the air and hit him heavily, making him almost faint. With the remaining reason, he discovered that this was the thigh of a horse.
Moreover, it is his own mount.
A fishy and salty smell came from his mouth. He subconsciously raised his hand, but found that his hand seemed to be heavy, so he could only lift it up with all his might. He slowly wiped the corners of his mouth, and then a bright red appeared in his eyes.
At this time, the huge pain finally passed on to his mind.
"Ah!" He screamed, his eyes darkened and he could hardly see anything.
But, strangely, he still has no fear, only a sense of alienation and absurdity.
Why did I, a man born in the United States, run on a war horse in a military uniform to Crimea, which I had never heard of a few months ago, and was knocked to the ground?
A nearly absurd feeling surged into Jerome's heart.
I can't see everything around me clearly, but it doesn't seem to matter. Everything seems to have nothing to do with him.
The eyelids were as heavy as a thousand pounds, so the door to the eyes was closed.
Chapter completed!