The Romans' powerful spears and rapid stone pellets caused a lot of trouble to the Celtic army. At close range, the heavy javelins they threw were enough to penetrate plate armor! The stone projectiles are slightly worse. But it's equally powerful. If it hits someone in the face, it will be enough to break the cheek bones! However, what deserves more attention is the Roman charge. The charge launched by nearly 100,000 Roman troops was quite impressive. And their combat effectiveness is slightly low. But with their numbers, they were enough to put pressure on the Celtic army.
The Roman heavy infantry raised their large shields and formed a tight shield wall to block the thrust of the Celtic super spearmen. At the same time, he pushed forward desperately. Hope to be able to squeeze out of the Celtic formation. Force them into close combat, and then fight with the spears and daggers in their hands. .
At this stage, the battle between the two sides is more like a game of endurance and strength. The competition is who can push whom. The Celtics desperately maintained their array and resisted the enemy with super long guns. Under the cover of super long guns, troops composed of muskets, heavy crossbows and thunder swordsmen killed the Romans.
The Roman heavy infantry on the opposite side gritted their teeth and persisted. The heavy scale armor on their bodies, or the traditional Roman ring armor, although due to the backward production technology and iron smelting technology, was not as good as the fine forging of the Normans. Plate armor is strong. But it is rare to find sophisticated equipment. Although their slingers and spearheads were not enough to compete with the Celtics' muskets and heavy crossbows, they could still put up a good fight. Therefore, on the front maintained by the four legions of the Roman regular army, the fighting was unprecedentedly fierce. The soldiers on both sides fought bloody battles, and it can be said that they were evenly matched.
However, in other directions, the situation on the fronts where the Roman local garrisons were responsible was completely different.
The local militiamen who were simply equipped with leather armor and light chain armor were completely unable to defend against the fierce attack of Celtic soldiers. The dense phalanx of super long spears is equally deadly to them. Often the brave Roman militiamen would take a step forward, but before they could make any tactical moves, they would be stabbed to pieces by multiple super-long spears from the opposite side.
And since they were not equipped with large Roman shields, they didn't even have a way to crack the super spear phalanx. Under such circumstances, they have no other end than to be abused, abused, and abused. Arturia, who quickly discovered this, immediately ordered the British longbowmen to change their targets. Two thousand longbowmen concentrated on attacking one of the Roman militia legions. It was planned to defeat this legion first and tear apart the Roman array.
At this stage, although the Celtic army did not have a numerical advantage, the battle situation was developing in their favor.
And at this moment, when we saw the shouts of killing on the front battlefield, shaking the earth and the earth, at the same time, the ragtag group on the left wing of the Roman army, who had a deep hatred for the Norman Empire, and in front of the remaining Arab troops, a group of former The Syrians' blood was boiling, and these mercenaries with poor equipment and even tattered clothes could no longer endure it. Their anger towards the Norman Empire completely broke out at this moment!
Representing the anger of the entire Western world against the brutal conquest of the Norman Empire, these people roared and brandished weapons such as hand axes, scimitars, maces or wooden clubs in their hands, and launched a charge towards the Celtic flanks. And as these soldiers were dispatched, behind them, more mobs, all the remnants of the subjugated country who had hatred against the Norman Empire, were also inspired and inspired to launch a charge.
Although they are not many in number, they are of various types. These include, but are not limited to, two-handed swordsmen from Germany; crossbowmen and spearmen from Italy; pikemen and halberdiers from Switzerland; knights errant from the Franks; light cavalry and veiled swordsmen from Arabia, Religious fanatics, even desert nomads riding camels¡.
The formation of these people is extremely chaotic. There is no structure at all. The soldiers are all organized into mercenary groups, forming hundreds or even thousands of small fighting groups based on their places of origin. These groups are very cohesive and decide everything internally. Leaders are also elected by themselves. This caused chaos in the command system of these mercenary warriors. Of course, this is actually a compliment. What's really accurate is this: These guys have absolutely no chain of command.
But speaking of it, there are still a small number of troops among them that are worthy of praise. They are the two regular mercenary legions that were the only remaining ones during the heyday of the Eastern Roman Empire. A Latin legion, a German legion. Although the original full strength of a legion should have reached 10,000 people. The combined number of the two legions now only exceeds 8,000. But I believe that these 8,000 people combined are more powerful than the 20,000 to 30,000 people.
After all, they have unified command and cooperation. Although the equipment and training are a bit poor, the Eastern Roman Empire's attitude towards the mercenary legions has always been regarded as a stepmother, but anywayCompared with those whose country is ruined and their family is ruined, they are like no mothers.
The wild children of Europa and the Arabs are strong.
In addition, the charging time of these mercenaries is not optimal. Originally, Lili Annu didn't pay too much attention to these rabble. The way they were used was to "launch an attack when the Celtic army showed signs of fatigue and morale was low, to further weaken the opponent's morale." But now the war breaks out. But it was the Celtic army that had the upper hand with its long-range advantage. Launching a charge at this time will not achieve the strategic effect at all!
"Damn it! These bastards are just causing trouble!" As the battle progressed, several Arab mercenaries acted without permission, eventually causing an avalanche-like chain reaction of left-wing mercenary troops. Lili Annu snorted angrily. Immediately afterwards, he made a quick decision: If this is the case, we will not stop doing it, and the attack on the other side will be ready in advance!
After making such a decision, Lilian Nu issued a new order. The six thousand lancers on the right wing are ready for action! Since the tactical effect of "further demoralizing" cannot be achieved. Then use "attack from both sides" instead!
Just like that, while the frontal battlefield fell into a fierce battle, the Eastern Roman troops deployed on both wings launched a charge! However, Arturia had been prepared for such a result before! All this is under her calculation! The Celts, the Royal Knights of Britain, and the 10,000 elite cavalrymen Egil gave her were just for times like this!
"Two thousand royal knights, stop those Roman lancers. The fat cavalry troops, crush those overconfident mobs!!" Seeing the movements of the Roman army, Arturia quickly issued new orders. Celtic knights and Norman cavalry were deployed on the plains behind the array, ready to attack at any time. The mounted militiamen sprang into action upon receiving the order. The knights launched a countercharge against the Eastern Roman lancers. The fat cavalry and Eastern European horse militiamen rushed towards the rabble on the right in a semi-enveloping manner!
Lili Annu has her own plans, and Arturia also has hers. If faced with the Eastern Roman Lancers who were three times as large as their own, the well-equipped heavy knights could not win quickly. So facing a mob that is three times the size of our own, the elite fat cavalry armed with light lances are definitely enough to defeat them!
Pick up the soft persimmons and pinch them. Arturia naturally understands such a simple truth. The tactics of using the mob as a breakthrough point also fully reflects this. The elite cavalrymen who had developed to the stage of quasi-lancers, as well as the mounted militiamen who were also equipped with spears and had undergone certain formal training, launched a charge, and the mob was naturally unable to withstand it. Collapse is imminent. In this way, the first stage of this battle will end with the Celtic army defeating the first part of the Roman army, with a force of 30,000.
"Then, the enemy will definitely become frightened. After a certain period of rest, the fat cavalry can calmly attack the opponent's flank and completely defeat these Greeks!" Arturia's abacus crackled. But he was very shrewd. After seeing the way the Normans responded, Liliannu also secretly shouted "No!" and then immediately conveyed the order:
"Ask the Germanic and Latin legions to stop and organize defenses! Send a group of Roman heavy infantry, as well as Roman special legions (Thracian War Scythe, Night Wolf, Second Partner Cavalry) to assist our left wing! Remember! .After those ragtag mercenaries retreat, don¡¯t let them attack our defense array! It doesn¡¯t matter if we kill them when necessary!¡±
With Liliannu¡¯s orders like this. The Roman messengers rushed over quickly, and the two mercenary legions, which were still regular troops, quickly stopped. Start to shrink the formation and organize defense. At the same time, a group of Roman heavy infantry and Roman veterans also joined. This further strengthens the defense array.
After that, the mob was defeated by the Norman fat cavalry as expected. The survivors of the subjugated country, who had no formation at all, were defeated by the lightning-like charge of the fat cavalry almost instantly at the first encounter. It's like cutting butter with a knife. The power of the fat cavalry with their lances leveled and their horses moving is astonishing! They couldn't even resist. After a slight contact, the thousands of soldiers and horses at the front were overwhelmed. After that, the morale of these roaring mobs was like a balloon that had been popped. One by one, they scrambled to turn their horses¡¯ heads and fled in panic!
In this way, their army of 20,000 to 30,000 people was extremely embarrassed, being chased by cavalry that was more than twice their number, and ran towards the mercenary legion that had already formed a formation. Behind them, Norman cavalry armed with sabers, cavalry crossbows, and compound bows, as well as mounted militiamen armed with sabers and short javelins, were killing them. Leaving corpses everywhere¡± (To be continued)
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