The Norman longbowmen unleashed three rounds of rapid fire. The Italian and Frank crossbowmen on both sides of the Norman army were not idle either. These soldiers, who were equipped with Pengzhang crossbows prepared by local arsenals or abandoned by the main force, and a small number of pulley crossbows that did not meet the standards of the regular army, also hurriedly fired a hail of arrows.
Although the shooting speed is really not as good as that of a longbow. But the attack power of these crossbows is even worse than that of longbows. Coupled with the large number of levies, the combined number of Italian and French crossbowmen deployed on both sides of the main force was four times that of longbowmen! A total of eight thousand crossbowmen fired a volley, which was topped by four Norman longbowmen!
The two added together produced an extremely terrifying effect. The two or three thousand slave soldiers who rushed to the front suddenly became hedgehogs. This terrified Ilhan's slave soldiers. Fear spread through the army like a contagious disease. The second array of slave soldiers slowed down. However, this gave the Normans an opportunity to take advantage of.
Another round of arrows shot out. Thousands of slave soldiers in the second formation fell to the ground, and screams could not be heard. Thus. The Normans easily killed one-twentieth of the opponent's slave soldiers with almost no effort.
One-twentieth. This may sound like an insignificant number. Compared with one hundred thousand slave soldiers, it may seem small. However, the effect of this intimidation is quite outstanding. The morale of the slave soldiers, who were not very high to begin with, dropped a lot after they suddenly lost so many men.
The slave soldiers in the third column stayed where they were, neither advancing nor retreating. Seeing another round of crossbows fired from the opposite side. Someone yelled in panic, then dropped their weapons, turned around and pushed away the idiots blocking the road on both sides. Just let go and run.
Where there is one, there are two, and when there are two, there are three. Now that the slave soldiers had such a "role model", they naturally turned around and started running away without hesitation. And behind them, the view was blocked. The slave soldiers, who didn't quite understand what was happening now, were also led to flee.
This escape. This is the end of a devastating defeat. No matter how the Mongols behind them roared, waved their scimitars, and fired bows and arrows. I want to drive these people back to continue fighting. To no avail. The hearts of these slaves are already filled with the fear of death.
There is no room for anything else. Run away, run away with all your might! Only by escaping can you gain a chance of survival! At this time, no one can care about other things. Except for "escape" in their minds. There are no other words.
It can be said that Ilhan Hulagu made a mistake here. In other words, in the Middle Ages, most generals with mediocre qualifications also made such a mistake. They believe that war is about more people, the better. But they completely failed to anticipate the importance of the average quality of soldiers.
Use slave soldiers to wear down your opponents. This abacus is indeed a good one. But what if it¡¯s the other way around? In turn, these slave soldiers not only failed to play a role, but were crushed by their opponents. Will it affect one's own morale and formation?
What should we do? !
Xu Liewu watched and cried out to his array for the slaves who had escaped. His face turned pale with anger. He drew out his scimitar and roared: "Kill those who retreat! No one will be spared!" Such words. Order the Mongolian war teams to kill the defeated troops desperately.
Seeing the way of life cut off. The cries of the slave soldiers grew louder. Hulagu could clearly see the Muslims in the Arab world surrounding his Mongol elite. All of them looked unnatural. It seems that he has a rather sad mentality.
And with such a good opportunity, Marshal Ers naturally would not turn a blind eye. He made a prompt decision and immediately gave up his defensive counterattack tactics. Turn defense into offense. The artillery was ordered to fire a salvo. He also ordered the hussars and Norman knights on both wings, and the Frank and Italian heavy cavalry to dispatch one third. Ask them to launch a charge after the artillery salvo is completed.
Then there was another round of roar of artillery, like the earth was shaking and the mountains were shaking. The Norman army fired a salvo from dozens of cannons. Although the lethality is not very high. But the deafening huge explosion caused the slave soldiers and some of the Arab levies to completely collapse. Ilhan's forward array was in disarray.
At the same time, the Norman army deployed heavy cavalry on both flanks. The hussars and knights divided a third of the force. A total of more than two thousand heavy cavalry roared, lined up in a dense array, and shouted loudly. Launched a charge towards the chaotic Ilhan Army!
"No!" Seeing this huge flaw being exploited by the enemy. Xu Liegu immediately broke into a cold sweat. If this round of cavalry charge really comes true. Then this battle will inevitably end in his disastrous defeat.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Fortunately. for normanThe knight's alertness led him to issue the order before the battle. The Arab cavalry and Mongolian cavalry to be deployed on both wings took the initiative to attack after seeing the Norman cavalry dispatched. Be sure to stop these deadly bastards!
It¡¯s so pitiful that the Mongols, who are world-famous for their cavalry, actually select troops to counter the opponent¡¯s cavalry during the battle. This is really
"Immortal God doesn't have eyes, you bastard!" I thought of this. Hulagu bian complained secretly. Despite converting to Islam. But most of the time, this is just a political thing for him. It is just a strategy to appease the large number of Muslims in Ilhan. The true faith in his heart is still the Tengger religion widely believed by the grassland peoples.
Watching the Norman cavalry rush over like an avalanche. The Arab cavalry seemed a little less confident. However, the Mongolian elites who had survived hundreds of battles roared angrily, and immediately raised their scimitars and opened their carved bows. A countercharge was launched against the cavalry troops on both flanks of the Normans. The Arab cavalry also rushed over under the strict orders of the Mongolian officers.
After a round of compound bow and cavalry crossbow shooting. The two torrents of cavalry collided together like this! The uniform formation of the Normans and the heavy and light cavalry more suitable for charging completely defeated the cavalry units of the Mongols and Arabs with chaotic formations and different weapons! When they meet each other, they will turn the person they killed on their backs!
The Arabs had already been killed by the Norman cavalry. After a failed confrontation, his morale plummeted and he was on the verge of collapse. But the Mongolian cavalry still gritted their teeth and supported. However, although these brave and tenacious Mongols were powerful, they were still no match for the well-trained Norman cavalry. They could only block the Norman cavalry.
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