mtl008 Chapter 574 The Tactical Flaws of the Qionghai Navy
Chapter 574 The Tactical Flaws of the Qionghai Navy
Subsequent events proved that Zuo Wuwei's judgment was correct.
The remaining shield wagons advanced to within a hundred paces, about fifty or sixty paces, then stopped, piling up horizontally and forming a barrier parallel to the square formation, supported by the wooden planks in front. Under the cover of the shield wagons, the archers quickly advanced, drew their bows, and pointed them at a 45-degree angle to the sky.
Quartz sensed something was wrong; these shield wagons blocking the way would greatly reduce the rifle's firepower. But he couldn't just sit and wait to be killed, so he still gave the order to fire.
A loud and urgent bugle call sounded, and the soldiers in the front row raised their guns, aimed forward, and pulled the triggers.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" A dense barrage of gunfire rang out, lead bullets raining down on the wooden planks in front of the shield wagons. The water-soaked cotton blankets neutralized most of the bullets' kinetic energy; although the blankets thudded loudly, very few bullets managed to penetrate the wooden planks covered by them—after enduring the ravages of artillery fire, the shield wagons finally proved their true worth. Although some stray bullets pierced through the gaps between the shield wagons and struck their targets, they could no longer stop the archers from firing their arrows with composure.
Contrary to Quartz's expectations, the archers did not attack the infantry directly in front of them, but instead hurled their arrows at the artillery positions in the two corners—they were trying to suppress the artillery and cover the troops behind them.
The density of arrows hurled by thousands of archers was astonishing; a dense rain of arrows fell around the field artillery, leaving almost no room for cover. Fortunately, Zuo Wuwei withdrew the gunners in time, thus preventing heavy casualties in the artillery battalion—artillery, as a technical branch, requires far more time and money to train than infantry, and is difficult to replenish in a short period; if there were heavy casualties, the entire artillery battalion would be rendered useless.
A dense barrage of arrows rained down on the cannon barrel and the foreground vehicle, the clanging of arrowheads against the metal of the cannon resounding throughout the area. Infantrymen around the cannon positions were also caught in the crossfire, many falling to the ground.
Whether it was the Left Guard's deliberate withdrawal of artillery or the suppressive effect of the infantry archers' arrows, the Later Jin army had achieved its objective. Although the mountain artillery in the rear continued to fire grenades, the suppressive effect of grenades from the black powder era was not as effective as that of heavy artillery with its flat, low trajectory. Moreover, the fixed landing points of the shells were easily adapted to and consciously avoided by the following troops, greatly reducing their lethality. Without the restraint of heavy artillery, the cavalry and heavily armored infantry in the rear moved forward calmly, safely passing through the "death zone" that had been covered by artillery fire. Abatai's anticipated all-out attack was about to be launched.
Through the telescope, they saw a dense mass of Later Jin troops gathered directly in front of the formation under the cover of shield wagons, like a flood held back by a dam, ready to burst forth at any moment. The people on the second regiment's position were somewhat anxious.
Xu Yifan frowned and said, "This square formation was originally intended to deal with cavalry, but the Tartars are now using shield wagons to block the front instead of cavalry, and then suppressing the enemy with infantry archers. This tactic is rather vicious. The best solution would have been to change to a line formation and concentrate firepower to deal with the subsequent infantry charge, but in this way, the Tartar cavalry can flank both sides, leaving Han Sheng in a dilemma..."
Liu Ye clenched his fists tightly, his palms sweating. He hadn't expected that a simple advance of shield wagons and archers could suppress the hollow square formation. The weapon originally intended to counter cavalry had now become a burden, and the situation had suddenly turned against them. He knew Xu Yifan was right; with their forces spread across four fronts, the front only had a thousand men, and only half of them were standing and firing. Such firepower density couldn't withstand wave after wave of attacks from over ten thousand men. If they were to form a line formation, the firepower would certainly increase several times over, but the flanks would be completely exposed to the cavalry.
He suddenly realized the biggest flaw in this triangular formation: while the three hollow square formations could indeed block the cavalry from passing through, this formation also restricted their own movements. To prevent being charged by the cavalry, the Second Regiment and the Independent Regiment had to maintain their square formations, watching helplessly as the First Regiment bore the full force of more than 10,000 enemy troops without being able to provide assistance. Otherwise, if the formation were to break down, the cavalry would rush up and divide and encircle the infantry before they even got close to the First Regiment, defeating them one by one.
Liu Ye turned his gaze to the rear center of the Later Jin army. Under the fluttering blue banner with a golden dragon, a group of well-armored men surrounded a single figure—wasn't that Abatai? It seemed the Later Jin army's tactic was to abandon the idea of traversing the triangular "trap," instead exploiting the weakness of the three formations fighting independently, choosing to concentrate their forces to crush one of them—if this was Abatai's idea, then this opponent was rather troublesome. War truly is the best way to train generals; after decades of fighting, even mediocre talents had become renowned generals in the Later Jin.
Liu Ye turned to Wei Lianheng and asked, "Is there any way to support Hansheng?"
Xu Yifan pondered for a moment before replying, "If absolutely necessary, we'll have to abandon the square formation and fight the Tartars in a line formation to support the First Regiment's retreat. We'll also order the Independent Regiment to move to our rear to defend against cavalry attacks on our flanks and rear. This change of formation is hasty and could cause confusion among the soldiers. Its defensive effectiveness is also far inferior to a hollow square formation, but there's no other way..."
"Then let's keep this plan as an alternative. If Quartz can't hold them off, you can step in and let Su Hongtu cover the rear."
Xu Yifan agreed, and then ordered someone to relay the message to the Independent Regiment's position in the rear.
Liu Ye sighed softly. His original intention was to intercept Abatai, even hoping to kill him in Changyi. But now it seemed likely to escalate into a chaotic battle, and the outcome was uncertain. Ultimately, they had underestimated their opponent. The Qionghai Army's previous battles had been too successful. Whether facing Ming forces, pirates, or bandits, each had its fatal flaws, and their superior weaponry and strict discipline were enough to overwhelm them. As a result, when faced with an opponent like the Later Jin, whose war experience, troop quality, and morale were all exceptionally high, they were somewhat overwhelmed.
At this moment, the archers in front of the first regiment, after suppressing the artillery positions and covering the advance of the main force, immediately launched an attack on the line directly in front of them.
Thousands of archers drew their powerful bows, pointing them diagonally to the sky, the bamboo frames of the composite bows creaking and groaning.
A mournful conch shell rang out, and the archers released their bowstrings. The bowstrings hummed like cotton being fluffed, and a dense swarm of arrows rose into the sky simultaneously. Thousands of light arrows sliced through the air, whistling as they passed the shield carts and soared into the heavens. After reaching their highest point, the rain of arrows changed course, swooping down and landing in the ranks of the first regiment.