ushernet Chapter 257 Collapse
Chapter 257 Collapse
A plume of smoke rose, followed by the crisp crack of weapons. The first rank of soldiers immediately retreated, and the second rank rushed forward.
The reloading speed of the self-governing firearms soldiers who had already used paper-cased fixed-load weapon ammunition had been brought to the limit for muzzle-loading infantry weapons. The arrival of a combat formation of three platoons of soldiers in a company was also triggered by the fixed-load weapon ammunition.
The barrage of fire from volley after volley instantly stunned Han Sui's organization. They hadn't expected the enemy to start firing at this distance, nor had they anticipated such a high accuracy rate. More importantly, they were surprised by the density of their fire.
Within a minute, nearly 6,000 infantrymen under Han Sui's attack on the front line had fallen. Those who had died were already dead, but the wounded who had not been killed directly were lying on the ground groaning in pain.
In an instant, Han Sui ordered the frontline soldiers to stop. They were stunned and had no idea whether they should continue advancing.
At this moment, the soldiers of the Anxi Independent Division also stopped firing. Liao Hua could not allow his men to kill all these good laborers; otherwise, his lord would have to skin him alive.
"Run!" The cessation of the weapons' sounds did not prompt Han Sui to rouse the frontline soldiers. Instead, they assumed the enemy was about to charge and the timid soldiers shouted, "Run!"
With the first soldier fleeing, the remaining soldiers dared not stand still. Considering the time spent advancing, less than fifteen minutes had passed since Han Sui ordered the attack, and Han Sui's attacking force collapsed.
The entire 20,000 infantrymen began to flee without even firing their weapons. What was even more ridiculous was that Han Sui's cavalry on both flanks hadn't even picked up speed yet. They had originally planned to charge the moment the two groups of infantry clashed, but who would have thought that their own infantry would be stunned by the enemy in an instant.
Han Sui was stunned, but Liao Hua was not. He immediately ordered a limited pursuit to inflict greater damage on the enemy organization!
The most interesting thing about this battle was that the artillery in the self-governed area repelled the enemy without firing a single shot. Liao Hua originally thought that this was just the first probing attack and did not expose his full firepower. Who would have thought that the enemy was so easy to defeat?
"This?" Ma Chao, who was watching the battle, was also a little dumbfounded. He knew Han Sui's strength to some extent. Although he believed that the Independent Division would definitely win this battle, who could have imagined that the victory would be so simple?
In fact, everyone on the battlefield was a little confused. However, the soldiers in the self-governing area were all elite warriors who had received rigorous training. Although they were somewhat surprised, it did not affect their fighting at this moment. They would not relax until the battle was completely over.
"Retreat!" Han Sui, looking at the battlefield before him, gritted his teeth and ordered a retreat. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight, but that they really couldn't continue fighting today after more than ten minutes of fighting.
The actual contact time was less than two minutes, and his 20,000 men on the front line were directly defeated and collapsed. Where could he go to reason with them? As a veteran, Han Sui knew that the morale of his side had plummeted to the bottom. Forcing the large organization to continue fighting would easily cause the camp to break apart.
In fact, Han Sui's defeat in this battle was somewhat unjust. Although his troops were very experienced in combat, the equipment gap between them and the self-governed area was too large, and they were also unfamiliar with line infantry tactics.
Although his men also attacked in formation, strictly speaking, they were not line infantry, but rather square formations of old-fashioned cold weapons. Such a square formation caused greater casualties when the Independent Division fired in volleys.
In particular, the Independent Division used alternating firing, with enough intervals between shots for the soldiers who were hit to fall, resulting in even more soldiers being hit.
Han Sui's team was fighting against the autonomous region for the first time, and they were not psychologically prepared for the autonomous region's combat methods. They didn't even know the range of the enemy's infantry.
Just when all the soldiers of Han Sui's organization thought they were safe, the enemy opened fire. This exacerbated the fear among Han Sui's frontline troops, and coupled with the heavy casualties that followed, it was not surprising that Han Sui was defeated in this battle.
What would Han Sui's expression be if he knew that Liao Hua had ordered the artillery not to fire, otherwise his casualties would have been even greater?
"This is absolutely amazing!"
The generals from the Ma family organization who were watching the battle were amazed by the battlefield before them. They all knew that the self-governed region was strong, but who would have thought it would be this strong! Although the enemy only left behind a few thousand corpses and wounded soldiers.
However, if this number of casualties was achieved within a minute, how could the members of the Ma family organization remain calm? Such a victory was simply too astonishing.
"Gentlemen, this is a new era, and there is still much for you to learn!" Looking at the performance of the Ma family members, Zhao Yun said calmly, "Having followed Chen Er for so long, he has some understanding of the future development of warfare that Chen Er mentioned. He knows that if he does not work hard to adapt to this era, he will fall behind."
"The Ma family organization is about to join the self-governing zone. Some of the Ma family members are very talented, and Zhao Yun has high hopes for them. However, they still have much to learn. In that case, Zhao Yun might as well give them some pointers, especially Ma Chao, a young man with exceptional talent. Zhao Yun values him the most." He addressed the Ma family members, saying, "Gentlemen, today's battle is just a small rehearsal. In the battles to come, you will see many more new tactics and strategies. As someone who has been through it all, I hope you will learn them well, as this is crucial for your future development."
"Please give us more guidance from the organization." The Ma family members quickly bowed to Zhao Yun in gratitude. Zhao Yun was a senior member of the district, and for him to take the initiative to teach them was a sign of respect.
The pursuing frontline troops also began to retreat. Liao Hua ordered the battlefield to be cleared and the wounded treated. At this moment, the Ma family members discovered something astonishing again: in the battle just now, it seemed that, it seemed that their side had not suffered a single casualty! Damn, zero casualties! Are they even human?
At this moment, the members of the Ma family organization had only one sentence repeating in their minds: the battle today had brought them far too much shock.
This was far beyond what the exercises of the past few days could demonstrate. However, they were unaware that even more shocks awaited them, which strengthened their determination and confidence to follow Chen Er's footsteps for a hundred years without wavering!
Pang De said, "Before today, Ling Ming dared not make such a statement, but after today's battle, I finally understand the strength of the self-governed region. I have to admit that the lord made the right choice."