Chapter 10

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Chapter 10: The Invincible British Empire

The Ming army combined light and heavy cavalry into a multi-layered V-shaped formation, with all Magic Energy Knights positioned at the front to use their magic energy to block most of the bullets, only cannon fire and a few flying projectiles could cause effective damage.

In the distance, their well-organized artillery advanced, charging at full force when they were one hundred meters away. Blades and spears were swung together, the thunderous sound of battle echoed across the battlefield, the powerful charge of the cavalry was so intense that it made one’s heart race, causing the ground to tremble…

Suddenly, some soldiers from the expedition army started to run away, some dropped their weapons and surrendered, while others were so scared that they lost control of their bladders.

But those cowardly fools who flee first will die, when the cavalry charges, they don’t care what happens to you. Any foot soldiers who leave their formation will quickly be trampled by the dense cavalry.

To survive, believe in your comrades beside you, roar together and fight back with your bayonets. Only by fighting to the end can there be a glimmer of hope.

The expedition army formed eight hollow large formations, which appear diamond-shaped from a bird’s-eye view. There is about an 80-meter gap between the large formations. However, Elliot is a navy commander and not good at land warfare.

The arrangement of the large formations is not perfect. Soldiers shooting may easily harm allies from other large formations, and the first three large formations are somewhat disconnected. They are located in relatively flat terrain, while the following five large formations are on a slope, reducing the impact of the cavalry to a large extent.

In such a hurry, Hans couldn’t say anything, there was no time to make changes. He stayed in the last large formation with Elliot, protected by heavy troops.

The Ming army cavalry is charging over! They are not changing directions, but charging straight through!

Hans frowned, fists clenched, ignoring Elliot’s loud commands. The cries of the warhorses and soldiers intertwined, with the Ming army heavy cavalry forcefully breaking through the hollow large formation like waves crashing over and over again. Soon, the forefront of the expedition army’s large formation had been trampled flat, leaving behind dense bodies with firearms and swords littered among them.

As long as the cavalry is fierce enough, in sufficient quantity, and with appropriate tactics, the hollow large formation cannot withstand it. It depends on whether the cavalry is crazy enough to risk it all. When they are in a frenzy, even light cavalry can break through, not to mention the Ming army’s numerous heavy equipped cavalry with magic energy.

Using his intuition, Hans guessed that the Ming army attacked the first hollow square formation with 850 soldiers. Their cavalry lost over 300, with dozens of Magic Energy Knights being among the casualties. Most of the losses came from the regular cavalry attacking the rear ranks.

Seeing the situation getting worse, Hans grabbed the panicked Elliot and urged him to quickly order the reserve troops forward. Two kilometers behind us, there are still 7,000 soldiers in reserve! Quickly, bring back the cavalry to help.

Elliot didn’t like Hans’ commanding tone, so he pulled his hand away angrily. But he followed the orders obediently, commanding the reserve troops and cavalry to reinforce the main formation.

The Ming army cavalry then targeted the next hollow square formation. Under the hooves of countless warhorses, the second and third formations were also trampled, leaving a battlefield strewn with bodies.

At this point, the Ming army had exhausted their offensive power. Their messengers raised flags signaling for a retreat.

The multi-layered V-shaped formation split into two lines and prepared to slightly fall back before launching a second attack. During the retreat, the Ming army cavalry harassed the expeditionary forces with gunfire, javelins, and arrows.

During this retreat phase, the Ming army revealed a weakness. Earlier, the Magic Energy Knights were in the first wave, responsible for blocking enemy attacks. Now, as they fell back, the regular cavalry were exposed to the hollow square formations. British commanders ordered a volley of gunfire, causing chaos and devastation.

Due to the intense charges and chaotic fighting, their speed significantly decreased. During the retreat, at least four hundred bodies were left behind.

Elliot finally breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, the Ming army followed a typical cavalry charge tactic. If they had continued recklessly, attacking the hollow square formations in a chaotic manner, most of the expeditionary forces would have been wiped out. Of course, in that case, the Ming army cavalry would have also suffered heavier losses.

The Ming army cavalry temporarily retreated, giving the expeditionary army a chance to regroup. They quickly gathered the remaining troops in the flat area and positioned everyone on the slope to prepare for the next attack.

Elliot, still scared, said, "It felt just like the Battle of Waterloo, it was so dangerous."

Hans disagreed, thinking the Ming army fought differently than the French army. He believed Elliot was just scared by the massive cavalry charge.

The Ming army was a bit shaken. Despite defeating three massive cavalry formations, they suffered heavy losses with nearly 1,400 casualties among the 9,000 cavalry and over 80 casualties among the Magic Energy Knights. Both magic energy and non-magic energy cavalry were precious to them, and the losses were painful.

The Ming army had significant problems in their attack strategy. The cavalry charged head-on, while the infantry and artillery units stayed back, being too overconfident. They underestimated the expeditionary army, thinking they could win with just a cavalry charge and didn’t see the need for infantry and artillery support.

Another issue was their misjudgment. The Ming army cavalry commander, seeing the foreign troops in a loose formation without heavy armor, using only rifles and bayonets, underestimated them and charged directly, resulting in heavy casualties.

The Ming army cavalry commander believed heavily armored spear-wielding infantry in a solid defensive formation could defeat cavalry. Seeing the foreign troops with no armor, armed with rifles and bayonets only two meters long, he dismissed them as a threat.

While the solid formation had stronger defense, the advantage of the loose formation was its ability to quickly mobilize reserves to reinforce defense. After withstanding the first wave of cavalry, they could still offer formidable resistance in subsequent rounds.

A solid formation was either strong and invincible or collapsed after one attack. The loose formation was resilient, like a cockroach that couldn’t be killed, trapping the cavalry like quicksand.

Now the Ming army cavalry general has seen the formation of the foreigners, he will not use the frontal brute force tactics again. After observing the enemy, he started using flanking, hit-and-run, and long-range harassment strategies. He also ordered the infantry and artillery to advance and engage in a long-range shooting with the foreign troops.

And the glorious moment of the Ming army ends here.

After an hour of combat, the Magic Energy Knight’s power was greatly depleted. To shield the regular cavalry from enemy spears, they expanded their invisible magic energy shield to the maximum. After an hour, they were exhausted, and the regular cavalry could not fight the foreigners alone.

King Wei ordered the regular cavalry to attempt a flanking tactic to disengage, but under the gunfire of the foreigners, the casualties were very high. King Wei then ordered all cavalry to retreat and regroup.

Deception operation began with several military officers whispering to King Wei that the foreign foot soldiers were exhausted, and our army should take the initiative and crush them in one fell swoop!

King Wei originally planned to rest first, but with the constant persuasion of the military officers, he agreed.

The Ming army infantry left the strong fortifications and rushed to the plain area, without the support of their cavalry, launching an attack on the expeditionary army alone.

Elliot and Hans discussed and ordered their troops to change from a hollow square formation back to a line formation since the Ming army cavalry was resting far away and could not arrive in time.

Most of the Ming army infantry were militia trained by King Wei, with few elite troops.

King Wei’s militia were not well-trained. They were a large group but not strong in battle, much weaker than King Chu’s troops in the south.

The commanders of the expedition army were curious about why the Ming army’s cavalry was so powerful while the infantry seemed weak. Could it be a trap to make the enemy underestimate them?

Hans, "No trap at all. Just by looking at the infantry, you can tell they are useless. It’s clear that all the resources were put into the cavalry, neglecting the infantry."

The expedition army, shaken by the fierce Ming army cavalry, now unleashed their anger on the enemy infantry. The sound of Scottish bagpipes filled the battlefield, accompanied by the beating of small drums as the infantry advanced to the military music.

The Ming army infantry started firing randomly from a distance of three hundred meters, failing to execute their planned tactics of volley firing, ending up in chaotic free shooting.

The expedition soldiers stood tall, halted at a distance of one hundred meters, forming a long line formation and engaged in a shootout with the Ming army.

The Indian colonial troops hesitated to move forward, but a few Scottish and Irish squadrons dispatched from England loaded their weapons after one round of shooting, accelerated their pace, and continued to advance towards the enemy.

Amidst the noisy gunfire and screams, the British troops marched bravely through the hail of bullets until they were fifty meters away from the enemy.

"Ready!"

"Raise your gun!"

"Fire!"

The rifle volley from fifty meters away had a remarkable effect. The Ming army infantry in front fell down, with almost no survivors in the front rows, causing a great impact on people.

The Scottish Highlanders and Irish Brigade of the British army launched a bayonet charge. The scene suddenly changed, the military band also stopped playing, and the "gentlemen" who had been marching in an orderly manner suddenly turned into beasts.

At the same time, the expeditionary force reserve called for over an hour ago arrived at the main battlefield.

The British cavalry, Polish lancers, and Aryan supermen who had been observing on the battlefield’s flanks all charged down.

The expeditionary force’s cavalry did not dare to confront the Ming army’s cavalry, but they were very brave in harvesting the morale-crushed Ming army infantry, and their skills were excellent.

Compared to the Polish lancers and Aryan supermen, the British dragoons were the specialists in this kind of battle. Their shiny white slim horse sabers only needed to be positioned at specific angles or moved slightly to harvest easily with the help of the horse’s high speed.

Many Ming army infantry were wearing armor. After a brief contact, the British dragoons began to specifically target their faces. The agile and graceful dragoons swiftly moved through the chaotic battlefield, efficiently reaping the crops.

King Wei watched as his private army was brutally attacked by foreigners, his eyes widened in disbelief, he shouted and questioned why the Liaodong Iron Cavalry and the Forbidden Army Cavalry did not come to support.

The Liaodong Iron Cavalry and the Forbidden Army Cavalry said they had fought hard earlier and were still recovering, and could not join the battle.

However… it was not until dusk that the Liaodong Iron Cavalry and the Forbidden Army finally reluctantly mobilized after resting for four to five hours, driving away the foreigners. By then, King Wei’s army was almost destroyed, suffering a devastating blow.

In the Battle of Dagukou, 1453 Ming army cavalry were killed or injured, including 89 Magic Energy Knights, and over 9700 of King Wei’s militia were killed or wounded, with thousands fleeing and whereabouts unknown.

A total of 1644 casualties in the expeditionary army, with around four thousand casualties among the Indian creatures.

The defeat of the Ming army was first due to insufficient understanding of modern tactics, arrogance, lack of reliable battlefield analysis from staff, commanders repeatedly using incorrect tactics, and cavalry and infantry attacking independently in a disorganized manner.

Secondly, there was a lack of weapons and equipment, with the Ming army using outdated firearms and lacking in gun-handling techniques, being decades behind in light and heavy artillery.

Lastly, internal conflicts arose. Despite King Wei’s mediocre commanding ability, his personal bravery and powerful magic energy, his determination in battle led to a disastrous defeat, as he was deceived by the Forbidden Army and Liaodong Iron Cavalry. If the army had coordinated better, even with frequent confusing actions, it could have at least resulted in a draw.

After the Battle of Dagukou, the expeditionary army withdrew to the sea. The overall commander Elliot did not plan for a major land battle, instead implementing a strategy of naval blockade and harassment.

Because the main battles of the Far East War had ended, the Prussia Military Observation Team and the Polish cavalry returned to their homelands.

On the way back, Hans cried all day, he was so happy to be free from the nightmare, the nightmares brought by the Indian chef had ended, that darn Far East, I’ll never come back here again.