Chapter 251 The horse bandits must be eliminated
Hungary.
A group of cavalry coming from the direction of Graz attracted special attention. The sharp eyes found that the mounts of these knights were not the local bad-tempered mixed-breed horses, but a kind of docile and quiet horses.
But it can be easily identified from its powerful hind legs, strong back and waist that this is a kind of war horse.
Yes, the Holstein horse is one of the best war horse breeds in the 19th century, with both explosive power and endurance.
It's just that this thing can't tolerate rough feeding. If you want it to run, you need to feed it black beans and rapeseed oil. The food treatment is simply better than that of ordinary citizens.
Albrecht looked at the well-equipped troops behind him and couldn't help but sigh.
"If only those weapons hadn't been invented!"
Three days later, a royal estate on the Hungarian plains.
Itamar is a retired cavalry colonel. To be honest, he never thought that a group of "serfs" could be so difficult to deal with.
Although he had served for twenty years, Itamar had never participated in a battle. He thought it would be quite pleasant to lead a group of young people with revolvers to kill a few serfs, but he soon discovered that You will have to pay the price for your wrong judgment.
Many people had previously described this as a simple "hunting", and at that time he believed it was true. It's just that who would have thought that he would lose more than a dozen people in one fight just now, which made him want to cry without tears, for fear that he would not be able to communicate with the superiors.
Itamar's men originally numbered a hundred men, all of them young and vigorous men, each of whom was equipped with two revolvers and a saber. The first two attacks were successful, but the third failed. "I wonder where those German immigrants got their rifles," he thought to himself.
The results of the revolver and rifle shooting can be imagined. Fortunately, the skills of both sides were very poor and did not cause a large number of casualties.
Itamar brought two cavalry cannons this time. He thought it would be more enjoyable to chase down those headless flies that were running around.
The caliber of the cavalry cannon is very small, but it is enough to deal with those simple wooden fences.
A few rounds of shells shattered the wooden fence. Just as a few young people were talking and laughing, and preparing to continue shooting, several figures suddenly appeared behind the fence, aiming here with rifles.
Itamar couldn't help laughing when he saw the scene in front of him. Let alone a group of serfs, even trained soldiers would have no hope of hitting their target 200 meters away.
However, his smile froze in the next second, and several bullets accurately hit the people near his cavalry cannon. After penetrating the human body, a cloud of blood mist emerged.
Seeing their companions fall, the other "horse bandits" immediately took out their revolvers and started to fight back. Everyone used up all the bullets in their guns.
Several "farmers" two hundred meters away were changing bullets very calmly. Soon the second round of bullets came, and several more "horse bandits" fell.
It was then that Itamar suddenly realized.
"It's a rifled gun! Idiot, don't shoot at them! Get on your horse and overwhelm them! Hurry!"
This group of young Magyar nobles were very courageous. They immediately climbed onto their horses, put their feet under the horses' belly and rushed towards the wooden fence.
In a church not far away, Albrecht was observing the situation on the battlefield with a telescope.
He couldn't help but sigh when he saw this.
"Are they here to die?"
Just before the hot-blooded horse bandits were about to rush into the manor, a caravan blocked the door.
It was obvious that the war horses could not cross the caravan, and it was impossible to rush over. There were only two options before them now, either to turn around and go back, or to dismount and fight on foot.
If you choose the former, you will inevitably become the target of the sharpshooters on the wall if you turn around. If you choose the latter, there will be no difference in the result.
Just when they were in a dilemma, the light cavalry who had already been ambushed on the flank rushed out. But all this could only be seen by Itamar, who was sitting at the back. He was suddenly horrified and screamed secretly.
The chaos ahead continued, and Itamar's shouts were difficult to distinguish among the battlefield of gunfire.
When the horse bandits finally realized that they were ambushed, the distance between the two sides was less than a hundred meters. This only takes a few seconds for the warhorse.
Since ancient times, the result of cavalry battles has always been that before the two sides come into contact, one side cannot withstand the pressure and directly collapses, and then is chased by the other side.
This time, the horse bandits played the latter role. As "hunters", they became the "prey" being hunted.
What's worse is that most of the horse bandits have not received formal cavalry training. Most of them are just hot-blooded single-clothed nobles and young people.
When these former "hunters" discovered that the knights of Franz's dragoons were charging towards them, their minds were still thinking about why lowly serfs had cavalry.
The light cavalry of the Dragoon Regiment used lances. Lancers, a unit that should have disappeared from history, can only be seen in Austria and the perished Poland.
However, the reason why the Lancers were eliminated was not because their impact was weak or because they were a weak threat to the Cavalry.
In fact, the Lancers are the most powerful force in this era. Under the leadership of a skilled commander, they can cause effective damage whether facing an infantry queue or a cavalry group.
But this unit has a fatal flaw, which is that it requires a lot of time to undergo complex training. For example, the famous French cuirassiers have to go through the test of "passing five levels", the Scottish gray cavalry has seven trainings, and the Prussian skeleton cavalry is divided into nine trainings.
However, the Polish Lancers have to undergo 55 different types of training, 22 for cavalry, 18 for infantry, and 15 for basic training alone.
At the same time, the Austrian Lancers also needed to undergo 37 types of training to become a qualified Lancer.
A qualified Polish gun rider usually requires five years or more of training, and some of them are unable to master this 55 skill throughout their lives.
Historically, the Poles have been particularly fond of the elite route, so the consequences are that when they are brilliant, the Hussars are alone in suppressing the show, but when they are miserable, they are a stepping stone for Europe.
The training of Austrian lancers usually takes three years, while the Prussian skeleton cavalry only takes one year, the Scottish gray cavalry can be discharged in six months, and the French cuirassiers in the Napoleonic period only need three months from enlistment to burial.
But this is very suitable for Franz's dragoon regiment, because they have studied combat all their lives.
Closer to home, the horse bandits, who had lost their mobility advantage and fighting opportunity, were stabbed to the core by the opponent's spear before they even had time to struggle. In just a few dozen seconds, the battlefield that was noisy just now became quiet.
Due to Archduke Albrecht's order to "only kill the enemy and not pursue it", the cavalry that completed the defensive task retreated and did not charge towards Itamar, which was two hundred meters away.
"Let's run, Master Itamar." The old servant grew up with Itamar, and he had seen the world since he joined the army with his master.
Not only did he know the power of the cavalry in front of him, but he also understood that those hiding behind the walls were not serfs, but "sharps". If he did not retreat, he might be responsible for this.
(Note: The elite skirmishers at that time were called sharpshooters. Austria only had one sharpshooter regiment in Tirol)
"Balaz, I can't move my legs, help me." Only then did the old servant realize that Mr. Itamar's pants were already wet.
Obviously, the killing just left an overly shocking impression on him. In fact, it is not his fault. A person who has never actually participated in a war has witnessed more than 60 fresh lives disappearing without any trouble. It's hard to stay sane right now.
As soon as Balazs helped Itamar onto his horse, a bullet penetrated his head. At the same time, several young men who tried to successfully take away the cavalry artillery also suffered the same fate. It was obvious that the sharpshooters behind the wall wanted to leave some trophies.
Seeing their companions being easily shot and killed like prey right in front of them, the morale of the remaining horse bandits was completely shattered. They were like frightened antelopes when being chased by a lion, screaming and fleeing impatiently. Hunting grounds.
Seeing the enemies fleeing in panic, the sharpshooters disguised as serfs in the royal manor raised their glasses one after another.
"Cheer, friends! We have won!"
At this time, the German immigrants and Hungarian refugees who had been bullied before all cried with joy. These suffering people finally no longer had to worry and be afraid. This was their time to vent to their heart's content, and the enemy could no longer hinder them.
At night, people piled the dead bandits and horses together, put them on logs and lit a bonfire. A bonfire party just started. Albrecht did not agree with this behavior, but he would not be too harsh on his subordinates.
Albrecht divided the team into three groups who took turns to be responsible for the night's security work. The remaining people were free to rest or party if they wanted, but they were not allowed to nap while on duty.
But as the saying goes, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below. As soon as Albrecht's order was announced, people below him started to have other ideas.
The Grand Duke was very strict in running the army, not to mention that it would be very rude to doze off in front of the royal family.
So they decided to select a group of unlucky people to keep vigil while the rest partyed all night long.
Albrecht did not follow Franz's advice to unite his troops, but divided them into six parts to take charge of the defense of the six estates.
Franz was of course afraid that something would happen to him, while Albrecht felt that it would be too inefficient.
Judging from battle reports from other areas and my own observations, there is no doubt that the so-called horse bandits who have plagued the Great Plains for hundreds of years are a completely ragtag group of people.
At this time, several daring girls came over to him. Albrecht's first reaction was to call the guard. As a result, he found that the guard was staring at them with squinting eyes, so he had to kick him hard on the butt.
"idiot!"
"Sir, why don't you celebrate."
"This is just a tactical victory and not worthy of celebration."
"Sir, you have been busy all night. Today may not be anything for you, but for us it is indeed more worthy of celebration than a holiday. Have a drink and relax!" One of the sweet-looking and generous girls said .
After thinking about it for a while, Albrecht seemed to be right. He was often said to be unkind and decided to change his mind. He took the wine glass and drank it down in one gulp.
"Ladies, you can leave now."
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