Chapter 1 Lancers and Wall Charge

Time has entered March of 1501. The recruits of Marin's army of 10,000 have already started vigorous military training in the remote rural areas of the eastern Teutonic state. With Schwartz, an experienced general in military training, there is obviously not much problem with training there. The only problem is probably that the "wall charge" that Marin "invented" requires a lot of groping. After all, this is the first time that this thing has appeared. Even Marin himself had only heard about the theory on the Internet in his previous life, but had never seen it before.

According to an online post from a previous life, the cavalrymen, leg to leg, shoulder to shoulder, in a neat, slow formation, raised the straight sword of the knight, and attacked the enemy.

Because there is no space between the cavalry, the opposing enemy cavalry has no space at all to take advantage of the opportunity to pass by, and use the skilled horsemanship to slash and kill their own cavalry, and there is nothing to resist the attack of their own cavalry. possible. Because the cavalry on this side is too dense. You block a cavalry's jab attack, and you absolutely can't block the jab of another cavalry next to you.

Moreover, in the wall charge, because the cavalry is next to each other, there is no need to worry about falling off the horse. Therefore, this formation is very suitable for those quick-formed cavalry selected from farmers. They don't have to learn the martial arts of horses for many years, as long as they know how to stab the enemy cavalry in front of them with straight knight swords on horseback.

Of course, this is an option when most of the cavalry received are farmers. If these cavalrymen were skilled in horsemanship and proficient in horsemanship, they would not have to advance slowly. The knights who are skilled in equestrian can maintain a neat and dense formation and launch a fast wall charge. For example, the elite Prussian cavalry of Frederick the Great could line up in a wall formation and charge the enemy cavalry quickly and neatly...

Not only that, because when launching a wall charge, the cavalry are next to each other, and everyone does not have to worry about falling off their horses. Therefore, at this time, knights with high martial arts do not need to charge with straight knight swords at all, but can use spears to charge like Polish Lancers. In this way, in the case of using spears, horse fighting is more advantageous. After all, "one inch long, one inch strong"...

However, not every cavalryman is suitable for using a spear. A spear requires two hands, and someone who is not a great horseman can't get used to it. Therefore, those peasant cavalrymen in modern Europe had to hold the reins with their left hands and charge with the straight swords of the knights with their right hands.

Only the Polish Lancers, because they came from a family of knights and had a tradition of martial arts, could flexibly use lances/spears to fight on horses. In addition, if the lance/spear breaks or falls out of hand due to a huge reaction force, the lancer needs to decisively draw the saber or the straight sword of the knight to continue the fight.

Therefore, the requirements of the Lancers are very high. According to records, the Polish Lancers serving in the Napoleonic Army had to undergo 55 different training programs, 22 against cavalry, 18 against infantry, and 15 basic training.

Such a level of complexity is by no means capable of a quick-form peasant cavalry. Therefore, during the war, the cavalry countries such as France and Austria had only a few regiments of lancers.

However, these projects may be difficult for farmers from commoners, but for wandering knights from knight families, they are all instinct...

The reason why European countries can only equip a few regiments of lancers during the war is because the knight class completely declined as early as the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it was difficult to find knights who were skilled on horseback. Therefore, even large cavalry countries such as France and Austria can only be equipped with lancers of five or six regiments. Even the French lancers were mainly from Poland, where winged cavalry prevailed.

However, in this day and age, at the beginning of the 16th century, Europe was still full of plate knights. In the German region, there are wandering knights with high martial arts skills. In this era,

If you want to form a modern lancer, don't be too simple. Not to mention 6 groups, 100 groups is not a problem, as long as you can afford it...

This time, Marin plans to recruit 1,000 people first, form two cavalry regiments, and try to launch a quick wall charge with Lancers...

The lancers, who charge rapidly in a wall formation, have enormous lethality. Such an attack, whether it is cavalry or infantry with spears, is difficult to resist.

And if you use the one-handed straight sword of the knight to launch a wall charge, you can only defeat the opponent's cavalry. For the phalanx of infantry with spears like forests, there is no way for the cavalry to use the straight knight sword. Because, before your knight's straight sword stabs the opposite infantry spearman, the opposing spear stabs your warhorse to death.

Although Marin has never attended a military academy, as a military enthusiast, he also knows the theory of mutual restraint between arms. Generally speaking, heavy armored knights are more restrained against melee-type light cavalry. However, the melee light cavalry can be defeated, but it cannot be destroyed. Because I can't catch up...

The melee-type light cavalry is more restrained by the cavalry archers or lancers. Because, under the high-speed pursuit of the melee hussars, the cavalry archers or musketeers have no time to reload their ammunition or arrows. If faced, they will be quickly overtaken by melee hussars and slashed. If it is to escape, it is too difficult to turn around and shoot while running, and it is difficult to do it. About, only the fierce Mongolian cavalry in the period of Genghis Khan could run calmly while turning around and shooting (mangu gang). Other archers or musketeers can only be chased around by melee cavalry like chasing dogs...

However, the cavalry archers and lance cavalry, in turn, can restrain the natural enemy of the melee cavalry - the heavy armored knight. Because the heavy armored knight cannot run fast because of the heavy load. Although the defense and attack power are amazing, it is difficult to catch up with the fleeing light cavalry. If you encounter melee-type light cavalry, the heavy armored knight will not be able to catch up at most. But if you run into archers or lancers, you're done. Especially when encountering musketeers (that is, black knights), heavy armored knights will definitely be abused into dogs. Can't catch up, can't run and can't run away. There is absolutely no choice but to die. Unless, there are friendly forces to rescue...

It is also a modern cavalry that uses a wall charge, with different weapons, and the situation of restraint and restraint is also different. The quick-formed peasant cavalry using knightly straight swords is only suitable for abusing melee-type light cavalry, such as Hungarian hussars, Arabian machete cavalry, and Italian pick-up cavalry, etc. Called hussars)... If facing Swiss mercenaries with spears like forests, modern cavalry using knight straight swords will definitely be strung into barbecue by the opponent's spearmen (mainly horses, because modern cavalry horses do not wear horse armor )…

However, if the modern cavalry who launched the wall charge were the lancers, it would be different. The same use of spears, when encountering a spear array, it becomes a mutual injury, rather than a one-sided slaughter.

However, Marin is not a brain-dead, and will never let his cavalry captain spear formation charge. In fact, Marin formed the modern Lancers in order to professionally attack the enemy's light cavalry.

Even if the lancers using lances and spears formed a wall charging formation, they would not be at a disadvantage against the plate knights. However, the result is too tragic, and the casualties are bound to be huge. Basically, it's about hurting each other, trading lives for lives.

As a traveler from later generations, Marin, who has seen a lot of military posts, would not do such a stupid thing. You must know that every soldier who is suitable to be a lancer is a master who has practiced horsemanship and martial arts for more than ten years. If it is foolish and reckless, I don't know how thankful it is.

Therefore, Marin's arrangement for the cavalry is that the black-shirted knights professionally attack the plate armored knights, and use the tactics of "kite flying" to kill the opponent's plate armored knights. However, the black knights are more afraid of the opponent's melee light cavalry. When encountering a large group of melee hussars, they can only run for their lives like a bereaved dog.

However, the modern cavalry using "wall charge" was prepared for melee light cavalry (hussars). Once the black-shirted knights are targeted by the enemy's hussars, the modern cavalry will line up in a wall formation to overwhelm the opponent's hussars chasing the black-shirted knights. The modern cavalry, who used the straight sword of the knight, had an overwhelming advantage when charging against the hussars. And the modern cavalry who used lances or spears to launch a wall charge against the scattered hussars, it was a one-sided slaughter...

Therefore, Marin intends to form the 1,000 cavalry from wandering knights into modern lancers, professionally used to cover the black knights.

Because, in this era, the main force of European cavalry was still plate knights, of course, there were also a large number of hussars to assist. The black knights are mainly responsible for attacking the opponent's plate armor knights, because the plate armor knights are the main force of the charge of the armies of various countries. Destroying their plate armor knights is equivalent to abolishing half of the opponent's martial arts. If the opponent refuses to accept it, send hussars to take revenge, and the modern-style lancers who are ready to fight will send all their hussars to see God...

At this point, after having modern lancers, Marin's army formation is complete enough.

According to the design, artillery is mainly used for attacking fortifications; Spanish phalanx can be used for both attack and strong defense; black knights are mainly used to deal with enemy plate knights; and modern lancers are mainly used for cover Black Knight, destroy the opponent's auxiliary light cavalry.

Of course, when the opponent's battle formation is defeated by Marin's phalanx, whether it is a black knight or a modern lancer, they will launch a pursuit of the fleeing enemy in the form of a skirmish line, turning into a "head harvester" ", in order to fully destroy the living force of the enemy army...

This design is mainly for the "short legs" of the Spanish phalanx. In the previous decisive battle with the army of the Principality of Saxony outside Lys County, Marin's army, because it was basically infantry, had "short legs" and could not catch up with the enemy. If the battlefield had not been designed in advance, surrounded by rivers, and the main force of the Saxon army could not escape, Marin might not have captured many prisoners at all. Just like the 15,000 Saxon civilians on the south bank of the Leda River, because Marin lacked enough light cavalry to catch up, the 5,000 fast-running civilians disappeared without a trace, making Marin depressed for a long time...

With enough lancers, they can not only be used to intercept the opponent's hussars, protect the black knights, but also be used to hunt down the enemy's active forces or capture prisoners when they are defeated.