Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 211 Leading Soldiers
"After the first few rows of black-shirted knights turn left and fire, they will retreat to the back row to reload. The following black-shirted knights continue to half-turn, and so on, until chaos and gaps appear in the infantry square." Valdez continued, "This It's the Lancers' turn to make the decisive impact."

"It's a typical combination of light and heavy cavalry tactics, but you classify the black-shirted knights as heavy cavalry and the lancers as light cavalry. This is really strange." Lin Hai concluded after listening.

"Your Excellency is absolutely right. In fact, the original black-shirted knights were indeed light cavalry. However, as the lancers gradually declined in Western Europe, the lancer cavalry began to assume the functions of heavy cavalry again." Valdes continued, "For example Our opponent, the Dutch, did not have lancers and only used pistol cavalry to charge into the formation."

"So what do the Dutch do?"

"They also use half-turn tactics. The only difference is that when the opportunity for impact arises, the pistol cavalry in the back row directly draw their sabers and charge."

"Then how do you evaluate this only difference?" Lin Hai asked with a smile.

"I think the Dutch have more advanced tactics." Valdes said bluntly. "This is how the Dutch defeated us in the two battles at Turnhout and Nieuwpoort."

"That's natural. The Morris Square of the Netherlands relies heavily on cavalry to protect its flanks. If their cavalry is not good, then I'm afraid Prince Morris will become a frequently defeated general like his father William the Silent."

Lin Hai's words are certainly not nonsense. After Gu Erye killed all parties in the Thirty Years' War, the Dutch and Swedish systems began to become famous in Western Europe. The Parliamentary Army and Royalist Army in the British Civil War also introduced "advanced" troops from the mainland. military system.

However, this reform was not successful due to the weak British cavalry early in the Civil War. Later facts proved that when the cavalry was unreliable, adopting a shallow-depth small phalanx with stronger frontal firepower and more flexibility was courting death.

"Guoyi's words are very insightful." Lin Hai nodded after hearing the words. The reason why the half-turn tactic was eliminated is mainly due to these two reasons. Another reason is that this tactic is not easy to implement and requires certain equestrian skills. At the same time, The requirements for discipline are higher.

Some travelers think that they can defeat the Manchu and Qing Dynasties by learning from the Dutch and Swedish systems. Then they must first ask whether their cavalry can defeat the Manchu and Mongolian cavalry. If you can't win, then you might as well play against the "backward" Spanish square. Although the final outcome is likely to be the same, you can at least hold on for a while, right?

Perhaps this is the greatest historical role of the half-turn tactic, and it is also the main reason why Lin Hai is interested in it. After all, half-turn can only achieve actual combat effectiveness in low-level warfare. Some people even think that this tactic is only useful on the training ground.

"Why did Guo Yi say that?" Lin Hai really wanted to hear the Eastern Cavalry's opinion. After all, the half-turn tactic was not rated highly in Western military history, and the criticisms grew more and more later.

"Your Excellency, the General, also knows the Dutch so well?" Valdes was a little shocked.

Lin Hai asked He Liangtao, Yi Yifa and Valdes to leave, leaving only Wu Guoyi and Feng Yidao, and then asked: "How? What do you think of using pistol cavalry like Xiyi?"

"Chief Commander, I don't dare to speak nonsense." Feng Yidao didn't know anything about cavalry, so he could only keep silent.

Wu Guoyi then added: "Secondly, you should not turn around. Leaving your back to the enemy will lead to death. But there is nothing you can do about it. The pistol cannot carry dozens of arrows like feathers, so you can only run back to the rear of the formation as soon as possible. Go reload."

"First of all, we should not use deep and dense formations. Isn't it dangerous to be too dense and slow? After all, the firepower of cavalry cannot be compared with that of infantry. This is true regardless of whether they use bows, arrows or muskets..."

In fact, the correct way to use the pistol cavalry is to use them as heavy cavalry. During the Thirty Years' War, the half-turn tactic has been gradually eliminated. After firing a shot, directly drawing the saber and charging are more respected.

"There are two main points. One is that saber charge is more effective than lance charge, because saber cavalry can more easily maintain the integrity of the formation. To be honest, I think the lance cavalry should have been eliminated long ago. Spain has completely fallen behind in this regard. …”

In the history of Western European cavalry, the black-shirted knights were originally light cavalry, but later evolved into outright heavy cavalry such as cuirassiers. This was largely because the half-turn tactics emphasized discipline, which was very difficult for heavy cavalry who implemented impact tactics. Said it is particularly important.

"Your Excellency is right. I think this is the correct way to use the pistol cavalry..."

"Not very good." Wu Guoyi shook his head, "That half-turn tactic, my subordinates think it's just child's play."

Lin Hai now mainly needs light cavalry, but at the same time he also wants to plant a seed for heavy cavalry. After a moment of silence, he then asked Wu Guoyi: "The ghost guy said that charging with a saber can better maintain the formation. It’s better than using a lance, what does Guo Yi think?”

Valdes went on to say: "Another point is that the Dutch only used the pistol cavalry to complete the two tasks of harassment and impact. Obviously, the execution will be smoother."

"Thank you for your praise. Since ancient times, cavalry has harassed infantry formations by using a shallow and deep formation to gallop around the formation while shooting arrows non-stop." This is what Wu Guoyi said is the cavalry archer tactic. Obviously, this requires higher requirements for equestrian skills and martial arts, but the requirements for discipline are relatively low.

"I know a little bit, I know a little bit..." Lin Hai continued, "So where do you think the Dutch's tactics are advanced?"

By the time of Napoleon, the cuirassiers did not even fire a shot, because this would seriously affect the formation and speed. They only used straight swords when charging, and pistols were used more for melee combat.

"That is to say, the pistol cavalry is both a light cavalry and a heavy cavalry..." Lin Hai thought thoughtfully after hearing this. This is somewhat similar to those Eastern cavalry who carry both bows and spears.

"Okay, that's all I have to ask, thank you very much!" Lin Hai felt that there was little point in asking any more questions. Valdez's military thinking was still more than 20 years ago and could no longer keep up with the current trend in Western Europe.

"This is not entirely unreasonable, but my subordinates still find it difficult to agree." Wu Guoyi then explained, "For the best cavalry, holding a spear can still advance through the wall. The spear is the king of a hundred soldiers. No matter whether it is on the ground or on foot, no matter the deterrence or lethality, it is far beyond what the scimitar can match. "

"You also said that it must be the best cavalry." Lin Hai smiled when he heard the words, "But for us, pistols and sabers are still the most suitable weapons, at least they can both charge and shoot, and Minimizes the requirements for horsemanship.”

"Chief Commander, I think this is just a temporary measure." Wu Guoyi felt that it was necessary to remind Lin Hai to prevent him from going astray.

"Let's see in the future." Lin Hai had a slightly different view. "I think this route may go to the end. After all, the elite cavalry of Jiannu cannot withstand the consumption. Instead of fighting for personal bravery, I would rather fight with them." Fighting for the head, the pistol cavalry is trained very quickly anyway.”

These words were quite a bit of an immoral and smoky politician. Unknowingly, Lin Hai began to take human life less and less seriously. However, Wu Guoyi didn't care about this, and just continued to remind: "What the president said is indeed true. But the war horse race is another problem. The slaves can't afford to die, but we can't afford to die from the horses."

"Of course I have a way to solve the problem of the war horses, but it will take some time." Lin Hai seemed to be confident, "Okay, that's it for the cavalry, let's talk about the infantry..."

He glanced at Feng Yidao as he spoke: "Tell me first, what weapons should the infantry use?"

Feng Yidao was a little confused: "General Manager, I think the weapons we are using now are quite good."

Only then did Lin Hai remember that he had not told him about not closing the army at night, so he explained: "I plan to set up a vanguard bureau, with both cavalry and infantry. Its main functions are to scout, ambush, send messages, and pursue. "

Feng Yidao was a little confused when he heard this. Lin Hai had given the Jianbing Bureau many functions, so he put a lot of thought into naming it.

He felt that Ye Bushou was a bit hard to pronounce, but he did not want to use Western terms such as hunter and skirmisher. Tangbing felt that it was not comprehensive enough, so he finally chose the term "point soldier". After all, the distant sentry in Ye Bu Shuzhong is called "Jian Ye" or "Jian Shao", etc., and the "Jian Bing" implies the selection of the front, and also summarizes some functions that are not originally part of Ye Bu Shu.

"In short, except for fighting in formation, all other combat tasks are undertaken by the Advanced Military Bureau." Lin Hai saw that Feng Yidao was still a little confused, and finally concluded succinctly.

"Chief, I understand." Feng Yidao suddenly realized, isn't this a bandit? I remember that when Brother Dao was hanging out in the village, he never fought any bad battles. The only thing was that he never formed a formation.

"Then tell me, what weapons should the infantry of the Advanced Military Bureau use?"

"The first choice is bow and arrow. As long as you have good archery skills, there will be no hero from all over the country who will not be convinced..." Feng Yidao became excited when he talked about this topic, as if he had returned to the youthful days of high-spiritedness.

"Besides, for melee weapons, it's best to use short weapons, such as waist knives and axes, otherwise you won't be able to use them in many cases. Also, don't wear armor, and the equipment must be light, so that you can come and go like the wind..."

Lin Hai was a little speechless after hearing this. This was a pure bandit way, but it couldn't be said to be unreasonable. He then asked Wu Guoyi: "Guoyi, what do you think?"

"My subordinates also believe that bows and arrows should be given priority. After all, muskets are not light and convenient enough, especially when carrying a match rope when acting alone in the wild." Wu Guoyi changed the subject and continued, "However, regarding whether to wear armor, my subordinates believe that it must be done during training. Armor must be worn, and it should be determined according to the combat mission in actual combat.”

Regarding skirmishing, Wu Guoyi, a general's son, did not make too many corrections to the bandits' wild ways, which shows that the two have great similarities.

"That is to use bows and arrows and short soldiers as the main equipment." Lin Hai thought for a while and then continued, "For short soldiers, I tend to use an axe."

Wu Guoyi heard this and expressed his objection: "Chief Commander, I think axes are not easy to use. Axes are generally used in the army to break armor."

"It's not just for breaking armor. This thing is also very useful for breaking doors. It can be used in street fighting or attacking camps." Lin Hai continued, "In terms of survival in the wild, it is better than a waist knife. tool."

When Wu Guoyi saw what Lin Hai said, he no longer objected. In his opinion, short weapons were not very good, but in terms of Lin Hai's positioning of the top military bureau, using long weapons was indeed inconvenient, especially in the south.

The positioning of the Jianbing Bureau and the Ming Army's Ye Bu Shou are not exactly the same. Ye Bu Shou generally does not undertake the task of attacking fortifications. The main reason is that in order to preserve their strength, the military leaders will not easily use their elites to death.

Lin Hai deeply hates this kind of trend, which will inevitably lead to the result of being as fierce as a tiger when the wind is blowing and running against the wind. All kinds of operations to sell teammates will naturally emerge in endlessly.

The infantry archer must use a strong man. Since he is a strong man, who will attack the fortress if he doesn't? What does it mean to let the cannon fodder go first like the slaves did? Elites must have the responsibilities of elites, and those who get the richest pay must do the most desperate work!

"In addition, the infantry of the Jianbing Bureau also have to practice two weapons, one is grenades, and the other is heavy matchlock guns." Lin Hai continued, "Of course, there is no need to carry these two with you. They should be put in the baggage during combat. Distribute when needed.”

Wu Guoyi wiped his sweat after hearing this. Lin Hai was planning to maximize the Hercules attributes of the foot archer.

In fact, this was the inspiration given to Lin Hai by the axe. The European grenadiers' initial standard equipment included a short-handled axe. At that time, grenadiers were more than just an honorary title. They actually threw grenades, and their main function was to conquer field fortifications. The hatchet was used for demolition.

As for the heavy matchlock gun, Lao Maozi's shooting army used an ax as a stand.

Of course, you can't use a short-handled ax for this. The ax handle must be at least four feet long. The ax is relatively heavy. This size is already considered a long-handled axe. If it is longer, it will be even harder to use and the center of gravity will not be appropriate.

"Although the heavy matchlock gun is too far away to hit accurately, its long range can be used to disturb the enemy. During the formation battle, the leading military bureau will open a skirmish line in front of the formation, responsible for disrupting the enemy's formation, delaying the enemy's attack, Defeat the enemy's small-scale attack, so that our army's formation can be more stable..."

Lin Hai went on to explain why a heavy matchlock gun was used. Of course, this was just a stopgap measure. He didn't like this heavy equipment that was about to become obsolete, but who told him that he didn't have a rifled gun yet?
"Chief, I'd like to ask, how much do you plan to set the monthly salary for the military bureau?" Wu Guoyi couldn't help but ask.

"Both cavalry and infantry are paid three times as much, and their monthly rations and line rations are the same as those of ordinary soldiers. This is my initial consideration. What do you think of Guo Yi?"

"This is higher than the salary of most servants!" Wu Guoyi was a little excited when he heard this, "I wonder how many people the boss plans to recruit?"

"Two hundred cavalry, two hundred infantry, a total of four hundred people..." Lin Hai looked at Wu Guoyi and said, "But this establishment does not belong to the Army Department. I plan to put the Advanced Military Bureau under the Security Department."

(End of this chapter)