Chapter 173: Cannon Fodder Comes First
The morning light shone on the land, and tens of thousands of Ottoman cavalry swept like dark clouds.
The forward position on the left flank of the coalition army, thirteen kilometers from the Ottoman camp, surrounded the position in just a quarter of an hour.
Compared with the momentum of tens of thousands of cavalry, the arranged layers of defensive offensive are as unbearable as children's toys.
The Ottomans did not attack immediately, but took off their drapes one by one, and sat on the ground like that, resting and laughing unscrupulously.
In addition to cultivating their combat strength, they also wanted to put invisible pressure on the Wallachian soldiers in the camp.
Every minute that passes, the pressure increases, and some of the mentally ill guys may collapse before they even have to wait for the battle to begin.
Fortunately, there were hundreds of religious people in the camp, holding Roman daggers in their right hands and wooden crosses in their left hands, representing the 'strength' that God had given to the soldiers.
Orthodox hermits not only fought, but also preached doctrine for God when necessary.
In this age of rampant religion, soldiers may not obey the orders of their lords, but they will definitely do not hesitate to do what they believe.
With the hermit's preaching, the pressure of the Ottomans gradually dissipated, and all the Wallachian soldiers were full of fighting spirit.
At three o'clock, the Ottomans finally made a move, all the cavalry wore armor and mounted their horses, and at the same time, thousands of servant troops rushed to the battlefield on a run.
To fight a war, cannon fodder is always needed, and powerful people such as the Ottoman Empire are no exception.
The reason why the Sultan's own soldiers won every battle was because they were always the last to go into battle and harvest the enemy.
And before they went to war, the servant army, rangers, and feudal cavalry did not know how many lives they had to pay, especially the lowest servant army.
In the face of a defensive offensive, the cheapest and most efficient way is to send these servants to fill with their lives.
The 4,000 servants knew that they would die in the future, but they had no choice but to let the Ottomans drive them like livestock.
Luckily, Davar wasn't one of them, and he was on a mission with dozens of partners to deliver oat forage.
Thousands of people, instead of immediately approaching the defensive ring, dug up dirt in a safe area and put it in rough linen bags.
Even if it is cannon fodder, it must be of maximum value to die, and digging soil to fill trenches is far more efficient and economical than using corpses.
……
Inside the position, Tepes stood on a raised platform and watched the Ottomans with a telescope.
The siege of the fifteenth century was far more complicated than he imagined, and he did not expect the scene of the Ottoman cavalry charging into the trench to die.
Without towering walls, other so-called defensive offensives can only cause some trouble for the enemy.
"Count Clark, keep the archers on standby. Count Joe Meek, you lead the spearmen to the outermost line of the defensive circle and strangle the approaching minions. ”
Tsepeš calmly gave the order that he would die if he threatened the safety of the camp, regardless of whether the servants were innocent or not.
Count Joe Meck and Count Clark knew very well that they were in the same boat as Cepes at this moment, and only by uniting together could they survive the stormy waves in front of them.
"Leave it to me, sir, don't try to fill our trenches with all that garbage outside."
"That's right, there are reserved positions in the defense line, which allows us to kill the most enemies at the least cost."
The two noble lords, showing their fangs, have never been pampered second ancestors.
Twelve hundred archers, led by Count Clark, rushed to the reserved positions, each carrying nearly a hundred feathered arrows.
Of course, because most bows and arrows are inferior and can't be effective if they are too far away.
As for the cross crossbows, ordinary vassals recruited troops, it was impossible to equip them at all, and the hermit monks had several hundred in their hands, and they were handed over to some reliable guys to use.
All the crossbowmen were in position, the gates of the camp were opened, and fifteen hundred spearmen, divided into four teams, went to the outskirts of the line.
Every half meter or so of the trench, a foothold flowed out, and each foothold was guarded by three soldiers.
The Ottoman servants, carrying sacks, would pierce the enemy's body with spears as soon as they dared to approach.
The trench blocked the Ottoman cavalry charge, and the Ottomans could only abandon their horses to fight if they wanted to kill these garrison soldiers.
Judging from the current form, the Ottoman cavalry did not want to shed blood for the servant army.
The first batch of dirt bags were full, and about 400 servant soldiers gritted their teeth and carried the dirt bags, and rushed up.
"Great God, please bless me for survival, Amen."
They thought so in their hearts, hoping to be favored by God.
"Lord Almighty, bless me for slaying the enemy who comes to slay you!"
The funny thing is that the archers and spearmen, who are also praying to God, really don't know who will be blessed.
Whether you live or die, I'm afraid the only thing you can rely on is yourself.
The screams, the sound of metal piercing the body, the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground, the scene was extremely noisy.
Nearly three hundred sacks, thrown into the trench, a hundred corpses, fell in front of the trench. Of course, there are also some guys who fell into the trench with their corpses with dirt bags.
Then, Count Clark gave an order, and thousands of arrows slashed through the sky and landed about ten meters in front of the position.
As they charged, the Ottoman servants carried sacks on their heads, and when they withdrew, they became targets for archers.
Screams, blood, corpses that fell to the ground, the first batch of servant troops, less than half of them returned.
Immediately afterward, a second group rushed up, repeating the previous operation and death.
Round after round, nearly half of the Ottoman servants were killed and wounded, and the outermost trenches were almost filled in, losing their defensive value.
Standing in the safe zone, the Ottoman officer who commanded the servant army to dig the earth had his eyebrows furrowed and his face was very ugly.
This is not because of the mass death of the servant army, he does not care about the lives of those inferior people at all.
His task is to lead the army of servants to fill in the obstacles to the attack, and if he can't do it, he and his family will die.
Just one trench paid a heavy price, and it seemed that 4,000 cannon fodder were dead, and they could not complete the task.
The soldiers in the forward positions on the left flank had already abandoned the first line of trenches and retreated to the rear, and after this one there were two lines of defense.
He ordered the servants to stop for a while, and then went to their immediate superiors to complain.
After losing three good horses and two hundred sheep, his boss decided to do him a little favor.
Three thousand Ottoman rangers, next to a loose formation, broke away from the ranks.
Of course, they didn't mean to storm the defensive line, and the nomads' riding and archery skills were no joke.
Three thousand rangers spread their bows and arrows to provide strong fire cover for the remaining servant army.
The defending soldiers were overwhelmed by the barrage of arrows, and the Ottoman servants were quick to complete their task.
Now it seems that God's brilliance has turned to their side.