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The Norman armies of the four lines were dispatched in unison. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info The remaining three roads are not mentioned for the time being, and the last time it was said that General Winde raided Bologna. The two dukes of northern Italy fled overnight. The three armies were terrified. However, then General Winde rode his fast horse and continued to pursue, but at the fork in the road he thought of a fork in the road. This further led to a change in the situation.

From Bologna to Venice and from Venice to Genoa. And then there's the Venetian massacre in between. General Winder also knew at this moment that he could not do anything with cavalry troops alone. He also waited for the infantry to march slowly together. In this way, the Northern Italian coalition army was given more than ten days to prepare.

And in the past ten days, Francesco, the Duke of Milan, used the connections he had saved when he was a mercenary before, and fought hard to recruit mercenary organizations. He made connections, and Duke Witte paid for it. He also hired and armed eight thousand Italian mercenaries. Let the Northern Italian army go further, swelling to the level of twenty-four thousand. In the days when Genoa stayed, the two dukes even contributed money and materials to reward the three armies. Distribute wine and meat, new clothes and new boots. He even invited those officers to visit the academy in a row. Anyway, the general's morale was restored.

In this way, the morale of the Northern Italian army was well restored. The two dukes geared up and prepared to fight the Normans to the death!

January 19, 1013. The Norman army of 30,000 and the 24,000 men of northern Italy opened up on the outskirts of Genoa. A battle was fought that would finally decide the fate of Northern Italy and at the same time Europa.

General Nawinder followed the example of Emperor Egil and built a watchtower in advance. Let him have his guards on guard. to command the whole army. The general's attacking trend in formation is extremely obvious. He divided all the cavalry into the left flank and arranged them in a separate cavalry formation. And on the front, the army of the first column was held with assault infantry. It is not the tradition of the Norman army to be the first to defend it with bows and crossbows. At the same time, the general did not mean to arrange artillery. The new army was placed on both flanks of the assault infantry by him to prevent the opposing cavalry from assaulting.

The rest of the army was in units of a thousand men, arranged in dense arrays, acting as reserves.

On the opposite side, the Northern Italian coalition army was completely lined up in a defensive formation - they hid a small number of Italian heavy cavalry, as well as the ace of the Duke of Milan and the knights of the Duke's Guard, on both sides of the array. A large number of shield spearmen, as well as crossbowmen, including those mercenaries, make up the bulk of the army. Their army is basically composed of these two types of soldiers, and there are very few other arms.

In General Winde's observation, there were only two thousand men who needed extra attention - they carried the Venetian winged lion flag. Armed with a warhammer and an elliptical shield. They wear steel helmets and are equipped with the best armor they can get - the worst soldiers are also equipped with plate chain composite armor.

"That's, most likely, the Venetian hoplites. Looks good. I just don't know how much worse it is compared to the Norman infantry of our army. General Winder snorted softly, so he thought. I didn't even bother to use the words "who is strong and who is weak", and directly used "how much worse" to describe the opponent's trump card. That's called a majestic spirit.

The Norman army was under the command of General Winder, and it was well trained. I had just stepped into the battlefield, and I saw that the Northern Italian coalition army had not yet lined up in formation. The general's command began to attack. Three thousand cavalry on the left flank rushed towards the right flank of the northern Italian coalition!

The Norman army, after fighting the Mongols, made great strides. His cavalry upgraded their horses and acquired Mongol riding techniques from Mongol captives. Therefore, the hussars, which could only be regarded as better than nothing, and were not as good as professional heavy cavalry, were no less powerful than the heavy cavalry of ordinary countries. Not to mention the well-armored Norman knights.

"Crossbows, shooting, shield spearmen lined up in a dense array!!" The right flank troops were the Venetian army, and Duke Witte couldn't help shouting when he saw that his own troops were frightened and pale. At the same time, the nobles and mercenary commanders under his command also shouted for the soldiers to resist.

Northern Italy is known for its strong crossbows. Whether it's a regular army, or a mercenary. The giant shield crossbowmen are all indispensable troops. Although at the moment, this title of "strong crossbow" has long been replaced by the Norman heavy crossbowmen and the terrifying repeating crossbow. But this did not mean that the crossbowmen of the Northern Italians had regressed.

Hear the roars of the commanders. The giant shield crossbowmen reacted immediately, and one by one they hurriedly pulled the strings and released arrows. The crossbow machine couldn't penetrate the plate armor of the Norman knights, though. But the leather armor on the hussars was enough. For a while, the Norman hussars who rushed to the front turned on their backs and screamed. However, this little problem fell down to the Normans, and the hussars behind were still howling wildly, charging forward, stepping on their own fallen robes, and the speed was three points faster!

Two hussar thousand-man teams, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiched the Norman knight thousand-man team in the middle, and the three thousand-man teams were in a five-column formation. In the front row were six hundred cavalry. The wave charge created by the Norman Emperor was perfectly interpreted here! The Northern Italian coalition army only fired two volleys in battle, killing less than 200 hussars, and the nearly 600 cavalry in the first wave suddenly bombarded the right flank of the Italians. This time, it was the turn of the Italians to scream!

Although their shield spearmen were lined up, they had made their formation as thick as possible. But in the face of the unrivalled charge of the Norman cavalry, it was all in vain! The right flank of the Allied Northern Italian army was easily broken, and the formation was shattered! The wails, screams, and screams of terror were mixed together! The sound of broken armor and human bodies, and the cheers and screams of the Normans, made the Northern Italian soldiers almost go crazy!

"Charge!Keep charging!!Assault infantry charge me too!!"

Seeing the achievements of his cavalry, General Winder shouted excitedly. He didn't want to dwell too long with the Northern Italians, these unruly opponents. "Settle the battle as quickly as possible!" said the general, from the time of the fight with the Italians!

Thus on the front, the Norman assault infantry, a total of 5,000 men, swooped down on the northern Italian army like a tsunami! These elite soldiers, armed with full-body plate armor, would probably be able to kill and injure them if they were fired with Norman pulleys. And when faced with the simple and primitive crossbow machine in northern Italy, there is no need to be afraid at all.

- Those who are shot by crossbow arrows can take no more than two steps back. The soldiers in front of him and behind him are densely packed, which can ensure that he does not fall. At best, the bolt left a dent in the armor. If you want to kill a Norman soldier, you have to shoot it in the head!

And the Northern Italians, although they are experts in playing crossbows, there are not many soldiers with such accurate shooting skills. Especially after a certain number of Normans were hit in the face and fell to the ground, the Norman soldiers also knew what was going on and pulled down their masks. As a defense, it obstructs the line of sight, but it can ensure that you will not be shot. Anyway, at this time, just rush forward!

On the right flank, another wave of Norman cavalry charged. Make the coalition flanks even more confusing. And on the front, the Norman assault infantry, too, began to engage the Allied front. The shield spearmen of Northern Italy, lined up in arrays, were quickly torn apart by the assault infantry. The long-handled tomahawk set off a storm of bloody rain...... The Italians were completely unable to stop the advance of the Normans!

"Heavy cavalry!

"Venetian hoplites advance!Stabilize the formation!!"

For a moment, I watched the battle slip towards hell. Both dukes shouted eagerly. Take out the army that pressed the bottom of the box.

The Italian heavy cavalry on both flanks, as well as the Duke's knightly guards, rushed into battle! At the same time, the Venetian hoplites also launched a counterattack against the Norman assault infantry! The elite of Northern Italy was exhausted. However, the battle situation did not improve slightly as the two dukes imagined.

On the front, the hoplites stabilized the situation a little. But compared to the average Italian shield spearman. It's just the difference between "ugly dead" and "slightly better looking". The Norman assault infantry was still assaulting, and the tomahawks they were holding could easily tear apart the so-called "hoplites" with substandard steel and imperfect armor design. Of course, even if it can't be broken. The axe smashed down, and the heavy force could also break the opponent's ribs, muscles, internal organs, and so on. This is the so-called charm of heavy weapons......

And on the flanks, the Italian heavy cavalry with sharp swords, as well as the Duke's guard of Milan, also suffered a rather heavy blow. The Italian heavy cavalry on the left flank, who tried to attack the Norman flank, were killed by a group of muskets and crossbows, and then they were held up by the Norman phalanx infantry, and some of them were stupid, and rushed directly into the array of ultra-long spears and were stabbed into a sieve. And those who hesitate must continue to withstand long-range strikes.

After that, some of the heavy cavalry decided to dismount and fight on foot, brandishing their swords and swinging their spears, and taking advantage of the opportunity to rush forward. While thinking in his heart, "Short handover, super long spears can't exert their power, see what you do" while preparing to enjoy the fun of slaughter.

Then these fools were chopped off by the assault infantry in the phalanx of super-long spears. In this way, the Italians' vain attempt to storm the Norman flank and change the tide of the war ended in complete failure.

At the same time, when the Italian cavalry on the left flank declared defeat, the Italian cavalry fighting the Norman cavalry on the right flank also suffered heavy casualties......

(To be continued)