Unexpectedly, Officer Carlos had thought that as long as there was a fair hand-to-hand fight, the defense line of the 2nd Division would quickly collapse due to the superiority in numbers.

But after a real large-scale infantry battle, the 2nd Division barely managed to hold its ground.

From the experience of the Opium War, we know that hand-to-hand combat is the most test of the quality of soldiers, and the gap between human beings can be as big as the gap in weapons.

As a professional army, the Second Division has been training day and night for several months, and Catalonia is not short of money, full of food, and much stronger than the other side in terms of physical fitness.

In addition, there are literate teachers and professional instructors, complex tactics cannot be executed, simple cooperation can still be done, and the team's combat ability is far better than the opponent's cannon fodder infantry.

As soon as the infantry on both sides engaged, the Carlos side showed a tendency to disperse, but fortunately there were well-trained cavalry back and forth on the battlefield, otherwise the line might have been pushed outward.

At this time, Manuel ignored the adjutant's obstruction, and insisted on coming to the rear of the battle line more than 1,000 meters away from the barracks.

Although the battlefield has now fallen into hand-to-hand combat, in fact, the overall shelling and firing have never stopped, and just after passing all the way, the nearest shell smashed a huge crater a few meters away.

"Don't talk about it, look at this situation, can I sit still?" Manuel shook his head, stopping the lieutenant who wanted to persuade him again.

The adjutant stopped talking, but finally fell silent, the current situation was much worse than they thought of the worst-case scenario.

"Cavalry is now only suitable for chasing, outflanking, facing line infantry, and not even one-on-one." Manuel stared at the front line and said without squinting.

The adjutant followed his line of sight, and many cavalrymen tried to cross the battle line, divide the battlefield, and form an encirclement, which was also a tactic they had been learning.

But the well-trained infantry of the 2nd Division did not give them this opportunity, and the cavalry was usually killed before they could get close.

Even if they are close, the probability of being picked off the horse by a bayonet and then stabbed to death by a random knife is far greater than the probability that they will successfully rush through the opening.

As a last resort, the cavalry could only ride on horses and shoot at the infantry, but the mounted unit had such a large target that it could not shoot the infantry at all.

Eventually, a significant portion of the cavalry chose to abandon their horses and go into battle as an infantryman.

"Ugh." Manuel sighed, it is not that the cavalry cannot be developed, but the superiority of the infantry must be guaranteed, at least not too far behind the opponent.

However, it was useless to criticize Carlos's policies now, and he reassured: "We can't go on like this, because even if we win in the end, we will lose strategically." ”

The adjutant thought for a moment and proposed: "It is okay for people to shout to surrender and not kill, and now anyone with a discerning eye can see that their defeat is only a matter of time." You can also contact their chief. ”

Manuel bowed slightly, this is also his idea, according to past experience, there are always many people who know the times when life and death are at a moment's notice.

Soon, there were quite a few cavalrymen running back and forth on the front line, shouting hoarsely: "Throw away your weapons as surrender!" Surrender and don't kill, don't do useless struggles! ”

But what was even more surprising happened, no one on the battlefield laid down their arms and defected to each other.

Even, seeing the propaganda cavalry running towards him, before he could speak, the soldiers shot him off his horse.

The decisiveness of action and the firmness of will are astounding.

Such an unusual act was naturally due to the fact that the Progressive Guards, who were mixed in with the troops, had made a strong case to the soldiers beforehand.

The Carlos faction was notoriously poor and unproductive, and entering rich Catalonia was bound to grab money and supplies.

In addition, there will be a wider conscription, and even if they take refuge in each other, sooner or later they will have to face such a life-and-death battle, and the treatment is far worse than now.

The soldiers felt that it made sense.

Many of the people in the Second Division were originally natives of Lleida Province, and since they had identified this, it was naturally impossible for them to let the invaders go in and poison their homeland.

Not to mention, the Progressive Guards are armed with small pistols, and if anyone dares to surrender, the execution will come immediately.

Seeing that it had no effect, Manuel immediately called off the mission.

He had already developed a feeling of chagrin, knowing that he should not have proposed to fight Catalonia first—the Second Division was far more effective than he had expected.

In the past, under the concept that more people is strength, he thought that it would not take long to eat the second division, but he didn't expect that the reinforcements were coming soon, and they hadn't even reached the depths of the barracks.

On the frontal battlefield, the second division felt more and more fighting, and they all said that the battlefield was the best instructor, and in the brutal fighting, many recruits completed the transformation into veterans.

They advanced and retreated in an orderly manner, gradually closing the gap that had been blown open by the grenade.

However, under the onslaught of the enemy regardless of losses, a large number of soldiers died, and it was no longer possible to maintain the current long front, and the defense line was gradually shrinking inward.

The division commander Asania took in everything, turned his head a little anxiously and asked, "Is the second line of defense arranged?" ”

Torah nodded: "The Gatling and the artillery are not fully arranged, they are too cumbersome, but they are already ready for preliminary use." ”

"Then go and arrange the retreat, remember, retreat in an orderly manner, don't make a rout!" Asania admonished.

Allowing an army that is fighting fiercely to retreat is a technical task, and the slightest carelessness can turn into a total collapse of the whole army, and only a cultured, convicted, and disciplined army can accomplish this feat.

It just so happened that the second division barely reached the standard, and since the whole army was now less than half of the number of people before the war, it should be no problem, and it is better to arrange less people than more people.

After receiving the order and conveying it layer by layer, the soldiers of the 2nd Division covered each other, fought and retreated, and gradually retreated under the maintenance and guidance of the Progressive Guards.

The second line of defense is a three-dimensional line of defense, and Asania collects the Gatlin that can still be used, and places it in separate places such as dormitories, road corners, and training grounds.

And with the remaining horses, tables and chairs and other items to form a simple roadblock.

Exchanging space for time, gradually shrinking towards the center of the barracks.

The difficulty of constructing this kind of defense line is very high, coupled with the lack of experience and the rush of time, no one can say how much effect it can have in the end, but it can only be used as a dead horse doctor.

After all, in the most tragic street battles, the side that always defends the country has the upper hand.

"God willing, First Division... Come on. It won't last long! Asania saw off the Carlos officers who had come to persuade him to surrender, praying silently.