"Array! …… The second, fourth, and fifth companies lined up"

“…… Line up in five rows! ”

"Artillery set up firing positions!"

"The dragoon company is on standby!"

“……”

The next day, at noon, when the 3rd Mixed Battalion marched into an open Gobi area, the Omanis suddenly appeared in front of them, and on the low hills, the black pressure was overwhelming, slowly pressing towards the Qi army.

The well-trained officers and men of the Qi State immediately changed from the state of march to the state of battle, and the officers and men of all units quickly lined up in a large horizontal formation under the orders of the commander.

From behind the Omani array, hundreds of cavalry were faintly found, so the Qi army's horizontal column was lined up in five slightly thicker columns to prevent the onslaught of cavalry.

After decades of development and the baptism of countless wars, the infantry line tactics have become very mature. When fighting, three tactics are generally used: line columns, phalanxes, and columns. The line column is a horizontal line formed by the infantry during the battle, and then the fire density is increased by a salvo of muskets. Generally, there will be 3-4 rows in this horizontal row, the first row of kneeling shots, the second row of battle shots, and the third or fourth row as personnel supplements. Such dense firepower can give full play to the firepower advantage of the flintlock pistol, and at the same time maintain a relatively loose distance between each soldier, so that the soldier will not be damaged by the large area of the opponent's dense firepower.

The phalanx is a hollow phalanx surrounded by 3-4 rows of line infantry, which is an array specially deployed for the enemy cavalry to launch a four-sided surprise attack in the open area, and each phalanx infantry must undergo strict courage training, so that they can face the impact of the cavalry and stab the horses with bayonets, so as to become a qualified line infantry.

The vertical formation is a phalanx that is convenient for the infantry to move and run, and the Qi army uniformly uses a two-point column or a four-point column when marching. After entering the battlefield, they can quickly change formation and launch an attack on the enemy.

In addition to the infantry line phalanx, according to the scale of the battle and the strength of the enemy army faced, the Qi army will also have a large number of light infantry (i.e., chasseurs), cavalry and artillery to cooperate with the phalanx.

For the smallest establishment in the Qi Army, the company, there is only one formation, and that is the three-column horizontal formation. Formations such as horizontal formations, columns, and phalanxes are for units with an establishment above the battalion level.

The so-called battalion horizontal team, battalion column, and battalion phalanx are actually the products of the battalion-level commander who transforms, combines, and arranges the three columns of company and horizontal formations contained in it. The advantage of this formation is that it is convenient to develop firepower, but the disadvantage is that it is very sensitive to terrain and discipline requirements, and it is slow to move and it is very difficult to keep the formation neat.

However, the location of the 3rd Mixed Battalion was an extremely empty Gobi area, with almost no shelter, which also facilitated the formation of troops to meet the enemy. The only disadvantage may be that the enemy is rushing from the direction of the hills to the south, so that the Qi officers and soldiers have to face the harsh midday sun.

"Holy shit, the Omanis really chose the best time to attack." Company commander Yu Yuanbin put his hand on the pergola, squinted his eyes, and looked at the Oman array hundreds of meters away, "It's noon, I don't want Lao Tzu to rest!" …… Hey, are those who are rushing to the front the Persians? ”

I saw that there were thousands of civilians decorated with Persians in front of them, crying and screaming, and under the pressure of the swords of the Omani soldiers, they rushed towards the Qi army array. Any Persian who stood still, or fell to the ground, was slashed by the brutal Omanis with a sword, causing even greater agitation in the ranks.

The Omanis actually used all the captured Persians as cannon fodder for the charge!

"Fire!" Yan Shaowu, commander of the 3rd Mixed Battalion and Captain (Major) of Xuanjie, put down the binoculars, and then gave the order with a blank face.

"Boom! Rumble! ……”

Five 55 mm light army guns (equivalent to 4-pounder guns of the same era) fired one after another, but only two shells accurately fell into the dense crowd, and the fragmented shrapnel, splashing in all directions, immediately overturned more than a dozen people, stirring the entire charging formation even more chaotic.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ……”

After two rounds of calibration, the artillery became more and more violent, and the shells were converted from the initial spherical explosive shells to shrapnel shells, inflicting a large amount of casualties on the enemy. The Persian cannon fodder in front of the line ignored the pressure of the Omanis and began to scatter and flee, leaking the Omani army hidden in the rear under the fire of the Qi army.

"The Omani camel artillery has been spotted ahead, and it is rapidly approaching our army!"

"The enemy army is divided into two divisions and outflanked on both flanks of our army!"

"The enemy cavalry has moved! They are making a detour to the rear of our army! ”

“……”

Yan Shaowu stood behind a baggage truck, observing the enemy situation in front of him, while silently calculating the situation of the enemy and us. Obviously, the Omanis occupied the time and place at this time, and tried to gather and annihilate the 3rd Mixed Battalion on this Gobi Desert by besieging it on all sides with a slight advantage of forces.

Hmph, the combat power of the local chicken and the dog, I actually want to fight a perfect encirclement and annihilation battle!

Aren't you afraid of shattering your teeth?!

"Move three guns to the north and bombard the enemy cavalry!"

"The chasseurs attack, shoot freely. When the enemy army reaches a range of 200 meters, quickly withdraw! ”

"The whole army has changed formations! …… Column hollow phalanx! ”

“……”

With the help of the cover of the Persian cannon fodder, the Omanis successfully approached the position of the Qi army array more than 300 meters away, and then began to speed up the pace, preparing to launch a final decisive charge.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! ……”

The constant roar of artillery, as well as the sound of muskets from time to time, made the fast-moving Omani soldiers feel their scalps tingle and their hearts filled with infinite fear.

It is said that the people of Qi have sharp guns and powerful firepower, and as soon as they engage in battle, it is as rumored. It was clear that the opponent did not have a few artillery pieces, but the shells were fired quickly and sharply, and the rate of fire reached an astonishing frequency of two rounds per minute. Moreover, the artillery of the Qi army was also unusually accurate, and it bombarded the crowded places. As a result, the charging queue of the Omani army had long been out of formation, and it was almost in the form of skirmishers rushing towards the Qi army.

The thousands of Persian captives who rushed ahead of them had all fled, scattered all over the mountains, and the Persian cannon fodder who had rushed to the Qi array had been shot in front of the formation or stabbed to the ground with bayonets.

"God will bless us! Let's rush over with incomparably resolute courage and kill all the demons on the opposite side! Salah Yahya, the former commander of the Omani army, raised his scimitar and shouted loudly.

Before the battle, according to the battle plan of Yassin Sheadi, the governor of the Kingdom of Oman Sutan on the island of Kishm, they first used Persian cannon fodder as the lead to attack the Qi army array. If it can disrupt the deployment of the Qi army, it is the best. The whole army will take advantage of the situation to enter the Qi army formation, engage the Qi army in a short hand, and annihilate this enemy by virtue of the superiority of troops.

If the Persian cannon fodder could not shake the Qi array, then the Omani army hidden behind could also take advantage of this cover and quickly approach the Qi array. As the vanguard force, Salah Yahya will lead more than 1,600 Omani soldiers to launch a fierce attack from the front and both flanks in a decisive posture to attract the attention of the Qi army to the greatest extent.

The cavalry commander Ali Al Jabri led more than 300 cavalry, maneuvered to the rear of the Qi army in a roundabout way, and gave the Qi army a devastating blow while the Qi army was in a stalemate.

In the opinion of Governor Yassin Sheadi, this Qi army numbered only about 400 men, less than one-fifth of the Omani army, and the terrain here was flat, and once they were besieged from all sides, it was very likely that they would be completely annihilated by the Omani army.

In this way, they will be able to defeat the powerful Qi army in one fell swoop, thus breaking the myth and legend of the invincibility of the Qi people, which will greatly boost and boost the morale of the army of the Kingdom of Oman.

The key to the victory of this battle was the decisive charge of the front army, which provided the most favorable opportunity for the cavalry to charge around the rear of the Qi army. As long as the formation of the Qi army is broken, on this unsheltered adjacent beach, the Qi army without any shelter will become their lambs to the slaughter.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! ......" Just as the former army commander Salah Yahya took the lead, chanting the slogan of "God is great", and led his subordinates to charge towards the Qi army array, several crisp sniper shots rang out, and two projectiles shot into his body, and with a muffled snort, he fell to the ground.