Chapter 124: Battle Of The Century (2)

In retaliation to the Fontaine infantry's initial volley, all 3 sections of Luxenberg infantrymen returned a deadly volley of their own. Crimson liquid stained the emerald blades of grass, the Fontaine soldiers were intoxicated by the fumes of their gunpowder and the sound battle. 

Each side was locked in a deadly exchange of musket balls. As they continued this skirmish, the Luxenberg infantry continued to creep forward, even as their brothers in arms dropped right beside them. They gave as good as they got, for every Luxenberg soldier that was shot, a Fontaine soldier would meet the same fate.

Both armies had lost up to 40,000 infantrymen and the combat was far from the over. Down the centre, the fighting was relatively one-sided. The experience of Victor's Royal Guard infantrymen was on full display, their accuracy was pinpoint excellent and their ability to manoeuvre through the maelstrom of fire was impressive. They may have only consisted of 3,000 men, but they fought like there were 30,000.

Grand Duke Fontaine was struggling to maintain the morale of the infantrymen under his command. They were faltering under the suppressing fire. If he did not come up with a solution soon, he may face being overwhelmed. The flanks were slowly crumbling, but his centre was facing impending collapse if left in its current state.

As much as he wanted to send in the cavalry, he could not. It was too soon to deploy them. Although he was taught the art of war, there is a difference between a military tent and the battlefield. He was seeing firsthand the true nature of war. He had never fought a battle that he would lose, in fact, his only victory was against an already beaten Vasselle army.

His inability to make a military adjustment during the heat of battle would come to cost him the lives of many of his infantrymen in the centre. They could not stop the tidal wave of Luxenberg infantrymen. They had pushed forward to the point where melees were starting to break out.

The glistening steel bayonets were thrashing about, piercing into pink flesh, exposing the warm insides of a human. Screams of agony would be prevalent, forcing the indecisive Simeon Fontaine to act. Reluctantly, he ordered that his cavalry advance to help out the struggling infantry.

With their orders confirmed the Fontaine cavalry began its charge. They descended the slope in a diamond formation. Nearby Luxenberg infantrymen who were either in the melee or shooting quite close were dealt with easily. Apart from those men, the rest were able to quickly form up in a square formation.

Fontaine cavalrymen struggled to breach the Luxenberg squares. They lacked any mounted rifleman, their cavalry was not as advanced as the Maldenberg or Luxenberg cavalry. They only had a few hundred at most and they were used as bodyguards for the high-born pricks in command. 

While the fighting in the centre was heavy, the flanks were in a similar situation. The Luxenberg soldiers were showcasing the disparity of experience between the two armies. Victor infantry were not only quicker at reloading their muskets, but they were also able to coordinate with their brothers in arms. When one rank was reloading the next would fire, and then the one after would fire. By the time the third rank had fired the first would be ready to go again.

This action would cause the Luxenberg infantrymen to keep suppressing the Fontaine infantrymen. They would be overwhelmed and when Victor's infantry was in close proximity they would be forced into melee combat. Luxenberg soldiers outmatched their enemy when it came to melee, they were more ferocious, and adept and had become used to high-pressure situations.

As the melee ensued, both Duke Hirschmann and Verdant had to bite the bullet and send the cavalry in to support the struggling infantrymen. This was playing perfectly into the Luxenberg Army's strategy. They wanted to draw all the enemy soldiers out so that they could use their cavalry to outflank their position and target the rear. 

This was also a gamble on Victor's behalf. If his infantrymen struggled against the combined infantry and cavalry forces, they would be isolated and need to make a daring retreat across an open plain. Artillery support would be limited, and in the end, they would be mowed down by the Fontaine cavalry. So far though, the Luxenberg infantrymen were living up to Victor's expectations.

Seeing that the enemy had deployed the majority of their cavalry, Victor was ready to signal for his cavalry to engage, however, multiple reports were coming in from the front lines. All the reports were about the enemy position's layout. More specifically, it contained details of how secure the flanks were. Sudes and barricades blocked any attempt for the cavalry to breach them.

Victor had to make a decision quickly, his rockets were soon to run out and he did not want his cavalry to be targeted by 100 or so cannons remaining on the Fontaine side. He was hoping to use his cavalry to deal with the enemy leaders and stop them from fleeing but now he had to ensure the crushing defeat of his enemy.

"Field Marshal, give the order. The cavalry shall support our infantry. Let us crush them finally and be done with this war," Victor said in a cold monotone voice. The field marshal passed his orders down the chain of command. Soon enough the full force of the Luxenberg cavalry was blitzing towards the fray. 

Horse's hooves shook the ground as thousands of them sallied forth. They did not care of the chaos around them. Musket balls were whizzing past and the clusters of fighting men were getting closer. The competent captains of the Luxenberg cavalry maneovured around the allied infantry squares and struck the heart of the Fontaine forces. 

Some cavalrymen were thrown from their horses as the sudes and barricades halted them in their tracks. Lances and sabres ran amok in the disorganised crowd of Fontaine infantrymen, they were paniced and lacked the composure to organise themselves into a square formation like their adversaries.

Littered around the battling forces were corpses and weapons. Blood was seeping into the earth while entrails were being spread about, surely a feast for the crows. The battle raged on and the death toll rised, everyone was running amok in the heart of the battlefield. 

The battle was at its apex and the first section of the battlefield to cave in was a surprise to all.