Eagle Byzantium

As a result, General Karagdi's advice was not taken to heart by his master. According to the established plan, the Mosul camp began to make careful preparations for the decisive battle with the Christians five days later.

On the other hand, Peter, who returned to the city on a donkey, also explained this principle to all the lords: peace is hopeless, and everyone, whether they are nobles, knights, soldiers or craftsmen, regardless of men, women, old or young, must prepare for a decisive battle.

Two days later, Baldwin led all his troops: about 250 knights of various colors (castles, fiefs or retinues), more than 500 armored sergeants, and 1,000 light infantry, mostly from the east. The Armenian, Turkic or Greek archers recruited by Cilicia, as well as many logistical servants, arrived at the Orontes camp via the "Gawain's Bridge".

But at this moment, Gawain has already mobilized a large number of laborers to completely destroy the outer walls of the fortress originally built under the guidance of Gedier, including the city gate tower, without leaving any trace - Gawain had consulted his subordinates in advance. Everyone agreed with this idea - anyway, the core stronghold behind us in the decisive battle with Kobuha is Atta In the city, the Orontes camp has lost its role. It only needs to leave a small number of soldiers on guard to prevent Cobuha's soldiers from swimming (it seems now that the possibility of this happening again is very slim), but there is still something to be prepared for. Yes, that is the tactics and camp regulations of our army, which also need to be kept strictly confidential from other pilgrims.

This is the fundamental reason for the demolition of the stronghold.

Between the plains and the camp in front of the city of Atta, Gawain and Baldwin stood in front of the rows of knights and sergeants, and began to teach before the battle. However, there was no usual prayer and begging to the Lord, but surprisingly, The coach explains the tactics for the upcoming war.

It should be noted that in this era, such actions were still very rare, at least in the Frankish world, because for them, whether foot soldiers used spears or bows and arrows, they were inherently humble. They only needed to learn to stand firm and hold the weapons in their hands. That's fine, no one cares when they're in a melee Whether they are dead or alive, or what effect they have on the battle situation; and the core force on the battlefield, the knights or sergeants on horseback, no one cares about how they fight, because they are born warriors, and worry about them being like It's ridiculous to worry about whether your cat can climb a tree.

But Gawain still stood in front of all the Frankish knights to explain tactics. The core of his explanation was: In the decisive battle in the future, you must abandon your previous fighting methods.

Standing at the forefront, holding the silver swan flag, was Baldwin's chief flag bearer Angie Bursett. She immediately asked, "Do you want us to stop riding horses and stop using lances with flags?" And over there? , Earl Burke, who also belongs to the Eustace family, also looked incomprehensible.

Gawain said that he was right, "Because after crossing the iron bridge, the decisive battle took place in a wilderness sandwiched between two mountains. It was the place where war horses galloped, and it was also a suitable place for the formation of infantry. The Turks should have met early. It was expected that our people would only charge with spears , this trick may be effective against them once or twice, but I'm afraid it may not be possible this time - the Turks will definitely use a large number of spearmen, archers and light horses to defuse our offensive, and take the opportunity to set up ambushes everywhere. , to win against us.”

"Then we should also fight on foot!" Many Frank knights screamed. This was absolutely difficult for them to accept. As knights and honorary soldiers, they would rather die miserably on horseback than die in disgrace. Prefer to win like a humble infantryman.

But Gawain refused, "It's time to give up this outdated concept. At least in this crucial battle, our horses are insufficient and cannot be compared with the Turks' horses, so we fight on horses." Among them, we need to gather the war horses together, but not the assault force. It is a mobile transport force that will carry you to the fiercest and most critical areas and defeat the enemy. From now on, you will undergo squad combat, group combat, and even formation training with the shield and sword soldiers in my brigade. , learn to deal with all kinds of pagan enemies.”

Later, Baldwin also spoke to the Silver Swan flag. He spoke earnestly, saying that the battlefield and the enemies are constantly changing. We will go to the Holy Land soon, and we may encounter more and more frivolous enemies. Just rely on the previous reckless and brave way of fighting to the death. It won't work. We have to use infantry groups to deal with the enemy's infantry groups.

After a long time, the knights and sergeants of Adana County finally accepted the reality. Together with Gawain's Italian veterans, they gathered under the Silver Swan Flag and the Red Hand Seven Ridges Flag, and swore to accept the supervision and training of the Grand Duke of the Empire.

"Divide all the people equally into fifty teams, and then select two flag bearers from each team. Let the flag bearers receive training first, and then ask the flag bearers to train the members of the team. The outstanding soldiers in my brigade will serve as training instructors. In this way The fastest way to get things done!" Gao Wenhuansi You're welcome, because most of the Italian soldiers were farmers or small country squires. They had previously served for Duchess Matilda or the Byzantine Roman Empire. Their status in the eyes of these knights was not high. Let them guide you. Hard to accept.

After one hundred "trained flag bearers" were selected, they underwent intense and intensive training, but this was much easier than training new recruits, because this group of people had already experienced hundreds of battles. As long as they got rid of some old habits and accepted some Just new habits.

But the so-called new habits are not so easy for people to accept calmly.

For example, when using shields, the Italian veterans told these "trained flag bearers" that when you were riding on horses, you just had to keep the kite shield fixed to the side of your body to cover your knees and calves, and then charge with your spear. But now you are fighting on foot, and the situation you encounter is much more complicated - you have to "play with the shield" first.

So the arrogant knights began to move the handles of the kite shield around their bodies like an artist, holding them in their hands, and moving them around their bodies, front and back, left and right, up and down. There were detailed regulations on which position was used to defend against enemy arrows, which position was used to defend against enemy spears, and which position was used to defend against enemy machetes. Then, the Italian veteran taught them how to use shields to attack the enemy's spear formation: "Hold the shield over your body, lower your body and charge forward, don't look at the enemy's spear, only look at the enemy's forehead and face, don't stop, the enemy's spear tip stabs, you just need to block it, he will have to withdraw his hand before he can stab the next spear, you take the opportunity to continue to advance, three feet away from the enemy, swing the sword and cut the enemy's hands first, then they will inevitably abandon their spears, or retreat or draw their swords to fight you in short weapons, then you use the shield to suppress their weapons, and then cut their swords on their necks or chests, everything will be solved!" (To be continued ~^~)