The French military command post, surrounded by a large number of Swiss Guards dressed in red, was busy with activity.

Joseph silently observed and took note of Berthier’s series of orders, understanding that one day in the near future, he might have to give similar commands himself.

As the messenger quickly ran off, Joseph compared the orders with his previous battlefield notes, confirming the positions of the artillery, and raised his binoculars to take a closer look.

Through the lens, he spotted the small hill a kilometer away, where two earthworks, each about ten meters wide, had been set up. Behind them, five 8-pound cannons lay silently in wait. The artillerymen hadn’t yet received the order to fire.

Under the “Grand Battery” tactic that Joseph had brought along, all the heavy artillery of the Guard Corps was concentrated at this artillery position.

At that time, European armies typically distributed their cannons among infantry regiments, placing them near the infantry lines. In battle, there might be only one cannon every few hundred meters. This setup, while causing some damage over a wide area, was mainly an auxiliary force for the infantry.

Napoleon’s “Grand Battery” tactic, however, involved concentrating all the artillery in one location, under the corps commander’s unified command, to unleash massive firepower on a single target with the aim of quickly destroying it.

Rather than inflicting minor damage across a wide front, the concentrated firepower would break through a critical point in the enemy’s line, allowing the French army to exploit the breach with far greater effectiveness.

After about half a minute, Joseph finally saw the artillery captain receive the order, signaling the standard-bearer to raise the flag for the firing command.

The target had already been determined. The artillery captains shouted orders to their men, who swiftly completed the preparations and stood ready beside the cannons, awaiting the command.

The artillery captain gave the final order, and the standard-bearer signaled “fire at will.” The cannons roared to life, spitting flames as the gun carriages jolted back from the recoil. The artillery position was instantly shrouded in thick smoke.

Several seconds later, the thunderous sound of the cannons reached Joseph’s ears.

He adjusted his binoculars to observe the Albanian mercenaries’ position below. Where the cannonballs struck, the battlefield looked like a wheat field trampled by wild buffalo, with dozens of men instantly felled, and blood stains visible on the ground.

These casualties were a significant number, considering the scene was playing out two or three kilometers away. In a tightly packed formation like the Albanian mercenaries’, the first shot had landed directly on target, causing heavy losses.

Beside him, Berthier quietly muttered, “Well done.”

Less than a minute later, the five cannons roared again.

Contrary to the grand scenes of thousands of cannons firing simultaneously often depicted in movies, the 4,000-strong Guard Corps had brought only six cannons with them, one of which was a four-pounder in reserve.

Given the logistical capabilities of the time, this was the maximum number of cannons the unit could carry while still ensuring effective firepower. In fact, the most critical factor in artillery firepower was the availability of ammunition.

As long as the cannons could maintain continuous fire, the damage inflicted by five 8-pounders was already substantial. Bringing more cannons would have been useless if their ammunition ran out quickly. Instead of carrying an extra cannon, it was more effective to carry an additional hundred rounds.

The eight-pound iron cannonballs tore through the Albanian mercenaries, plowing through their ranks and leaving long, bloody trenches.

The nearby mercenaries, who were still trying to form up, immediately fell into chaos—no amount of shouting from their officers could stop the soldiers from either fleeing in all directions or freezing in place with fear. The left flank of the Albanian army instantly collapsed.

Joseph noticed that the continuous music of bagpipes, organs, and violins that had been playing around him had quieted. In this era, the battlefield was accompanied by a continuous soundtrack of martial music, as if part of a grand yet somewhat rudimentary concert.

The drums then became more distinct as the infantry columns that had been advancing rapidly came to a halt and began to spread out to the sides.

In each company, two officers stepped out and stretched a 20-30 meter rope between them, forming a straight line for the soldiers to align with. The entire formation immediately straightened out.

A few minutes later, a three-line infantry formation stretched across 700 to 800 meters, appearing as a white scar etched into the yellow-brown wasteland from Joseph’s vantage point.

At the same time, two infantry companies appeared on the northern flank in skirmish formation, closely watching the gap created by the artillery bombardment and beginning to advance slowly.

Albanian commander Semiz watched through his telescope, seeing the neat, white-uniformed French soldiers in their tight trousers and tricorn hats, and broke out in a cold sweat. “French soldiers? How is this possible? This can’t be…”

According to the intelligence he received, the French were still in Tunis three days ago. This information had been confirmed repeatedly by Albanian spies and the remnants of the Tunisian Janissaries. It couldn’t be wrong.

But where did these French soldiers come from? It was impossible for them to have marched from Tunis to Annaba in just three days!

In his understanding, this was indeed an impossible feat, but for the Guard Corps, which regularly trained in cross-country marches under heavy loads, it was still far from their limit.

The thunderous roar of the cannons snapped Semiz back to reality. He saw that the French line had already formed up, while his own forces were still in disarray, and he felt a surge of anxiety.

The military discipline of the Guard Corps far surpassed that of the Albanian mercenaries, and they had been prepared for this sudden attack, allowing them to form up much faster than the mercenaries still on the march. In the era of flintlock warfare, the side that formed up first often gained a decisive advantage.

At that moment, the scouts that Semiz had sent out finally returned—he was experienced enough on the battlefield to send out cavalry scouts immediately after encountering the enemy.

From a distance, the leading scout shouted, “Pasha, the enemy numbers around 4,000, with possibly a few hundred in reserve.”

Semiz felt a bit more at ease. Although the enemy had the advantage of surprise, his own forces still had a significant numerical superiority.

This meant that if he could stabilize his lines and drag the battle into a direct confrontation, victory would still be his!

His mind raced as he glanced at his chaotic left flank and barked orders to his adjutant, “Tell Nishani to lead the cavalry to attack the enemy’s right flank. At least hold them off for half an hour!”

The French right flank was the Albanian army’s left.

The adjutant hesitated, “Pasha, all the cavalry?”

Semiz gritted his teeth and nodded, “Yes! All the cavalry!”

He knew he couldn’t afford to hold back his cavalry now.

Although the cavalry was also in disarray and hadn’t fully formed up, if they were just engaging in harassment, the various cavalry companies could attack individually. Before all 1,600 riders were exhausted, they should be able to hold off the enemy for quite some time.

After that, with his numerical advantage, he could engage the French in a battle of attrition. Even if he couldn’t win immediately, General Kaïhler’s army would arrive the next day, and with overwhelming numbers, they would surely overwhelm the French!

As another round of artillery fire from the Guard Corps completely shattered the Albanian left flank, bugles sounded from within the mercenary ranks, and dozens of messengers ran back and forth, rallying the cavalry.

Meanwhile, 300 meters behind the gap in the Albanian lines, a reserve unit began forming up, preparing to fill the breach with a solid formation.

Just as the drummers of the Guard Corps resumed their rhythmic drumming, and the “band” started playing again in preparation for a frontal assault, a large wave of cavalry carrying bows and arrows surged out from the Albanian left flank.

Hearing a prompt from a staff officer, Joseph quickly raised his binoculars and scanned the area, frowning. Why had the Albanians responded so quickly? Cavalry forming up was even more challenging than infantry—how had they managed to launch a cavalry charge so quickly?

But he soon realized what was happening and said to Berthier, “Are they sending themselves to their deaths?”

Cavalry charging in a disorganized mass was no different from wild horses running across a plain. At high speed, they couldn’t coordinate with each other, often ending up in scattered clusters or a long, thin line. If the enemy’s cavalry charged in formation, it would be like mowing down the disorganized attackers.

“Your Highness, they’re likely trying to buy time,” Berthier replied. “We have fewer cavalry than they do, and it will take some time to completely wipe them out. In the meantime, they’ll send part of their cavalry to attack our infantry line.”

In the era of flintlock muskets, infantry lines had strong frontal firepower but were vulnerable on the flanks.

That’s why both sides typically used cavalry to protect their infantry’s flanks.

Joseph nodded, waiting to see how Berthier would respond.

After a moment’s thought, Berthier ordered, “Send our cavalry to reinforce the right flank immediately. Pull back the skirmishers to support the right flank infantry and form hollow squares for defense. Move the reserve artillery to support them as well.”

“Yes, sir!”

The hollow square formation was another advanced tactic Joseph had introduced to the Guard Corps. The hollow square had appeared as early as the 18th century but was mainly used as a last-ditch defensive formation when infantry were surrounded and facing annihilation by cavalry.

But Joseph knew how Napoleon had used it to defeat the Mamluk cavalry.

By having infantry form interlocking hollow squares, they could slow down the cavalry’s momentum and gradually wear them down, turning the hollow square into an offensive formation.

Within a minute, the orders reached the right flank of the infantry line, and the two skirmisher companies and eight infantry companies began to move. At the same time, the right-flank officers sent word that they were about to face a cavalry assault.

When the leading Albanian cavalry, in disarray, reached the French right flank, the 500-plus cavalrymen from the Guard Corps and the Moulins Corps had already formed up in five ranks and were sweeping towards the scattered Albanian riders.

The few hundred Albanian cavalry who reached the French line first were almost instantly routed, most of them cut down by sabers or shot by the skirmishers covering the infantry’s flanks.

The French cavalry pressed on, turning and reforming in the distance.

Meanwhile, the two skirmisher companies moved to the side of the infantry line, forming a T-shaped formation.

Soon, more Albanian cavalry charged in, only to be met with a hail of musket fire from the French skirmishers. The leading 20 or 30 horsemen were shot down on the spot—many of these skirmishers were marksmen being trained as sharpshooters, so their accuracy was excellent. If the enemy had charged in a tighter formation, the results would have been even more devastating.

The Albanian cavalry was stunned—these infantrymen stood their ground, aiming and firing without flinching. The sheer determination of the French caused the Albanians to pull back, trying to bypass the line.

But the French cavalry, having quickly reformed, swept in from the flank and cut into the Albanian ranks.

A disorganized cavalry force was no match for a disciplined formation, especially when attacked from the side. The Albanian cavalry quickly fell apart, suffering heavy casualties at the hands of the French.

In just ten minutes, the Albanians had lost nearly 400 men. Scores of riderless horses now stood idly on the battlefield, inadvertently forming a barrier for the French infantry.

A French skirmisher captain named Lefebvre looked at the ground littered with enemy corpses, then at his virtually unscathed men, and licked his dry lips. He turned to the messenger beside him and shouted, “I think we can hold off the enemy cavalry without the hollow squares.”

The messenger hesitated, then quickly signaled the message with his flags.

Lefebvre quickly shouted to stop him, “I was just saying, I didn’t mean to—”

However, Berthier, who had been watching through his binoculars, smiled and nodded, “He’s a bold one. Very well, we’ll do as he suggests.”

He turned to his staff officer, “Leave four companies to defend the right flank, and bring two more from the reserves. The rest of the infantry will continue the frontal assault in line formation!”

Joseph watched as the Guard Corps moved like a slow giant, with its “brain’s” commands taking a minute to reach its limbs. The right “hand,” which had been ready to defend, now clenched back into a fist.

The reserve four-pounder cannon was also brought to the right flank. The artillery captain followed protocol, ordering the loaders to load the cannon with grapeshot.

A few minutes later, the rhythmic drumming resumed, and the drummers led the way as the entire infantry line began advancing towards the Albanian positions once more.

The fierce battle continued on the right flank. The Albanian cavalry repeatedly charged the mere 500 or 600 French infantrymen, only to be repelled time and again by musket fire and the four-pounder cannon.

This was a contest of willpower.

If the cavalry had been fearless and willing to take heavy casualties, they might have broken through after two or three volleys, reaching the infantry and turning the tide. Even if the French cavalry came to support, the presence of nearby infantry would have reduced their advantage.

In such a case, they might have broken through the French right flank.

But it was the French infantry who were fearless. They stood firm, even as the enemy cavalry charged to within thirty meters, calmly taking aim and firing, shattering the morale of the Albanian riders.

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep