Square Formation
After a quiet two weeks, Karl saw his Main Corps's training make some progress. Several officers reported that they could try a large-scale combined training exercise, and Karl was eager to see the quality of his new army.
In order to effectively command and train this rapidly expanding army, Karl still adopted the Spanish Great Square as the basic tactical and organizational framework, but made some modifications.
The so-called Spanish Great Square was not a specific formation, but rather an administrative unit, similar to a modern regimental combined arms tactical unit, employing a mix of pikemen and Musketeers.
Its theoretical strength was three thousand men, but in actual combat, it was often severely understaffed due to casualties and supply difficulties. Maintaining around 1,500 men was considered an elite force.
This size is just right for Carnford's current troop strength of two regiments, each with two to three thousand men.
In Karl's improved plan, the core of the phalanx was still a mix of spearmen and Musketeers, just like the Spanish Great Square, but the Spanish Great Square completely eliminated the Swordsmen and Shieldbearers.
Karl made some modifications in this regard; he did not completely copy the Spanish phalanx's practice of eliminating Swordsmen and Shieldbearers.
Based on his painful experience in the bloody battles with the Sauron, Karl knew that those fierce Sauron soldier were extremely skilled in close combat, and that there must be enough soldiers skilled in close combat to protect the Musketeers and deal with the melee after the battle lines were broken.
Therefore, he set the troop composition ratio as follows: 60% spearmen, 30% Musketeers, and 10% professional Swordsmen and Shieldbearers.
This configuration ensured both the phalanx's long-range firepower and resistance to cavalry charges, while also enhancing its resilience in close-quarters combat.
In the later stages of the development of the phalanx, the proportion of Musketeers in the legion once soared to an astonishing 70%.
This radical combination even caused deep concern among the army commanders at the time. "The elite spearmen who once held long spears and formed a disciplined formation are now few and far between. All I see are seemingly lazy Musketeers. With such a formation, I fear the enemy will collapse at the first touch!"
The commanders' concerns were not unfounded. The spearmen were the backbone of the phalanx, and their dense spear wall was an impregnable fortress against cavalry charges and a stabilizing force.
But times have changed, and the power of the Matchlock Rifle has long since reshaped the rules of the battlefield.
At that time, the volley of Matchlock Rifle was an unstoppable weapon on the battlefield. When the Musketeers in the formation lit the matchlocks in unison, thick smoke rose and deafening roars accompanied by a downpour of lead bullets.
Such terrifying firepower can often completely shatter the enemy's psychological defenses before they even enter close combat range, causing the entire army to collapse without a fight.
It was precisely because of this advantage that the Spanish Great Square dominated Europe for nearly a century, with no one able to challenge its dominance.
It wasn't until the wave of technological explosion swept in, with the widespread adoption of Flintlock Rifle and light cannons, and the combination of more accurate and faster-firing firearms with flexible tactics, that the once-dominant phalanx faded from the historical stage and was replaced by the 18th-century linear phalanx, also known as the firing squad.
Karl also longed to replicate the golden ratio of 70% Musketeers in his phalanx, thereby forging an invincible iron army.
However, there is a seemingly insurmountable chasm between ideals and reality.
Limited by Carnford's current firearms production capacity, Karl's musketeer force was far from reaching its ideal size.
The current Carnford Army is equipped with a mix of Flintlock Rifle and Matchlock Rifle, with the more primitive Matchlock Rifle being the dominant force, while the superior Flintlock Rifle are merely decorative.
When discussing firearms production capacity, one must mention Hector's firearms workshop.
To meet Karl's needs for expanding his army and preparing for war, Hector's workshops had already been operating at full speed.
After investing heavily in expanding the factory and acquiring new forging equipment brought by the family, the workshop's monthly output finally increased to around two hundred pieces.
However, this seemingly considerable number appears woefully inadequate in the face of Carnford's rapidly expanding conscription plan.
New recruits were arriving in the camp in batches, but qualified muskets could not be distributed in sufficient quantities for a long time. The shortage of production capacity became the first shackle restricting the development of the corps.
Even more pressing than insufficient production capacity is the serious consideration of weapon applicability.
In theory, the Flintlock Rifle was undoubtedly far superior to the Matchlock Rifle. It eliminated the cumbersome match cord, relied on flint to fire, had a more precise structure, a theoretically faster rate of fire, and was less affected by weather.
However, given Carnford's current harsh battlefield conditions and rudimentary maintenance, these theoretical advantages are nothing but a mirage.
Because the artisans in Carnford had not yet fully mastered the art of Flintlock Rifle making, the finished products often had many flaws.
Soldiers crawled and rolled in muddy trenches and marched long distances through the wind-swept wilderness. The delicate flintlock mechanism was easily corroded by dust and mud, resulting in frequent malfunctions. Misfires and jams became commonplace.
In contrast, the Matchlock Rifle, with its relatively simple technology, was quite cumbersome to use, but it was reliable and durable.
Its mechanical structure is simple and straightforward, and it is not picky about the environment. As long as it is not in a storm, it can still fire stably under proper protection of the match cord, and it will almost never misfire. It can be fired by pulling the trigger.
A commander during the Great Phalanx era also said, "Seeing the bright sparks gives me more peace of mind than flint."
More importantly, Matchlock Rifle have a very low maintenance threshold; ordinary soldiers can perform simple repairs on the battlefield with minimal training.
Such stable and reliable characteristics are far more important than those flashy but impractical paper parameters on the battlefield where life and death are at stake.
It is precisely based on this key consideration that the complete replacement of Flintlock Rifle has not been completed yet; firstly, it is impossible, and secondly, it is unnecessary.
In Karl's view, a reliable and well-equipped army with stable firepower is the key to gaining a foothold in chaotic times.
In order to quickly develop the new recruits into combat-ready forces, Karl sowed two hundred people into the new army as valuable seeds: about one hundred veterans who survived the last siege and another one hundred experienced soldiers who had recovered from their injuries and returned to the ranks.
Thirty of the most skilled veterans were selected to serve as full-time instructors in the recruit camp, while most of the remaining 170 were assigned to platoons and Platoon Leader in various companies as company and squad leaders, using their combat experience to lead and stabilize the recruit ranks.
The remaining officers served as officers in the Militia Camp, and were then promoted to Main Corps based on their performance in the Militia Camp.