The fierce Crown Prince Guard Legion

French Army command post surrounded by a large number of Swiss Guard in red uniforms.

Joseph noted down Berthier's series of orders, knowing that he himself might soon be giving the same commands.

Seeing the Orderly Officer run off quickly, Joseph picked up his battlefield notes, checked them against the records, confirmed the location of the Artillery positions, and looked through his Telescope.

Through the Telescope's objective lens, two breastworks, each about ten meters wide, appeared on a small hill about a kilometer away. At that moment, five 8-pounder Cannon were quietly positioned behind them; clearly, the Artillery had not yet received orders.

Following Joseph's "Massed Artillery Tactics," all the heavy artillery brought by the Royal Guard Legion was now concentrated on this Artillery position.

Currently, Europe armies generally incorporate artillery into Infantry regiments. The artillery pieces are positioned near the Infantry positions, with only one artillery piece every few hundred meters during combat. While this allows for greater damage to the enemy over a wider area, it ultimately serves only as supplementary firepower for the Infantry.

Napoleon's "Massed Artillery Tactics" involved concentrating all artillery pieces under the unified command of the legion commander, using maximum firepower to bombard a single target in an attempt to quickly defeat it.

It's better to break one finger than to injure all ten. Once an enemy position that has been heavily bombarded collapses, it becomes the breakthrough point for the French Army to tear through their lines. This is far more effective than slowly wearing down the enemy's front.

About half a minute later, Joseph finally saw the Artillery Company commander receive the order to have the Flag Bearer beside him raise the small flag in preparation for firing.

The target location had already been determined. The gunners of each cannon loudly urged their soldiers on. Soon, they completed their firing preparations and stood at attention on the sides of the cannons, awaiting orders.

The artillery company commander turned and said something, Flag Bearer immediately signaled for free fire. Several cannons immediately spewed forth raging flames. The cannons jerked backward abruptly, and the artillery position was instantly enveloped in thick smoke.

A few seconds later, the thunderous sound of cannon fire reached Joseph's ears from afar.

He turned his Telescope and saw that on the north side of the Albanian Mercenaries position, which was located at a low elevation, a small patch of wheat had been knocked down like a wild buffalo had run over, and traces of blood could still be vaguely seen on the ground.

That's a scene from two or three kilometers away, where a "small patch" of troops often numbers as many as twenty or thirty people.

The main problem was that the mercenaries, busy assembling their ranks, were standing too close together, while the Royal Guard Legion's Artillery was also lucky, hitting the target directly on their first calibration shot, causing heavy casualties.

Berthier, standing nearby, had clearly also noticed the result and muttered under his breath, "Well done."

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

Unlike the scenes of thousands of cannons firing simultaneously often seen in movies and TV dramas, the Royal Guard Legion, with more than 4,000 men, only carried six cannons, one of which was a reserve four-pounder.

Given the field logistics capabilities of that era, this was the maximum proportion of artillery that a unit could carry while ensuring firepower. In reality, the most important factor affecting Artillery firepower was the quantity of Ammunition.

As long as the cannons can be continuously fired, the damage caused by five Eight-Pound Cannon is already terrifying. Even if more cannons are brought along, if the Ammunition is quickly exhausted, the cannons are just lumps of iron. The transport capacity for carrying one more cannon is not as good as carrying a hundred or so more cannon shells.

The eight-pound iron ball whistled through the Albanian Army, carving out several long, bloody trenches.

The mercenaries who were still organizing their ranks immediately fell into chaos—no matter how the officers shouted and berated them, the soldiers just ran around in all directions or stood frozen in fear. The left flank of the entire Albanian Army was suddenly reduced by a significant portion.

Joseph suddenly heard the sounds of Bagpipes, Organ, and Violin playing all around him fade away—that's how battlefields are these days. From the start of the battle, music has been playing everywhere on the battlefield, like being in a grand but somewhat rudimentary concert hall.

Immediately, the drumbeats became clearer, and the rapidly advancing Infantry Column stopped in place and dispersed to both sides.

Two officers from each company stepped forward and stretched a rope, about twenty or thirty meters long, straight. The soldiers then lined up behind the rope, instantly making the entire formation perfectly straight.

A few minutes later, in front of the Albanian Mercenaries' position, a three-rank Infantry Line stretching seven or eight hundred meters long appeared. From Joseph's perspective, it looked as if a giant had carved a white knife mark on the pale yellow wasteland.

At the same time, two Infantry appeared on the north side, forming Skirmishers formations and keeping a close eye on the gaps in the enemy's lines that had been blasted open by Artillery, and began to slowly move forward.

Albanian Army commander Semiz, looking through his Telescope at the troops in crisp white uniforms, tight trousers, and Tricorn Hat, was drenched in cold sweat, muttering repeatedly, "The France, how could this be? This can't be..."

According to the intelligence he received, the French Army was still in Tunisia City three days ago. This intelligence was repeatedly confirmed by Albania Spy and remnants of the Tunisia Guard Corps, and could not be wrong.

But where did these France come from?

It's impossible that they traveled from Tunisia City to Annaba in just three days!

In his understanding, this was indeed impossible, but for the Royal Guard Legion, who trained in cross-country with heavy loads every day, it was far from reaching their limit.

The sound of another round of artillery fire from afar startled Semiz. He saw that the French Army lines had already been deployed, while his own side was still in disarray trying to organize its troops, and his heart tightened immediately.

The Royal Guard Legion were far more skilled than the Albanians, and having prepared for the assault well in advance, their formation was naturally much faster than that of the mercenaries who were still marching. In the age of Flintlock Gun, whoever could complete their formation first held an absolute advantage.

Just then, the scouts Semiz sent out finally returned—he was a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, and he was capable of basic operations such as immediately dispatching cavalry to scout upon encountering the enemy.

The lead cavalryman, still some distance away, called out to him, "Pasha, the enemy has about 4,000 men, and there may be several hundred more in reserve behind them."

Semiz felt somewhat reassured. Although the enemy had gained the upper hand through a surprise attack, he himself possessed an absolute numerical advantage.

In other words, as long as we can manage to stabilize our position and drag the battle into a head-on confrontation, victory will still belong to us!

His mind raced, and he glanced at his own most chaotic left flank, yelling to his aide, "Have Nishani lead the cavalry to attack the enemy's right flank. Hold them off for at least half an hour!"

The French Army's right wing was the Albanian Army's left wing.

The attendant hesitated, "Pasha, is it all the cavalry?"

Semiz gritted his teeth and nodded. "Yes! All cavalry!"

He knew very well that he couldn't afford to be reluctant to abandon the cavalry at this point.

Although the cavalry was also in disarray and had not yet completed their formation, if it was just a harassment campaign, the various cavalry battalions could attack at will and should be able to hold off the enemy for a long time before all 1,600 cavalrymen were exhausted.

After that, I can use my numerical advantage to fight a positional war against the France. Even if I can't win, General Kehler's army will arrive tomorrow, and with several times the number of troops, they will surely be able to quickly overwhelm the French Army!

Just as another round of artillery Artillery by the Royal Guard Legion completely shattered the Albanians left flank, horns sounded in the latter's ranks, and more than a dozen Orderly Officer ran around frantically, gathering the cavalry together.

Three hundred meters behind the gap in the Albanian Army's lines, a reserve unit began to assemble, preparing to fill the gap with neat ranks.

Just as the drummers of the Royal Guard Legion began their rhythmic drumming, and the "military band" resumed their performance in preparation for a frontal assault, a large number of cavalrymen carrying bows and arrows surged out from the Albanians's left flank like a tide.

Joseph, alerted by his staff officer, quickly peered through his Telescope and frowned. How could the Albanians react so quickly? It's much more difficult for cavalry to form ranks than for Infantry; how could they launch a cavalry attack so immediately?

But he immediately noticed something amiss and said to Berthier beside him, "Are they here to die?"

Cavalry without any formation is no different from wild horses running amok on the steppe. Moving at high speed, they cannot pay attention to other units and easily end up scattered here and there or in a narrow line. If the enemy cavalry attacks in formation, it is a perfect opportunity to reap the rewards.

"Your Highness, they are likely trying to buy time," Berthier said. "We don't have as many cavalry as they do, and it will take us quite some time to completely wipe them out. Before that, they will send some cavalry to attack our Infantry Line."

The greatest strength of Infantry Line in the Flintlock Gun era was their frontal attack capability, while their thin lines made their flanks very vulnerable.

Therefore, generally speaking, both sides will use cavalry to cover the flanks of their Infantry.

Joseph nodded, awaiting Berthier's response.

After a moment's thought, the latter instructed the Orderly Officer, "Have the cavalry immediately reinforce the right flank. Recall the Skirmishers and assist the Infantry on the right flank in converting to Hollow Square Formation for defense. Also, hand over the reserve artillery to them."

"Yes!"

The Hollow Square Formation was another advanced tactic that Joseph brought to the Royal Guard Legion. Of course, the Hollow Square Formation had already appeared in the early 18th century, but it was only used as an emergency measure when Infantry were cut off and surrounded by cavalry and were preparing to fight to the death.

Joseph, however, knew how Napoleon had used it against the Mamluk Cavalry.

The Infantry actively formed multiple mutually supportive Phalanx, which were staggered over a large area to slow down the cavalry's charge and continuously wear them down, thus becoming an offensive Phalanx.

The order was relayed to the right flank of the Infantry Line a minute later, and two Skirmishers companies and eight Infantry began to move. At the same time, the officer on the right flank sent a messenger to report that they were about to face a surprise attack by enemy cavalry.

As the Albanians cavalry vanguard surged haphazardly toward the French Army right flank, the Royal Guard Legion and the Moulins Legion, totaling over 500 cavalrymen, had already formed ranks and swept toward the sparse Albania cavalry in five Horizontal Formation.

The latter group, numbering only a hundred or so, was scattered almost immediately. Most were cut down from their Saber, while a few were shot dead by the Skirmishers providing cover from the Infantry.

Without pausing, the French Army cavalry circled in the distance, turned around, and regrouped.

Two Skirmishers companies had already positioned themselves on the flanks of the Infantry Line, forming a T-shape.

Soon, more Albania cavalry charged in. A hail of bullets erupted from the French Army Skirmishers, and the first twenty or thirty riders fell from their horses—many of these Skirmishers were intended by Joseph to be Jäger, and their marksmanship was exceptional. Had the enemy's charge not been so disorganized, the victory could have been even greater.

The Albanians were somewhat stunned by the attack— the Infantry in front of them showed no fear whatsoever, standing upright and aiming their weapons. For a moment, the cavalry behind them were so intimidated by this momentum that they reined in their horses, preparing to flank the enemy.

The French Army cavalry, not far away, quickly formed ranks and roared as they plunged into the enemy cavalry formation from the flank.

The disorganized cavalry was utterly powerless against the well-ordered ranks, especially when attacked from the flank. The Albania cavalry immediately collapsed and were slaughtered by the French Army cavalry.

In just ten minutes, the Albania cavalry had delivered nearly 400 men. The large number of horses, now without their masters, stood there in a daze, which ironically became a barrier for the French Army Infantry.

A French Army Skirmishers Lefebvre looked at the enemy corpses strewn across the ground, then at his almost unscathed soldiers beside him, licked his dry lips, and shouted to the messenger beside him, "I think we can stop the enemy cavalry without Hollow Square Formation."

The latter paused for a moment, then quickly signaled what he had said using flags.

Lefebvre quickly interrupted, "I was just saying, I didn't tell you..."

However, Berthier, seeing the flag signal through his Telescope from a distance, smiled and nodded, "He's an adventurous fellow. Alright, let's do as you say."

He turned to his staff officer and said, "Leave four companies to defend the right flank, and transfer two more companies from the reserves. The rest of the Infantry will continue their frontal assault in a line formation!"

Joseph saw that the Royal Guard Legion was like a slow-moving giant, with the "brain" taking a minute to transmit commands to its limbs, and its right hand, which had just opened to defend, clenched into a fist again.

The reserve Four-Pound Cannon was also moved to the right flank. Following the manual, the gunner ordered the loader to load the Grapeshot into the breech.

A few minutes later, the rhythmic drumming of the Royal Guard Legion Infantry Line sounded again, and the drummers led the way, pushing the entire Infantry Line toward the Albanians positions.

The fierce fighting on the right flank continued. Albania cavalry Infantry at the French Army, which numbered only five or six hundred, time and again, only to be met with repeated sniping from Musket and Four-Pound Cannon.

This is actually a contest of wills.

If these cavalrymen were to fight bravely and withstand two or three volleys of fire before charging into the ranks of Infantry, it would result in a one-sided massacre. Even if French Army cavalry came to provide cover, the presence of the French Army Infantry would greatly diminish the advantage of their formation.

That would make it very likely that they would break through the French Army right flank defenses.

However, it was the French Army Infantry who were fearless in the face of death. They watched as the enemy cavalry charged more than thirty Domi away, still shouting as they aimed and fired, shattering the morale of the Albanians who were so close at hand.

(End of this chapter)