Men and horses overturned.
Amidst the whistle of torn air and the crackling sound of impacts, horses fell, riders were thrown, and soldiers, whether injured or killed, rolled under the force of inertia before being trampled by the Reach Cavalry behind them. The sounds of collision and friction, human screams, and the neighing of mounts filled the entire world of sound for a moment. Something that baffled the Reach Cavalry occurred. Although there had been only a single, almost fused round of cannon fire, and the power and number of arrows had not visibly increased, their comrades beside them were falling like harvested wheat, row after row, either thrown from their horses or simply falling together with their mounts!
Their warhorses had adapted to the roar of gunpowder explosions, and the men were prepared to face the casualties and deterrence of flying cannonballs...
But those damned Night's Watch had once again brought out a new means of attack on the front line!
There were no mangled bodies or severed limbs caused by solid shot fired at point-blank range, only simple, small projectiles that pierced armor and skin. The casualty count surged wildly, as if thousands of master archers were sniping at them with invisible armor-piercing heavy arrows. Within two or three seconds, hundreds of cavalrymen were either killed or incapacitated. For ordinary infantry, after enduring such an inexplicable beating from above, everyone would undoubtedly choose to temporarily retreat and abandon the charge.
But they were cavalry. Under the tremendous inertia of the charge and the invisible pressure from the second wave of cavalry behind them, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and press forward.
And ahead, accompanied by another quickly covering rain of arrows, the next wave of hot-weapon strikes awaited them.
The cannons had entered their cooldown period, but the primitive yet reliable explosive projectiles were not so particular. Amidst the furious roars of the front-line commanders, a thin line of grenadiers at the very front swung their arms with all their might, throwing smoking black spheres at the feet of the Reach Cavalry, then quickly retreating back into the formation. Unlike the Golden Company, who had first encountered this item at the Battle of the Blackwater, the Reach knights this time knew that this thing did not kill by impact. They frantically urged their horses to dodge, but could do nothing except listen as a series of explosions erupted beneath their feet or behind them.
Smoke and vibration came at the same time, and flying shrapnel followed. Without being accelerated by a gun barrel, it was actually difficult for them to cause significant damage to armored soldiers, but they were a huge stimulus to the horses beneath them. The mounts of the cavalry unit had indeed completed desensitization training outside Highgarden and were familiar with the interference of explosions, but this time the sound of the explosive projectiles was not only closer and fiercer, it also brought scattered or dense stinging and damage, which completely exceeded a warhorse's tolerance as a domesticated animal.
Amidst another wave of men and horses overturning, fear instantly spread through the entire first wave of cavalry along with the sound of neighing. The dense sound of hooves became chaotic. This was no longer just heavy casualties, but the entire charge formation and rhythm being completely disrupted and deformed... Facing the neat defensive formation of the Western Expeditionary Army's front-line Westerlands spearmen and Dornish pikemen, shimmering with metallic luster, both men and horses had completely lost the resolve to charge forward.
They dared not charge, yet they could not stop in place and wait for death. Their direction of advance naturally began to shift.
The main force of the Reach Cavalry, under Garlan's command, was maneuvering slightly southwest of Daenerys's army's trapezoidal formation. To coordinate with and support the infantry's general assault while avoiding mutual interference, they chose the southeasternmost corner of Daenerys's army's trapezoidal formation as the target of their charge to open a gap. Specifically, it was the square formation diagonally opposite the point where the infantry line first engaged. This meant the cavalry charge naturally moved from southwest to northeast, appearing as an inverted "slash" character on a map oriented with north at the top and south at the bottom.
Upon encountering the opponent's combined strike of cannons, arrows, and explosive projectiles, suffering heavy losses and realizing the situation was impossible, the front-line cavalry and horses instinctively chose the safest method of self-preservation. They did not stop, but increased their turning angle, and at the last moment before contact, made a nearly ninety-degree turn, drawing a "factory" character. Then they circled once in front of the spears and pikes of the fully prepared Western Expeditionary Army, broke away to the east, then turned back south in a "several" character shape, riding away to escape the danger.
Seeing the oncoming wave of cavalry turn at the last moment, run parallel to their own formation, and head east with their tails between their legs, the Western Expeditionary Army soldiers, gripping their spears, shields, and pikes, had not even had time to breathe a sigh of relief when they saw a few scattered objects flying from the remnants heading east. They flew toward them in uneven arcs, striking shields or falling into the formation.
Scattered thudding impacts sounded, mixed with occasional cries of pain. The Western Expeditionary Army soldiers came back to their senses and found that among the flying objects, besides many short bolts from light crossbows, there were also throwing weapons like throwing axes and javelins. The most outrageous thing was that some soldiers were struck in the head by rusty iron chunks and left bleeding profusely. A few were knocked unconscious, several were lightly injured, but none were killed. The first wave of the Reach Army cavalry charge thus ended with a tragic casualty ratio of several hundred to zero, but before they could relax for even a moment, the second wave of cavalry charge was upon them.
...
Contrary to what the Western Expeditionary Army soldiers, who watched the wounded withdraw from the front line, had guessed, the first wave of Reach Cavalry pulling back at the last moment was not entirely due to cowardice, nor were the crossbow bolts and weapons they shot or hurled merely symbolic counterattacks born of frustration at the hopelessness of victory.
When Garlan divided the cavalry into three waves from the beginning, he had not simply allocated them mindlessly by numbers.
He first made an army-wide announcement, gathering together riders who had brought their own bows, crossbows, or other assorted throwing weapons. He assigned them, along with mercenaries, free riders, and mounted infantry used to fill the numbers with the old and weak, all to the first wave. Although this first wave of several thousand cavalrymen were not dedicated skirmishing horse archers, they were the only wave with ranged attack capabilities.
Next, he arranged the landed knights, noble retinues, and the Golden Company cavalry, who were the best equipped and most well-trained, including himself, into the second wave, forming the core strength and "fist" of the entire cavalry unit.
Finally, the remaining part, whose combat power was slightly stronger than the first wave but whose equipment level was inferior to the core elites, and who should be classified as "light cavalry" by comparison, was designated as the third wave, serving as the rearguard and covering force.
Such a deliberate division of forces naturally corresponded to tailor-made tasks.
The first wave's task was to first assume the proper posture and launch a normal charge toward the Western Expeditionary Army's position. If they could bluff the opponent's formation into loosening, they would seize the opportunity to charge in and carve out a gap. If not... they should still feint a charge, sweep past the front of the formation, and do their best to use their available ranged weapons to disrupt and kill the enemy, at least creating significant casualties and chaos to create opportunities for the forces that followed.
The task of the second main wave was relatively simple. Charge with all their might, break through the gap opened or the chaotic weak point created by the first wave of cavalry, pierce through the southeastern corner of Daenerys's army's trapezoidal formation, and disrupt the defensive formation set up by Aegor.
The finishing work of the third and final wave was to act according to the situation and expand the achievements of the second wave of heavy cavalry.
Garlan knew when formulating the battle plan that the first wave of cavalry could not break Daenerys's army's formation, so he only hoped these weaker soldiers could play some role. But the actual results after engaging in battle greatly exceeded his expectations. From his warhorse galloping not far behind, he saw the entire process clearly. The opponent seemed to have deployed a new weapon he could not understand just before the battle, so much so that the first wave of cavalry was almost flayed alive just to barely approach the enemy formation. Despite their best efforts, they ultimately failed to cause even the minimal disruption to the enemy formation that he had expected.
More pressing than grieving for the fallen scattered across the ground and the wandering wounded horses, a more urgent choice lay before him. With the first step of the plan not going smoothly, should the attack continue?
The teachings of many Maesters and veteran generals made him understand that the success rate of cavalry charging headlong into intact, unyielding infantry formations was not high. His experience managing the family's affairs made him even clearer on another point. Knights clashing directly with infantry, no matter the exchange ratio, would be a net loss in terms of cost. Considering the heavy casualties of the first wave's vanguard and their negligible disruptive effect, his most suitable choice at this moment should be to turn sharply like the previous wave of soldiers, sweep past the front of the enemy formation rather than plunging in headfirst, withdraw from the battlefield first, and then seek another opportunity.
Amidst the rumbling of hooves, the second wave of cavalry led by Garlan easily weathered a round of arrow rain and charged close to the enemy position. Before them, the Western Expeditionary Army formation, still neatly arrayed with a slight curve, began to become clear. Standing at the forefront, he could even discern the expressions of the first row of Westerlands soldiers, serious with a hint of nervousness.
He took a deep breath and suddenly made a decision.
Today was different!
This was a decisive battle that would determine the future of House Tyrell and the Reach. Victory meant everything, defeat meant nothing.
No matter how slim the chances of victory, no matter how heavy the price, he had to grit his teeth and press forward relentlessly.
Although the previous wave of cavalry had not achieved its original tactical objective, it had somehow completed the "cannon fodder" mission that yesterday's infantry bait had failed to accomplish, successfully drawing all of Daenerys's army's grapeshot fire upon itself. With the cannons requiring dozens of seconds to reload...
Although this was not the best time to fight to the death, he would absolutely not wait today for a second, better opportunity!
Garlan puffed out his chest and raised his lance high.
"Maintain speed, long live Highgarden!"
(To be continued.)
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