Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Murad simply couldn't figure out how the mere 10,000 French troops managed to completely block the entire 5-kilometer-wide front line.

In desperation, he ordered the cavalry to form up and launch an attack on the nearest French infantry.

The French Hussars spotted the enemy approaching, and the hot air balloon in the sky had already sent a warning to the 14th Infantry Regiment.

The French infantry, originally in a double-row thin line formation, immediately began to change formation.

A few minutes later, 2,500 soldiers transformed into two hollow squares approximately 400 meters apart.

An additional reinforcement force composed of over a thousand French Chest Armor Cavalry and Hussars also rushed to the scene immediately.

Yes, Massena controlled the wide front battlefield in this manner.

Nine thousand French infantry were divided into five horizontal lines, with a 500-meter interval between each line, and cavalry connecting the arrays, spanning a total width of 5.5 kilometers.

This successfully compressed the Mamluk forces into a zone between the Nile River and a small desert.

Of course, the premise for this tactic to be effective was maintaining constant awareness of enemy movements and quickly mobilizing nearby troops to concentrate for a blockage.

The moment Murad's cavalry saw the hollow square, most of their morale had already vanished.

Although there seemed to be a large gap between the two squares, they dared not charge through, as it meant they would be riddled with bullets from both sides.

They were also at risk of total annihilation if the enemy cavalry engaged them halfway through.

Murad made a probing charge, but retreated hastily before the French Hussars even appeared, turning back north.

On the west side of Inbaba Village, over ten thousand Halaga infantry anxiously watched the "loosely formed" French troops approaching and raised their matchlock guns in unison.

They were a force composed of Egyptian freedmen and descendants of Mamluks without inheritance rights, typically considered a "second-line" military force supporting cavalry, unexpectedly participating in such a crucial battle today.

Ibrahim rode not far behind them, shouting loudly, "There are less than 3,000 French troops on the other side, the Lord will protect us" and similar statements.

After several rounds of suppressive fire from the French artillery, the French "infantry line" advanced from the front.

The officers of the Halaga infantry were still loudly warning their troops not to shoot prematurely when the French troops initiated a volley from beyond the range of 120 steps.

A bloodbath erupted immediately at the Mamluk position, with nearly a hundred people being shot down.

It's worth noting that at such a distance, the accuracy of flintlock guns was less than 1%, and matchlock guns even less so.

The French could shoot so precisely!

The Halaga infantry instinctively started firing back, only to find that the French line had "disappeared."

French soldiers quickly concealed themselves in grasses or behind trees, quickly reloading ammunition, showing no worry about the disorder of the line.

Upon seeing this, Mamluk Commander Abdullah decisively ordered a full attack—facing such a disorganized enemy formation, he believed he could rely on a strength advantage to break them frontally.

However, after the Halaga infantry advanced a dozen steps, they saw the French reverting to the same "loose" formation, with dense flashes of gunfire facing them.

Indeed, this was not a traditional infantry line but the latest "skirmish formation" attack mode by the French.

All the infantry stood dispersed and could seek cover anytime but maintained a consistent advancing speed to form a "loose" horizontal line.

In exchange fire, the enemy's shooting accuracy against skirmishers finding cover would be greatly reduced, but the French could still effectively target "fixed targets" opposite.

Should the enemy launch a melee charge, the skirmisher formation would immediately regroup into a standard line to resist.

This tactic, though seemingly simple, demanded extremely high soldier aptitude, with risk of utter chaos with any imprudence.

Dawu, responsible for the French front line, saw the Mamluks advancing and immediately ordered the troops to fire a volley on the spot.

Simultaneously, the French Mounted Artillery had set up firing positions at the left flank of the infantry.

Under the crossfire of rifled guns and six twelve-pounders, the Halaga infantry were mowed down before covering 40 steps.

Regardless of Abdullah's stern orders, no one dared to step forward. Hundreds on the right wing even began retreating.

Yet Dawu personally led the French skirmishers to launch another attack.

A little over ten minutes later, Abdullah's central corps collapsed amidst screams, with thousands of soldiers fleeing in terror into Inbaba Village.

By then, only about 40 minutes had passed since the engagement began.

By the time Murad arrived with the Mamluk cavalry, Ibrahim's main forces were already pushed to the Nile banks, on the verge of being completely annihilated.'

In a state of shock, he ordered a frontal assault, ignoring the extreme fatigue of the horses.

The French Chest Armor Cavalry, well-informed of the Mamluk cavalry's actions via the hot air balloon, timely appeared on their left flank.

Mula, holding a horse saber high, was the first to charge into the enemy's cavalry formation.

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Just a bit more, finished in 15 minutes. I'm terribly sorry.

The advancement of Russian artillery was initiated under Tsar Pavel, and continued to progress at the beginning of Tsar Alexander's reign. In 1802, a special committee designed a comprehensive reform plan for artillery. In 1804, a Temporary Artillery Committee was established by the Russian Army to consider reforms for fortress artillery. However, by February 1805, this committee was authorized to study new issues concerning field artillery. From that point, it began overseeing all scientific research, engineering, and testing related to artillery. [1] In 1803, the Russian Army thoroughly militarized its artillery train, marking one of the first significant reforms in Alexander's artillery. From then on, artillery train drivers were considered soldiers, no longer non-combat personnel (drivers of artillery carts and ammunition wagons had already become soldiers before 1803). [2] Even before the war began in 1805, significant advances in artillery equipment and training had already been made. Cannon designs were further simplified, their weight reduced, and size standardization rigorously enforced. In 1805, the Artillery Committee issued a complete set of artillery equipment blueprints, and copies were sent to various cannon foundries; this set of equipment later became known as the "1805 System." [3] The Russian Army designed a quarter-pound unicorn artillery for mounted artillery, slightly lighter than the quarter-pound unicorn artillery used by foot artillery. Due to the unwieldy size and weight of the original four-wheeled ammunition wagon, making them cumbersome in battle, [4] the Russian Army introduced a new two-wheeled ammunition wagon in 1803. The outer dimensions of the new ammunition wagons were identical regardless of type and caliber, with only differences in the number of internal compartments. Many foreign observers noted that the excellent design of Russian artillery and the good condition of the draft horse teams provided the Russian artillery with excellent mobility. After the 1807 campaign, Wilson wrote in his work about this campaign and the Russian Army: