Wearing British clothes as a second-generation aristocrat

50. Battle of Asayer 4

The stirring military music still echoed across the wilderness. Colonel Orak ignored all the advice from those around him and urged his troops to advance straight toward Asaye village.

Inside the village of Asaya, the Maratha garrison, already on high alert, showed no mercy upon seeing the British lines charging towards them.

Forty cannons of various sizes quickly turned their muzzles, their dark muzzles all aimed at the open, unshielded plain. With deafening roars, a barrage of solid shot and grapeshot rained down.

The flat, open plains became a death trap for the British soldiers. Without trenches or trees to protect them, the whistling artillery fire slammed into the charging ranks.

In the blink of an eye, soldiers in the front ranks fell in droves, their blood and flesh mixed with dirt flying everywhere. Large gaps appeared in the charging red tide of people, and shrill screams rose and fell. The terrible casualties spread in an instant.

Orak, mounted on his warhorse, looked increasingly grim, yet he gritted his teeth and refused to order a retreat, forcing his troops to continue advancing.

To be fair, Colonel Orak was indeed very brave.

Although he didn't shout "Charge with me!" like political commissars in later generations, he, like most mid-level officers of that era, rode his horse behind his infantry and never left the sight of his men.

Even when a shell broke Colonel Orak's horse's leg, Colonel Orak still treated himself as an infantryman, advancing with his infantry line while shouting and cheering to boost the morale of his soldiers.

Colonel Stevenson, watching from a distance, was observing the battle through binoculars.

He spotted the charging troops ahead and saw a familiar military flag.

Stevenson's pupils suddenly contracted.

He immediately recognized that the infantry company at the forefront, suffering the heaviest casualties, was his old subordinate from the 74th Infantry Regiment, but was later assigned to Orak's command after the unit was reorganized and reassigned.

Watching these young men who had fought alongside him fall one after another in the gunfire, their vibrant figures lying in pools of blood, Stevenson felt as if a boulder was pressing down on his heart. He simply couldn't bear to stand by and watch the soldiers he had trained die in vain.

Stevenson finally couldn't hold back any longer and sternly ordered his adjutant, "Send word: all troops to attack and support Orak's forces from the flank!"

"Yes, sir."

Stevenson's troops quickly assembled and marched in orderly formation toward the battlefield south of Asaye village, voluntarily joining the perilous assault.

"Why is Colonel Stevenson involved in the battle?" Dugan, who had been quietly observing the situation, had no idea why Colonel Stevenson had joined the fight.

However, now that Stevenson has led his troops into battle, if he remains inactive, regardless of the outcome of this battle, it will have a huge negative impact on his relationship with Stevenson and Olak.

Since the current situation has deviated from the original plan, there is no point in sticking to the original deployment.

Dugan quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind, made a decision immediately, raised his hand and loudly ordered McKenzie and the officers: "The entire 108th Infantry Regiment will move out and launch an attack from the south, coordinating with friendly forces to flank the Asayemaritans!"

"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Colonel McKenzie immediately relayed the operational orders.

At a single command, the 108th Infantry Regiment, which had been fully equipped and ready for action, sprang into action.

The 108th Infantry Regiment had its own artillery, and Captain Chrysler immediately ordered his artillery to fire on the Maratha artillery positions in the village of Asaye.

Although Captain Chrysler had fewer artillery pieces than the Marathas, he cleverly ordered every four cannons to fire at a Maratha position, creating a local numerical advantage.

Captain Chrysler is not Yu Beichen; he wouldn't be able to arrive at a calculation like, "If the hit rate of each gun is 25%, then the hit rate of four guns firing together is 100%."

According to Captain Chrysler's calculations, under these tactical conditions, if the hit rate of one gun is 25%, then the hit rate of four guns firing at one target is about 68%.

However, this tactic is indeed effective.

The Chrysler artillery provided suppressive fire against the Marathas artillery positions.

With the frontal pressure reduced, the British infantry began to advance rapidly.

In an instant, the British army formed a two-pronged offensive, advancing from the north and south. The two armies, one in the north and one in the south, supported each other and encircled the Maratha garrison stationed in the village. What was originally a one-sided and fierce charge instantly turned into a large-scale frontal battle.

On the Jutte front, French Colonel Paulman, who was in command, stood on a high point and watched as the British army suddenly reinforced its troops, pressing in from both the north and south. The pressure on the originally solid defense suddenly surged, and the defense line was under strain everywhere. His heart sank.

"Wellesley, what exactly do you want?"

Polman had always believed that Wellesley's main attack was on his side, but judging from the current battlefield situation, it seemed that two fronts were attacking simultaneously, and he couldn't tell which was the main attack direction.

Faced with attacks from both the north and south, Polman's existing forces were gradually becoming overwhelmed, and urgent requests for reinforcements were frequently coming from various positions on the front lines.

Knowing the situation was critical, Polman dared not delay any longer and immediately wrote an urgent letter requesting reinforcements, which he sent by fast horse to the rear camp. He urgently requested reinforcements from General Bornsler, the main force of the Maratha coalition, and pleaded with him to immediately lead his main force to the aid of the Asaye battlefield.

After the messenger rode away, Polman gazed at the distant, sprawling battle lines, his brow still furrowed with solemnity and worry.

The Maratha coalition's front line is now extremely long, requiring troops to be stationed at various strongholds, making troop deployment extremely slow.

Bornsler's main camp was far from Asayer, and the route involved troop movements through several outposts. Even if they marched day and night at full speed, it would take at least a full hour for reinforcements to reach the battlefield in Asayer.

Actually, Wellesley himself was also confused at this point. Why was Asaye's side also fighting so fiercely?

Could it be that the Marathas guarding Asaye village launched an attack on their own initiative?

If that's the case, then our rear and flanks are in danger.

However, soon after, the messengers of Orak, Stevenson, and Dugan arrived one after another.

Wellesley then realized that Orak had misunderstood his orders and had launched an attack on the Marathas of Asaye village.

However, Dugan and Stevenson could not bear to watch their comrades die in vain, so they were forced to join the battle.

"Now that the dice have been rolled, let's leave everything to God!" Wellesley didn't have time to blame Orak at this point.

At this point, the battle between the British army and the Marathas entered a critical phase.

Wellesley's horse was knocked down twice. The first time, it was knocked over by a cannonball. After Wellesley changed to another horse, it was stabbed down by a spear by a Maratha artilleryman.

Despite Wellesley's leading role in the battle, the Marathas, pushed to the banks of the Joah River, were completely overwhelmed by the combined attack of the valiant cavalry and the victorious infantry in the center, and the rest of them scrambled to escape across the river.

However, Farzana, the Indian mercenary leader who supported the Marathas throughout the battle, also performed exceptionally well. Her men nearly destroyed the entire 74th Hill Infantry Regiment, and they also successfully halted the British light cavalry charge, allowing the retreating Marathas allies to withdraw from the battlefield smoothly.