strictlysupreme Chapter 947 Confrontation
Chapter 947 Confrontation
Chapter 947 Confrontation
The Sassanids spent nearly half a month traveling the nearly 300-kilometer distance from Ctesiphon to Haditha.
Along the way, local Iqta nobles' armed forces and religious groups committed to holy war frequently joined the army. The army, which originally numbered 60,000, gained another 5,000 men as they approached Haditha.
Riding on a strong horse in the river, Ariataberg, accompanied by dozens of guards, gazed at the endless marching column behind him, which seemed to stretch to the ends of the earth along with the Euphrates River.
Thirty enormous war elephants led the procession. These war behemoths, fed with magical potions, had reached an unprecedented height of six meters, and their massive iron elephant towers on their backs resembled a mobile fortress.
These giant beasts were originally young animals purchased from South Asia by Bahram VI after Saladin's defeat, out of fear of the Frankish threat. They were then carefully cared for by spellcasters and grew into such terrifying behemoths in just three years.
In addition to being equipped with iron towers that could carry archers and riders, their heads and forelegs were also covered with iron armor, and one of their tusks was fitted with an iron blade more than two meters long.
Aside from that, their biggest improvement is in their personality.
Traditionally, war elephants have often served only as a deterrent to the enemy in battle. They are flashy but impractical, fear fire and injury, and are prone to going berserk. They often disobey their riders and turn around to charge their own troops.
But now these demonic elephants have completely abandoned these flaws. Their personalities have become more bloodthirsty, they eat large amounts of meat at every meal, and they fall into a state of complete frenzy during battle, where they feel no pain.
More importantly, the spellcasters who nurtured them enabled these behemoths to emulate falconers, establishing a spiritual connection with their riders, allowing them to understand their commands even in a frenzied state.
"The original war elephants were already terrifying enough, but I simply can't imagine who could counter these improved demonic elephants on the battlefield!"
Ariadnaberg has a particular fondness for these gluttonous monsters that consume large amounts of food every day. He even chose a demonic elephant as his "command post," believing that this would allow him to have a commanding view and a more comprehensive observation of the battlefield situation during battle.
In fact, even with traditional war elephants, the vast majority of enemies had no chance of resistance against them.
Those battles where fire and pain were used to make war elephants charge back at their own side are rare and thus all the more talked about by later generations.
The attendant beside him laughed and said, "If those ignorant Franks saw these demonic elephants, they would be scared out of their wits. I'm afraid they wouldn't dare to fight us and would just retreat from Hades and run away."
Ali was clearly pleased with the flattery of his attendants, but he still tried his best to appear humble: "We cannot underestimate the enemy. Saladin once had a giant army under his command. The fact that the Franks were able to defeat him is enough to prove that they are not weak."
"Indeed, the Franks are extremely fierce, but fortunately we have a brave and skilled general like General Ali."
"Once we defeat the Franks, General Ali will lead us to reclaim Persia and crush those hateful steppe barbarians!"
Everyone showered Ali with flattery, praising him as a rare general throughout history, unmatched by Saladin, Nur ad-Din, or Arslan.
Ali smiled and exchanged pleasantries with the many nobles.
Behind the elephant troops were the Sassanid cataphracts, the main force of this army.
The Sasanian army was renowned for its cavalry, a foundation established from the very beginning of the Sasanian Empire's rise to power, replacing the Parthian Empire as a cavalry superpower.
In addition, the Sassanids were surrounded by nomadic peoples, such as the White Huns, Alans, Turks, and Khitans…
This meant that even after hundreds of years, the Sasanian cavalry remained its core strength.
These armored cavalrymen were accompanied by squires who led packhorses and carried their equipment. Most of them were military nobles with fiefdoms, while a small number were wealthy citizens who could afford weapons, mounts, and servants.
These armored cavalrymen had formed a class, fighting as elite heavy cavalry in wartime, while their subordinates mostly served as light cavalry and auxiliary cavalry.
In this respect, Sasanian cavalry were strikingly similar to European fief knights.
As for the even larger infantry force behind the cavalry, they were mostly conscripted from farmers and urban residents, given simple training, and hastily sent to the battlefield with some outdated weapons.
Only a small number came from mountainous regions such as Armenia and Azharbaijan; they were elite heavy infantry.
Overall, the military system of the Sasanian dynasty was not much different from that of other European countries. The lords of Iqta were no different from European feudal lords in fact, except that they were nominally without hereditary rights.
In addition to these secular armed forces, General Ali also had some religious armed forces joining his ranks.
These religious groups are local Zoroastrian religious groups that rallied Ghazi warriors to participate in the holy war under the slogans of "resisting infidels" and "defending their homeland." Their equipment varied, but their strength lay in their unwavering will to fight.
At noon, when the walls of Haditha were already in sight, General Ali gave the order: "Gather supplies, set up camp, and send men to notify the surrounding villages to have their chiefs send supplies."
Flocks of falcons circled in the sky, monitoring the enemy's every move, but so far, no useful information had been transmitted.
It seemed that the Frankish cavalry in Haditha did not react at all to the arrival of his large army.
This inevitably made Ali feel uneasy: "Send the Undead cavalry to be on guard, put on their armor, take up their weapons, and your subordinates should also prepare for battle and not go to build camps. Be careful of enemy surprise attacks."
The attendants around him were somewhat puzzled: "The Franks are so few in number, yet they dare to be so presumptuous in front of our army?"
Ali coughed lightly: "The Franks are the most barbaric and arrogant. They have never been influenced by civilization, do not read military books, and do not follow the rules. These barbarians, who are only slightly better than the Tatars, fight with all their might. At first glance, they are indeed intimidating, but as long as we withstand their onslaught and remain undefeated, they will be the ones who are defeated."
The attendants added, "But our infantry is weak and we are afraid they will not be able to withstand the enemy's charge."
"It's alright, the Undead Army will step up when it matters!"
General Ali looked disdainful. Indeed, the Sassanid infantry could not be relied upon, but he had already made contingency plans. Since everyone could see that their weakness lay in the infantry, they would use these infantry as bait to lure the enemy into an attack.
Now that the enemy is outnumbered and we are outgunned, if the Franks dare to launch an attack, it will be exactly what he wants.
"But didn't His Majesty say that we should try our best to avoid any losses to the Undead Army?"
"As long as we can win, none of these are mistakes."
Ali sneered. His Undead Army and his Iqta cavalry were his main forces. If they didn't step up at crucial moments, what kind of war would they fight?
As for the promises made to Bahram back then?
He said slowly, "If we lose, even if I bring the Undead Army back intact, I will still have to take this head as an apology."
After saying this, he spurred his horse to the front of the battle line and began to observe the Franks on the city wall.
"These guys are really patient. From a distance, I thought they would have already run away."
Seeing the shadowy figures and throngs of people on the city wall, Ali couldn't help but laugh as he stood at a safe distance below the wall.
"It seems the Franks are also in awe of your reputation, General."
The well-placed praise made Ali feel very comfortable, and many of his previous worries were relieved: "It seems that these Franks are determined to rely on Haditha, this fortified city, for defense, and wait for their main force to come to their aid."
"To think we can use our city to hold off our army is utterly ridiculous!"
"Issue my order to summon the descendants of the craftsmen who built the city."
After he finished speaking, he seemed to have foreseen the fate of the Franks on the city wall and couldn't help but laugh: "The first battle between the Franks and Saladin, which was also the battle in which their emperor made his name, relied on a night raid on Saladin's camp."
"This time, I'm going to make these Franks taste this bitter fruit too!"
Beneath Hades lies a network of hidden tunnels, some part of the city's original sewer system, others serving as escape routes for the Sassanid nobles in case of emergency. Once night falls, he can launch a surprise attack that catches the Franks completely off guard!
But just then, the gates of Haditha in the distance creaked open.