The first shot from the cannons usually serves as a ranging shot, especially for the high-trajectory mortar cannons. Adjusting the angle of the cannon barrel based on where the ranging shot lands is a necessary step.
However, one of the cannonballs happened to land right inside the pirates’ defensive position.
The explosive power of black gunpowder isn’t particularly great, only knocking down the two pirates who were closest. But flying shrapnel embedded itself in the chests and abdomens of both men, splattering blood all over the pirates nearby.
Before the pirates could react, the Guard Corps had already issued another round of artillery fire.
Based on the errors from the last round, the gunners made adjustments. This time, more than half of the cannonballs fell accurately into the midst of the pirates, immediately resulting in more sprays of blood.
After several rounds of bombardment, a Major also landed on the beach in a small boat.
He frowned as he looked at the harbor fortifications ahead that were continuously firing, thankful that the pirates’ gunners were not very skilled and had yet to hit the Guard Corps directly, but he knew it was only a matter of time before they got lucky.
The Major immediately pointed at the several hundred pirates defending the beachhead and said to the orderly officer,
“Launch the assault immediately.”
“Yes, Commander!”
As the command flags went up and down, the drummers of the Guard Corps came to the front of the formation, aligned with the commanders of the units, and began to beat their drums, stepping forward.
The soldiers behind followed in step, entirely ignoring the disorderly musket fire from the pirates.
By the time the first batch of seven companies landed on the beach reached within 70 paces of the pirates, not a single one had been shot.
“Halt—”
The officers, following the command flags, consecutively shouted orders:
“Present arms!”
“Aim!”
“Fire!”
A volley of gunshots immediately erupted from the line of the Guard Corps. On the pirates’ side, a wave of screams followed, as more than ten men collapsed on the beach.
The pirates, already in disarray from the bombardment, were now even more chaotic. The sporadic gunfire that once rose and fell had turned into a scant, scattered sound.
The Guard Corps’ second rank stepped forward three paces and, at the commander’s order, fired another volley.
In this way, alternating fire and advancing, they quickly closed the distance with the pirates to less than 40 paces.
The Guard Corps outnumbered the pirates to begin with, and used percussion cap guns, which had a faster reload speed and greater firepower; their training levels were also far above those of the pirates. Thus, in the continuous exchange of fire, the pirates suffered over a hundred deaths, and those remaining began to flee the field in panic.
In contrast, only four or five unlucky soldiers from the Guard were hit.
Finally, the psychological defenses of the pirates collapsed completely under the overwhelming and oppressive momentum of the adversary’s neatly ordered, solemn ranks.
After one more synchronized volley from hundreds of Auguste-style caplock guns, four or five hundred pirates, with white head scarves and wearing variously colored long robes, yelled, “It’s over! It’s all over! Run for it!” They tossed their weapons aside and turned to flee towards the town behind the harbor.
On the Guard’s side, they rapidly dismantled the spiked barricades. Meanwhile, more soldiers arrived on the beach in speedboats, and three four-pounder cannons were also brought ashore.
After a brief formation, the two infantry battalions and an artillery company quickly bypassed the slope behind the port’s coastal battery and encircled it from a distance.
By then, the pirates around the battery had long fled. Bertier had already landed on the shore, looking relaxed as he observed the coastal battery situated on the high ground, contemplating how to attack with the least loss—without the cover of infantry, the battery was not particularly frightening. Using skirmishers for the assault, accompanied by cannons for distraction, they could take it easily.
Just then, several enthusiastic young military academy officers came running over, saluting with some excitement:
“Commander, please let us take the coastal battery!”
Stay updated with empire
“We will not let you down!”
Bertier looked through his telescope at the pirates on the battery firing chaotically, and nodded:
“Alright, go and earn your glory, lads!”
“Yes, Commander!” The two young officers exchanged excited glances and swiftly returned to their respective companies, and soon the sound of the military drums rose, with the soldiers quickly forming into more than ten assault columns.
At the same time, three cannons began providing covering fire.
Not far away, Davout, upon hearing that the military academy officers were about to launch an assault, felt his competitive spirit stirred and also applied to Bertier to participate in the takeover of the coastal battery.
If Joseph had seen this scene, he would have exclaimed that it was a terrible waste—this was Marshal Davout, one of the three great warriors under Napoleon, and he was about to take on such a dangerously risky task of attacking the battery!
However, every famous general has had their youthful moments; without being tempered in the hail of bullets, how could one acquire rich battlefield experience? Even a young Davout was no exception.
This was also one of the key reasons Joseph had sent them to North Africa.
In fact, the intensity of the North African campaign was much lower compared to Europe, and it was indeed the safest place to accumulate combat experience.
After a moment’s thought, Bertier consented to the request of the freshly graduated officer, instructing him and another company to provide backup for the military academy students. If the students failed to penetrate the coastal battery, they would initiate the second wave of attacks.
Davout returned to his company at top speed, leading his soldiers to join forces with the military academy students responsible for the assault, and arranged themselves in a skirmish line following behind to their side.
Soon, the columns led by the two companies of military academy students charged up the slope, heading straight for the pirates’ coastal battery at the top of the incline.
The pirates also noticed the movement of the Guard Corps and hastily assembled more than 150 men to pour out of the coastal battery, forming a line on the slope in a rushed and disorganized manner. This was all the force the battery had left.
Unlike what is often portrayed in films and television, if the defenders keep coiled up within the battery, the attackers could quickly enter the cannons’ blind spot and eventually dismantle the battery’s firing points bit by bit.
The most sensible defensive tactic was to use the infantry to hold the enemy while taking advantage of the battery’s firepower to inflict casualties, ultimately repulsing the enemy.
However, the pirates had barely managed to form their messy lines when two hundred military academy students had already charged to within seventy or eighty steps of them. Although the cannons on the battery had been firing nonstop, the pirates’ poor aiming meant that very few shots had actually hit their targets.
The pirates at the base of the battery had only managed two volleys when they heard the military academy students shout, “In the name of the Crown Prince,” charging with bayonets fixed to their caplock guns.
Davout then ordered his soldiers to fire a round of covering volleys.
The Tunisian Navy might handle bullying sailors on merchant ships, but faced with such an overwhelming and fearsome elite force, they couldn’t muster even a sliver of resistance.
Their defensive line collapsed in an instant. The pirates howled as they fled back into the coastal battery, but many didn’t even have time to run and simply dropped their weapons and knelt to surrender.
Such coastal batteries are generally built on very high ground, but the structure itself is not very tall, usually only about the height of a two-story building.
Davout watched, eyes wide, as the military academy students climbed the battery like hungry wolves, occasionally throwing down a few pirates’ bodies, envying them so much that his eyes turned red with yearning—for that was the supreme honor of being the first to breach the enemy stronghold, and it had eluded him…