Wearing British clothes as a second-generation aristocrat

53. Battle of Asayer 7

The defenses of Asaye village were ultimately inferior to those of a proper bastion; there were no layers of fortifications or complex blind spots in its design.

Dugan ordered each company to work in shifts without stopping, especially the Indian soldiers who were good at physical labor. In less than two hours, the forward trenches had advanced nearly two hundred yards.

Some of the trenches near the village had already taken shape, firmly rooted in the open fields, becoming a solid forward outpost for the British army.

Dugan personally went to the front trenches, crouching low as he passed through the trenches until he reached an inconspicuous corner.

He raised his binoculars and carefully observed the Marata artillery positions in the village of Asaye, his gaze finally settling on an area inside the village wall.

That area was a blind spot for the Marata artillery. The rammed earth walls of the village blocked the view of the gun barrels, and no matter how the enemy adjusted their angle, they could not effectively strike this area.

"Pass on my order to have Captain Chrysler immediately bring two 6-pounder cannons and deploy them within this existing trench."

The messenger left in response, and shortly afterward, Captain Chrysler, accompanied by several artillerymen, quietly advanced two 6-pound cannons into the forward trenches.

But when he saw the deployment positions in the trenches and compared them with the angle towards the village, he immediately looked troubled. He quickly walked up to Dugen, saluted him, and said, "Colonel, you asked me to set up the artillery here, but it's impossible to fire it."

"Idiot, don't salute me," Dugan yelled. "Do you want me to get sniped?"

After Dugan finished his tirade, he remembered that it was still 1803, and the current rules of engagement stipulated that officers could not be shot without provocation.

This is different from the sniper tactics used during World War II.

Chrysler was taken aback, but Dugan quickly changed the subject.

"Why can't you shoot?" Dugan asked, frowning slightly.

Chrysler pointed at the cannons, then at the distant village of Asaye.

"You see, although this trench is in a blind spot for the enemy, the terrain is too low and there is a significant height difference between it and the village. The 6-pounder cannon has a fixed mount and a limit to its elevation adjustment, so it cannot reach the angle to fire into the village. Even if it is forced to fire, the shells will only land on the open ground outside the village and will not pose any threat to the enemy."

Dugan said, "Captain Chrysler, I know you're an expert in artillery tactics, but you're too rigid. There's never a fixed way to fight a war, and artillery isn't limited to use on gun carriages."

He bent down, pointed with his foot to the ground at the bottom of the trench, and ordered: "Immediately dismantle the artillery carriages, set up the cannons directly on the ground, remove the fixed-angle devices, and use them as mortars, firing shells into the village at the maximum elevation angle."

"Use it as a mortar?" Chrysler looked astonished and quickly tried to dissuade him. "Colonel, the 6-pounder is not a mortar. It doesn't have a special high elevation design. If you remove the gun carriage and put it directly on the ground, the firing accuracy will be completely lost. It will be impossible to aim at any specific target. At most, it can only fire shells randomly into the village and will not have any substantial killing effect."

In his view, this approach was absurd. Artillery without accuracy was like scrap metal. Rather than wasting shells, it would be better to deploy the artillery in the rear and continue to suppress the Marata artillery in the village.

But Dugan shook his head, his eyes resolute: "What I need is never precise killing. As long as we can get the shells into the village, we've already succeeded halfway."

Dugan explained, "The reason the Marata garrison is so confident is because they rely on the village's defenses and artillery advantage, believing that we cannot break through their lines or pose a threat to the village. As long as we can fire shells into the village, even without causing many casualties, we can break their psychological defenses, disrupt their morale, and make them realize that their defenses are not impregnable."

Upon hearing this, Chrysler, though still doubtful, dared not disobey the order any longer. He could only nod and immediately ordered the artillerymen to dismantle the gun carriages and place the two 6-pounder cannons steadily on the ground at the bottom of the trench. They then adjusted the gun barrel angles to raise the elevation as much as possible and aim them at the direction of Asayer village.

The artillerymen worked quickly and efficiently, and soon completed the deployment.

The two cannons were removed from their wooden carriages and planted directly in the soil, their muzzles raised high, aimed at the distant village.

"Load the shells!" Chrysler gave the order, and the artillerymen quickly moved to load solid shells into the breech, ready to fire.

"Fire!"

With Dugan's command, the two cannons roared in unison, the shells flying at extremely high angles with a piercing sound, tracing an arc as they plummeted towards the village of Asaye.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two loud explosions rang out in succession within the village. The shells landed in the thatched-roof area in the middle of the village, and flames shot into the sky instantly. A large hole was blown open in the thatched-roof houses, and rubble and thatch flew everywhere.

Fortunately, not many soldiers were gathered near the impact point, resulting in only minor injuries to a few soldiers and no large-scale casualties.

However, these two seemingly harmless shells caused quite a stir in the village.

On the earthen fort at the edge of the village, Chuck Garrison and Gardon Raoh witnessed the explosions of the shells within the village, and their expressions instantly turned serious.

Chuck abruptly raised his binoculars and stared at the British forward trenches, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"How could they possibly fire from that position? Did the British equip themselves with mortars?" Chuck, of course, had no idea that Dugan could come up with such a method, placing the cannon in a blind spot and firing shells into the village at a high angle.

"How is that possible? How could their cannons have hit the village?" Gadoun Rao's tone was somewhat panicked, his usual composure gone.

In his view, the defenses of Assaye village were impregnable, and the British army could not break through the lines at all. But now, the shells had landed directly inside the village, which undoubtedly shattered his understanding.

Chuck put down the binoculars, and his confidence began to waver.

He originally thought that as long as he held the position and relied on the advantage of artillery fire, he could wait for Bornsler's reinforcements.

But now it seems that the British army's tactics are far more flexible than he had anticipated.

"Mr. Prime Minister, the British trenches are complete," Chuck said. "They have found a way to break through our defenses. Although they don't have precision strikes, the village is only so big. As long as the British keep firing shells into the village, the soldiers' morale will be disrupted sooner or later."

Gadorn Raoh remained silent, his brow furrowed, his anxiety growing stronger.

Boom

Then, the two British cannons roared again, and shells flew toward Asaye village with a whooshing sound.

Although there were no major casualties, panic was spreading throughout the village.

While the Marathas' attention was drawn to the cannons, the white infantry, who had already rested, entered the trenches and arrived at their designated attack positions, ready to strike at any moment.