Wearing British clothes as a second-generation aristocrat

52. Battle of Asayer 6

"Major Dugan, are you planning to use the Vauban siege method?" Colonel Stevenson immediately understood Dugan's intention.

The Vauban siege method, also known as the trench siege system, is a field position system proposed by the French military engineer Sébastien Leprestre de Vauban. It uses multiple trenches to achieve firepower advancement and is used to break through the defenses of fortresses.

The system requires engineers to dig the main trench (first parallel trench) outside the range of the defending troops, and then advance towards the fortress along the zigzag (snake-like) branch trenches (communication trenches), eventually deploying artillery at close range to carry out the attack.

Orak replied, "Of course I know about the Vobon siege tactic, but we have fewer troops than the enemy. Can we really use this method against them?"

Dugan said, "I admit that, according to Vauban's theory, taking down a heavily fortified bastion would require seven times the enemy's forces or two months of time. But our situation is different now."

Dugan then pointed to the distant village of Asayer and said, "First of all, the place we're attacking isn't a bastion with a complete defensive system, it's just a village. Secondly, we don't need, nor do we have, two months, because as soon as General Wellesley wins, he can quickly attack the enemy in front of us from the flank. All we need to do is hold them off."

Colonel Stevenson thought Dugan's point made sense, so he said, "I agree with Colonel Dugan's proposal."

Orak himself couldn't think of any good solutions, so he nodded in agreement.

With the agreement reached, the three colonels quickly agreed to abandon the reckless approach of a direct assault and immediately began construction, digging trenches in sections along the dry ancient riverbed, steadily advancing towards Asaya village.

Orders were relayed down through the ranks, and the British soldiers, having finished their rest, immediately sprang into action.

The soldiers had a clear division of labor: Indian soldiers used entrenching tools to dig earth and were responsible for piling up the excavated soil to form breastwork fortifications.

White soldiers stood guard with guns.

It must be said that Indians are adept at physical labor. With their hard work, trenches of varying depths and patterns stretched forward along the terrain, like lurking snakes, silently approaching the village.

The battle lines were no longer filled with deafening battle cries; instead, the sounds of shoveling dirt rose and fell. The British troops were no longer in a hurry to charge, but instead used the trenches as cover to steadily close the distance. The originally deadly open area of ​​500 yards was gradually eroded and shortened.

On the earthen fort at the edge of Asaye village, Chuck Garrison kept a close eye on the movements of the British army with his binoculars all day long. As a veteran soldier, Chuck immediately noticed something unusual.

The British troops, who were originally ready to launch an attack at any time, hesitated and instead began to build extensively in the open field, with trenches extending forward. His face suddenly darkened, and he instantly saw through the enemy's tactics.

"Oh no, the British are going to use the Vauban siege method to besiege and advance."

Chuck also gave a brief explanation to Gardon Rao beside him.

The Vauban siege method is currently the most mature and standard siege tactic in Europe. Its core is to advance layer by layer by digging parallel trenches, trenches facing each other, and concealed passages, relying on earthen fortifications to gradually compress the defenders' space of movement, advancing step by step to the city walls, avoiding direct artillery fire, and finally launching a general assault. It is the most reliable tactic for besieging fortified villages in modern times.

This tactic has a strict prerequisite: the attacking force must be at least seven times the size of the defending force, relying on manpower to continuously advance and wear down the defending forces.

The situation is now completely reversed. Cindy's troops stationed in Assaya number over ten thousand and are equipped with a sufficient number of artillery pieces. The British forces, which are combined from three directions, are far outnumbered by the enemy. The defenders clearly have an absolute advantage in numbers, and logically speaking, the British should be unable to implement this siege tactic.

But Chuck knew the stakes better than anyone else.

The greatest advantage that Asaye Village relied on to defend itself was the open, unprotected wilderness in front of the village, which allowed it to inflict heavy casualties on charging enemy troops with long-range artillery fire.

Once the British trench fortifications were fully in place, and the soldiers moved steadily forward from within the trenches, the Marathas' artillery would find it difficult to inflict widespread casualties, and their volleys of fire from higher ground would be greatly reduced. The village's unique defensive advantage would be instantly diminished by more than half.

The situation was urgent, and Chuck immediately turned to Gardon Raoh and solemnly advised, "Prime Minister, we cannot let them continue digging! Please immediately dispatch elite infantry and a detachment of light cavalry to harass the British forces before their fortifications are fully established, disrupt their earthworks, and halt their trench advance!"

After a moment's thought, Gadoun Rao approved the proposal and immediately dispatched several thousand infantrymen, along with a squad of Maratha light cavalry, to march out of Asaye village and head straight for the British positions in the open field where they were busy digging trenches.

"They've come as expected." Dugan saw through his binoculars that the Maratha army had stormed out of the village and into the open field, which was exactly what he had anticipated.

However, open ground is fair.

The British standing on this open ground would become easy targets for the Marathas, and the Marathas coming to this open ground would also become easy targets for the British artillery.

Captain Chrysler, who did not gain any advantage in the artillery duel, had already set up temporary gun positions in advance, with the gun muzzles firmly locked onto the entire open plain.

As soon as the Maratha troops rushed out of the village and stepped into the open field, they were instantly exposed and became the most conspicuous live targets for the British artillery.

Boom boom boom

Before they could get close to the trenches, the British artillery opened fire first.

The 108th Infantry Regiment did not fire solid shot, but rather shrapnel shells.

The cannonballs roared out and exploded among the charging Maratha troops. Gravel bullets swept in all directions, and infantrymen at the front fell to the ground in droves, while cavalrymen were also hit by bullets and fell from their horses one after another.

Without the shelter of the village, the Maratha soldiers had nowhere to hide on the flat plains, and their casualties rose sharply. They suffered heavy losses before they could even reach the British trenches, and had to retreat back to the village in disgrace.

For the next hour or so, the Marathas launched several raids outside the city, all to the same end. Each time, they failed to get even a step closer to the British trenches before suffering heavy losses under the intense artillery fire and retreating back into the village in disarray.

After several consecutive raids ended in utter defeat and the troops sent out suffered heavy losses, Gadorn Raoh felt increasingly distressed as he watched the constantly reported casualty figures, and gradually lost the patience to take the initiative to fight.

When Chuck came again to suggest sending troops out of the city to interfere, Gadorn Raoh shook his head and refused, his attitude very firm: "There's no need to send anyone out to die in vain. There's no cover in the open field, so sending out any number of people will only result in their deaths. Rather than taking the initiative to leave the city and suffer losses, we should rely on the fortifications to hold our ground and wait for reinforcements, and patiently wait for General Bornsler's army to arrive and join us."

No matter how much Chuck tried to persuade him, Gardon Raoh refused to send another soldier out of the city.

Seeing that the head coach was determined to hold the position and not come out, Chuck Garrison could only sigh helplessly and give up.

From then on, the battlefield of Asaye fell into an eerie calm.

The Maratha garrison in the village remained closed and held their ground, only defending and not attacking, watching helplessly as the British trenches continued to extend forward day by day.

The British troops on the open field were no longer disturbed. The soldiers dug trenches and steadily approached the village, closing the distance little by little.