**Chapter 71**
**Conquering the Comanches (5)**
“The Mexican Empire is coming to take control of the buffalo herd?”
“Yes, they say there are 7,000 of them.”
“7,000 cavalry? The Mexicans are going all out.”
“If we lose the buffalo...”
The news that the Mexican Empire cavalry was gathering and heading towards the buffalo herd spread like wildfire. While many tribesmen were shaken, some saw this differently.
“No cavalry? This is our chance!”
“Right! We couldn’t properly plunder because we knew their cavalry would show up soon, but we can outmaneuver the defenders, right?”
It wasn’t a wrong statement.
Most of the casualties came from the Mexican Empire cavalry’s relentless pursuit and their firing of revolver pistols. The fact that the cavalry would arrive if they stalled slowed down their plundering.
While the increased number of defenders was a burden, if the cavalry didn’t come, wouldn’t plunder be successful? There were chiefs who thought that way.
“This is what it means to turn a crisis into an opportunity. Let’s go!”
“Hah!”
The spirit of challenging the crisis as an opportunity was admirable, but the result was not satisfying.
“400 died, and this is all we got?”
While the attempt to plunder fiercely without the time limit wasn’t a complete failure, many more warriors were unable to escape the village.
The spoils were ridiculously small compared to the sacrifice.
“Attend the tribal council.”
The messenger said.
“···I’ll go right away.”
The Comanche tribal council, delayed due to the recklessness of a few chiefs, was finally held. The elders rebuked them.
“Your rash judgment has wasted precious time we could have used to counter the Mexican Empire cavalry.”
“And you sacrificed warriors for nothing, with meager spoils.”
“We apologize.”
“···Now, let’s discuss a solution.”
A chief leading a large band among the Comanche tribe spoke up.
“Needless to say, we need to elect a War Chief.”
The word ‘war’ hung in the air.
The Comanche tribe had a tradition of selecting a special leader, the ‘War Chief’, during wartime.
They were the ones responsible for wars and specific military operations. They were recognized for their tactical abilities, bravery, and leadership, and they could command the entire Comanche, divided into dozens of bands.
The chiefs nodded, but Puhwihwakwasuu frowned.
‘It’s come to this.’
Fighting was their way of life. The Comanche’s unique belligerence created a culture that considered avoiding fights a disgrace. They didn’t even consider fleeing north to escape the Mexicans.
‘I’ll step forward.’
Puhwihwakwasuu actively campaigned for the position of War Chief. His band was of medium size, but his martial arts and judgment were already well-known throughout the Comanche.
“···I believe you’ll do well.”
Even his rivals vying for the War Chief position acknowledged him.
“You will carry on the glory of the Comanche.”
“Yes.”
Thus, he was chosen as the War Chief.
“Gather all those who can fight.”
His first order.
“···Yes!”
The phrase ‘all who can fight’ meant not only active warriors but all Comanche men, young and old, who were not too young or too old.
‘The damage inflicted by the plundering is too great.’
Each plundering resulted in the death of 200 to 500 warriors. The 10,000 warriors had dwindled to 6,500, and the enemy cavalry numbered 7,000.
‘To face those wielding those weapons, we need at least 10,000.’
He knew that fighting the Mexican Empire was a foolish choice, but he couldn’t go against the tide. He could only do his best.
‘The effective range of the revolver pistol is shorter than that of a bow.’
The difference wasn’t significant. Just slightly shorter. But that was enough.
The enemy cavalry seemed to be well-trained, skilled in horsemanship, but they couldn’t match the level of the Comanche tribe who had ridden horses since childhood.
‘We can win if we exploit the numerical advantage and that short range difference.’
The Comanche warriors could inflict damage on the enemy while maintaining that short range difference. The dozens and hundreds of groups of mounted archers could shoot at the enemy chasing other allied groups while escaping the enemy cavalry chasing them.
The enemy would drown in the whirlwind of mounted archers, unable to overcome the range difference until the very end.
News arrived that the Mexican Empire cavalry had chased away the Comanche band that had been hunting buffalo without knowing about them. Warriors scattered across Comancheria gathered.
Their number was 10,000, as Puhwihwakwasuu hoped.
Each one was a top-notch rider and archer who had lived with horses since childhood. Even their martial arts, honed for close combat, surpassed those of ordinary soldiers.
There were 10,000 such warriors.
“March!”
The 10,000 Comanche cavalry warriors marched towards the Mexican Empire cavalry.
***
Puhwihwakwasuu’s 10,000 cavalry and the Mexican Empire Crown Prince’s 7,000 cavalry faced each other on the plains.
The two armies, facing each other just 800 meters away, looked completely different despite both being cavalry.
The Mexican Empire cavalry, fully armored in leather, armed with revolver pistols, ample bullets, iron spears, and weapons.
In contrast, the Comanche warriors only had half of them wearing buffalo leather armor. They had plenty of arrows, but their weapons were bows, wooden spears, and stone axes, significantly inferior to those of the Mexican Empire army.
The Comanche warriors saw this clearly but were not intimidated at all. How many had they killed who relied on their good equipment?
“Begin.”
Puhwihwakwasuu commanded.
Dudududududu-
The Comanche cavalry, somewhat densely packed in formation, began to disperse instantly. But it wasn’t a complete chaotic movement of individuals. The 10,000 Comanche cavalry began to scatter into dozens and hundreds of groups.
The buffalo herd in the rear of the Mexican Empire army, already wary of the massive army, watched intently. When the Comanche warriors started running towards the Mexican Empire, they began to flee.
Dudududududu-
10,000 cavalry in front, and tens of thousands of buffalo in the rear, all moving together.
The ground trembled so violently that even standing still made one’s body shake.
“They’re using that tactic, as expected.”
“Yes, Your Highness, as you predicted.”
The Mexican Empire cavalry remained unfazed, maintaining their formation as if boasting of their high level of training.
“Dragones, dismount.”
“Dismount!”
Unlike cavalry, 2,500 soldiers wielding long rifles dismounted from their horses and began to form a formation.
On a very low hill in the plains, the Dragones soldiers began to aim their AR-33 (Eduardo breech-loading rifle, Model 1833).
When the enemy reached about 400 meters, the Crown Prince gave the order.
“Fire!”
The Crown Prince’s order was relayed to the commanders of each unit, and soon the firing began.
Tatatatatatang!
The Comanche cavalry, approaching with their bows drawn, fell down thud after thud.
The Crown Prince thought as he watched,
‘The effective range of a bow is 50 meters. A skilled archer might hit targets up to 60 meters. On the other hand, the effective range of a revolver pistol is 45 meters. They must have realized that 5 to 15 meter range difference. But the Dragones wouldn’t have known.’
Units that adopted a combat method of riding on horseback and dismounting to use rifles when necessary were called ‘Dragones’.
Dragones were not a formal unit in the Mexican Empire, but if you gave cavalry rifles and trained them, wouldn’t that be Dragones?
The effective range of the AR-33 was a whopping 400 meters.
Tatatatatatang!
The 2,500 temporary Dragones soldiers fired their rifles continuously, and the enemy was approaching rapidly with bewildered expressions.
Puhwihwakwasuu, the Comanche War Chief, hadn’t imagined this sight when he saw some of the enemy dismount.
‘I thought they were crazy, but this is what they were up to.’
“Scatter faster!”
Paddak-
Puhwihwakwasuu immediately issued a counter-order, grinding his teeth.
‘If they had a powerful weapon like a revolver, wouldn’t they be cautious?’
He blamed his own complacency in assuming they only had cavalry, but he started thinking of a solution.
‘We can’t retreat. The buffalo are still in the hands of the Mexicans. Gathering 10,000 warriors would be meaningless if we lose like this. The tribesmen wouldn’t understand.’
His body was riding a horse, but his brain was thinking non-stop. He had no choice but to fight. So, what should he do?
‘The swarm tactic might work against the enemy cavalry, but those guys with long guns will have a field day shooting us while we’re at it. We can’t win without taking them down.’
“Outflank! Hunt those guys who dismounted!”
“Hah!”
Dudududududududududu-
The Comanche soldiers were being shot at unilaterally, but their morale hadn’t broken. The enemy’s fire was certainly hitting the Comanche warriors, but it wasn’t easy for the Dragones soldiers to hit them as they scattered quickly and in perfect unison.
This was because infantry battles typically involved forming a barrage and attacking the enemy’s concentration points rather than carefully aiming at individual targets.
The sight of the Comanche cavalry splitting left and right after charging forward was spectacular.
Tatatatatatang!
Hihihihing-
Horses fell down one after another from the Empire army’s fire, but few Comanche riders fell with them. Instead, they jumped over the obstacles as if it were natural, outflanking left and right.
“Cavalry, charge!”
“Charge!”
With the Dragones just 200 meters away, dozens of cavalry groups clashed.
The Mexican Empire cavalry also began to move in squads and companies, responding to the dozens of groups of Comanche cavalry outflanking and approaching.
“Block them!”
Bang! Some groups collided with a real bang,
Pipiping!
Tatatang!
Some groups exchanged arrows and bullets as they brushed past each other before colliding.
The cavalry group led by the skilled warrior Mupitsukuupu was the former.
Bang! The two cavalry groups collided with a loud noise.
Mupitsukuupu struck the enemy cavalryman’s neck with an iron axe he had obtained through trade with the French.
Keck!
“Haha! Weaklings!”
It was a clash of wooden spears against iron spears, stone axes against iron weapons. And the enemy’s revolvers could be used effectively at very close range, unlike bows.
Naturally, the Comanche tribe suffered overwhelmingly more casualties overall, but there were quite a few who had iron weapons, and some overcame this with their superior horsemanship and martial arts.
Some used their incredible horsemanship to evade the enemy cavalry and charge towards the Dragones.
Mupitsukuupu and his dozen subordinates broke through the Mexican Empire cavalry that was blocking their approach to the Dragones.
“Let’s go! We’re going to kill those guys who are hiding in that safe place and shooting!”
“Hah!”
They charged bravely, but they felt something strange.
A circular defensive line with a radius of 100 meters was formed around the Dragones unit positioned on the low hill, and few had broken through it.
Naturally, the Dragones unit’s fire was concentrated.
Tatatatatatang!
Just 10 seconds after breaking through the encirclement, a barrage of fire of a different dimension than before hit Mupitsukuupu’s group.
Tatatatatatang!
Hihihihing-
The horses that were running at full speed fell and rolled over, and his subordinates were killed with broken spines.
Tatatatatatang!
All his subordinates were dead, and a bullet grazed Mupitsukuupu’s shoulder. Cold sweat began to flow down the back of the brave warrior. But he couldn’t run away now.
“Aaargh!”
The outermost infantrymen were now about 60 meters away.
He was the first to reach this distance.
He had the ability to accurately hit targets even at this distance.
‘Should I shoot an arrow? No, I need to get closer.’
He considered aiming an arrow at the enemy commander, who was clearly dressed in fancy clothes, but he was too far away, in the very center.
So, he would get closer. He would get close and smash his head with an iron axe. Just as he resolved that,
“Spear up!”
The Mexican Empire officer shouted.
“Yes!”
The soldiers raised the spears that were lying on the ground and aimed them. The ends were stuck in the ground.
In an instant, a forest of iron spears appeared in front of Mupitsukuupu (Mufitskupu).
“Damn it!”
He was a skilled rider, so he quickly turned his horse, but
Bang!
He couldn’t avoid the shot from 20 meters away.
The bullet pierced Mupitsukuupu’s chest.
Kheuk-
Mupitsukuupu (Mufitskupu) fell from his horse.
This novel is good <3
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