“Cavalry forces had been part of most warfare since people learned to domesticate and rode animals. At times, cavalry offered an advantage in mobility since the animals used as mounts were typically faster than the riders themselves. However, all too often it was the intimidation factor that many cavalrymen fell in love with.
The intimidation brought about by the act of a massive beast larger and at least several times their weight as it rushed headlong towards their enemies at full speed.” - Arvan de Galisco, Marquis of the Clangeddin Empire and a proponent for the increase of cavalry forces in the Empire’s armed forces, circa 318 VA.
“They’re making a move. Cavalry, only around a couple thousand as far as I can tell,” reported Reinhardt the moment he spotted movement amongst the enemy reserves further away from the battlefield. The high vantage point offered by his artifact which relayed the image from what the linked piece carried by Hannah above saw was very useful in cases like these.
“Just a probe, huh? No need to send out our cavalry in that case,” muttered Grafin Siobhan Harscape after a moment of thought. “Not that our cavalry can catch up to theirs anyway, not in this sort of terrain. Maybe if it’s more wooded or hilly.”
They had received reports from the south about the fighting down there. In the south, when the dwarven reinforcements arrived, the enemy cavalry was bogged down by the wooded terrain and were driven away by the dwarves as a result, even if they couldn’t inflict too much damage upon them. On flat terrain horses were just faster than the rams and rhinos the dwarves preferred, after all.
“Captain Edelstein, how about you have your platoon leader handle this?” suggested Nestor from the side. “You would be able to directly contact her if there are any further changes to the situation. As for troops, I will send a messenger to Damien to let her borrow two thousand of ours.”
“Much appreciated, Your Grace. I will contact Soledad in a moment,” said Reinhardt in thanks. He knew that it was an opportunity Nestor offered for his troops to show his mettle, though the fact that Soledad was distant cousins with the current Duchess of Dvergarder likely played a role as well.
Amongst the coalition army cavalry detachments, the dwarven contingent of fifteen thousand and Algenverr’s own fifteen thousand were the largest ones. Other than them, Kolitschei and Lovia-Hosberg combined provided another eight thousand or so, while the various mercenary groups totaled around two thousand more, giving them roughly twice as much cavalry as the opposing force.
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Compared to the opposition, however, their cavalry was less united and came in often disparate forms, which took more work and planning to use effectively. It was one reason Nestor specified for Soledad to assume command from amongst Algenverr’s contingent. At least that way most of the force would have the same sort of training and were used to working together.
After Reinhardt gave a moment for the messenger Nestor sent to reach Damien – who was with the cavalry – he contacted Soledad through the artifact and told her that she will have free reign over the battle, though he would warn her of any changes he noticed from the enemy side. By that point, the enemy’s two thousand cavalry had just started moving out of their formation.
Not five minutes later, over two thousand – Soledad’s platoon had grown quite a bit during their stay in Levain – cavalrymen rode out from the coalition army’s reserve formation as well. They approached the ongoing battle from the same flank the enemy cavalry was headed towards, just from the opposite side, clearly aiming for a clash.
As the cavalry passed by, Reinhardt noticed that Soledad had chosen entirely light cavalry for the two thousand she borrowed, riders who wore light armor on fast steeds, armed with javelins, sabers, and shields. Given how the enemy cavalry was harassing the left flank – held by Kolitscheian troops – of the battle using arrows that they fired from their bows as they passed by, it was not a bad choice by any means.
Soledad was clearly aware of the enemy’s habits although she had yet to fight against them so far. She gave the order as her riders were approaching the enemy’s arrow range and they raised their shields in unison to defend themselves. Since her riders caught the enemy cavalry as they were in the middle of an attack run, part of the enemy riders were riding away from them, others still riding towards them, and a small portion still making the turn.
It was those making the turn that Soledad aimed for.
Those enemies still peppering the coalition army’s left flank with arrows were likely unaware that Soledad and her riders were coming for them, their sight hindered by their own allies in front of them. Besides, their attention would be on the coalition troops they were shooting at. As for the enemy riders who already made the turn, they would similarly be looking in the wrong direction, since Soledad’s troops were behind them.
Instead, it was those enemies who were in the midst of making the turn who noticed them and passed the word, but it was difficult to pass the word to the commanders in time in such a moving cavalry formation. Those enemy troops who were aware of Soledad’s onrushing riders loosed some arrows in their direction instead, hoping that those arrows would act as a deterrence.
Other than a few unfortunate riders whose steeds were felled by those arrows, most of Soledad’s troops simply raised their shields and continued their charge. They kept coming until they were a mere sixty or so paces away from their enemies, where each of the riders at the front grabbed one of the javelins stowed behind their shields with their free hand and hurled it in a practiced movement.
It only took them a brief moment to complete the motion, and the next instant, the meager rain of arrows their enemies managed to subject them to was crossed by a deluge of larger javelins as each rider did their part as they reached sixty paces.