“It is always most interesting to witness combat between forces that could be considered to be diametrically opposed to one another. When you see fighting between two similar forces, it often comes down to which commander knew how to utilize their soldiers better, whose tactics and strategy prove superior.
On the other hand, when the forces involved were so different from one another, the commanders in question would have to get creative and think of solutions outside their usual ones to deal with the enemies they now faced. Those always prove more interesting and entertaining to watch.” - Libas “Witness” Bazaroff, bard renowned for singing songs related to battles he personally witnessed.
In response to the sudden deployment of the dwarven cavalry, the Imperial cavalry – all eighteen thousand or so of them that remained, at least – also deployed, splitting into two halves that each went for their respective side’s defense. The Imperial cavalrymen were all too aware by then that they likely stood no chance to stop the enemy charge, so they set course for a slashing attack against the incoming dwarven cavalry’s side instead.
At the same time, troops from deeper within the Imperial formation moved outwards and set up portable stakes that they set upon the ground, pointed towards the distant but incoming dwarves. Behind the makeshift stake fence, other Imperial soldiers brought out large tower shields – somewhat shorter than what the Coalition army’s soldiers used, but wider instead – that had spikes on its bottom and planted them into the ground, forming a barricade of overlapping shields.
Other Imperial soldiers connected three separate sections to form six-meter long pikes and laid them down over the top of the shield barricade, with several layers of pikes pointed towards the incoming dwarven cavalry. The foremost pikes even extended a good half meter or so over the stakes on the makeshift fence. IIt was a classical setup to face a cavalry charge, one could say, executed swiftly and proficiently.
Under normal circumstances, even trained warhorses tended to balk when forced to charge towards a forest of pikes and stakes like that. The cavalry would be forced to break off their charge for the most part, greatly reducing their lethality and leaving them open for retaliation. Sure enough, behind the layers of pikemen were archers who were already raining arrows towards the incoming cavalry, for whom the open flanks of the mounts would be easy targets when the enemy cavalry were forced to turn around.
Unfortunately for the Imperials, they were operating under the assumption that their tried and true tactic would function as intended even against enemies they had little experience with. The Imperial army only had little experience facing dwarven cavalry, as in the south they only faced them in a couple cavalry skirmishes before the news of the defeat up north reached them.
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They were aware that the dwarven “light” cavalry possessed greater force than their own but were slower, the equivalent of heavy cavalry, while they had no combat experience against the dwarven heavy cavalry or chariots other than the defeat suffered by the northern detachment. It was difficult to determine what was true and what was exaggerated from the testimonies of the fleeing survivors, which led to the fundamental mistake the Imperial army made.
For one, the dwarven heavy cavalry and chariots were nothing like anything they had ever faced before, and comparing them to regular heavy cavalry was a fatal mistake. The second mistake they made was using the same skirmishing tactics once more against the dwarves, who were quick to adopt countermeasures to their opponent’s tactics when they had the leeway to do so.
Also, while the Imperial’s anti-cavalry tactics were valid, functional, and effective, they were hardly the only ones who had the same idea. Other powers in Alcidea had developed similar tactics as well, and naturally the dwarves had been exposed to such tactics over time as well. They too developed their own countermeasures accordingly.
The shape of such countermeasures were easily noticeable when the Imperial army’s cavalry archers found themselves looking at rows upon rows of repeating crossbows held by the dwarven light cavalry riders by the time they entered their effective range. The Imperial army’s archers had greater accuracy and mobility, but those advantages felt useless against the heavy armor worn by the dwarves, while the quick-firing repeating crossbows made up for its relative inaccuracy with volume and plenty of power in return.
To make things worse, the dwarves seamlessly switched the riders on the outside of their formation’s flank for those further in once those outside emptied out their repeating crossbows. Their replacements immediately continued the barrage with their own crossbows, and the cycle repeated itself until the first ones rotated out had finished reloading their weapons and took their position once more, creating a seemingly seamless rain of bolts that caused heavy casualties amongst the Imperial army’s cavalry.
As for the anti-cavalry formation, the dwarven response was even more straightforward. Both the heavy cavalry riders and the charioteers simply urged their mounts forward at maximum speed and charged straight towards the enemy.
Their trained Rhinos closed their eyes – with a protective piece of metal falling over their shut eyes as they closed their eyelids – and simply rushed straight ahead under the guidance of the reins. Dwarves wielding long polearms scythed away part of the pikes awaiting them using their long weapons, while those armed with repeating crossbows rained down bolts towards the Imperial army formation.
Where the pikes met the charging rhinos, they broke and shattered. Even when the pike landed on flesh instead of armor, it barely managed to pierce through the rhino’s thick, sturdy skin and often bent from the force of the impact. Even the stakes were simply uprooted by the force of the charge of the beasts, then broken up under the metal wheels of the chariots they pulled behind them.
The result of the collision between rhinos that weighed at least a couple tons each against the Imperial shield formation was easy to imagine, as with a command from their riders the rhinos bent their heads down and struck the shields horn-first. Once their horn made contact, the beasts’ instinct took over and they raised their heads, easily hurtling away both the shields and the people behind them.
Some unfortunate Imperial soldiers even found themselves gored through by the rhino’s horns, their screams echoing over the battlefield while their body wriggled and cavorted where it was stuck, like a grisly trophy of some sort. Only when the Rhinos rammed into the next line and the dying soldiers’ bodies broke against their compatriots did the screams turn silent.