The attacking and defending sides were like playing a game, constantly throwing stones and arrows at each other, and the other side could easily use the stones and arrows they picked up to launch a fierce counterattack.
However, the environment of the battlefield was more complicated, and not all stones and arrows could be used. Some stones fell into the moat, some fell outside the city walls, and some shattered because they hit the ground and could not be used anymore.
The situation with the arrows was the same. Some of the arrows were broken by the swords and sabers of the soldiers, some were broken by the angry soldiers when they entered the bodies of the soldiers, and some fell into a position that was difficult to retrieve. Overall, there were still losses, but the rate of loss was far less than in the future.
The attacks were extremely fierce, but the casualties were not too many. Only in this way could the war continue. If more than half of both sides were killed or injured, then the war could not continue. Because all the people would be killed, naturally, the war could not continue.
The continuous and fierce battle consumed the physical strength of the soldiers, and after the physical strength of the soldiers decreased, the reaction speed of the soldiers would also decrease. Therefore, after fighting for a while, both sides began to withdraw their troops, and let the fresh troops continue to fight. This way, the previous soldiers could recover their physical strength, and thus, they could continue to fight.
There was a saying that many a little makes a mickle. Although the casualty rate in the fierce battle was not high, as time passed, the number of casualties accumulated to a relatively large number, and the damage of various siege weapons also increased. In short, it made people feel the cruelty of war.
Altik personally went to the north gate to inspect the soldiers, and brought delicious food for the soldiers.
Because of the reinforcements of two thousand soldiers and horses, the soldiers guarding the north gate were up to five thousand, but now, there were not that many people left. As the casualties continued, in just one morning, there were already more than five hundred casualties, and among them, there were more than a hundred who died.
Although this was not a huge loss, it was only a morning after all. If it took ten days to half a month, wouldn't all the guards at the city gate be exhausted?
This was a very realistic problem, but they had to defend. If they did not defend, the enemy outside the city would attack into the city, and then they would be finished. Moreover, they had to continuously counterattack to eliminate the forces outside the city.
"We've lost over 500 people in just one morning. This is too much. We should think of a way to reduce the casualties."
Altik was very dissatisfied with the number of casualties. He felt that the sacrifices were too great. If the battle continued like this, all five thousand men would be wiped out in a few days.
"City Lord, the enemy has suffered more casualties, at least one to two thousand people. Our army has a great advantage."
The subordinate said.
Another subordinate opened his mouth and said, "City Lord, many of the enemy's vanguard are commoners who were captured from nearby areas. These casualties include commoners. In addition, the total number of soldiers outside the city is close to 40,000. Even if the enemy's casualties are two or three times more than ours, we can't afford it. The casualties are simply too great."
Altik shook his head and said, "This kind of battle is really boring. It will only increase the casualties. I really hope that this war of attrition will end soon."
"City Lord, I'm afraid we don't have a choice. Ziyad received a death order and actually launched a strong attack without caring about the casualties. Moreover, they have new siege weapons added to the siege. From the direction of the enemy's camp, new siege weapons are constantly being transported over. Our army is under great pressure. The first trench is about to be filled by the enemy. The enemy is very efficient. I estimate that they will only need two days to fill up the trenches and barricades. After that, only the moat and barricades will be left."
The subordinate said.
Altik opened his mouth and said, "You should think of a way to reduce the casualties and cause more casualties to the enemy. At the same time, you should slow down the progress of the enemy's siege."
Several subordinates looked troubled. Obviously, this was not an easy task. They had applied all the methods they could think of, but they still could not avoid casualties. Moreover, because the siege troops had a large number of arrow-blocking carts and huge shields, it was difficult for their attacks to cause too many casualties to the troops outside the city.
"City Lord, the Tang dynasty's artillery is very powerful. If it can be used, it will definitely cause more casualties to the enemy. Why don't we let the Tang dynasty's artillery join the battle?"
One of the subordinates said.
Altik thought for a moment and shook his head. "Forget it. Let the soldiers hold the fort first! The Tang dynasty's artillery only has five cannons, and they don't have enough ammunition. It's too wasteful to use them in this situation. Once the ammunition runs out, we won't have enough weapons to deter Ziyad. It's better to use these weapons at the critical moment! "
Obviously, Altik was reluctant to use the most powerful force. The Tang dynasty's artillery was too small. He was worried that after the Tang dynasty's artillery ran out of ammunition, there would be no more powerful weapons to threaten Ziyad. At that time, Ziyad could attack even more crazily. In addition, he was very regretful. It would be better if he had asked for more artillery and ammunition from the Tang dynasty. If he had 50 cannons, he would not have to worry so much. Of course, Ang Lee would not agree to give Altik 50 cannons. If Altik's force was too strong, it would violate the interests of the Tang dynasty. It was not in the interests of the Tang Empire to have either side dominate.
"City Lord, even if we don't let the Tang dynasty's artillery join the battle, we can ask them for advice on defense. Maybe the Tang dynasty has better ways to defend the city and reduce casualties."
One of his subordinates said.
Ziyad nodded with satisfaction and said, "That's a good idea. You can communicate with the Tang dynasty's soldiers at any time and ask them about good ways to defend the city."
"Yes, sir. I'll prepare it right away."
The subordinate replied.
In fact, the Tang dynasty had helped them in every way they could. They had almost thought of all the ways they could think of. If it were not for the help of the Tang Empire, how could they have such a huge fortification? It was all thanks to the Tang Empire.
Of course, it was not a problem to propose solutions according to the actual situation. The Tang dynasty's soldiers could propose solutions according to the actual casualties.
A few miles outside the city, Ziyad was still watching the battle bitterly. This battle was his last attack on Maia City. No matter whether it was successful or not, he would not attack a second time because the logistical pressure was too great. Besides, this battle was bound to be disastrous. After this battle, he would not continue to carry out the order to attack the city even if he disobeyed it. At worst, he would rebel.
"General, our army has been attacking for the whole morning. We've changed three batches of soldiers. The casualties are almost 2,000. This is too great. We haven't even broken through the first trench. Our progress is too slow. Do we really have to take it step by step?"
The subordinate said.
Ziyad said, "The casualties are only 2,000. Half of them are civilians nearby. The real casualties are at most 1,000. I want to push forward step by step so that we can fight steadily and reduce the casualties of our soldiers. If we can't completely flatten the trenches on the way, it will cause great difficulties for our army. We must flatten these trenches before we can attack further. You must know that the enemy's defense is very tight. If we take the risk to cross the trenches directly, even if we rush to the city wall, we will be annihilated very quickly.
Therefore, we must use the least we can do. "Obviously, this strategy was the best that Ziyad could think of. He was not a general who was good at attacking cities. The Khorasan cavalry was good at fighting in the wild. Attacking a city was always the last option. Unfortunately, their enemy, Altik, was hiding in the city and would not come out. They were constrained by the lack of provisions and could not outlast the enemy. Since they could not outlast the enemy in terms of provisions and had to attack the city, they might as well use their military strength. Anyway, he now had the initiative. He could capture civilians from the surrounding area at any time and force them to participate in the siege. In this way, he could further reduce the losses of his troops to the lowest level.
This was because there was a stone mountain not far from the city. A large amount of stones could be mined from there. As long as there was a continuous supply of stones, the fierce siege could continue. This was not a problem at all.
In order to cause more damage to the defending troops, some of the archers took the risk of crossing the first trench and entering the second trench. They looked at the trenches and shot arrows directly at the top of the city wall. Because they were closer to the city wall, the effect of the attack was better. Of course, because they were closer to the city wall, it was easier for them to be attacked. Therefore, the pros and cons were the same.
However, what made the defending troops depressed was that the trenches that they had painstakingly dug had become natural barriers for the enemy archers. This was something that they did not want to see.
There were more than a hundred archers who took the risk to enter the second trench. However, there were only twenty archers who entered the third trench. They entered different positions, which greatly increased the pressure on the defending troops. Some of the soldiers who were aiming at the enemy soldiers in the second trench were suddenly shot by the flying arrows from the first trench. There were even many who died.
The parapets and trenches could protect the soldiers' bodies, but the soldiers' arms and heads could not be protected. This was because when shooting the enemy, the head must be exposed. The neck and arms were also exposed, and these parts were easily attacked. Most of the casualties were from these parts. The head and neck were especially fragile. Once they were shot, they would be seriously injured or even killed.
The most fragile part of the soldiers' bodies had to be exposed during the battle. This was indeed very frustrating. There was no good solution. They could not let the soldiers shoot blindly. If they shot blindly, the probability of hitting the enemy was too small. It was simply a waste of arrows.
If all the archers hid and did not shoot at the attacking troops, they would fall into a passive situation. The soldiers on the city wall could only endure the stone attacks from time to time.
The more serious situation was that if the defending troops stopped attacking, the troops outside the city would be able to attack very calmly. The speed of the attack would be much faster. Moreover, the archers outside the city would not attack indiscriminately if they did not find the enemy. They would set up ladders to cross the moat and attack the city wall. Once the enemy reached the top of the city wall, it would be too late to counterattack.
Therefore, even if they suffered a lot of casualties, the defending troops had to take the risk to launch a counterattack and sacrifice their own lives. At the same time, they also caused great damage to the attacking troops.
On the top of the city wall at the north gate, the Tang Dynasty soldiers soon appeared. They were not here to fight, but to observe the situation. They were all elites with rich combat experience. They knew the battlefield very well and were very strong in defending the city. However, because they were soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, Altik would not rest assured to hand over his troops to outsiders. He had to firmly control his troops, which was his capital to settle down. The only thing the Tang Dynasty soldiers could do was to give them suggestions. If they thought it was feasible, they would naturally obey. If they thought it was not feasible, they could only disobey.
Anyway, it was not their city, so the Tang Dynasty soldiers did not need to argue with them. Even if the city really fell, Ziyad, who had broken into the city, did not dare to kill the Tang Dynasty soldiers casually. This was something Ziyad did not dare to do.
"Count the casualties and find out why they were injured, especially those who were seriously injured or killed. Find out where they were injured. Only by controlling these can we come up with targeted countermeasures."
The young Tang Dynasty general made a request.
Soon, a rough statistical data came out. The casualties and injuries varied. Some were smashed to death by stones, and some were shot by the enemy's bows and arrows. Among them, almost all those who were hit in the head were seriously injured or killed, while those who were hit in the arms were lightly injured. Most of those who were shot in the face and neck were seriously injured or killed, while those who were shot in the arms were lightly injured.
With this data, he could give suggestions for improvement. Since the injuries and deaths of the soldiers were all problems with their heads and necks, as long as they protected their heads, necks, and faces, the casualty rate could be reduced by a lot. Especially the casualty rate, it would be greatly reduced.
"These soldiers only have hats on their heads. How can these things protect their heads? Why don't you equip them with helmets? If they had helmets, many soldiers would not have died in the battle."
The young Tang Dynasty general said.
"We have a limited number of helmets. Only the most elite soldiers in the city have helmets. The rest of the troops are not equipped."
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