When some historians described the performance of the British and French armies on the battlefield in modern Europe, they once said this: "The British are as old-fashioned as gentlemen, while the French are as romantic as gentlemen."

On the battlefield of the Iberis Peninsula, the French army treated Spanish prisoners of war, especially captured guerrillas, extremely cruel and incorruptible, but showed a humanitarian style to prisoners from the British Expeditionary Force. French soldiers rarely deprived captured British officers of war horses and private property, and allowed them to retain guns (of course, ammunition would be confiscated), nor confiscated artillery and cavalry horses, provided sufficient rations to prisoners, and tried their best to rescue enemy wounded soldiers, etc.; on the contrary, the British were the same.

General Desnuet of the Cavalry Brigade was captured by the British Expeditionary Force after being injured. He was treated as an officer corresponding to his rank and was later released back to France. In fact, Desnuet escaped privately from the British guard camp, and the British soldiers in charge of the detention did not shoot and stop him. After informing him of his superiors, the British found Desnuet, who was hiding somewhere in the harbor, and offered to arrange a smuggling merchant ship for free and sent him to the other side of the English Channel overnight.

This may be the so-called "gentleman war" concept that both sides have always believed in since the time of King Louis. Therefore, Desay and his think tank will not reject the challenge books of British gentlemen. As for the "little tricks" that both sides have retained in their hearts, it depends on how future historians describe the winners and losers.

But war is war after all. It is not a stage play of romance, nor is it described by the poet as "as romantic as attending a court dance", because in the end, the soldiers on both sides lined up one after another to meet God. In order for future military critics to intuitively understand the next "Gentleman's Battle", it is necessary to compare some data of the two sides participating in the war:

The participating troops were equally matched. Among them, the British 48th Infantry Regiment had a total of 858 officers and soldiers, the regiment commander Colonel Winster, and the deputy Major Harding (the staff officer on the Eastern Front of the coalition); the French Desai Division had a total of 829 officers and soldiers, the regiment commander Colonel René and the deputy Major Mardan (the military adjutant of the commander of the Desai Division).

The quality of officers and soldiers is generally evenly matched. Fang Jun is a two-year veteran, almost 4 of whom became Irish; the French army is a veteran who served for more than 3 years, including one-third of the Aragonese (also veterans).

The number of reinforcements, cavalry and artillery invested by both sides: none. It should be said that the competition is fair.

Use of firearms: British soldiers use Baker rifles, usually one shot at a time, with an effective range of 200-300 yards; French troops have a Hruna-style 1810 rifle, with 3-4 shots in 1 minute, with an effective range of 500-600 yards. It is obvious that the back and front bullies the former!

The battlefield is located 3 kilometers south of Evora, a small plain between two hills. The plain slowly extends down from the two hills, with a length of about 1,500 meters and a width of 1,200 meters. The terrain here is open and the slope is gentle. Standing at the top of the two hills, you can see it at a glance. In addition to the large grassland that grows lushly, like green carpets and unknown red and yellow wild flowers, there are only a few sparse saplings. Ten years ago, when the Spanish besieged Evora, the woods within 3 kilometers of the city were cut down. This year, the French came, and the same was true.

On July 14, 1810, at 4 pm, the British and French armies had already assembled on the slopes of the two hills and slopes and arranged their formations. Since it was agreed in advance that no cavalry and artillery would participate in the battle, and no reinforcements were provided. Therefore, without exception, both commanders at both ends gave up the left wing, right wing and reserve army (reserve). In terms of tactical choice, they used the classic attack formation of double-row line-ups in the 18th century British and French war of hegemony, with the intention of launching the largest and strongest firepower output within unit time.

At both ends of the hill, when the commanders entered their respective formations, the British and French soldiers shouted, and they put on military caps (two-horned soft caps and berets) with rifles, waving up and down, signaling to Colonel René or Colonel Winster; the officers stood at the spot with a solemn face and saluted the battlefield commander. Soon after, the French band played the "Marseille Song", and the British began to sing "God Bless My King".

The two landlords, whether they were Colonel René of the French side or Colonel Winster of the British army, seemed to be naturally interested in keeping silent, so the work of mobilizing the soldiers and encouraging the morale of the army was all in their respective assistants.

"We will beat the British guys to call my mother's milk!" Major Mardan's language was vulgar, which made everyone laugh.

"Let's send the Frenchman home!" Major Harding danced excitedly, winning cheers from the soldiers.

On the French side, Colonel René was ranked first in the regiment. On his right is a flag-holding officer holding a military flag, on the left is Major Mardan, who acted as an assistant and the first commissar. Behind him is a group of military bands that are still playing and singing, knocking and beating.

Because the amplitude (width) between the battlefields is large enough, all the forces of the infantry regiment commanded by Colonel René have been put into the front line against the enemy, which looks like a spectacular long snake formation. Whether it is the British or French, the three infantry battalions are arranged in one line, divided into three columns on the left, middle and right. The soldiers inside the columns hold rifles and squeeze together shoulder to shoulder; the distance between each column is 20-30 meters, and the entire front line is about 350 to 400 meters.

Soon, the performance of "Marseille" ended, and all the noises returned to calm. The officers of the column had flocked to come and reported to the commander Colonel René, saying that the troops were gathered and everything was ready.

"Col. You can start!" Mardan turned around and took a rough count, then turned around to remind the commander.

Colonel René, as the commander-in-chief, also pulled out his saber and issued a loud order: "Battle, follow me!"

When the colonel commander took the first step, Major Mardan followed closely. At this time, the flag in the hands of the flag-holder had tilted forward and followed the two officers. Then, it was the turn of a military band composed of snare drums and flutes. A relaxed, bright and rhythmic "Grenadier March" echoed on the empty grassland. After these people, more than 800 officers and soldiers in the regiment also took neat steps, like an irresistible wall of people, and marched towards the center of the battlefield.

"Damn it! The Frenchman actually plagiarized our marching song!" Major Harding took off the telescope in his hand and scolded the shameless Frenchman. He swore: "After the war, I will definitely submit a letter of protest, representing the Army Department of the British Empire!"

Colonel Winster, who was standing beside him frowned. He found that the color of the French uniform was not traditional red, white and blue, but strange clothes (camouflage outfits) with gray and dark green as the main colors. Even the colors on the brim of the hood were not obvious. Once the French were lying on the grass, his side would definitely not see clearly, which would inevitably affect the shooting accuracy of Baker's rifle.

"Major, you're looking at the weapons in the hands of the French, which seem to be almost the same as our Baker rifle." Through the small telescope, the commander saw something wrong. Finally, he could confirm a fact, "Damn Frenchman, they sent a rifle regiment, and the soldiers were all in front-mounted rifle rifle!"

Harding smiled disapprovingly, reminding the commander around him, "So what, the stupid French will use the rifle as a flintlock rifle. Colonel, take a closer look. The French soldiers do not carry a small mallet and cannot compact the ammunition, so the range of the rifle will never exceed 200 yards. In addition, they also pray that God will not explode."

Following the assistant's prompt, Colonel Winster observed again. As expected, he felt relieved.

"Now, can we set out?" Harding asked.

"Wait a little longer, whether it is land or naval battles, the French always show a very anxious look. According to the law of war, the troops who come to the battlefield have the right to shoot first. Of course, if the French are still gentlemen!" Colonel Winster smiled.

The British were naturally wrong. Under the influence of the Duke of Desay, the French army in front of them was not very gentlemanly. Behind the hill surrounded by the French army, the artillery regiment had urgently set up 25 artillery pieces of 8 pounds and above. If solid bullets were used, they could directly cover the entire battlefield. In addition, the temporary 2,000 cavalry team was also hidden and scattered at both ends of the position to protect the left and right wings of the rifle regiment. Once an unfavorable situation occurs on the battlefield, the artillery, cavalry, and other reinforcements can be taken up at any time.

Preparing for the future and expecting to lose before the victory is expected. These are the military views that Desai has long adhered to.

In the central column, Enrique and Pablo leaned against each other side by side. Listening to the rhythm of the grenadier song, they were moving forward with a standard pace of 68 to 70 cm per step. At first, the two Aragonese imitated their comrades, closed their mouths tightly, and no one wanted to say anything, but soon after, they felt that the atmosphere in the queue was a little depressed, and the two fellow villagers couldn't help but whisper.

"Hey, Pablo, say something?"

"What are you saying? You are so fucking! Do you want a whistling shell on your head to blow the head, and you also expect the British cavalry to wield a saber and cut off your little head?"

"Hahaha!" The comrades who could understand Spanish chuckled softly. A team officer turned his head and looked at it, but did not stop the soldiers from laughing.

The French soldiers around who didn't understand Spanish became unhappy, and they yelled in French, "Damn guy, speak French quickly. What's the happy thing, let's be happy too!"

A soldier was willing to act as a translator. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the translation became a sentence after "Pablo has two little girls, and he hopes the British will cut off one for him." So, the soldiers seemed to have forgotten the military discipline, and everyone couldn't help but stick out their necks and joked at "Pablo with two girls", and laughed for a moment.

Hearing this, Major Mardan laughed uncontrollably and burst into laughter.

"Sorry, Colonel!" Mardan quickly apologized in a low voice.

Colonel René replied simply: "Nothing, it at least shows that the soldiers are in a good mood!" He calmly measured the distance of the marching and found that he had reached the center of the battlefield at 400 meters.

At this time, on the other end of the British battlefield, the same grenadier march came over and the British began to set off.

Colonel René turned around and told Major Mardan, "Major, in 1 minute, your people will go up first. Also, let the second commissar stand by my side."

...
Chapter completed!